After uninstalling unused software, cleaning temporary files and the registry, and defragging, as well as downloading, verifying and formatting a flash drive for Mint, I attempted to partition my hard drive but found it was offering little space to play with.
After research it appears this is a common problem involving the pagefile - amongst others. I just wanted to see if anyone has any further insight on the issue.
https://www.diskpart.com/articles/shrink-volume-with-unmovable-files-4348.html