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How to Free up Disk Space and Clean C Drive? 7 Tips in 2023

Free Up Disk Space And Clean C Drive

In this article, we will learn How to free up disk space and clean C drive? There is nothing worse than running out of space on your device. If you use Windows 10/11 as your Operating System, the installation will only take up to 20 GB. Unfortunately, storage size is steadily shrinking, and our data storage needs are increasing.

Over time, your computer’s hard drive can become cluttered with unnecessary files and programs, causing your system to slow down and take longer to perform basic tasks. This can be especially true for the C drive, the primary storage location for the operating system and other essential files. Freeing up disk space and cleaning your C drive periodically is essential to maintain optimal performance.

When using expensive solid-state SSD drives, upgrading is not always an option. Fortunately, Windows 10 and later has a new tool to help users free up disk space. A new disk cleaner that automatically finds junk files, allowing users to delete data and free up disk space without worrying about deleting something important.

This article will discuss various tools and techniques to free up disk space and optimize your C drive for efficient operation.

For MAC users, we have this guide: How to free up space on a Mac or MacBook: 14 Easy Tricks.

How to free up disk space and clean C drive?

As hard drive capacities increase, they still tend to fill up quickly. This is especially true for solid-state drives (SSDs), which offer significantly less storage space than traditional mechanical hard drives.

If you’re hurting the hard disk space, these tricks should help free up disk space for important documents and applications by removing the unimportant crap cluttering your hard disk drive.

1. Run Disk Cleanup

Windows includes an integrated tool that deletes temporary files and other unimportant data. To open it, right-click one of the hard drives from the My Computer window and select Properties.

(Or you can search for Disk Cleanup from the Start Menu.)

Click on the Disk Cleanup button in the disc properties window.

Choose the documents that you wish to delete and click on OK. Including temporary files, log files, files on your recycle bin, and other insignificant files.

You could also clean up system documents that do not appear in the record here. Click on the Clean up program files button if you also wish to delete system files.

When you do, you can click the Options button and use the Cleanup button under System Restore and Shadow Copies to delete System restore information. This button deletes all of the latest restore points, so ensure your computer is functioning correctly before using it — you won’t be able to use old System restore points.

2. Uninstall Space-Hungry Applications

To uninstall Windows applications, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open the Start menu and click on “Settings”.
  2. Click on “Apps” in the Settings window.
  3. Scroll down and find the application you want to uninstall.
  4. Click on the application and then click on “Uninstall”.
  5. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation process.

Alternatively, you can also uninstall applications using the Control Panel:

  1. Open the Start menu and type “Control Panel”.
  2. Click on “Control Panel” to open it.
  3. Click on “Programs and Features” in the Control Panel.
  4. Scroll down and find the application you want to uninstall.
  5. Click on the application and then click on “Uninstall”.
  6. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation process.

3. Analyze Disk Space

You can use a problematic disk analysis program to learn what is utilizing space in your hard disk. These applications scan your hard drive and identify which folders and files occupy the most space. You can try WinDirStat (Get from Ninite).

WinDirStat is a software tool that provides a detailed overview of the files and folders on your system and the amount of space they occupy. It can help identify which folders and file types use the most space on your hard drive. However, it is crucial to exercise caution when deleting files and avoid removing critical system files. Suppose you notice that a program’s folder in the Program Files directory takes up significant space. In that case, you can use WinDirStat to determine the exact amount of space it’s using, which may not be evident in the Programs and Features Control Panel. You can then uninstall the program if necessary.

4. Clean Temporary Files

While Windows Disk Cleanup software can be helpful, it has limitations. It doesn’t clear temporary files other applications use, such as the caches created by Firefox or Chrome browsers. These caches can take up gigabytes of disk space and aren’t cleared by Disk Cleanup. Browser caches use hard disk space to speed up the loading of websites, but for those who need more disk space immediately, this is not helpful.

For more competitive temporary and crap cleaning, use CCleaner- download here. CCleaner cleans junk files from different third-party programs and cleans up Windows documents that Disk Cleanup won’t touch.

5. Find Duplicate Files

You can utilize a duplicate-file-finder application to locate and delete duplicate files on your hard drive which take up unnecessary space. This application is available on Windows and MAC.

You can also use Duplicate Cleaner Pro, which has a more excellent interface and tons of additional features to assist you in finding and deleting duplicate files.

6. Reduce the Amount of Space Used to System Restore

If System Restore takes up a significant amount of hard drive space with restore points, it’s possible to reduce the allocated space. However, this comes with the trade-off of having fewer restore points available and older versions of files to restore. If you don’t consider these features essential and require more disk space, you can free up several gigabytes by reducing the space allocated to System Restore.

7. Atomic Options

These tricks will certainly save a little space, but they will disable important Windows attributes. We do not recommend using some of these, but if you desperately need to free up disk space, then they could help:

Disable Hibernation — When you hibernate your System, it saves its RAM’s contents for your hard drive. This enables it to store its system state with no power use — the next time you boot your computer, you will be right back where you left off. Windows saves the contents of your RAM from the C:\hiberfil.sys file. To save hard drive space, you can disable hibernate entirely, which removes the document.

Disable System Restore — If diminishing the quantity of space System Restore uses is not significant enough for you. You can disable System Restore entirely. You’ll be out-luck if you need to use System Restore to restore your System to an earlier state; therefore, be warned.

Conclusion

In conclusion, maintaining sufficient disk space and keeping your C drive clean is crucial for optimal computer performance. By utilizing various tools and techniques such as disk cleanup, duplicate file finders, uninstalling unnecessary programs, and reducing the amount of space allocated to System Restore, you can free up valuable disk space and keep your system running smoothly. It’s essential to exercise caution when deleting files and ensure that critical system files are not removed. With these tips, you can keep your C drive organized and optimized for efficient operation.

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