How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 10 in Under 10 Minutes

how to clear disk space on windows 10

If you’re running out of space and need to free up some room, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will show you how to clear disk space on Windows 10 and windows 11 with some helpful tools. Note: Windows 7 and 8 users can also follow along.

Do you need to clear up some disk space on your Windows PC? Disk space is important for a number of reasons. Not only is disk space necessary for holding files, but it is also necessary for holding temporary files and computer programs. Disk space is also used to store the operating system, applications, and other data. In short, disk space is essential for the smooth running of your computer.

Clean up temporary files

Keeping temporary files from accumulating on your computer can save you space when you regularly clean up temporary files created by your computer’s programs. These files can contain personal information or important data.
It is important to clean up these files so that the information contained in them is lost. If you’re running out of disk space, we’ve got some tips on how to free up more space on your windows 10 and windows 11 computer.

Here is how to clean up temporary files through storage settings:
Open Start menu > Click Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files > Choose or Check Mark files you want to remove or clean > Click Remove files and wait for it to be done.

Moreover, there are several free and commercial programs can help you clean up your temporary files , such as CCleaner, anti virus programs and other third party software’s. So, it is always recommended to remove all temporary files from your system.

Configure Storage Sense in Windows

Storage Sense is a feature built into Windows that can help free up space automatically by removing files you no longer need. Also, storage sense helps you identify and analyze the contents of your files, folders, and drives, and then recommends ways to free up space on your hard drive.

It’s an easy way to de-clutter your computer and free up storage space without having to go through the hassle of deleting individual files. By using Storage Sense, you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle when you want to clear disk space. We will take a look at how to clear disk space on windows 10 and windows 11 with the help of storage sense and it’s configuration.

How to Enable and Configure Windows Storage Sense:
Go to Start Settings System Storage or use Windows keyboard shortcut Windows key+Q and type: storage.
Below “Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid of items that you don’t need, like temporary files and content in your recycle bin, switch the toggle to enable it.

Now to customize Storage Sense: Click the “Configure Storage Sense or run it now” link. Choose your desired settings, including when to run Storage Sense, how often files are cleaned up.

Choose when Storage Sense should run:
First Storage Sense must turned on > Under Run Storage Sense, select how frequently you want it Storage Sense to run when you’re online.

Storage Sense in Windows

Programs: uninstall unused programs

There are times when you may not need a certain program installed on your computer. Unused programs can take up valuable disk space and, in some cases, can slow down your computer. By uninstalling them you can free up space and make your computer run faster. In these cases, it can be helpful to uninstall the program in order to free up some space or clear hard drive on your computer.

How to clear disk space on windows 10 and windows 11 by uninstalling unused programs:
1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel and then double-click Add / Remove Programs or Programs and Features.
2. Select the program you want to remove from your computer and click Uninstall.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation process.
4. Restart is recommended after removing unwanted programs.

How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 10

Defragment your hard drive

Hard drives are designed to store your data permanently, which means that over time, their files can start to become fragmented. This can cause problems with how your computer reads and uses your data, as well as slowdown when opening or working with files. Defragmenting a hard drive can help free up disk space and improve system performance, it works by grouping files into contiguous blocks on the hard drive and reorganizing them so that data is more easily accessible.

How to defragment hard drive windows:
Open the Start Menu and type or Enter Defragment and Optimize Drives into from the search bar on the task bar. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives. Select the disk drive you want to defragment or optimize. Select the Optimize button and Wait for the process to complete. You will know your drive is defragged when it says the status is OK and 0% fragmented.

How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 10

Delete Hibernation Data

Hibernation mode is a semi-shut-down state that allows your computer to start up faster. When your computer goes into hibernate, it saves all the open files and windows in the hibernation mode.

When your computer goes into hibernate, it saves your work and settings in the memory, so when you turn it on, it’s ready to go almost right away. Hibernation mode is useful if you don’t have much time and want to conserve battery life. Disabling hibernate can be a great way to reclaim valuable hard drive space. By default, Windows saves your files and settings when you power off your computer or put it into hibernation.

But if you don’t need those files and settings quickly when you next power on your computer, you can disable hibernate. This is because the hiberfil.sys file can take up a significant amount of storage space on your computer. By disabling hibernate, you can free up some hard drive space without sacrificing too much functionality.

How to clear space on c drive by Disabling Hibernate in Windows:
Hibernation can be disabled through the “Power Options” Control Panel. To do this, open the Control Panel and click on “Power Options.” Next, Click on change settings for the plan, click on the “change Advanced power” button and uncheck the “Enable Hibernation” checkbox.

Empty the Recycle Bin

PCs can quickly become cluttered with files and photos that are no longer needed or desired. Deleting these items from your computer can free up valuable hard drive space, but it’s important to be aware that deleted items don’t actually disappear until they have been emptied through the Recycle Bin.

This means that even if you delete a file or photo from your hard drive, it may still be taking up space on your computer if it hasn’t been emptied from recycle bin yet.

An easy way to free up disk space on your computer is to empty the recycle bin. This procedure can be done by right-clicking on the recycle bin and selecting “Empty Recycle Bin.” By doing this, you will remove any files that are currently saved in the recycle bin.

Make a Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a built-in tool in Windows that can help you clean up your computer by removing various files. This includes temporary internet files, system error memory dump files, and other unnecessary files.

Disk Cleanup can also help you optimize your computer for faster performance. You can access Disk Cleanup by clicking on the Start button and search for disk cleanup. Then click on Disk Cleanup from there, Select the file types you want to delete and click OK.

If you’re unclear about what files are included for each item listed, click the View Files button to check before proceeding. The View Files button will open and display a list of all the files included with the selected item.

Delete system restore points

Delete system restore points is a way to free up disk space on your computer. System Restore points are like backups of your computer. When you make a system restore point, Windows creates a copy of the files on your hard drive and stores it in the System Restore point folder.

If something goes wrong and you need to go back to a previous version of your computer, you can restore your computer to one of these system restore points. Is there a problem with creating multiple system restore points? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. Creating multiple system restore points consumes too much disk space, so it might be a good idea to decide which restore points are worth keeping and which ones you should delete.

Here’s how to delete system restore points:
Press Windows key + R, type cleanmgr, and press Enter. Select the hard drive you want to clean up and press OK. Press the Clean up system files button. In the next open window, navigate to the More Options tab. Click the Clean up button under the System Restore and Shadow Copies option. Press OK and restart your computer for these changes to apply.

How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 10

How to clear disk space on windows 10 using OneDrive files on-demand

There are a few ways to free up disk space on your Windows computer. One way is to manually delete files and folders. Another way is to using cloud based to offload large files to the cloud, or to make space on your hard drive by deleting old files.

OneDrive is a cloud storage service that lets you store your files in the cloud. You can access your files from any device with an internet connection. You can use OneDrive to store your work files, school papers, and photos. You can also use OneDrive to store your music, movies, and books. If you use OneDrive to store and sync files on your computer, you can access them by clicking the OneDrive icon and then clicking View OneDrive. This will display all your OneDrive files and have ability to manage them as well.

Finally, you can use cleanup your computer after you have saved your data with a cloud storage system. There are many cloud storage services available so whichever method you choose, be sure to read the instructions carefully before starting.

Use External storage device

There are many benefits to using an external storage. An external storage device is a great way to increase the storage capacity of your computer without having to upgrade the hardware. External hard drives are affordable and portable, and you can use them to store files, photos, and videos.

One way to free up disk space on your computer is to move some of your content or data to an external storage device. You can connect an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card to your computer.
This allows users to store files that they can access from any computer. Additionally, external storage devices can be large enough to hold entire backup sets or library collections of digital media files.

Enable drive compression to clear up disk space

Disk compression is a great way to clear up drive space. When you compress a files, the operating system will reduce their sizes and stores them on the drive.

This means that the file takes up less space on the drive, and you can often free up some drive space by compressing your files.

Windows has the built-in ability to compress folders and files, but you may not know that you can use it to save space on your hard drive. Compressing a folder or file can help, so it’s worth taking advantage of this feature if you can. Also you can revert the changes, if you no longer want the compression.

To enable compression for the drive, follow these steps:
Open File Explorer or My computer or This PC. Locate Local drive c: (hard drive) and right-Click on it and select the Properties option. Check the Compress this drive to save disk space option. Click Apply and OK to apply the changes and follow screen instruction. Wait till it is done and reset you computer.

How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 10

Free up space deleting users no longer sharing device

If you share a computer with other people, it may be possible to free up drive space by deleting accounts that no one is using anymore. Deleting inactive accounts can help you save on storage, and can make your computer run more smoothly.

How To delete user accounts and data:
Go to Start and Open Settings. Click on Accounts. Click on Family & other users. Select the account no longer in use and delete the user. Click the Remove button. Close windows and reset your PC.

In conclusion on how to clear disk space on windows 10 and windows 11. There are many ways to clear drive space. The methods described in this article are some of the most effective and easy to use. By following the steps outlined in this article, users can quickly and easily clear drive space on their computer. Note: you can follow these steps if you’re windows 7 or 8 user. thanks

Avatar photo
Exkay

Enjoys covering various related topics and with years of experience sharing content around social media, Fintech and computers.