How To Free Up Disk Space With Windows 10

Free Up Disk Space With Windows 10

If you are using your computer regularly, there is a decent chance you will run into issues with storage. Computers only come with so much internal storage space, and it isn’t that difficult to quickly exceed your limit. So, your problem becomes how to free up storage space for new materials. Some methods won’t free up much space, but some methods will give you quite a bit back. Either way, every bit helps. Here are eight ways you can free up space on your computer.

Check the Storage Pane

When you start deleting things off your computer, a great place to check is the storage pane. It will tell you what data types are taking up the most space on your device. This will help you decide which areas to target first. To find the storage pane, access the start menu and go to settings. Then, click on system and then storage. This will bring up a list containing categories such as Temporary Files, Pictures, Music, and Apps, among others. You can then see which of these categories are taking up the most space and delete what you don’t need. The big category here is Temporary Files which lists things such as the Downloads folder, Windows Update cache, and Recycle Bin.

Use Storage Sense

A feature of the storage pane is Storage Sense. Enabling storage sense means that when your space on your computer starts getting low, it will automatically start deleting temporary files on your computer. This means you don’t have to go in and delete the files manually. However, you also can’t retrieve files from your Recycle Bin if Storage Sense automatically deletes them.

Empty Recycle Bin

When you delete a file on your computer, it doesn’t automatically get permanently deleted. Instead, it will go to your Recycle Bin. This occurs so you can retrieve the file at a later time if you decide you want it. However, if you are sure you aren’t going to need the file, you can go into your Recycle Bin and permanently delete all the files in it. Depending on how much you have in your Recycle Bin, this could free up a lot of space.

If you want to delete the files in your Recycle Bin, follow these steps. First, right-click on the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. Second, a menu will pop up, and you will select “Empty Recycle Bin.” Alternatively, if you only want to delete certain files in your Recycle Bin, you can open up your Recycle Bin by right-clicking and selecting “open.” Then, you can select the specific files you want to erase.

Get Rid of More Temporary Files

The Recycle Bin is only one of the places you will find temporary files on your computer. There are many other temporary files you can safely delete through Windows 10. Follow these steps to get rid of these files:

1. Press Windows + R to bring up the Run box.
2. Next, type %temp% and select OK.
3. Then, delete all files and folders that show up in the directory.
4. Next, bring up another Run box and type temp and select OK.
5. Then, delete the files and folders in that directory too.
6. Finally, restart your computer.

Delete Apps You Don’t Want

There is a good chance applications are sitting on your device that you don’t care about, especially if you have had the device for a long time. You use apps a few times and then forget about them. While that isn’t inherently bad, the apps are taking up precious space you could be using in other ways. Take some time to go through your list of applications. You can access this by going to the start menu and selecting settings, then apps, and finally apps and features. Uninstall any that you aren’t actively using or don’t believe you will use in the future.

Clear Your Browser Cache

Your computer does its best to make sure your browsing experience is as streamlined as possible. To achieve this, when you visit a website, your device creates a cache of the website to make it load faster the next time you visit it. The process for clearing your cache varies by browser, but essentially you need to go to your settings, access the privacy center, and then go to clear data. You will then have options of how far back you wish to clear your cache.

Use WinDirStat

You may have never heard of WinDirStat, but it is a free application you can use to help you find large files and folders on your computer.  Once you install and run the program, it will ask you to pick an area you want to scan. After selecting the area, you will see a list of directories that are using the most storage.

After WinDirStat has fully scanned the drive you chose, you will also see many colored blocks noting the files by format. The larger the block, the more space the files are consuming. You can right-click on any of the times and click on Explorer Here to view and delete any files you wish.

Clear Your Downloads

You may not realize how much you download to your computer on a regular basis. Whether it is an installer wizard or a PDF you wanted to access, these files can quickly build up and take up quite a bit of your storage space. To eliminate some of these files, you need to open File Explorer and select This PC, then Downloads. You can then look through all files and delete any you no longer want. You can even sort the folder by size in the list view to see what items take up the most space.

Microsoft Windows Support By Virtual IT

Running out of storage is a frequent problem for computer users, but there are many ways you can easily free up more storage. Everything from simply activating a program to clearing out temporary files will help give you the space you need.

At Virtual IT, we want to help you with your IT needs. Contact us today for more information.