Free Up Your Disk Space On Windows 10

Is your computer running slow? A full hard drive might be the problem. This blog will show you how to free up disk space on Windows 10. Let’s get started!

Check Your Current Disk Space

To check your disk space on Windows PC, open File Explorer and click on “This PC.” Here, you’ll see how much space is free on your C drive and other drives. It’s quick to see the percentage of space used.

Windows also offers a deeper look at what’s taking up room through Settings. Go to System, then Storage, to explore each drive’s usage details. You can find out which files or apps use the most disk space.

Space Cleanup

Cleaning up space on your Windows PC can make it run faster. You can delete apps and files you don’t need anymore to free up disk space.

Remove Unneeded Desktop Apps

Your PC might be slower than it used to be. Getting rid of apps you don’t use can free up a lot of space.

1. Open the Control Panel. You find this by searching in the start menu.
2. Click on “Programs and Features” or “Uninstall a program.”
3. Browse through the list of installed apps.
4. Look for apps you no longer need or use.
5. Click on an app to highlight it, then choose “Uninstall.”
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the app.
7. Some apps might ask for permission to uninstall. Say yes.
8. After uninstalling, check if there are leftovers in the folder where the app was installed and delete them.
9. Empty your Recycle Bin to permanently free up space.

Remove Unused Windows Store Apps

Windows Store apps can take up a lot of disk space on your computer. Removing ones you don’t use can free up a ton of space. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open “Settings” by clicking on the Start menu.
2. Go to “Apps.”
3. Select “Apps & features” from the left-hand side.
4. A list of all installed apps appears.
5. Scroll through this list to find any apps you no longer need.
6. Click on an app you want to get rid of.
7. Press the “Uninstall” button that appears.
8. Confirm by clicking “Uninstall” again in the pop-up window.

Delete Temporary And Old Files

After clearing out unused Windows Store apps, your next step is to clear cache and old files. These files pile up over time and eat a lot of disk space, as well as causing some connectivity issues like failed DNS Lookup.

1. Open Disk Cleanup by searching for it in the start menu. This tool finds and gets rid of files you don’t need.
2. Select “Temporary Internet Files” to clear web data stored on your PC.
3. Look for “Downloaded Program Files.” These are outdated bits from web pages and can be removed.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin. Items here still take up space until permanently deleted.
5. Clear out “Thumbnails.” These small images preview content but aren’t always necessary.
6. Delete old Windows Update files. Sometimes updates leave behind data that’s no longer needed.
7. Get rid of temporary files used by programs or during installation processes.
8. Clean up system error memory dump files and logs to free more space.
9. Remove “Temporary Windows Installation Files” if you’re not planning another update soon.

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Reduce the Size of the WinSxS Folder

After cleaning out temporary and old files, take a look at the WinSxS folder. This folder is vital for Windows but can grow large. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to manage it. Use Disk Cleanup to trim it down without harming your computer.

Select “Clean up system files” in Disk Cleanup. Then, check the box for “Windows Update Cleanup.” This step might free several gigabytes of space on your hard drive.

Another way is through the Command Prompt with admin rights. Type “dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup” and press Enter. Your PC will get rid of stuff you don’t use while keeping Windows running right.

Use Windows Tools For Disk Managament

Windows has built-in tools to help manage disk space. These include Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense, which quickly find and remove unnecessary files from your system.

Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup helps free up disk space on your Windows computer. It removes files you no longer need.

1. Select the drive you want to clean.
2. Disk Cleanup searches for files to delete.
3. Choose “Clean up system files” for more options.
4. Pick files from categories like Temporary Internet Files or Recycle Bin.
5. Check the box next to each type of file you want to delete.
6. Look at the description to know what you’re deleting.
7. Click “OK” to remove the selected files.
8. Confirm by clicking “Delete Files.”
9. Disk Cleanup starts clearing the space.
10. Once finished, you have more free space on your drive.

Storage Sense

After cleaning up your disk with Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense is your next step to keep your disk space in check. Windows 10 and Windows 11 include this smart feature that automatically frees up drive space.

1. Turn on Storage Sense from the Settings menu. This lets it run automatically.
2. Choose how often Storage Sense runs. You can set it to clean up files every day, week, month, or when disk space gets low.
3. Select what Storage Sense deletes. It can remove temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin that are over 30 days old.
4. Use it to clear out the Downloads folder if you forget about the files you download.
5. Set Storage Sense to move files you aren’t using to OneDrive cloud storage. This keeps them safe but off your local disk.
6. Monitor how much space Storage Sense has freed on your computer through Settings.

Move Files to External Storage

Moving files to external storage clears space on your PC fast. It lets you keep large files safe without clogging up your system.

USB Drives

USB drives are a great way to move files and free up disk space on your computer. They’re small, portable, and can hold lots of data. You plug one into your USB port, drag files you want to save onto it, and then remove the drive to keep your files safe.

This helps you clear space on your hard drive without losing important documents or photos.

You can find USB drives in many sizes, from a few gigabytes (GB) to several terabytes (TB), so there’s always one that fits your needs. Using them is simple and they work with any PC that has a USB port.

External Hard Drives

After considering USB drives, think about external hard drives for more space. External hard drives give you lots of extra storage. They are perfect for keeping big files like videos and large apps.

You can connect them to your computer with a cable. External hard drives are also great for backups. You can save copies of all your important stuff on them. If something goes wrong with your PC, you have everything saved on the external drive.

These drives come in different sizes, so you can choose one that fits what you need to store.

Cloud Storage

Moving beyond physical hard drives, cloud storage offers a different way to manage your files. With services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud, you can store documents online.

This means you can access them from any device with an internet connection. Cloud storage is safe and lets you share files easily with others. Some services give you free space when you sign up.

If you need more, they have plans for that too. This helps keep your computer’s hard drive free for other important stuff.

Using cloud storage also makes your data secure in case something happens to your computer or external drives. You won’t lose everything if your hardware fails or gets lost because all of it is backed up online safely.

Plus, syncing files across devices becomes a breeze without the hassle of using cables or transfer tools.

Optimize OneDrive Storage

Make OneDrive files online-only to save space. Move other files to a removable drive for extra room.

Make Files Online-Only

You have lots of files on your PC, and they take up a lot of space. Making files online-only is a smart move to free disk space. Here’s how:

1. Open OneDrive settings.
2. Choose “Save space and download files as you use them“.
3. Right-click on the file you want to make online-only.
4. Select “Free up space”.
5. The file’s icon changes to show it’s stored online only.
6. To access it again, just click on the file.

Move Files to a Removable Drive

After making files online-only, the next step is moving files to a removable drive. This helps free up space on your computer.

1. Choose what to move. Look at large files and folders that you don’t often use.
2. Get a USB drive or an external hard drive. These can hold lots of data.
3. Connect the drive to your PC via a USB port.
4. Open File Explorer on Windows 10.
5. Find the files or folders you decided to move.
6. Right-click on them and choose “Cut.”
7. Go to the removable drive’s folder in File Explorer.
8. Right-click in the folder and choose “Paste.”
9. Wait for the transfer to finish before unplugging the drive.
10. Once done, check that all files are moved correctly.
11. Consider making backups of important files in another location too.

Additional Tips for Managing Disk Space

Turn on system restore only for essential drives. System restore uses space to save versions of files that might get deleted or changed over time. Not all drives need this feature, especially if you don’t store important files there.

Keep your PC lean and mean by checking what you download.

Also, think about turning off hibernation mode if you rarely use it. Hibernation saves your in-use files and programs to the hard drive so that you can pick up where you left off. This process eats up a good chunk of disk space.

To turn it off, use the Command Prompt with admin rights and run `powercfg.exe /hibernate off`. This simple action can free up valuable storage space on your computer’s drive to save more important things.