How to Free Up Disk Space on PC and Boost Speed-2025

How to Free Up Disk Space on PC

Is your computer running slowly? Hard drive almost full? Feel like you are tired of this “Disk Full” warning? No worries! In this comprehensive guide, I’ll present how to free up disk space on pc and how to make your computer faster. solve all solutions vigorously for any systems, such as Windows 10 or Mac.

In this guide on How to Free Up Disk Space on PC, we will delve deeper into various methods you can use.

How does Disk Space get full?

Understanding How to Free Up Disk Space on PC is crucial for maintaining optimal performance.

The longer you use your computer, the more files, caches, and other temporary data will be stored. Eventually, these files consume the majority of how to free up disk space on pc. Particularly, the C drive on which Windows is installed fills up fast. It has never heard anybody calling it up to call for a full hard drive.. Should you not only live in memory space, but also slow your performance down system-wide?

Tech Info Reviews

How to Free Up Space in Windows 10

Employ the built-in Disk Clean-up Device

Windows 10’s disk cleanup will delete all kinds of files you don’t need. This software is the simple and secure way to clean up disk space windows 10.

Steps to run Disk Cleanup:

Launch “Disk Cleanup” by typing that into the Start Menu and pressing Enter.
Choose the You’d like to clean Select the drive you want (typically C:)
The tool determines how much room can be reclaimed
Select the file category you would like to clean (Temporary files, Recycle Bin, Thumbnails etc.)
Click clean up system files to see more options
Click “OK”, then “Delete Files”.

How to free up disk space on pc: Using the Disk Cleanup tool occasionally will help keep your system clean. It cleans old Windows Update files, Temporary Internet files, and other junk.

Enable Storage Sense

It’s incredibly convenient: Windows 10 has a feature called Storage Sense, if turned ON, will clean up the mess for you. Once it is setup then it remove temporary files and Recycle Bin frequently.

Setup Storage Sense:

Head to Settings > System > Storage
Toggle the “Storage Sense” to turn it on.
Click on “Configure Storage Sense or run it now”.
Adjust the settings to your preference
Delete Temporary Files

How to Free Up Disk Space on PC is essential for keeping your files organized and your computer running smoothly.

Press Windows Key + R
Type “%temp%” and press enter
Ctrl + A will select all files
Press Delete and confirm

Also clear another temporary folder by entering “temp” (don’t use quotes).

How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 11?

How to free up disk space on Windows 11. Windows 11 has more features in general.

Storage Management Dashboard

Windows 11’s new Storage interface is so much better:

Then head to Settings > System > Storage
Here’s a look at how much space a file type occupies:
Click on “Temporary files”.
Go to the category you wish to remove
Click “Remove files”.
Cleanup Recommendations

Windows 11 recommends what files or apps to delete for you automatically:

Settings –> System –> Storage –> Cleanup recommendations
See different categories ( Large or unused files, Unused apps, Files in cloud etc.)
Choose item that you need to use, then go Cleanup.

It’s clever because it knows which files are safe to move (more on how to free up disk space for windows 11 here).

By effectively learning How to Free Up Disk Space on PC, you can enhance overall efficiency.

How to Clean Mac Disk Space?

It’s a little bit of a different process but remains just as useful How to clear disk space on your Mac

Built-in Storage Management

macOS has its Very own built-in Storage management systems:

Click on Apple Menu > About This Mac > Storage
Click on the “Manage” button
Other suggestions can be found on the sidebar:
Store in iCloud
Optimize Storage
Empty Trash Automatically
Reduce Clutter
Clear Cache Files

How to clear up disk space on Mac would also include deleting the cache file:

Open the Finder
Go > Go to Folder (or Shift + Command + G)
Type ~/Library/Caches
Remove the old cache folder (be careful about this)
Find Large Files
Click the Documents tab in Mac’s Storage Management to view the biggest files. Browse through and remove what you no longer need.

Ways to free up space in your C drive

So, How to free up space on PC (c) drive is a big headache as Windows and program files are also present here.

Remove unwanted apps from Programs and Features
Navigate to Control Panel > Programs and Features
Find programs you don’t use
Uninstall
You are looking at programs with multi-leveled “let bindings” and so such that only a fraction of the program is used.
Delete Windows.old Folder

Windows update has created a big folder Windows. old that’s generated and takes up a ton of space:

Run Disk Cleanup

Click “Clean up system files”.
Check “Previous Windows installations”.
Remove (It is irreversible so I hope you are confident)
This is a great way on how to free up space on c drive specially after updating windows.

Disable Hibernate File (Optional)

Hibernation feature leaves a big hiberfil. sys file in C Drive. If not using hibernate:
Right-click on Command Prompt and Select Run as Administrator
Type powercfg. exe /hibernate off and hit Enter
This will clear a few GB of space
Clean Up Disk Space on Laptop: How to Do It?

How to clear disk space on a laptop is something that makes you think differently as when it comes to laptops, you generally have less storage.

Another method to consider when learning How to Free Up Disk Space on PC is to manage your downloads effectively.
Follow these guidelines on How to Free Up Disk Space on PC for a smoother experience.
Implementing the tips on How to Free Up Disk Space on PC will ensure your computer runs efficiently.
Regularly updating your knowledge on How to Free Up Disk Space on PC can be beneficial.
Understanding How to Free Up Disk Space on PC can also help prevent future issues.
With these techniques on How to Free Up Disk Space on PC, your storage management will improve significantly.

Clean the Downloads Folder

The Downloads folder becomes very cluttered:

Open File Explorer
Go to the Downloads folder
Sort by Date Modified
Delete old and unnecessary files
Use OneDrive or Cloud Storage

How to free up disk space on a laptop The first best action is taking files off your system and into the cloud:

Install OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox
Use case – Upload large files which are not used regularly
Delete the local copy
You can download it whenever you want.
Reduce System Restore Points

System Restore Points eat a ton of space:

Control Panel > System > System Protection
Click Configure
Free up disk space or delete previous shadow copies

Disk Analysis with WinDirStat

WinDirStat is a great free tool that reveals where your storage space goes. It is one among the best how to free up disk space on pc.

How to use WinDirStat

Download and run WinDirStat (from windirstat. net)
It launches quickly and asks you to select the drive to scan.
When the scan is finished you will see a treemap
Great colored bricks are large files or directories
Click in the block, you’ll then notice a file
Locate and remove files that are unnecessarily large

I find the graphical representation of Win Dir Stat to be particularly useful. You can immediately tell which folders or file types are taking up the most space. Perhaps you notice large files and old video projects, game files or something else long forgotten that’s eating up a lot of space.

Advanced Cleaning using CCleaner
CCleaner is well known for its system optimization and shares the top spot among the best tools that clean up disk space.
Key Features of CCleaner

CCleaner Free has some powerful features:

System Cleaning:

Clear browser cache and cookies
Windows Temporary Files
System log file
Recent documents history
Registry Cleaner:
Delete unnecessary registry entries
Fixes broken shortcuts
Improves system stability
Use CCleaner safely

CCleaner is really powerful, but it must be used carefully:

Download and install CCleaner from ccleaner. com)
Go to the “Cleaner” tab
Tick the boxes of the items you would like to clean
Hit the “Analyze” button to get an idea how much space will be released.
Click “Run Cleaner”.
Backup before using Registry Cleaner

Remember that ccleaner is an incredibly powerful tool, so research any cleanup tasks that you do not understand.

More Tips: How to free up more space

Keep desktop clean

Desktop with too many files, not only filled up but also ruby on hardware acceleration. Organize Desktop files into correct folders.

Empty the Recycle Bin regularly
Emptying the Recycle Bin does not permanently delete files, so:
Right click on Recycle Bin
Select “Empty Recycle Bin”.
Or turn on auto-empty settings
Clear Browser Cache

Browser cache may be large:

Chrome:

Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data
Choose the time range as “All time”.
Check cached images and files
Clear data

Firefox:

Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data
Click Clear Data

Edge:

Settings >Privacy, search, and services
Select what to clear > Clear now

Find Duplicate Files

Use the Duplicate file finder tool to identify and erase multiple copies of the same files. There are many utilities (like the free program dupeGuru ) that will do this.

Delete Old Windows Updates Files

Windows Update still fills your hard drive:

Open Command Prompt (Admin).
Run the command Dism. exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
This is going to remove a lot of old update files.
Performance Tweak: Once you Free Up Your Disk Space
Once you have completed how to free up disk space on pc, your computer will be faster, but you can go further.
Disk Defragmentation (for HDD)

If you’re using Traditional Hard Disk Drive (HDD):

Type “Defragment” into the Start Menu
Open “Defragment and Optimize Drives”.
Chose the drive you want and press Optimize.
Note: Never defragment the SSD! Windows 10/11 automatically optimizes SSD.
Disable Startup Programs

There are many programs that are running in the start up and this is slowing down your computer;

Launch the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
Go to the Startup tab
Stop unnecessary programs from running at startup

Reduce Visual Effects

Can decrease visual effects to help performance:

Control Panel > System > Advanced system properties
Click Settings under Performance
Choose ‘Adjust for best performance’ or custom.

Close background apps

There are many apps that work in the background on Windows 10/11:

Options > Privacy > Background apps
Shut down apps you’re not using
Long term care: How to always leave the disk space alone.
Clean regularly

How to free up disk space on pc is not over when. Regular maintenance required:

Run disk cleanup once a week
Use big files from winDirStat every month
Ccleaner deep clean every three months
Smart Installation Habits

When installing new software:

Install to D Drive (or other driver) instead of C drive if you can.
‘Click ‘Custom install’ and deselect the components you don’t wish to be installedmaidenedwolf.enumemo.com
When the trial is up, simply uninstall the program
Utilize Cloud Storage and External Drives

Big files such as video, photo collections:

Save into OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox
Backup to an external hard drive or USB flash drive
Delete local and store in the cloud or external storage
Create File Organization System

Well-organized file system:

Make a folders for each type of file
Retain the old files in your archive folder
Use Year/Month based folder structure
“Review at regular intervals, one per month.

Special Cases and Advanced Solutions

Place the Program Files where they belong
There are two Program Files folders in Windows.
Program Files (64-bit programs)
Program Files (x86) (32-bit programs)

How to free up disk space on Windows Install big programs,: e.g, games, video editing software, etc on the D Drive or any other partition.

Steam and Game Files

Gamers understand just how large game files can be:

Steam Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders
Start a fresh library on another drive
Uninstall old games you never play
Clear shader cache
Rebuild the Windows Search Index

If the search index is large:

Control Panel > Indexing Options
Click Modify and deselect any unwanted locations
Click Advanced > Rebuild

Adjust Virtual Memory Settings

Page file (virtual memory) can use up a lot of space. If you have plenty of RAM, you can decrease the size of the page file, but use caution.

When to Need Professional Help

Manually clearing space on computer is hard to do sometimes:

Probably its system file is corrupt.
Malware or virus infection
In case of hardware failure symptoms
If deleting something and then it is returning.
Let an IT expert help in these situations.
Hardware Upgrade: Last solution

If the scene is tight after all fighting:

SSD Upgrade

How to upgrade from an HDD to SSD:

Very fast performance
Low power consumption
Low noise and heat
its turned way down in price now
Add Additional Drives

On Desktop PC:

Add another internal drive
You could always use an USB 3.0/3.1 external drive

On Laptop:

Use external SSD
Some laptops have an M.2 slot for another SSD

Conclusion

Learning how to free up disk space on PC is a skill that all computer users should know. In this tutorial, we covered how to free up disk space in Windows 10, how to free up disk space in Windows 11, how to clear up disk space on Mac, and then finally, we showed you how to free up space on the C drive.

Key Points:

if possible use disk cleanup frequently.
Find large files with WinDirStat
Do advanced cleaning with CCleaner
Uninstall unnecessary programs
Minimize local storage with cloud storage
Do regular maintenance

Cleaning up disk space is not a one-time task

Read Latest Post: Increase Computer Speed

How to Free Up Disk Space on PC and Boost Speed-2025