games no longer in library but still take up space

[Zartax]

Ever since downloading games from Steam I noticed that they still take space after uninstall.

It is clear that Steam uninstall method is not working properly.

After deleting the game data from steam apps > common folder manually i gained back ~ 45 GB

I only left 2 games and steam was showing 71 GB usage.

https://ibb.co/Wv0gjPY

Upon checking the steam folder size in Program files manually it is a total of 93 GB....

I will be deleting and reinstalling Steam later today as obviously that`s 20 GB difference and there are even more game files left over in other steam folders.

This won`t return all my missing space back tho....

There is nothing else installed on this brand new pc/hard drive besides Steam.
Nothing significant in windows remove apps either.

Did anybody else encountered this issue before ?
Any idea how to free more space caused by Steam installations or how to avoid this problem in future?

[MancSoulja]

If you're using a HDD, check the actual size vs size on disk, because of the way they work, with sectors and clusters, the size files use on the actual disk can be larger than their physical file size.

Also, Steam now uses a "common redistributable" folder to store game prerequisites that can get quite large in size depending on what games you have installed.

[MulHollandHouse]

I think this problem has nothing to do with the Steam program by it self regarding the installation. Indeed there can be system files left from the uninstalled game. Try to clean your pc regularly with a cleaning program like CC Cleaner or delete the found files manually, but be careful what you throw away in this case.

[Zartax]

It`s a brand new mid-range S S D (500 GB) and also this is well known issue with decent amount of Steam games ( judging by older topics). Not all games leave left over files.
Installing freeware is out of the question and CC Cleaner is not what it used to be or do anything you can`t do better manually.

I was asking in order to raise some awareness and also find out if someone figured out better methods of solving/preventing this issue without deleting / reinstalling steam , digging in the registry where i also found left overs , etc.

[fishlures23]

bro just be smarter

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by Zartax:

It`s a brand new mid-range S S D (500 GB) and also this is well known issue with decent amount of Steam games ( judging by older topics). Not all games leave left over files.
Installing freeware is out of the question and CC Cleaner is not what it used to be or do anything you can`t do better manually.

I was asking in order to raise some awareness and also find out if someone figured out better methods of solving/preventing this issue without deleting / reinstalling steam , digging in the registry where i also found left overs , etc.

Genrally the way to get space back is usually just to go to the installed folder and see what's left over and delete it.

If you're getting space used after that, I don't know what to tell you as that's a bit odd.