Very Large Windows 10 User Profiles

Question

_{Monday, October 26, 2015 1:18 AM}

I have 6 user profiles on my Windows 10: One is 72.1GB in size, another is 39.0GB in size, one has a ? mark, one is 58.2GB and one is 11.4GB. The smallest one is the Default Profile at 2.12MB. Can someone help me figure out why my user profiles so enormous?

First, I'd like to find what the source of these enormously large user profiles are? what directories can I look into? and secondly any solutions you may have. I am thinking given the unusually large size of all of my profiles, there must a common cause.

All replies (5)

_{Monday, October 26, 2015 8:07 AM ✅Answered}

It depends upon the followings:

Temporary files, temporary internet files and cookies,personal documents, pictures, music, videos and installed apps etc.

Changes made to the local user profile are specific to the user and to the computer on which the changes are made.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb776892(v=vs.85).aspx

You can limit the user profile size via Group Policy.

In the Start Search type in Gpedit.msc and hit the Enter Key.

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > User Profiles > Limit Profile Size > Here you can define the size by enabling it.

S.Sengupta, Windows Experience MVP

_{Monday, October 26, 2015 3:36 PM ✅Answered | 1 vote}

Find Largest File in User Profile with PowerShell

S.Sengupta, Windows Experience MVP

_{Monday, October 26, 2015 12:24 PM}

I have cleared my Temp files, and Temp Internet files and have looked in my music, pictures and videos folders and they are all empty (I manage all of those in iTunes and they are on a separate drive). I use dropbox, google drive and onedrive, but the actual files are again kept on yet another separate drive.

Is there a way to find out what actually is contributing to the giant size of my user profile?

_{Tuesday, October 27, 2015 12:22 AM | 1 vote}

I find WinDirStat helpful in finding where drive space is used. Can take some time scan, and the graphical bottom half takes some getting used to (shows the big files as big squares) but does have a Pacman animation whilst it runs.

_{Thursday, June 7, 2018 5:17 PM | 1 vote}

Will add WizTree to this thread as close to WinDirStat but uses master file table (MFT) to work out the space so very quick.