Guide: How to Free Space on C Drive in Windows 10 PC
Many Windows 10 users find their C drive quickly filling up, leading to slow performance and other issues. To prevent this, it’s important to free up space on the C drive.
The C drive of your computer stores all the essential system files, and is where most users install apps and software. However, if the drive is too full, it can prevent these programs from running properly or receiving updates - leading to delays in performance.
Many Windows users find their systems running slow and apps unresponsive due to full storage. To fix this, data can be moved from the default drive or partition - usually the C drive - to another on the system.
1. Cleaning
Empty the trash and check for any files or folders you want to keep.
To permanently delete files from your computer, click the Empty Recycle Bin button. If you need to restore any items, select them and click Restore selected items.
Deleting temporary files from your computer can help you reclaim a significant amount of storage space.
2. Clean the C drive
The Downloads folder on the C drive can quickly become cluttered with pictures, videos, programs and other files. To free up space, check other folders such as Pictures, Videos and Documents for files that can be moved to other drives. Additionally, look for duplicate files stored in the C drive that can be deleted.
Don’t overlook your desktop when searching for large files to delete or move. Though some may be difficult to remove, there are solutions available.
3. Delete apps
To uninstall a program, open Control Panel and search for ‘uninstall’ in the search bar.
Uninstall any unused programs and apps to free up space on your device. To do so, right-click and select the Delete option.
Discover which apps are taking up the most space on your device by sorting them by size and consider removing them.
4. Increase the C drive size
Users of Windows 10 can quickly and easily increase the size of their C drive, the system disk, by reallocating space from other drives. To ensure data safety, it is recommended to back up before beginning this process. Doing so will allow users to store more files on their C drive using unallocated and free space from other drives.
5. Upgrade to larger HDD / SSD
No matter how much you try to free up space on your hard drive or solid state drive, you’ll eventually hit the limit of its capacity. To get more storage, consider upgrading to a larger HDD or switching to an SSD.
6. Disk Cleanup
Users can take advantage of Windows 10’s Disk Cleanup tool to free up space on their system by deleting unnecessary files. It can even be scheduled to run periodically in the background, allowing users to automate the process and potentially fix errors like C drive.
7. Windows Component Store (WinSxS)
The WinSxS folder, located in the C drive, can take up a large amount of space due to the accumulation of files used for Windows updates and maintenance.
Shrinking a folder is possible, but deleting or moving it to another drive isn’t. To reduce the size of the folder, open Task Scheduler from the Windows Start menu.
To begin the StartComponentCleanup process, navigate to the folder structure and click on the file. Then, select ‘Run’.
The Windows Maintenance Task Scheduler Library provides users with a way to automate routine tasks.
Organize and conquer
If you’re running out of space on your C drive, there are steps you can take to reclaim it. However, disabling hibernation and system recovery features is not recommended as they are useful and won’t make a huge difference anyway. The best solution is to follow the steps above or get a bigger drive. If you know of another way to fix this error and free up more space, please share it in the comments below.
Ready to upgrade your computer with an SSD? Follow the link for instructions on how to migrate your existing system to the new drive without having to reinstall Windows 10.
How to Free Space on C Drive in Windows 10 PC: benefits
Faq
Final note
If you’re running low on storage space on your Windows 10 PC, this guide can help. Got questions? Ask us. And don’t forget to share the love by passing it along to your friends.
If you have any questions about freeing up space on your Windows 10 PC’s C drive, please ask us in the comments section or contact us directly. This guide is for educational purposes only. If you want to correct any misinformation, add more methods, or need help with anything else, please use our contact page. You can also follow us on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter for questions and we will respond within 24-48 hours (weekends excluded). For the latest software updates and discussions about software, join our Telegram channel.
