Hard Disk Usage greater than file sizes listed???

[Bill Roberts]

I supposedly have 21 GB in my Owner directory, however
when I check each subfolder in the group the total is
only a fraction of this size. It seems that Windows is
somehow accounting for files that I can't see or that I'm
aware of. I'm virus-free as of yesterday (McAfee).

Any help gratefully received.

Bill Roberts

 

[Andrew Faust]

I supposedly have 21 GB in my Owner directory, however
when I check each subfolder in the group the total is
only a fraction of this size. It seems that Windows is
somehow accounting for files that I can't see or that I'm
aware of. I'm virus-free as of yesterday (McAfee).

Go to My Computer->Tools->Folder Options->View
and check Show Hidden Files and Folders.

Also, you should know that there is a difference between
a file's size and the amount of storage it takes on disk. For
example a 400 byte file may use up 1k of disk space, due
to how storage is addressed by the File System.