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Uninstalled and Deleted Programs Still Taking Up Storage Space

Kevin Upton 40 Reputation points
2025-08-07T19:23:43.03+00:00

My Surface Go 3 predictably has nearly maxxed out storage. To extend storage, I recently installed a microSD card, then uninstalled my biggest desktop program (Quicken) from C:/Program Files (x86). I also uninstalled a few smaller programs from C:/.

Although I reinstalled Quicken onto the SD card (D:/Program Files), I'm still showing a Quicken folder in C:/Program Files (x86) totaling 91.5 MB. By comparison, the reinstalled Quicken program on D:/Program Files totals 334 MB, which is about right. And the reinstalled program is fully functional from D:/. So, the question is, can I just delete the Quicken folder remaining in C:/Program Files (x86) without screwing something up?

Finally, the Settings>Storage function on the Surface Go 3 shows 26.6 GB of installed programs which is exactly what it showed before I uninstalled Quicken (and several smaller programs) and reinstalled Quicken on the D:/ drive. And I still get pop-ups telling me I need to free up space. Doesn't seem to make sense.

Would very much appreciate any explanations/insights/fixes.

Thanks

--Kevin

Surface | Surface Go | Performance and maintenance
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  1. Edward Schlobohm01 465 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-11T13:40:36.25+00:00

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for your response, for your question about if you can delete the obsolete or remaining files, I will provide insights about this. You're right to be cautious before deleting system folders like Internet Explorer and Office 15, especially since they don’t show up in the installed apps list.

    Here's a breakdown of what you can safely do: For Internet explorer files, typically the location for this: Usually in C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer or C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer My recommendation is to not delete manually, You can disable Internet Explorer via: Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off and Uncheck Internet Explorer 11, This will safely remove most of its components. For Office 15 Folder, this usually under C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15

    My recommendation is to First, check if any Office 2013 components are still installed, then go to settings -apps- installed apps. Look for anything like Office 2013, click to run, or Microsoft office tools, if nothing shows up and you're sure you're only using M365, you can rename the folder temporarily (e.g., Office15_backup) and reboot. If no issues arise, you can safely delete it.

    Please let us know if these steps help or if you need further assistance. We're here to help! If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Warm Regards,

    Edward Schlobohm

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  1. Edward Schlobohm01 465 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-07T20:30:56.3233333+00:00

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft community and for explaining your issue with your Surface Go 3 in detail!

    Now that Quicken is running smoothly from D:/Program Files, that leftover folder in C:/Program Files (x86) is likely just some residual data. Before you delete it, take a look inside to see if it’s just logs or uninstall files; you should be all set.

    Just to be cautious, you might want to rename the folder (like Quicken_backup) and run a test with Quicken. If everything goes well, you can go ahead and delete that folder. As for Windows still showing 26.6 GB of installed programs, this might be due to cached storage stats or leftover data hiding in folders like AppData or ProgramData. Windows could also still be counting the original install size of Quicken if the registry entries weren’t fully cleaned up.

    The low storage notifications keep popping up because Windows needs some free space on C:/ for updates, temporary files, and system functions. Even if you’ve moved apps to D:/, C:/ still needs some room to breathe

    Before you delete any files, I highly recommend backing up your important files or data.

    Here’s a helpful article on how to free up storage space on your Windows: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/free-up-drive-space-in-windows-85529ccb-c365-490d-b548-831022bc9b32

    Hope this helps.

    Warm regards,

    Edward Schlobohm

  2. Kevin Upton 40 Reputation points
    2025-08-09T15:31:37.5266667+00:00

    Well, the 26.6 GB came down to 26.2 GB. Was hoping for more but better than nothing. Interestingly, Windows Store didn't appear in the list of Other Troubleshooters but I did run wsreset, which I think did the same thing.

    In looking to free up more space, I'm seeing folders for Internet Explorer (obsolete) and Office 15 (I'm on M-365) that are still taking up space on the C:/ drive. (Neither shows on the list of installed apps.) Presumably, I can just delete them?

    Thanks so much for your response. Very helpful and well-explained.

    --Kevin

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