Guide: How To Free Windows 10 Disk Space
Windows 10 users can store their software and files on a hard drive (HDD) with hundreds of gigabytes of storage space, providing ample room for most users.
Storing large amounts of files, pictures, videos and software can quickly fill up a hard drive. To free up disk space and improve computer performance, regular HDD scans are recommended.
This article will provide you with the steps to free up disk space and speed up Windows 10. We’ll cover the basics of managing your hard drive, so you can get the most out of your system.
How to free Up Disk space on Windows 10
You can free up disk space on your Windows 10 PC by deleting unnecessary files, uninstalling programs you don’t use, and running the Disk Cleanup tool.
This article examines how to optimize storage space through the use of software, cloud storage, and file size reduction.
Delete temporary files
Windows and certain software can create temporary files that take up space on your hard drive, cluttering it with unnecessary junk.
Temporary files can take up valuable disk space if not regularly deleted. To keep your hard drive free of clutter, use Windows 10’s storage settings to delete these files and get an overview of your HDD space.
To access your hard drive storage usage, open the Storage settings in Windows by searching for ‘storage’ and selecting This PC (C:). This will provide an overview of your hard drive storage.
This overview reveals how much of your HDD storage you have used. It breaks down the disk space taken up by apps, documents, pictures, videos, music, email and temporary files. To free up space, click on Temporary files to access the Delete files option.
Delete the mess by checking the Temporary files box and clicking the Delete files button. You can also clear out your Downloads folder by selecting its check box.
Software installers in the Downloads folder can take up unnecessary disk space. To free up space, users can delete installation files with Cyber-D’s Autodelete, as outlined in a Compsmag article.
Users can select the Empty Recycle Bin check box to permanently delete files stored in the Recycle Bin.
Use Cloud Storage
Cloud storage services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and more offer an alternative to hard drive space for storing documents, pictures, videos and music. Windows 10 users should take advantage of OneDrive’s integration with Office 365.
Cloud storage services offer various subscription packages, including a free account tier with limited storage space. Additionally, most of these services provide client software that integrates with Windows File Explorer, allowing users to save files directly to the cloud.
Storing files online instead of locally is an easy way to free up space on your hard drive. Utilizing one of the available services makes it simple.
Use CCleaner for Windows 10
Download CCleaner to your Windows 10 device for a comprehensive disk and registry cleaner, duplicate file finder and removal tools. The freeware version is available on the CCleaner website with a simple Download button.
Installing CCleaner gives you access to its disk cleaner, which allows you to delete items like the Recycle Bin, Windows Log, Recent Documents, Clipboard and Temporary Files.
Users can remove third-party software files by selecting the Applications tab and checking the boxes for browser and application file items.
Select the file items you want to delete by checking the appropriate boxes, then press Analyze. CCleaner will analyze how much disk space it can free up and provide further details.
Selecting multiple checkboxes in CCleaner can free up gigabytes of space. To do so, press the ‘Run Cleaner’ button and then click ‘OK’ to delete the chosen files.
Freeing up hard drive space is easy with CCleaner. Simply open the program, click Tools > Uninstall, and select the programs you no longer need. This will give you a list of all your software and apps, allowing you to quickly remove those that are taking up too much space.
To uninstall software from Windows 10, use a removal program listed in this Compsmag article or select the program and hit Delete.
CCleaner’s Duplicate Finder tool can help you locate and delete duplicate files. To use it, open the tool by clicking Tools and Duplicate Finder, then hit Search to scan for duplicates. Once the scan is complete, select which files to delete and click the Delete Selected button.
Compress image and video files
Storing large numbers of images and videos on your hard drive can quickly eat up disk space. To free up space without deleting them, you can save them in more compressed file formats, which can make a significant difference.
Using other image formats can help free up hard drive space. JPEG and GIF are two compressed formats that take up less space than uncompressed TIFF and BMP files. To convert an image to JPEG, use this web tool: select the Choose File button, choose an image, select Best Compression from the drop-down menu, then hit Convert File.
Videos typically require more hard drive space than photos, particularly when saved in DV-AVI or MPEG-2 file formats. To free up storage, users can convert their clips to WMV, a more compressed file format that takes up less HDD space. This can be done with a web tool similar to the JPEG converter. As WMV has the smallest video file size, converting higher quality video formats to it can significantly reduce disk usage.
You can reduce image size with iLoveIMG, freeing up space on your hard drive.
Reduce disk space usage through System Restore
Windows 10 users can free up disk space by reducing System Restore hard drive usage. To do this, open the Create a restore point window by searching for ‘System Restore’ in Cortana’s search box. This will usually save at least a few gigabytes of space.
To reduce System Restore disk usage, press the Configure button and drag the Max Usage bar to the left. Then press Apply and click OK to save your changes.
It comes down to
Freeing up disk space on Windows 10 is easy. Deleting temporary files, uninstalling software with CCleaner, saving files to cloud storage, compressing videos and images, and reducing the disk storage allocated to System Restore can all help reclaim hard drive space.
Test out these techniques to maximize storage and boost the performance of your Windows 10 device.
Share your best tips for freeing up hard drive space on Windows 10 PCs in the comments below!
How To Free Windows 10 Disk Space: benefits
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Final note
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