How do I find hidden files taking up space?

Question: I'm attempting to drop a drive on Windows 2016 but seeing space used . I've checked the drives but there are no files in the drive. I also checked "Hidden items" and no files appear . How can I identify the items taking up the space ?

Answer: These steps deal with a common problem of deleting items from the hidden folder $Recycle.bin  

Note : If you think the issue it's  related to the pagefile.sys you can Find Windows pagefile location through command line and wmic

Step 1 : assuming your dive is called : H:\. Open the windows cmd and execute this command:

dir /s H:

Step 2:   You'll notice a single or series of folders that contain files that were deleted. 

Step 3: Once you have completed all due diligence and checked that you want to clear the Recycle bin , execute the following command.

NOTE: This command sequence  permanently deletes all files\folders in the Recycle Bin  from all the users - and cannot be recovered.

rd /s /q H:\$Recycle.bin

In this example , you're clearing out the hidden $Recycle.bin folder of the H:\ drive. Customise according to your requirements 

An alternative approach is to use Powershell read Find Recycle Bin location and clear down with Powershell   

If you're using Windows 2012 - Windows Server 2012 empty recycle bin