How To Clean Out A Computer To Make It Run Faster

The all-important "C" drive is, for well-nigh people, the core of the PC, where the operating organisation is installed and all the crucial system files are kept. Inevitably, this is too the bulldoze that gets filled up nearly hands due to countless Windows updates, temporary files of applications, downloaded files that you lot forget well-nigh, and the fact that by default, everything saves to the "C" drive. Here we evidence you how to clean up your C bulldoze in Windows, recover some infinite, and afterward get information technology running again.

1. Delete Temporary Files

Manually removing temporary files in Windows gives the most firsthand results to clean up the C bulldoze and regain space.

Below, we show you some tricks that make clean out your various temporary files automatically, merely those methods (like Storage Sense and Deejay Clean-up) won't practice a consummate task of clearing out temporary files, and there's a skillful chance that the biggest, about hard-drive-hogging temporary files will remain in your Temp folder for a bit longer. (The automatic methods will look for files to achieve a certain age – one week, usually – earlier deleting them.)

Note: make sure y'all're not running anything when deleting temporary files manually. If you delete temporary files related to an app you lot're currently running, it may crash, and you may lose whatever you were working on at that moment.

To discover your primary temporary files folder, the default directory is "C:\Users\Your PC Username\AppData\Local\Temp." Alternatively, yous can hit Win + R, then enter %temp%or search for "delete temporary files" from the Windows 10/eleven search box or Windows 11 Start menu search.

To see how much space the Temp folder is taking up, select everything in information technology using Ctrl + A, then right-click whatsoever file and click Properties. If you lot're okay with moving forward, brand sure everything is selected using Ctrl + A, right-click, and then click "Delete."

Y'all can observe a summary business relationship of all these temporary files from "Storage" under "System."

To remove these temporary files, go one level deeper and erase what you don't need. These files include downloads, Windows Update Cleanup, diagnostic data, viewer database files, thumbnails, Recycle Bin data, and more.

2. Storage Sense

Windows has a handy characteristic called Storage Sense, which monitors the storage space on your PC, and then jumps in and cleans things up if you lot're running low. It does basic things like clean up your Recycle Bin, remove former files in your Downloads binder, and delete temporary files on your PC.

While Windows eleven has Storage Sense directly nether "Storage Management," this characteristic can be accessed from "Plough on Storage Sense" in System Settings in Windows 10. Again, it's faster to find either of these terms from the search menu. On some systems, you may come across this option equally "configure Storage Sense or run it now."

Click "Configure Storage Sense or run information technology now," then in the new window, click the slider nether Storage Sense so that it's "On." You tin then use the drop-down carte below to cull whether you want information technology to run when you're depression on infinite, daily, weekly or monthly.

In Storage Sense, you'll also see that you can automatically delete files that take been in the Recycle Bin for a sure corporeality of fourth dimension. This applies to your Downloads folder too (which, from my experience, is definitely a place where unused files tend to outstay their welcome).

There'due south as well an option called "free up space at present" which takes just a few minutes to erase many of these unnecessary files. This allows you lot to immediate recover several gigabytes of storage space.

iii. Scan for Large Files on Your Hard Drive

Using Windows Explorer, you can scan for files based on size throughout your entire hard drive. The corporeality of times I've constitute hefty redundant files sitting around for years is unbelievable.

To practise this search, open a Windows Explorer window, select your "C" drive, and then click the "Search (C:)" search box at the elevation right of the window.

C Drive Cleanup Scan For Large Files Hard Drive

Blazon "size:" to go a agglomeration of autofill options showing varying sizes of files to filter for. You can use one of these presets or, if you want to get more specific about the size of file you're looking for, type "size:>1gb" to wait for files over 1GB in size and so on.

Yous can delete files directly from the results or right-click, so select "Sort past -> Size" to club them by size and quickly see which ones need deleting.

Only past testing this, I've discovered an old Android seven.i VM that I really don't demand anymore. Just don't delete anything that looks important. (For instance, stuff from the "C:Windows folder" or game files that tend to be quite big.)

four. Uninstall Windows Shovelware and Space-Hungry Apps

In the "Apps & Features" window (yous'll find information technology by correct-clicking the Start button), you can sort the list by "Size" to see which applications are the most HDD-hungry. You may be surprised by the results and may wish to remove apps as appropriate. Recall virtually whether you really need all those infinite-hungry apps and delete as appropriate.

Another affair that may surprise you is that y'all're the proud owner of games like Chimera Witch 3 Saga and Minecraft, which yous never wanted in the first identify! Only uninstalling them from the "Apps & Features" list won't suffice, however, and yous will demand to remove them using the Powershell. To do this, read our guide on how to uninstall pre-installed Windows apps.

five. Clean Up Disk Space

You're probably aware of Windows'south congenital-in Disk Clean-Up utility but have not been using it. This is the first place to look to free up some space.

To start using it, launch Windows Explorer, right-click on the C drive and select "Backdrop" from the listing.

C Drive Cleanup Right Click Properties Select

Once the Properties window is open, click "Deejay Cleanup" to open the utility. Here, in the "files to delete" box, select all the checkboxes like Organization retentivity error dump files, Recycle Bin, set up log files, etc.

Once you have selected all the checkboxes you want, click on "OK" to free upward the disk space occupied by the higher up files. How much space yous free up depends on how badly you've neglected your "C" drive. You can also make clean upwardly the system files to get back boosted lost space.

C Drive Cleanup Disk Cleanup System Files

half-dozen. Disable Hibernation in Windows 10/11

Hibernation is a handy feature you lot can utilize in Windows to hands plow off your computer while saving the current country then that you can resume your piece of work when you power information technology on. That said, information technology tin can have a huge corporeality of deejay space, as it reserves the amount of space on your difficult drive equal to how much content is saved in your RAM. (So potentially, the more than RAM y'all accept, the more disk space it uses.)

To disable hibernation in Windows 10, do a search for "Power and Sleep Settings" and go to "Boosted Power Settings." Information technology tin besides exist accessed from "Control Console -> Hardware and Audio." With Windows 11, you can directly navigate to the option from "Organization -> Power & Battery."

Click on the "choose what the power buttons practise" link in the pane on the left. This action will take you lot to the organization settings window.

Click "Alter settings that are currently unavailable." This activity volition enable all the disabled options.

C Drive Cleanup Change Settings Currently Unavailable

Scroll downwards and uncheck the "Hide" checkbox to disable hibernation. If it'southward already unchecked, you don't need to do anything else.

7. Delete Browser Cache and Cookies

Temporary Internet files like the browser cache and cookies have upwardly a little fleck of your C drive space, so immigration those temporary files will grant you additional free space.

In Chrome, get to "Settings -> Avant-garde -> Privacy and security," and so "Clear browsing information."

In Firefox, become to "Options -> Privacy & Security," then under "History," select "Clear your recent history."

In Microsoft Border, go to "Settings -> Articulate browsing data -> Choose what to clear," and make sure to select the "Cached information" and "Cookies" options.

eight. Remove Old Windows Update Files, Previous Installations

Windows has a trend to hold onto former (and by and large redundant) system files. For the well-nigh part, you tin delete these files, peculiarly if you installed your current version of Windows over a previous version. To do this:

ane. Open up Windows Explorer, right-click the C drive and select "Properties."

2. Click "Disk CleanUp," and then in the new window, click "Clean up system files" to open the advanced deejay cleanup window.

3. Select the "Windows upgrade log files" checkbox and, if you have anything there, the "Previous Windows installation(s)" checkbox.

Unbeknownst to me, my laptop still had plenty of space related to Windows Update Cleanup and Windows upgrade log files, using up about 3.5GB of hard drive space.

Cleaning upwardly the unnecessary files consumes a few minutes but is worth the extra space gained on C drive.

There are other checkboxes here, but for the virtually part, they don't use up a ton of infinite and can be left alone. When you're ready, click "OK" to make clean upwards your hard bulldoze.

ix. Reduce the Size of the WinSxS Folder

The WinSxS folder is located in the C drive of your PC at the Windows folder location – for example, "C:\Windows\WinSxS." Information technology stores the necessary files to recover your system. You lot tin hands reduce the size of this binder, just this comes with the below warning.

Warning: do not delete whatsoever files directly from the WinSxS folder or the folder itself. This would greatly damage your arrangement and brand it impossible to restart or recover.

1. Information technology's very important to tread charily and handle these files directly from Task Scheduler.

two. One time it opens, search for "Task Scheduler Library -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Servicing -> StartComponentCleanup" and right-click to select "run."

three. Wait a few minutes for the operation to terminate.

10. Make OneDrive and File Explorer Files Online Simply

OneDrive and FileExplorer files tin can exist made online-only. This would greatly salvage the amount of space yous use on C drive. If you have reliable, fast Net, you should benefit from this amazing space-saving tip.

For OneDrive, select the OneDrive app from a Get-go menu search in Windows eleven and searchbox of Windows x. Sign in using your Microsoft business relationship used in the local PC. Get to the OneDrive folder past clicking "Next."

Right-click on any OneDrive subfolder, and if they take up a lot of space, make them "online only" instead of putting them on the device to e'er be available.

The aforementioned methods above tin be repeated for any files or folders in the File Explorer window. By making them online only, you can access them whenever you want. Of course, if yous have some important data y'all always need access to, y'all will want to make information technology available on your device.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are the methods to clean upwards the C drive like for Windows 10 and Windows 11?

Yes, the methods to clean up the C drive are very similar for Windows 10 and Windows 11. At that place may be minor variations in the placement of some menu options, but the methods to make clean up the C drive are applicable for both Windows x and Windows 11.

2. Should I utilize disk cleanup software for the C drive?

Yous should always opt for built-in Windows methods to clean up the disk space, including your C drive. We have extensively covered many of these native techniques in this tutorial.

Periodic Microsoft Windows updates are the surest means to verify the integrity of your system. Third-party software does many of the same things as the native tools: they can identify temporary files, awaiting update files, files in the Recycle bin, then along.

Notwithstanding, if they accidentally delete any of import files, such as WinSxS folder files, that can cause you lot a lot of trouble. Information technology tin prevent you from rolling dorsum updates or troubleshooting Windows issues on your own. By and large, I would not recommend using any 3rd-party software to clean upwardly your Windows drive. It does more damage than good. Avoid tools such as CCleaner and Wondershare RecoverIt.

iii. Why is my C Bulldoze automatically filling up?

With regular use, the C bulldoze will keep filling up. Each file and folder yous create (on whatever bulldoze) has an impact on the available infinite in the C drive. Did you finish a System Restore? It will definitely allocate a sure amount of space in the C drive.

If yous oasis't updated your computer in a long while, it tin can get vulnerable to bloatware, and information technology can be hard to delete files. Of course, nosotros oftentimes forget to delete temporary files, unnecessary programs, and infinite intensive applications. These all play a role in making the C drive fill up automatically.

We have seen some of the best ways to make clean up the Windows C drive. It's good to go through this routine every now and so, but it's appropriate to make sure information technology doesn't make full up in the first place. Read on to learn some native ways to clean the Windows registry. If you want to go on streamlining your Windows setup, see how to install Chromium on Windows. We too take a guide on how you tin view network adapter details in Windows.

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Sayak Boral

Sayak Boral is a technology writer with over xi years of feel working in different industries including semiconductors, IoT, enterprise It, telecommunications OSS/BSS, and network security. He has been writing for MakeTechEasier on a wide range of technical topics including Windows, Android, Net, Hardware Guides, Browsers, Software Tools, and Product Reviews.