• Cleaning your hard drive from unnecessary information. How to prevent disk clutter. How to completely clean up drive C

    All users are divided into two categories. The first ones have everything neatly laid out in folders and every gigabyte is accounted for disk space. For the latter, the wallpaper is not visible behind the shortcuts scribbled on the desktop. However, with the problem of shortage free space Both categories of users may collide on the disk. Some will approach it systematically and in advance. Others will come to their senses when the OS issues a corresponding warning. Our tips on how to free up disk space « C" Windows 10, suitable for everyone.

    Microsoft knows the intricacies of the job very well. operating system and her ability to “clutter” hard drive. In Windows 10, several tools are available to the user to remove its waste products. The first is called Disk Cleanup and is available in all versions based on the NT kernel.

    Standard method

    To launch it, perform the following sequence of actions in Explorer.

    As a result of these manipulations, the properties window for the drive installed in the system will open.

    So, we got to the cleaning mechanism. All groups of files that are listed in the list that opens can be safely deleted. As you tick the boxes, the system calculates the amount of freed up space. However, the utility's capabilities do not end there. Since we are going to carry out a total cleaning, we will clean at the same time system files.

    The parameters indicated in the screenshot allow you to:

    • Remove programs that have not been used for a long time. Selecting the first item "Clear", we will move to standard menu software management. As a result, it works as an interactive reminder for especially forgetful users;
    • The second point is much more interesting. If you have System Restore enabled on your computer, which creates restore points, you can delete them. In a long-running system, they can take up significant space.

    Actions taken when selecting the second item will need to be confirmed additionally.

    Go to the main tab and confirm the selection again.

    The system is deleting temporary files. The operation time will depend on their volume and type of drive.

    New cleaning menu

    In addition to the classic method that we just looked at, a new one has appeared in Windows 10. To use it, let's go to the options menu.

    We will use the search function as a universal option suitable for any user.

    Select the item highlighted in the screenshot to go to the new system settings.

    In the quick jump menu located on the left side, select the item "Vault". Click on the stylized image of the system disk, which shows how full it is.

    Disk space usage statistics open, showing the size occupied by each file category. We are interested in deleting temporary files, so let's move on to the appropriate item.

    We tick the required boxes and confirm our actions. After making sure that the operation is completed, we return back to the section "Vault". In it we still have one more option that has not been considered. Pay attention to the position of the slider in the “Memory Control” section. His position answers the question: why temporary files are not deleted, accumulating in the system over time. By default it is always disabled.

    Move the slider to the on position to allow Windows to automatically clean up temporary files. Open the link "Change the way you release" and look at what exactly falls under the automation.

    If you're not using the trash can as a storage area for unnecessary files, you can leave the sliders in the on position. Click on the highlighted button to make sure that there is no “garbage” left in the system. At this point, the cleaning can be considered complete.

    Cleaning the system after updating

    After the next Microsoft update, called the Fall Creators Update, Windows 10 received additional settings and the first elements of Fluent Design. The main changes concerned the optimization of the executable code and are practically invisible from the outside. That's where the good news ends. After installing it, the user may be faced with the fact that the disk "WITH" crowded.

    Let's figure out where the space went after the update. First, let's see how long Windows 10 takes after installation. Let's open system disk in Explorer.

    Note the highlighted folder Windows.old – We will return to it a little later. Find the directory with the installed OS and right-click the context menu.

    We are interested in the item marked in the screenshot. By clicking on it we will open the properties of the selected folder.

    Now let's go back and check the size by analogy Windows.old.

    Now you understand how it turned out that the disk is full.

    When installing an update, Windows does full copy previous version, so that the user can return back if something does not suit him. Microsoft allows 10 days for testing. After they expire, the copy should be deleted automatically. If there is really not enough space on the system disk, you need to delete Windows folders.old before the allotted time.

    We go to the section in which we configured the settings for automatic cleaning of temporary files.

    After Fall installations Creators Update appearance it has changed somewhat. Auto-cleaning of the downloads folder has been added, and the sliders have been replaced with checkmarks. We go down and see additional options related to the latest OS update. To delete a saved copy, check the corresponding box and press the highlighted button. As a result, we get back almost 20 GB of disk space.

    The order of interaction between the OS and RAM

    A few more gigabytes can be taken away from the system by changing the way it works with memory. In progress Windows operation creates and uses two hidden files with the "sys" extension:

    • Pagefile- the so-called “swap file” or virtual RAM. To take advantage of RAM's processing speed advantages, non-urgent data is cached into it. By default, the size of this file is controlled by the operating system. If the volume RAM quite large, from 8 GB or more, it is practically not used. The lower the RAM value, the large sizes reaches the swap file;
    • Hiberfile- intended for storing the contents of RAM at the time of transition to “deep sleep” or hibernation mode. Accordingly, in order to successfully save information, it must have a size within 75% of RAM.

    The use of the settings listed in this section depends on the tasks for which you are using the computer and its hardware configuration. The fight for free space should not come at the expense of performance.

    Changing the size Pagefile

    To change the size of the paging file, you will need to open system properties (Win + Pause / Break).

    Select the marked item and move to the additional parameters window.

    Go to the desired tab and open the performance parameters.

    Change the tab again and move on to managing virtual memory.

    We follow the sequence shown in the screenshot, first of all unchecking the automatic size selection. After this, the remaining items are activated. To determine how much space to allocate for pagefile, we will use the OS recommended value. IN in this case Let's agree and reduce the size of the paging file by setting it to a fixed value. On click "OK" A warning will appear indicating that a reboot is required.

    We confirm our decision. After restarting, the computer will use the limited amount of disk space allocated to it to organize virtual memory.

    Disable hibernation

    Users who prefer to turn off their PC after each work session can safely get rid of Hiberfile. It is worth warning that this may increase slightly total time OS loading. If ten seconds are not critical, then launch PowerShell in administrator mode.

    The menu shown in the screenshot is called up by right-clicking on the button "Start". If you did not agree to switch to a new shell at one time, the command line will be located in this place. PowerShell has superior functionality, but using either tool will produce the same results.

    Entering the command shown in the screenshot instantly deletes the Hiberfile from your hard drive. Replacement « off" on "on" returns it to its place. No reboot is required.

    Compression mode

    You already know how and what you can delete from the disk to free up space, without deleting programs. Let's look at one more useful function, available in Windows 10. It’s worth mentioning right away that it can be used successfully only on computers with a modern configuration. In this case, in accordance with Microsoft recommendations, it is implied availability of SSD as a storage device. According to technical documentation, the Compact OS feature is automatically enabled when it does not cause any overall performance degradation.

    The meaning of its work is to “transparently” compress system files. As a result, the space required to accommodate the OS on the drive is reduced. You can check whether compression is working on your computer using the following command (enter in command line or PowerShell):

    compact /compactos:query

    You can see the result of its execution in the screenshots below.

    Now let's see how much space is required for Windows installations 10 in both cases.

    It can be seen that in the right screenshot the space occupied by the OS on the disk is 2.5 GB less than the actual size of the folder.

    The result fully corresponds to the declared one. In the documentation, Microsoft promises savings of 1.5 to 2.5 GB, depending on the bit depth.

    If Compact OS does not start automatically, but you decide to check how it will work in your configuration, you can force it. In the above command, after the colon, type not « query", A "always". After some time spent on compactification, you will see the result.

    Checking how much space it takes up system folder to ensure the effectiveness of the actions taken.

    If you are not satisfied with the result of operating the OS in a compressed state, you can perform the reverse process. Enter the parameter into the command after the colon « never" and return the system to its original state.

    Third party cleaning programs

    Users who are too lazy to do manual work can use third party programs to clean Windows. When installing such software, be sure to read the license agreement.

    It says in black and white that the developers are not responsible for the consequences of using the software.

    Reg Organizer

    The product is produced by domestic developers and is distributed on a paid basis. The cost of a personal license is 650 RUR. However, you can find version 7.52 from September 2016, which is free for non-commercial use.

    You cannot update the program for free, but you can use it as much as you like.

    The screenshot shows the main window with a list of options expanded on the left side. You can download the program on its official website.

    CCleaner

    The most popular utility in the environment Windows users. Developed by the British company Piriform Limited and distributed under a shareware license. More than 50 languages ​​are supported, including Russian. At the time of installation, it offers to additionally install the Chrome browser.

    As you can see, the program offers quite a lot of possibilities. “Safe” items are checked. How inactive sections look, showing what can be deleted additionally.

    In any program designed for automatic cleaning, the main thing is not to overdo it. Do not repeat the mistake of users who, having discovered the OS type parameters, first of all try to delete hidden files. Mark only those items that you are sure of.

    In conclusion

    Reasonable use of the above methods will allow you not only to restore order in your computer, but also to maintain it stable work for a long time.

    Video

    For those users who like visual material, we have prepared a video on the topic.

    The article provides seven ways to solve the problem of insufficient free space on the system Windows disk, both using built-in system tools and third-party utilities.

    Thirteen years ago, when the operating room appeared and instantly gained popularity Windows system XP, no one was particularly worried about the size of the system disk. 20-30 GB on disk "C" was enough to install both the system itself and for software. With the advent of Windows 7, PC owners for the first time were massively faced with the problem of lack of space on the system disk - this operating system itself occupied about 10 GB, and programs absorbed approximately the same amount, registering and constantly updating. The 20-25 GB system disk filled up very quickly. And many even had to resort to repartitioning their computer disks in order to increase the system disk at the expense of another disk.

    To ensure that there is always enough free space on the system partition, it must be kept clean and tidy and periodically monitored to see if it is cluttered. If Windows reports that there is not enough free space on the system disk - usually on drive C - it's time to clean it up. Let's look at 7 ways to clean your system disk below: installed Windows 8.

    Before you start cleaning up your disk, you need to remember how much free space you have on your disk. at the moment. In the future, this will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of the work done by comparing the initial and final figures.

    1. Removing unnecessary files from the system disk

    First, you need to check whether files are stored on the system disk that, in principle, may not be stored there - these are media files, folders with documents, disk images, program installation files, etc. All this can be transferred to a non-system drive, moreover, it is even recommended - that’s all important files store exactly on non-system drive(D, E, etc.) so that if the system unexpectedly crashes and you have to reinstall it, this data will not be destroyed when formatting the system disk.

    As a rule, all files downloaded from the Internet are stored in download folders assigned by default by browsers on the system drive. To prevent the system drive from becoming cluttered with downloaded files in the future, you need to assign a different folder for downloads in the browser settings, but on a non-system drive.

    Under no circumstances should you transfer system files to another drive, which means that you should bypass the Windows folder on the tenth route.

    To search for media files and documents, you can use Windows search and set search criteria required types files within the system disk.

    Check the found files additionally, cut out the ones you need and paste them on a non-system drive using context menu, and simply delete unnecessary ones.

    Remove all those programs and games that you do not use. As a rule, after removing large resource-intensive games, quite a lot of space is freed up. To correctly remove software and clean the system from remaining traces, use special software– uninstallers.

    Here are some popular uninstallers:

    3. Windows Disk Cleanup service

    The Windows operating system is equipped regular service, which analyzes the space on the system disk and identifies files that can be deleted to free up space without causing harm to the system.

    In Windows 8 Explorer, open “My Computer” and open the context menu on the system drive. At the end of the list, click “Properties”, and in the window that appears, click the “Disk Cleanup” command. In the “Disk Cleanup” window, check the boxes next to the files that you want to delete - Recycle Bin files, temporary files from Temp folders, temporary Internet files, etc.

    Then click “Clean up system files.”

    4. Manually cleaning Temp folders

    If the system disk is not periodically cleaned, in the temporary file folders “Temp” for long time can accumulate up to 5-6 GB. And the Windows Disk Cleanup service, as a rule, deletes only some of the files from these folders. Temp folders can be cleaned manually by completely deleting their contents.

    What is the “Temp” folder for in general? Temporary files are stored there, which Windows and various programs, which are installed on the computer, create for their work. Most of these files become unnecessary over time because they are not used in work.

    The "Temp" folders are hidden and the easiest way to get to one of them is using the standard Windows Explorer, or popular file manager Total Commander, since most assemblies of this program have a pre-installed button on the toolbar “ Hidden elements" It displays all hidden files and folders on the system. Click this button and open the root folder of the system in Total Commander and find the “Temp” folder there:

    You can open the “Temp” folder in the same path in standard Windows Explorer, but before that you also need to configure the display of hidden folders.

    In Windows 7, click the Start button, then Control Panel, then Appearance and Personalization, then Folder Options. In Windows 8, you can get to the “Folder Options” section directly from the “Control Panel”.

    In the “Folder Options” window that opens, immediately go to the “View” tab and check the “Show” option in the additional parameters. hidden folders, files and disks."

    Then click "Apply" and "OK".

    In the “Temp” folder, select all existing files and press “Shift + Delete” so that the files are completely deleted from the computer, bypassing the “Trash”.

    But there is more than one “Temp” folder on the computer: in addition to the one located in the Windows root folder, another “Temp” folder can also be found in user files on the system drive:

    C:\Users\Name account Windows\AppData\Local\Temp.

    You can follow this path in a file manager or Windows Explorer, but it will be much easier in address bar Explorer, enter the command %TEMP% and press the Enter key.

    Select all the files that are there and delete them.

    Not all files from this “Temp” folder will be deleted, some of them may be currently used for the operation of the system and programs, so just skip them.

    To increase the loading time of Internet pages, browsers, when accessing a server on the Internet, first check the cache - a place on the system disk specially allocated for storing previously visited web pages, pictures and other elements of Internet resources. And if there is a copy of this data in the cache, then the browser downloads it from the cache, and not again from the server.

    To periodically receive updated data from servers, ideally the browser cache should automatically clear itself from time to time, but this is not always the case. Sometimes, after active Internet surfing, a fairly impressive amount of unnecessary data remains in the cache, and it must be periodically cleared manually. To achieve this, browser developers provide special function clearing cache manually.

    In most browsers, this function can be accessed by entering the key combination “Ctrl + Shift + Delete”. However, you can separately clarify how to clear the cache of your particular browser, or use special programs for cleaning the system, which will be discussed below.

    Clearing your browser cache will free up a certain amount of space on your system drive.

    The software market today offers a huge number of programs designed for comprehensive cleaning of Windows OS. This includes cleaning the Recycle Bin, temporary system files, and installed programs, and browser cache.

    Most popular program CCleaner is such a plan. It is free, minimalistic, however, it offers the necessary functions to clean the operating system of unnecessary files and optimize its registry.

    Among CCleaner's analogues there are also more functional solutions - for example, System Cleaner, Neo Utilities, System Optimize Expert, TuneUp Utilities and other programs.

    You shouldn’t place too much hope on such a program plan. Like the Windows Disk Cleanup service, they can also remove only a portion of unnecessary files. Therefore, if the need to increase space on the system disk is urgent, it is better to additionally clean the “Temp” folders manually.

    Hibernation mode is a mode of reduced power consumption in which the system goes into a sleep-like mode, but at the same time everything open files and running programs are saved on the system hard drive in separate file. Hibernation mode is designed for laptops to extend the life battery life without recharging the battery. But Windows automatically creates a file to store data in hibernation mode no matter what computer device you are using, and the size of this file is several gigabytes.

    To see the hibernation file, with the display of hidden files and folders enabled, open the system drive in a file manager or Windows Explorer window. Find the “hiberfil” file with the “.sys” extension among the hidden ones.

    If you are using a desktop PC and not a laptop, you generally do not need hibernation mode. And you can delete it to free up space on your system drive. And when working with a laptop and periodically using hibernation mode, you can transfer the “hiberfil” file to another non-system drive.

    The usual context menu command “Delete” will not get rid of the “hiberfil” file so easily, since it protected by the system. But it can be removed using the command line.

    Without free space on the hard drive, especially on the system partition (drive C), both the computer and the user “have a bad life.” Can't install a new game useful program, and Windows cannot function correctly without a reserve of 10-20GB on the hard drive.

    There are a huge number of “memory sinks” - unnecessary files and folders, registry entries - on PCs and laptops. And many of them appear and increase in volume independently, without user intervention, during the operation of the Windows OS. Alas, this is its specificity.

    But be that as it may, clear hard drive It’s still completely possible to get rid of “digital trash”. And most importantly, it is necessary. Otherwise, comfortable use of a computer will remain only in the rosy dreams of its owner (that is, in yours).

    Here is a selection of guides on how to clean up a disk using standard system options and special utilities.

    "Cleaning" on drive C

    1. Press both keys at the same time - “Win ​​+ R”.

    2. In the “Open” line, on the “Run” panel, type the directive - cleanmgr ( system utility, which allows you to clear drive C and other hard drive partitions).

    3. Click OK.

    4. In the drop-down list (click on the arrow) select the disk that needs to be cleaned (start deleting files on C first!).

    5. Wait while the system analyzes the directories of the selected partition.

    6. In the cleaning settings window, in the “Delete the following files:” block, check the boxes next to the items that you want to clean. Click OK.

    Attention! Enabling the Cleanup component Windows updates» allows you to get rid of the Windows.old folder (file storage for previous OS updates).

    Also on the “Advanced” tab, you can use other functions that delete files in directories. To do this, click the “Clear” button in one of the tab blocks (or both in turn).

    "Programs and Features" - uninstallation unnecessary programs. Select an application in the list by clicking on it. And then click "Delete/Change". The software uninstaller will appear on the display. Follow his instructions.

    “Restore…” - deleting all points Windows recovery, except the last one. These elements can take up a significant amount of space. Run the function and additional window click "Delete".

    Cleaning the Temp folder

    The “Temp” directory is a storage for temporary folders and files. If you clear it, you can not only add free space to your hard drive, but also, in some cases, get rid of the virus. Feel free to completely delete its contents.

    1. Open the Run panel (press the Win and R keys simultaneously).

    2. In the “Open” field, enter - %temp%. Press "Enter" or click "OK".

    3. Go to the window that opens and press the “Alt” key.

    4. In the menu that appears (see the top panel), click the “Service” section and select “Folder Options...”.

    5. Click the “View” tab.

    6. In the block " Additional options» Scroll down the list. Turn on by clicking the button next to last option“Show hidden files...”

    7. Click "Apply" and "OK". Now in “Temp”, as in other folders and partitions of the hard drive, hidden objects will be displayed. This means that you can get rid of all the files stored in this directory.

    8. Now that all objects are visible, select them: click on one of the files, and then press “Ctrl+A”. Right-click on the highlighted list. Select the “Delete” function from the menu.

    9. After cleaning, do not forget to empty the “Trash”.

    Removing “heavy” system files

    Note. The objects in question perform certain functions in the system. Before deleting/disabling, make sure that you do not need them. In particular, software reserve for RAM and hibernation mode (a type of sleep mode).

    Pagefile.sys

    (RAM swap file)

    1. Click on the “Windows” icon in the taskbar.

    2. In the Start panel that opens, select Control Panel.

    3. Go to the “System and Security” section, and then to the “System” subsection.

    4. In the block on the right, click “Advanced system settings”.

    5. In the new window, on the “Advanced” tab, in the “Performance” block, click the “Options” button.

    6. In the panel that opens, open the “Advanced” tab again.

    7. In the block " Virtual memory"Click "Change...".

    8. If necessary, uncheck the box next to the “Automatically select volume...” option.

    9. Enable the “No paging file” option (click on the radio button). Click "Ok".

    10. In the additional window, also click “OK”. The system will restart.

    Hiberfil.sys

    In this file, the system saves all data and settings of the PC before it goes into sleep mode in order to quickly restore it after activation. It can have a fairly substantial volume - 5-10 GB.

    To remove it from system partition, do the following:

    1. Press “Win” and “R” at the same time (the “Run” window will open).

    2. In the “Open” line, enter the command - powercfg -h off.

    3. Click "OK".

    Automatic cleaning

    Special cleaning programs quickly and efficiently rid the system of accumulated software junk. Clear browser cache Temp folder, delete duplicate files, useless objects, put things in order in the registry. But, unfortunately, they cannot be used to neutralize system heavyweights - windows.old, Pagefile.sys, Hiberfil.sys files; Winsxs folders. Be sure to take this into account.
    Let's look at two of the most popular software tools.

    Professional Windows cleaner from the Russian developer ChemTable. It is distributed free of charge (demo version is valid for 30 days). Cleans and optimizes the registry. Cleans disks and eliminates software problems.

    The brainchild of English programmers from the company Piriform LTD. Has large number cleaning settings (clipboard, cache, cookies, recent documents etc.). Before correcting errors and deleting unnecessary entries, he suggests doing backup copy registry But at the same time, it performs “cleaning” delicately, without compromising the integrity and performance of the operating system.

    Using uninstaller programs

    Removing programs from the operating system regular means doesn't always go perfectly. Keys remain in the registry, folders and files remain in directories. They lie on the hard drive as a useless burden and take up precious megabytes, and sometimes gigabytes, of disk space.

    But third-party uninstaller programs do not have this drawback. Upon completion standard removal they neutralize all remnants of the program. Let's take a closer look at the most popular solutions from this software category.

    Utility from the developer ChemTable Software. Has Russian and English interface. Distributed shareware. Executes complete removal applications. Monitors processes and changes occurring in Windows during program installation.

    1. Launch the utility.

    2. Click on the required application.

    3. Click the “Uninstall a program” button (located in top panel).

    4. Follow the instructions of the built-in uninstaller and Soft Organizer (disk analysis, removal of leftovers).

    One of the most “skillful” uninstallers. Created by VS Revo Group. Distributed in two versions: Pro - paid; Free - free. Supports three modes of scanning program remains after removal. When the “Advanced” mode is enabled, a thorough analysis of all disk and registry directories is performed.

    1. Left-click on the icon of the application to be deleted in the utility window.
    2. Click the “Delete” button in the top panel.
    3. Follow Revo Uninstaller's prompts.

    Let only useful data be always stored on your PC! Don’t forget to periodically “clean” your hard drive.

    The problem with computer junk causes inconvenience to almost all users year after year. In this article I will tell you how to clean Local Disk C.

    If your PC has become noticeably slower, you may find it useful to clean Not necessary files and thereby speed up your computer.

    To find out how to do it yourself correctly, read the entire article or watch the video at the end of the article.

    Introduction

    A lot of people are wondering slow work computer and spend hours searching for information on the Internet. One of the main reasons is clutter Local disk C. The PC starts to work slower because it is on this disk that the operating system is located, which is responsible for all the actions performed.

    As a result of the operating system files becoming clogged, we begin to notice errors in work processes and slow program responses. Imagine using a real-life example: you run in sneakers or sports shoes to improve your physical fitness. Now take a sack of potatoes over each shoulder and try to run, how’s that? I think the difference will be noticeable, the same is true on the local disk, while the empty one works quickly, a lot of garbage has accumulated and it begins to work slowly.

    That is why you should at least sometimes clean up your PC and delete unnecessary files.

    Clean desktop and its impact on Local Disk C

    Dear friends, first I want to draw your attention to the desktop of your PC, because many do not understand how to use it correctly. And its correct condition lies in its purity.

    All files and folders located on the desktop are recorded on the memory of local drive C, so think ten times before throwing music albums and new movies onto it, work correctly now, transfer all data from the desktop to Local drive D or other existing ones, this is significant will facilitate the operation of the operating system and free up the memory of drive C. If you need quick access, to some programs or files, make shortcuts for them so it will be correct.

    Manually clearing temporary, unnecessary files from your computer

    Before moving on to this stage, you need to understand a little that when running any programs on a computer, the operating system creates temporary files, even when you are just surfing the Internet, some of the data is recorded as temporary files.

    This is actually done to speed up the work, how? Let's say you opened the Odnoklassniki website, the system wrote several large pictures from the site and the next time you go to Odnoklassniki, the computer does not download information from the site server, but takes several large pictures from the temporary files previously recorded in the folder.

    Yes, this is useful, the folder with temporary files “swells” to such an extent that it begins to slow down the PC and most of the memory of Local Disk C is clogged, which sometimes also leads to errors.

    To delete these temporary files you just need to go to the desired folder with these same temporary files and delete everything from there. By the way, don’t worry, there are no system files there and you won’t delete anything you need, feel free to go in and clean it.

    To do this, go to the directory:

    My computer/Local drive C/Windows/Temp

    We went into this folder, circled all the files and deleted them, emptied the trash.

    Analysis and removal of old, unnecessary programs, games and files

    This section can be divided into two stages. The first one is quite simple, it involves deleting old ones unnecessary games and programs. To do this, simply go to the program control panel and delete those applications that you once installed yourself; when you see familiar names, you definitely won’t get confused.

    1. Go to the menu start panel management programs and components and we see the following window in front of us:

    We find programs we don’t need in this window, select them and click on the remove/change button at the top, doing this one by one with each one. unnecessary application or a game. This process will also clear the memory of local drive C.

    The point of the action is to identify the problematic folder or file, and for us these are objects that occupy a significant amount of memory. Not entirely clear? I'll explain everything now.

    We go to Local Disk C and see folders in front of us, the number may be different for everyone

    Now we begin to analyze each folder in turn, first check the volume of the first folder

    Our goal is to find out how much memory it takes up on the computer

    We looked and saw that the folder takes up only 8.13 MB, we are not interested in this size, we are only looking for huge files that weigh from several GB.

    What should I do if I don’t understand anything about file sizes?

    If you have difficulty understanding the size of files or do not know how to distinguish them, then I recommend using my online textbook: How to master a computer from scratch. In it you will find answers to all your questions.

    We were a little distracted, but that’s okay, let’s continue, move on to the next folder and also check its weight until you find folders whose volume scares you. Most likely, there will be two folders: Windows and Program Files.

    As soon as we have identified a folder that takes up a lot of space, we go to it and also analyze everything that is in it by determining the weight. Eventually you will find files or folders that take up a huge amount of memory on your Local Drive C, copy their name and look on the Internet what these files are and what program they are from, most likely you will be surprised how much junk you will find.

    Attention, if you are a complete novice user, do not use this method, just skip it, because in the process you can remove the necessary components or programs, which will lead to disastrous circumstances.

    We use the built-in capabilities of cleaning Local disks

    The creators of the operating system did not forget about users and initially added Windows basic Possibilities for simplified cleaning of Local disks. This is not always effective, but knowing this method will also be useful, and it will not take much of your time.

    To do this, you need to go to my computer, select the local disk to clean and right-click on it and select the properties line.

    Now we will see information about the disk in front of us, we need to click on the clean disk button

    You will need to wait a while until the program starts, you will see something like this:

    When the program starts, you will see a window in front of you in which you need to check the boxes next to the sections that you want to clean, here I just check all the boxes and click OK.

    Automatically clean the Cache and Registry using Ccleaner

    Now we can relax a little, then the program will work for us automatic cleaning. It's called CCleaner, you can read how to download it correctly and from where in the article on how to clean your computer's registry. After you have installed it, launch it. Click on the cleaning section, first select the Windows section and only after that click the analysis button.

    Now we will see in front of us all the files that the program can clean without causing harm to your PC, at the top where it will say analysis completed you can see approximately how much space the program will free up for you. Click the clear button

    Reviving or speeding up your computer after cleaning up the mess

    After you have done such a huge job, you just need to bring your computer back to life, for this you need to put all the files on their shelves. This will speed up your computer and save you from some errors. This process is called defragmentation. I recently devoted an entire article to this, which I recommend you read.

    Now it’s time to consolidate the knowledge, watch the video in which I myself go through all the stages of cleaning Local Disk C in order. Good luck friends and don’t forget to subscribe to my site’s news, the subscription is a little lower, be literate in everything!

    Over time, a large number of unnecessary files accumulate on the main partition of the hard drive, which is called the letter C by default, taking up a lot of space. Since the disk allocated for the system and system elements, most often has a small volume, then the presence of temporary and remaining remote programs files, can lead to the fact that free disk space becomes catastrophically low. Manually deleting files from this drive is very difficult since they may be located very deep in the folder system, and also dangerous because you may accidentally erase items needed for correct operation computer. To safely clean up your system disk in Windows 10, your best bet is to use the built-in Disk Cleanup program.

    Windows 10 Disk Cleanup: Built-in Tools

    There are several ways to open the Disk Cleanup program in Windows 10. Remember that you should only use it if drive C is full and there is no way to clean it by removing third-party programs.

    Through command execution

    Via control panel

    How to use the program

    1. In the “Disk Cleanup” block, you need to check all the departments that you want to clean.
    2. Having selected a department, you can read all the information about what it contains, as well as view the files that belong to this section by clicking the “View files” button.
    3. To proceed to removing system files, click the “Clean up system files” button. You will need administrator rights to access this feature. But it is better not to remove any elements of the system, as this may lead to system breakdown or incorrect operation.
    4. In the "Advanced" tab, you can proceed to remove unnecessary programs by clicking the "Clean" button in the "Programs and Features" block.
    5. In the “System Restore and shadow copying"You can click the "Clean" button to proceed to deleting unnecessary recovery points, which also take up space on drive C. It is not recommended to delete all points, and it is also better to save one or two of the last ones, so that you can always roll back the system if any problems arise. This is an error that cannot be corrected by other methods.
    6. Once you have selected which partitions you want to clean and have ticked them, click the OK button to begin the process. Do not interrupt the cleaning process or turn off the computer so that no errors occur and all files are deleted correctly.

    Advanced Cleaning

    Each user with administrative rights has the ability to run Disk Cleanup from a large number points than is available during normal startup.

    What to do if the application does not start

    The program may not open using any of the above methods only because the file responsible for launching the application is not in the default path. Try to find this file manually, it may be located in the following path: C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386. If it is not there either, or the folder itself does not exist, then there is only one thing left to do - use third-party programs to clean up the disk.

    How to clean up drive C on Windows 10 using third-party programs and applications

    There are many programs that allow you to clean your hard drive from unnecessary and temporary files. Many of them are distributed on the Internet for free and are in no way inferior to the built-in Disk Cleanup program. Next, we will consider the most popular, convenient and easy-to-use applications.

    CCleaner

    The positive aspects of this program include the following qualities:


    Kaspersky Cleaner

    A program from a well-known campaign that previously specialized only in antiviruses, but has now started producing applications with other tasks. You can download Cleaner from Kaspersky from the official website by finding it in general list all programs -

    The main advantage of the application is its simple design, which allows you to complete all the necessary tasks by pressing one “Start scanning” button.

    Also, if you don’t like the changes made by the program after the last session, you can cancel them by clicking the “Cancel Changes” button in the main menu.

    What can cause your hard drive to fill up?

    If you have cleaned up your disk using one of the above methods, but have not freed up enough space, try the following:

    • Manually go through all the files stored on the drive and see which ones can be moved to another drive or deleted. Do not touch system files and programs; you can only move and edit elements that you personally added.
    • Remove unnecessary third-party programs that are definitely not useful to you.
    • Check your computer for viruses. Perhaps the virus itself takes up some of the free space or regularly downloads advertising files and applications that clog up the disk.

    It is recommended that you clean out the C drive regularly, as how busy it is will determine how quickly the computer can find the files you need and present them to the user. That is, if drive C is overloaded, the system runs slower. And also, all browsers and other programs send temporary files and cache to the main disk by default, and if there is no space on it, then there will be nowhere to store the necessary elements. Based on all the problems described, we can conclude that cleaning the disk using special programs costs at least once a month.

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