Recovering non-booting Windows from overfull partition

Question

Windows demands a minimum amount of free space on its partition. It reserves this space, so it cannot be used. So, Windows would say, the partition is completely full, the free space is zero. But it is not actually full. If the partition is mounted on Linux, Linux would say there is still 6 GB free space on it. And I mostly use Linux (dual-boot on one drive), and I often use these last 6 GB space. It works perfectly fine with Linux and does not cause any issues.

But when I boot Windows with less than 6 GB free, Windows self-destructs. It can never boot again. Even if I delete the 6 GB again, it won't boot.

This has happened several times, and the only solution was to reinstall Windows. (The system restore of the recovery mode does not work. But I did use the recovery console to do the reinstall with dism)

But perhaps there is a better way?

Now I got a list of files modified during boots (from the timestamp):

root:

./DumpStack.log
./Intel
./Intel/GfxCPLBatchFiles
./pagefile.sys
./swapfile.sys

In C:\Program Files or (x86):

Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Thermal.Logs
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Thermal.Logs/2024-03-02.log
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/Profiles.tmp
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Logs
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Logs/2024-03-02.log
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Overclocking.Data/GpuConfig.json
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Overclocking.Logs
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Overclocking.Logs/2024-03-02.log
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs/8D4040A7-29AD-44A9-ACB6-4C3EB654A213
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs/8D4040A7-29AD-44A9-ACB6-4C3EB654A213/03022024
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs/8D4040A7-29AD-44A9-ACB6-4C3EB654A213/03022024/0737314885a0-5eec-4ce0-98f1-e0c97762ceb0.txt
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs/8D4040A7-29AD-44A9-ACB6-4C3EB654A213/eventhubprofile.xml
Alienware/Alienware Command Center/OCControlService/OCControl.Service.Platinum.Logs/8D4040A7-29AD-44A9-ACB6-4C3EB654A213/profile.xml
Common Files/microsoft shared/ClickToRun
Common Files/microsoft shared/ClickToRun/backup
Dell/DellDataVault
Dell/DellDataVault/Archive
Microsoft Office/Updates/Detection
Microsoft Office/Updates/Detection/VersionOfficeC2RDD13F293-4D5A-4DE6-8FF9-8674FC4B8A24
Dell/UpdateService
Dell/UpdateService/Log/DCMServiceStartup.log
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate/Download/{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate/Download/{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}/122.0.2365.59
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate/Download/{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}/122.0.2365.59/MicrosoftEdge_X64_122.0.2365.59_122.0.2365.52.exe
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate/Install

in C:\ProgramData:

Dell/AWCCService/DellAgent.00.log
Dell/Bradbury API Sub Agent
Dell/Bradbury API Sub Agent/BradburyAPISubAgentService.02.log
Dell/Bradbury API Sub Agent/BradburyAPISubAgentService.Manifest.log
Dell/Dell TechHub
Dell/Dell TechHub/DellTechHub.log
Dell/Dell TechHub/DellTechHub.Manifest.log
Dell/Dell.DataVault.DataCollector.SubAgent
Dell/Dell.DataVault.DataCollector.SubAgent/DellAgent.00.log
Dell/Dell.DataVault.DataCollector.SubAgent/DellAgent.Manifest.log
Dell/DellDataVault/Log/CN4QZZ2_DCSA_Errlog.txt
Dell/DellDataVault/Log/CN4QZZ2_DDVW_Errlog.txt
Dell/DellDataVault/Log/DDVSVCAPI_Errlog.txt
Dell/DeviceQuery/deviceq/20240302_0836.log
Dell/DeviceQuery/logs/deviceq_20240302_0836.log
Dell/DTP/DB/DTPDB.DB-shm
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Analytics.SubAgent
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Analytics.SubAgent/DTP.Analytics.SubAgent.01.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Analytics.SubAgent/DTP.Analytics.SubAgent.Manifest.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.DataManager.SubAgent
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.DataManager.SubAgent/DTP.DataManager.SubAgent.00.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.DataManager.SubAgent/DTP.DataManager.SubAgent.Manifest.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Diagnostics.SubAgent
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Diagnostics.SubAgent/DTP.Diagnostics.SubAgent.01.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Diagnostics.SubAgent/DTP.Diagnostics.SubAgent.Manifest.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent/DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent.03.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent/DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent.Manifest.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.UserProcess/S-1-5-18
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.UserProcess/S-1-5-18/DTP.Instrumentation.UserProcess.01.log
Dell/DTP/Logs/DTP.Instrumentation.UserProcess/S-1-5-18/DTP.Instrumentation.UserProcess.Manifest.log
Dell/ePSA/logs/epsa_20240302_0836.log
Dell/orca/deviceq/20240302_0836.log
Dell/SARemediation
Dell/SARemediation/disksignature.dat
Dell/SARemediation/log/DellSupportAssistRemedationService.log
Dell/SARemediation/log/plugin/plugin.log
Dell/SupportAssist/Agent/db
Dell/SupportAssist/Agent/logs/Application/SupportAssistAgent.log
Dell/SupportAssistServiceSubAgent
Dell/SupportAssistServiceSubAgent/SupportAssistService.03.log
Dell/SupportAssistServiceSubAgent/SupportAssistService.Manifest.log
Dell/UpdateService/DataStore
Dell/UpdateService/DataStore/DEB34457-A892-47B5-A582-FE4020D59BDE/Log
Dell/UpdateService/DataStore/DEB34457-A892-47B5-A582-FE4020D59BDE/Log/PlatinumLog_20240302.log
Dell/UpdateService/DataStore/DEB34457-A892-47B5-A582-FE4020D59BDE/profile.xml
Dell/UpdateService/Log/Activity.log
Dell/UpdateService/Log/Service.log
Dell/UpdateService/Scheduler/UpdateScheduler.dat
NVIDIA
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4844_0x299E0688D60.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4844_0x299E068A110.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4944_0x222997CF9A0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4944_0x222997D0490.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_5104_0x2774D160820.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_5104_0x2774D161770.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6164_0x1A4BF77D050.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6164_0x1A4BF77DFA0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6384_0x22A84087ED0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6384_0x22A84088E20.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6384_0x2329F2E1310.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6384_0x2329F2E19A0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6720_0x1CFECC4DF90.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6720_0x1CFECC4F570.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_688_0x2624667FF40.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_688_0x26246681BB0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6956_0x2237889BF50.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_6956_0x2237889C810.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7660_0x1E4D9507F50.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7660_0x1E4D95085E0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7756_0x25E2D6D8BA0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7756_0x25E2D6D9000.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7932_0x1BBBF674210.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_7932_0x1BBBF6755C0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBusBroadcast.log
NVIDIA/MessageBusBroadcast.log_backup
NVIDIA/MessageBus_1548_0x14E218ED260.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_1548_0x14E218EEA70.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2064_0x21886905660.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2064_0x21886905890.log
NVIDIA/DisplaySessionContainer1.log
NVIDIA/NVDisplay.ContainerLocalSystem.log
NVIDIA/NVDisplayContainerWatchdog.log
NVIDIA/NvMessageBusBroadcastPlugin.log
NVIDIA/NvMessageBusBroadcastPlugin.log_backup1
NVIDIA/NvPluginNvapiMonitor.log
NVIDIA/NvPluginNvapiMonitor.log_backup1
NVIDIA/NvcDispCorePlugin.log
NVIDIA/NvContainerBatteryBoostCheck.log
NVIDIA/NvContainerDriverUpdateCheck.log
NVIDIA/NvContainerLocalSystem.log
NVIDIA/NvContainerLocalSystem.log_backup1
NVIDIA/NvContainerRecoveryNvContainerLocalSystem.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2292_0x2A7E15201A0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4304_0x24A694DB3E0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8036_0x135C3DCFFD0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8036_0x135C3DD0AC0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8084_0x23B25DFE200.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8084_0x23B25DFF380.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8224_0x1B5DE8E56A0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8224_0x1B5DE8E5B00.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8224_0x1BBCFEC51A0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8224_0x1BBCFEC5600.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8292_0x291DBAE5350.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8292_0x291DBAE57B0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8536_0x17111E41320.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8536_0x17111E419B0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8908_0x1DBC0CB9BF0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_8908_0x1DBC0CBA4B0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9596_0x2268C27AC20.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9596_0x2268C27B4E0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9884_0x1F673146310.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9884_0x1F673146E00.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9904_0x221DF7681E0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_9904_0x221DF769360.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2292_0x2A7E15210F0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2476_0x272CE25D140.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2476_0x272CE25E2C0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2524_0x1CD85DDCC80.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2524_0x1CD85DDDE00.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2528_0x2B20C6B6FB0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2528_0x2B20C6B87C0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2624_0x205D69F9160.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2624_0x205D69F9390.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2832_0x2452CDB9200.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_2832_0x2452CDB9CF0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3196_0x2508E9CD300.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3196_0x2508E9CD760.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3480_0x166778C8CD0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3480_0x166778C9C20.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3560_0x262526ED110.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3560_0x262526EED80.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3704_0x14B483566E0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3704_0x14B48356910.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3932_0x239000AA100.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_3932_0x239000AB910.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4020_0x1D7EE2530F0.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4020_0x1D7EE253320.log
NVIDIA/MessageBus_4304_0x24A694DB1B0.log
NVIDIA Corporation/Drs/nvAppTimestamps
NVIDIA Corporation/Drs/nvdrsdb0.bin
NVIDIA Corporation/GameSessionTelemetry
NVIDIA Corporation/GameSessionTelemetry/telemetryPlugin.log
NVIDIA Corporation/NvProfileUpdaterPlugin
NVIDIA Corporation/NvProfileUpdaterPlugin/NvProfileUpdaterPlugin_1.log
NVIDIA Corporation/nvstreamsvc
NVIDIA Corporation/nvstreamsvc/SSASCurrent.log
NVIDIA Corporation/nvstreamsvc/SSASOld.log
NVIDIA Corporation/NvTelemetry
NVIDIA Corporation/NvTelemetry/events.dat
NVIDIA Corporation/NvTelemetry/NvTelemetry.log
NVIDIA Corporation/NvTelemetry/NvTelemetry.log.bak
NVIDIA Corporation/nvtopps
NVIDIA Corporation/nvtopps/nvtopps.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0840_00.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0840_01.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0840_02.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0840_03.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0841_00.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0841_01.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0841_02.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0841_03.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0842_00.log
NVIDIA Corporation/RX/rxdiag_240302_0842_01.log
NVIDIA Corporation/ShadowPlay/CaptureCore.log
PLUG/Logs
RivetNetworks/Killer/ActivityLog
USOPrivate/UpdateStore
USOShared/Logs/System
Goodix
Goodix/goodix.dat
Intel/GCC
Intel/GCC/gcc_svc_log_2024-03-02.txt
Intel/Intel Extreme Tuning Utility
Intel/Intel Extreme Tuning Utility/Logs
Intel/Intel Extreme Tuning Utility/Logs/IntelOverclockingSDK.20240302-0836405819.log
Intel/Intel Extreme Tuning Utility/Logs/XtuCore.20240302-0836323868.log
Intel/Intel Extreme Tuning Utility/PerformanceSettings.bin
Microsoft/Crypto/PCPKSP/WindowsAIK/b781a2d48a4b384338606dfce91f97fce40016fe/fb795632abfa22e9fad1700565d5c4527e380379.PCPKEY
Microsoft/Diagnosis/ETLLogs
Microsoft/Diagnosis/ETLLogs/OfflineRecEnvTrace.etl
Microsoft/EdgeUpdate/Log/MicrosoftEdgeUpdate.log
Microsoft/Network/Downloader
Microsoft/Search/Data/Applications/Windows/GatherLogs/SystemIndex
Microsoft/Search/Data/Applications/Windows/GatherLogs/SystemIndex/SystemIndex.571.Crwl
Microsoft/Search/Data/Applications/Windows/GatherLogs/SystemIndex/SystemIndex.571.gthr
Microsoft/Search/Data/Applications/Windows/Windows.edb
Microsoft/Search/Data/Temp
Microsoft/Search/Data/Temp/usgthrsvc
Microsoft/Windows/AppRepository/StateRepository-Machine.srd-shm
Microsoft/Windows/OneSettings/CTAC.json
Microsoft/Windows/SystemData
Microsoft/Windows/SystemData/S-1-5-18
Microsoft/Windows/SystemData/S-1-5-18/ReadOnly
Microsoft/Windows/SystemData/S-1-5-18/ReadOnly/LockScreen_Z
Microsoft/Windows/SystemData/S-1-5-21-2026200620-893393080-2828234286-1001/ReadOnly/LockScreen_O
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportArchive
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportArchive/6a962e5c-6e70-4dac-b7e6-d194b421cee4
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportArchive/bdfdb9a3-ca1b-472e-96bf-7554a9df89c2
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportArchive/fc7354d9-146e-41d2-8903-724f31fce5db
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportQueue
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportQueue/3e413c8b-d827-4e1e-9033-6f9ca53f70b0
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportQueue/7706d91a-9898-4d20-be6d-f1b29fce498d
Microsoft/Windows/WER/ReportQueue/da923841-00cc-415f-8f7a-ca3dc2d81db5
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/0f7b3e7a-57a2-4f11-8c3d-e173d105e2e6
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/122278d1-b62f-45b0-a30f-cc3ee7f8244f
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/14eb1f47-cdf9-450d-aaad-1e1de0558dd5
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/20b02a39-d84b-4df6-be37-d34577b85f55
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/35ffe294-84ab-4cfa-b28b-c9b0024e06c3
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/9bd644ef-55a8-4db6-9741-449749afd58b
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/c6fdfe75-728b-4d71-81ff-82f2f84ddd11
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WER2F2E.tmp.dmp
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WER2FCB.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WER492E.tmp.dmp
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WER499C.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WERBF83.tmp.dmp
Microsoft/Windows/WER/Temp/WERC05F.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
Microsoft/Windows Defender
Microsoft/Windows Defender/IMpService77BDAF73-B396-481F-9042-AD358843EC24.lock
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans/MpDiag.bin
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans/mpenginedb.db-shm
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans/mpenginedb.db-wal
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans/RtSigs/Data
Microsoft/Windows Defender/Support/MPLog-20240116-224511.log

In C:\users\benito:

AppData/Local/ConnectedDevicesPlatform/CDPGlobalSettings.cdp
AppData/Local/ConnectedDevicesPlatform/L.benito.cdpresource
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/logs/Common
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/logs/Common/StandaloneUpdater-2024-03-02.0739.2332.1.aodl
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/logs/Common/StandaloneUpdater-2024-03-02.0739.2864.1.odl
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/setup/logs
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/setup/logs/StandaloneUpdate_2024-03-02_073928_2332-2008.log
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/setup/logs/StandaloneUpdate_2024-03-02_073928_2864-2016.log
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/StandaloneUpdater/ECSConfig.json
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/StandaloneUpdater/PreSignInSettingsConfig.json
AppData/Local/Microsoft/OneDrive/StandaloneUpdater/Update.xml
AppData/Local/Microsoft/Vault/UserProfileRoaming/Latest.dat
AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Notifications/wpndatabase.db-shm
AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Notifications/WPNPRMRY.tmp
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvNode
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvNode/launcher.log
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvNode/nvnode.log
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvProfileUpdater
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvProfileUpdater/NvProfileUpdater.log
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvProfileUpdater/NvProfileUpdater.log.bak
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvTmRep
AppData/Local/NVIDIA Corporation/NvTmRep/NvTmRep.log
AppData/Local/Temp
AppData/Local/Temp/AdobeARM.log
AppData/Local/Temp/ArmUI.ini
AppData/Local/Temp/BIT774F.tmp
AppData/Local/Temp/wctD26F.tmp
AppData/Local/Temp/wctD270.tmp
AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/026A86A161D256DBB33076EDF20C0E5E_586120603910E6A9024E2F8513B0F104
AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/57C8EDB95DF3F0AD4EE2DC2B8CFD4157
AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/77EC63BDA74BD0D0E0426DC8F8008506
AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/FB0D848F74F70BB2EAA93746D24D9749
IntelGraphicsProfiles
IntelGraphicsProfiles/Brighten Video.man.igpi
IntelGraphicsProfiles/Darken Video.man.igpi
IntelGraphicsProfiles/Enhance Video Colors.man.igpi

In C:\Windows\

appcompat/appraiser
appcompat/appraiser/AltData
appcompat/appraiser/AltData/appraiser.sdb
appcompat/appraiser/Appraiser_AlternateData_Temp.cab
bootstat.dat
debug/PASSWD.LOG
LiveKernelReports
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG/WATCHDOG-20240302-0842.dmp
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG4400
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG4400/WATCHDOG4400-20240302-0842.dmp
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG4401
LiveKernelReports/WATCHDOG4401/WATCHDOG4401-20240302-0842.dmp
Logs
Logs/DISM/dism.log
Logs/MeasuredBoot
Logs/MeasuredBoot/0000001295-0000000000.log
Logs/MeasuredBoot/0000001296-0000000000.log
Logs/MoSetup/UpdateAgent.log
Logs/ReAgent/ReAgent.log
Logs/RecEnv_Ramdisk
Logs/RecEnv_Ramdisk/diagerr.xml
Logs/RecEnv_Ramdisk/diagwrn.xml
Logs/RecEnv_Ramdisk/setupact.log
Logs/RecEnv_Ramdisk/setuperr.log
Logs/StorGroupPolicy.log
Logs/waasmediccapsule
Panther/UnattendGC/diagerr.xml
Panther/UnattendGC/setuperr.log
PFRO.log
Prefetch
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-7AAD9645.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-7C90E579.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-83DAC236.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-C2DA4F6F.pf
Prefetch/SEARCHINDEXER.EXE-1CF42BC6.pf
Prefetch/NET.EXE-A0964F30.pf
Prefetch/SLIDETOSHUTDOWN.EXE-9251C7CD.pf
Prefetch/WERFAULT.EXE-155C56CF.pf
Prefetch/AWCC.SERVICE.EXE-93E001E0.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-C625B657.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-F952D9A9.pf
Prefetch/NVCONTAINER.EXE-537D289C.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-09F4AEA4.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-356485BE.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-4BD0A607.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-4D0E9C8C.pf
Prefetch/DLLHOST.EXE-7617EDA2.pf
Prefetch/RUNDLL32.EXE-A9CBE425.pf
Prefetch/SCRCONS.EXE-58E094D7.pf
Prefetch/SVCHOST.EXE-C38EF8DD.pf
Prefetch/TASKHOSTW.EXE-2E5D4B75.pf
Prefetch/XTUSERVICE.EXE-E3CCF453.pf
Prefetch/CMD.EXE-0BD30981.pf
Prefetch/CONHOST.EXE-0C6456FB.pf
Prefetch/CUDARUNTIMEWRAPPER.EXE-8BEAC51F.pf
Prefetch/REAGENTC.EXE-0588409A.pf
Prefetch/REGEDIT.EXE-DAB4D60B.pf
Prefetch/WLRMDR.EXE-A7C36FDD.pf
Prefetch/WMIADAP.EXE-BB21CD77.pf
Prefetch/WMIAPSRV.EXE-FC8436DD.pf
Prefetch/WMIPRVSE.EXE-E8B8DD29.pf
Prefetch/SCHTASKS.EXE-8B6144A9.pf
Prefetch/MICROSOFTEDGEUPDATE.EXE-7A595326.pf
Prefetch/NET1.EXE-509326A5.pf
Prefetch/ReadyBoot
Prefetch/ReadyBoot/ReadyBoot.etl
security/logs
ServiceProfiles/LocalService/AppData/Local/ConnectedDevicesPlatform/CDPGlobalSettings.cdp
ServiceProfiles/LocalService/AppData/Local/FontCache
ServiceProfiles/NetworkService/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/DeliveryOptimization/Cache
ServiceProfiles/NetworkService/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/DeliveryOptimization/Cache/9898d11f6f9196bb91975a3637a2cfe76ec16fae
ServiceProfiles/NetworkService/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/DeliveryOptimization/State/keyValueLKG.dat
ServiceProfiles/NetworkService/AppData/Local/Temp/MpCmdRun.log
ServiceState
ServiceState/DetectionVerificationDrv
ServiceState/DetectionVerificationDrv/Data
ServiceState/esif_umdf2
ServiceState/esif_umdf2/Data
ServiceState/EventLog/Data
ServiceState/SensorsCx0102
ServiceState/SensorsCx0102/Data
ServiceState/TbtFilterDrv
ServiceState/TbtFilterDrv/Data
ServiceState/usbinterface
ServiceState/usbinterface/Data
SoftwareDistribution/DataStore/DataStore.edb
SoftwareDistribution/DataStore/DataStore.jfm
SoftwareDistribution/DataStore/Logs
SoftwareDistribution/DataStore/Logs/edb.log
SoftwareDistribution/Download
SoftwareDistribution/Download/f79e5ca78c17ded4eb65bd0336bfbe5c/Metadata
SoftwareDistribution/Download/f79e5ca78c17ded4eb65bd0336bfbe5c/windlp.state-old.xml
SoftwareDistribution/Download/f79e5ca78c17ded4eb65bd0336bfbe5c/windlp.state.xml
SoftwareDistribution/PostRebootEventCache.V2
System32/spp/store/2.0/cache/cache.dat
System32/WDI/LogFiles/BootPerfDiagLogger.etl
System32/WDI/LogFiles/WdiContextLog.etl.001
System32/WDI/LogFiles/WdiContextLog.etl.003
System32/LogFiles
System32/LogFiles/SQM
System32/LogFiles/Srt
System32/LogFiles/Srt/DISMRepairLogFile.txt
System32/LogFiles/Srt/SrtTrail.log
System32/LogFiles/Srt/SrtTrail.txt
System32/LogFiles/WMI
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Diagtrack-Listener.etl.004
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Diagtrack-Listener.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/TPMProvisioningService.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/TPMProvisioningService.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/IntelPTTEKRecertification.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/IntelPTTEKRecertification.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/PlatformLicenseManagerService.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/PlatformLicenseManagerService.etl.007
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/iclsProxy.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/iclsProxy.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/SocketHeciServer.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/SocketHeciServer.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/iclsClient.etl.005
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Intel/iCLSClient/iclsClient.etl.006
System32/LogFiles/WMI/LwtNetLog.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Microsoft-Windows-Rdp-Graphics-RdpIdd-Trace.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/NetCore.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/NtfsLog.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RadioMgr.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTEventLog-Application.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTAdmin_PS_Provider.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTDefenderApiLogger.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTDefenderAuditLogger.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTDiagLog.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTDttHidEtwSession.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTEventlog-Security.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTEventLog-System.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTNOCAT.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTSgrmEtwSession.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/RtBackup/EtwRTUBPM.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/Wifi.etl
System32/LogFiles/WMI/WifiDriverIHVSession.etl.003
System32/LogFiles/WMI/WifiDriverIHVSession.etl.004
System32/Recovery/ReAgent.xml
System32/config/SOFTWARE
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/D3DSCache/b3474141becdd6ac/6F75932F-7DFC-4FB0-B4B8-12DE1AC415DA_VEN_8086&DEV_9BC4&SUBSYS_9E2&REV_5.lock
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/D3DSCache/b3474141becdd6ac/F4EB2D6C-ED2B-4BDD-AD9D-F913287E6768.lock
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/16.0/WebServiceCache/AllUsers/officeclient.microsoft.com
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/16.0/WebServiceCache/AllUsers/officeclient.microsoft.com/ADA24E8A-D8C8-4637-B965-AE364D921C87
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/OTele
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/OTele/officeclicktorun.exe.db
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/OTele/officeclicktorun.exe.db-shm
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Office/OTele/officeclicktorun.exe.db-wal
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Notifications/wpndatabase.db-shm
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Notifications/WPNPRMRY.tmp
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/Local/NVIDIA/DXCache/2ecbe4a5cf3c260bd12c4322d4b0ccd4_fce8395c8fd8a9c9_e0f15703a025fc4f_0_0.0.toc
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/026A86A161D256DBB33076EDF20C0E5E_586120603910E6A9024E2F8513B0F104
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/026A86A161D256DBB33076EDF20C0E5E_86AB612B21DEDF3B8CD155ED2E4114FF
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/57C8EDB95DF3F0AD4EE2DC2B8CFD4157
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/FB0D848F74F70BB2EAA93746D24D9749
System32/config/systemprofile/AppData/LocalLow/Microsoft/CryptnetUrlCache/MetaData/77EC63BDA74BD0D0E0426DC8F8008506
System32/config/TxR/{53b39e3d-18c4-11ea-a811-000d3aa4692b}.TxR.5.regtrans-ms
System32/config/TxR/{53b39e3d-18c4-11ea-a811-000d3aa4692b}.TxR.blf
System32/config/TxR/{53b39e3e-18c4-11ea-a811-000d3aa4692b}.TMContainer00000000000000000002.regtrans-ms
System32/config/COMPONENTS
System32/drivers/DriverData/Intel/DPTF/dv
System32/drivers/DriverData/Intel/DPTF/dv/dptf.dv
System32/Tasks/Microsoft/Windows/Flighting/OneSettings/RefreshCache
System32/Tasks/Microsoft/Windows/PushToInstall/Registration
System32/Tasks/Microsoft/Windows/SoftwareProtectionPlatform/SvcRestartTask
System32/Tasks/Microsoft/Windows/UpdateOrchestrator/Schedule Scan
System32/Tasks/Microsoft/Windows/WindowsUpdate/RUXIM/PLUGScheduler
System32/wbem/Logs/wmiprov.log
System32/wbem/Repository
System32/wbem/Repository/INDEX.BTR
System32/wbem/Repository/MAPPING3.MAP
System32/wbem/Repository/OBJECTS.DATA
System32/wbem/Performance
Tasks/SA.DAT
Temp
Temp/DESKTOP-889E1P4-20240302-0834.log
Temp/DESKTOP-889E1P4-20240302-0839.log
Temp/DESKTOP-889E1P4-20240302-0839a.log
Temp/MpCmdRun.log
WindowsUpdate.log

I guess deleting them all, won't help? ./Windows/System32/config/SOFTWARE and COMPONENTS look important

I got a registry Perl export script, that could read these files from Linux. It produced an almost 1.5 million line .reg file. I read you could load that file in the recovery mode with regedit and then replace the SOFTWARE file with the SOFTWARE file from the recovery partition. But regedit says "cannot import ..reg Error accessing the registry."

Answer 1

TLDR; There is no solution for your current installation but there is a prevention to never have this happen again without needing to worry about keeping free storage. The solution is to keep a backup of the registry.

Now the detailed explanation to know what's really going on:

I have actually experienced this myself countless times. 99% of the problems with Windows booting after a full partition (and most other problems too) is a result of a corrupted registry. Especially in your case I am certain that this is what happened. If windows broke after booting (like if it gets stuck on the spinner due to a full disk) and after restart is broken, it's most likely either SOFTWARE or SYSTEM (sometimes COMPONENTS too) under C:\Windows\System32\config. There is no easy solution to a broken registry other than having a backup.

The best thing to do is prevention. If your disk is almost full, back up your registry! A registry backup should be able to recover your Windows installation when it gets so full it can't boot properly.

What is the reason this happens?

From what I've noticed this only really happens on Windows 10 and above. Windows 10 from my experience requires exactly 4GB to be free on the disk on top of the space used by pagefile.sys before the last shutdown. I assume if the pagefile is system managed it stores the last pagefile size in the registry and allocates that same amount of space for pagefile on the next boot. This extra 4GB Windows 10 requires to boot properly is probably for a big part used for the registry as a lack of this space is guaranteed to make the registry unreadable.

If you have a second installation of Windows on the same disk but a different partition, you can set it up to store its pagefile on another Windows partition. This might be dangerous as if that pagefile on the other partition is set up to be a small size you might see something like 10GB free on the other partition because the pagefile gets overwritten. Upon booting from that other partition again, the installation on it expects to have the same amount of storage free as it had before previous shutdown and allocates this amount of storage causing the disk to be so full it can't properly load the registry with result it getting ruined.

Files that may be affected by full storage after logging into a user (if the user profile service still works):

• %userprofile%\NTUSER.DAT or shell:profile\NTUSER.DAT
• %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\UsrClass.dat or shell:local appdata\Microsoft\Windows\UsrClass.dat

Back these files up together with the entire config folder of System32 to be completely prepared for damage done by a full disk! If you have these files saved you don't need to worry anymore about booting with a full disk.

Solution to "User profile service failed the logon" after booting with a full disk:

• Free up a bit more storage to give the system file checker some space to repair.
• Boot from a different operating system
• Access the partition with the broken installation
• Look for \Windows\System32\Utilman.exe and delete or rename it.
• Copy \Windows\System32\cmd.exe to \Windows\System32\Utilman.exe
• Boot into your broken installation.
• Click on the accessibility icon on the login screen.
• In CMD type sfc /scannow and wait for it to finish.

Utilman will automatically be restored by SFC too so there's no need to worry about that.

Symptoms at different levels of a too full disk on boot:

1. At less than ~500MB Windows won't boot at all, it will get stuck on a black screen. After a while it might go to sleep or hybernate but waking it up from this leaves you on a black screen with a cursor.
2. At less than 1-3GB it most of the time gets stuck on a spinning circle. At this point your registry is guaranteed to be broken.
3. Between 3GB and 4GB you will likely get Windows to reach the login screen. You are very likely going to encounter issues logging in, your PIN code likely won't work and you'll get an error "User profile service failed the logon" but this is almost always recoverable using the system file checker.

With more than 4GB you should in theory be fine but you'll be left with 0bytes free after logging in. If you encounter problems with more than 4GB free it's possible that Windows wants to expand the pagefile resulting in too little storage after boot to properly log in.

My recommendation for storage management from Windows is TreeSize as it's very clean and gives an advanced overview. The Pro version has many more features but isn't required. This tool can help you manage the storage on your disk a bit more while also teaching you about the standard Windows file structure.

If you don't have a registry backup (if you haven't manually enabled Regback on Windows 10 1803 and up, do it next time and also manually back up the registry from a different operating system!) you're going to have no other option than to reinstall Windows unfortunately. I hope at least after reading all this this will also be the last time it happens to you as you now know how to prevent having no options to recover!

Answer 2

"If the partition is mounted on Linux, Linux would say there is still 6 GB free space on it... Windows sees no space."

When Windows is booted, it requires additional space for volatile system files. On this PC, with Hibernation enabled, the files hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys and swapfile.sys consume an additional 11 GB, shown below.

Though I have a PC with Ubuntu and all the accouterments, such as LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Calibre plus IrfanView and 7-Zip under wine, running happily in just 14 GB total, on the Windows operating system, just the Windows folder, alone, is 21 GB.

That is the nature of Windows. One can delete unused apps, e.g., preinstalled games, trial software such as anti-malware suites and music services, and still need more space. Unless you want to run another operating system (e.g. WinPE or Win RE, used for rescue and installation media), make room.