Why Does My SSD Keep Filling Up?

Solid-state drives, known as SSDs, are assembled to boost your PC’s storage performance to launch applications faster and run games with more frames.

For any drive, the problem of storage filling up is not okay. Storage issues can be frustrating because it restricts the system with low storage space and also causes it to slow down the processes, functions, and programs. SSDs are meant to prompt up your system, not restrain it.

In this article, we will find out the possible reasons “Why Your SSD is Filling Up” and how you can easily resolve storage space issues and make storage space available by following simple steps. So, let’s dive into the depths of this article to find out more about the reasons and possible solutions.

Why Does My SSD Keep Filling Up?

Your SSD is most likely filling up due to a stack of unnecessary files, hidden items, malware, or virus. An unusual amount of cached files can cause your drives to fill up unnaturally. Removing corrupted system files and unnecessary programs and re-installing a fresh, updated Windows can resolve this issue.

The system storage could be filling up automatically for many reasons. If you have been installing and uninstalling some programs, it could end up bloating your drive with unnecessary DLL files and cache. Browser cookies and history also take up storage space; removing them would be easy.

If you have Windows installed in your SSD, deleting a file temporarily will move the file into the recycle bin. The deleted file still takes almost the same space; deleting the files from recycle bin or removing them permanently by holding down the “shift” key is very useful to prevent filling up space.

Hidden Files And Data

It is the most common problem users face; when this occurs, the system storage gets full without showing the actual data on the disk space or in Windows Explorer. That is because the hidden items can not be seen without enabling some options. It prevents the user from transferring any more data.

• How To Fix It?

If the storage issue occurs, you can always start by deleting unnecessary hidden files and folders from your SSD. If you find anything suspicious, random, or having a larger file size than usual, and you are not aware of saving it, delete it instantly without any doubt to make more space.

To delete these hidden files and folders, you have to open Windows Control Panel. Now, select File Explorer Options. Navigate to the View tab on the window. Scroll down and tick the option to show hidden files.

After applying these settings, head to your SSD, locate any suspicious hidden files or items, and delete them permanently using the shortcut “Shit+Delete.”

Malware And Virus

It is very ordinary among users without an updated Windows Defender or any antivirus software to prevent malware or virus attacks. Malware can permanently damage your SSD, and the virus infects the firmware that shows you the space available is filled unusually.

• How To Fix It?

As mentioned above, viruses and malware can build up space in your SSD. They also prevent users from deleting or removing them, but Windows Defender does this very efficiently. Running a quick or thorough virus scan of your SSD partition can easily remove these viruses.

To run a quick scan to prevent or delete viruses, open Windows Update & Security Settings by searching it in the start menu. Click on the Windows Security tab in the third position. Navigate to Virus & threat protection. Now run a Quick scan or modified scan from the Scan options. It will automatically detect any virus, malware, or ransomware to permanently remove it, preventing storage loss.

Restored System Files

If you have your Windows restoration feature turned on, this can automatically create a backup of your files regularly to protect them from harmful malware and ransomware invasions. This process takes a lot of space without notifying you properly, leading to a shortage of storage.

• How To Fix It?

Disabling the “Windows Restored System Files” feature can be done through the System Restore settings in Windows. Just follow these simple steps. Click on the “Start” button in the screen’s bottom left corner and type “System Restore” in the search bar. Select “Create a restore point” from the search results. Click on the “System Protection” tab in the System Properties window that opens.

Select the system drive (usually labeled “C:”) and click on the “Configure” button. In the System Protection settings, you will see a section titled “Restore settings.” Under this section, you’ll find a checkbox labeled “Turn off system protection.” Select this checkbox to disable the system restore feature.

A warning dialog box will appear, informing you that turning off system protection will delete all existing restore points. If you’re sure you want to disable it, click on the “Apply” button.

System Protection

This system restoration feature backs up your data from selected drives and folders to prevent data loss but also takes up a lot of storage space. Disabling it will surely save a huge chunk of storage space, and obviously, disk space is more important than backing up data over and over.

• How To Fix It?

Simply go to the Windows System settings to disable system protection and backup. Navigate to the button and click About. Open System protection from the left panel. Select the available drives and click Configure. Now select Disable system protection in restore settings.

You can also modify the max usage of your disk, but disabling overall protection is recommended for more space. After disabling these settings, apply and head to the file restoration location to delete useless backup files.

Unnecessary Programs

Again, you can easily mess up your system’s storage with many unnecessary installed programs you never use. These programs contain files and logs that take up space and create a heavy load on your system, making your SSD fill up quickly.

Some software can get corrupted, which causes them to generate multiple piles of log files and unnecessary folders containing your usage data in cached forms. Corrupted software also tends to download missing files or try to update files that, cause the storage to fill up quickly.

• How To Fix It?

Many of the programs that you don’t use or just do not work properly simply need to be removed immediately to make some storage space. Programs can cause various storage errors with their unnecessary files and folders and unwanted downloads and updates, which take a lot of space to re-install.

To uninstall these useless programs, go to the Windows Control Panel. Open Programs and Features. Select the unwanted program you want to remove. Click Uninstall and follow the steps.

You can easily uninstall all the unwanted, useless programs you don’t use to make more space in your SSD with Windows.

Cached and Temporary Files

Cached files or data is the information stored on your computer that are beneficial to developers to improve your experience. These files can take up a lot of space on your SSD and are irrelevant to consumers. They are useless for you, and clearing them will not cause any issues.

You can always be astonished at what can happen if the SSD keeps filling up to the maximum. Nothing bad can happen to the SSD itself, but it will not work effectively with a full drive partition. SSDs are made to increase the performance and speed of the system; low disk space will slow it down.

• How To Fix It?

To delete temporary files, open “Run” by pressing “Windows key + R,” type the command “%temp%” and then hit enter. It will open the temporary file’s folder. Select all with “Ctrl+A” and then press “Shift key+Delete” to delete all temporary files. But some files will resist the deleting process because these files are still in use. So skip such files.

Hibernation

When Windows goes into hibernation mode, it creates files to save the running application’s data onto the drive; this can also result in the unwanted and unusual filling of your SSD. Disabling it and removing the previous files can free up some space.

• How To Fix It?

Run the Command Prompt as administrator from the Windows start menu to disable hibernation. Copy this command “powercfg -h off” and paste it into the Command Prompt. Press Enter to activate. It will disable the hibernation mode, also preventing it from making useless files onto your system.

Previous Windows Files

If you have upgraded your Windows to the latest version, and the previous one still exists, because sometimes it does, you need to delete the previous Windows files from your SSD partition to make space. Both Windows existing in the same drive can easily fill up your SSD.

• How To Fix It?

To uninstall the previous version and files, open disk cleanup. Search Disk Cleanup in the Windows search field. Open the Disk Cleanup app and select the SSD drive you want to clear. Select the Files to delete, and locate Previous Windows Installations from the list. Tick the box right next to it for selection. Now click on Clean up system files to start the process.

This Disk Cleanup app allows you to clear almost each and every temporary file to extra cache files, to make storage space in your SSD. It is a very useful application for removing unnecessary files.

Limited Partition Space

You can extend your SSD partition drive if space is available to prevent it from filling up using the Disk Management tool. You can easily delete or make new partitions using this tool and also can reduce and extend the partitions if the space is available on your SSD.

• How To Fix It?

To extend your partition drive, search Disk Management in the Windows start menu or right-click on the start menu and open it. Now right-click on the partition you want to extend. Click on Extend volume and use the available space.

You can easily shrink one volume with space and extend the other for space using the Disk Management tool. Select the proper drives and enter proper numerical values to prevent data loss or bad sectors.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Failing SSD?

SSD (solid-state drive) can also cause many concerns if the partitions fail to store more data but instead file up unusually. There are a few potential signs to acknowledge if your SSD is failing and indicating a replacement. SSD health doesn’t matter like HDDs; only speed and performance matter.

If you notice a significant speed and performance loss while loading programs or playing games on your SSD, you can easily conclude that the SSD is failing and will soon die.

If your SSD is faulty or failing, the drive cannot read or write any files at this time. The computer is moving at an appallingly slow speed compared to its typical speed. Moreover, the computer won’t boot, or the Windows gets continuously corrupted. 

You will also receive an error message on the blue screen mentioning storage or partition drive, indicating bad sectors. There may be occasions when the program or game becomes unresponsive. Your partition drive becomes a read-only drive.

What Is The Lifespan Of A SSD?

Solid-state drives, also known as SSD, are a new technology that doesn’t use the previous disk or moving partings, which makes it very reliable for storing important data. However, how long your SSD will last depends on the data you store. Most SSDs easily last over five years, while most units exceed ten to fifteen years.

Since SSDs are newer technology and much more expensive than HDDs. They are gloming for their performance. It can be really hard to find large-capacity SSDs at cheap rates. HDDs can be as much as 2.5 times larger at the same rate compared to SSDs, but they don’t have the same speed, performance, or life expectancy.

For most components, the measurement is typically in thousands or tens of thousands of hours between failures. An HDD may have a mean time of 300 thousand hours, whereas the SSD might have 1.5 million hours between failures. It makes SSD 20% more reliable than hard drives with old disk technologies.

Conclusion

If you are facing the problem where your SSD keeps filling up the storage space, it is due to a stack of unnecessary files that need to be deleted. The hidden files, malware, virus, cached files, or previously installed Windows files can also take up the storage.

You can easily prevent and resolve this issue using basic computer knowledge and following the abovementioned methods. Deleting hidden files, disabling system restoration and backups, uninstalling useless programs, and scanning the drives for viruses and malware can easily resolve this storage issue.

Disk Management tool is crucial in deleting unnecessary and previously installed Windows files. This tool can clear almost all useless data from the selected partition drive of SSD to make more space and prevent it from bloating.