Clean windows 10 after

Read how to remove unnecessary files, apps and games you don't use. How to disable system functions that require disk space, compress files, configure file storage in the cloud or external storage. Sooner or later, free space, especially on the “C:\” drive, runs out and is constantly in short supply.

Even though drives are getting bigger and prices keep falling, we continue to take up more space on Windows 10 devices every day. Because every day we download a lot of files from the Internet, take a lot of photos and record hours of video.

This problem is more common on inexpensive devices that have limited, and usually small, internal memory (ROM). The situation is more acute with solid-state drives (SSD), their prices are still quite high than traditional hard drives (HDD), and the most common sizes are 64, 128 and 256 GB. If on "SSD disk" If Windows 10 is installed, there is simply no free space left for various useful programs.

However, if you encounter this problem, then the first step should not be to buy new media. The first thing you need to do is optimize the occupied space, get rid of unnecessary files, applications and games that you do not use.

How to remove unwanted apps and games on Windows 10

Removing apps you don't use is a great way to free up extra disk space. You can remove both those that were pre-installed on your PC and those that were installed manually.

At the same time, games installed via "Microsoft Store", can be stored in different places at the same time, so it is recommended to delete those that are already boring and you no longer play them. To do this, open a window "Options" via menu "Start", then click on "Applications".

On the tab, we go down and see a list of all installed applications and programs.

Note. In the drop down menu "Sort by" select "Size" to display the apps and games that take up the most space first. Also select drive "WITH:\" on the menu "Filter by" to free up space on the system disk. This makes the search very easy.

Go through the list and do these steps several times to remove all the games and applications you do not need; you can also remove pre-installed ones.

Use the new feature "OneDrive Files On-Demand"(files on request)

"OneDrive Files On-Demand" is a new feature introduced in Windows 10 update "Fall Creators Update", which allows you to access your files stored in the cloud using "Windows Explorer" without having to sync (download them to your local drive).

If you are running out of free disk space, you can use the function "Files On-Demand" to upload and store files in the cloud "OneDrive" to download them only when you need them.

We shorten Windows 10 with "Compact OS"

"Compact OS" is a tool added with Windows 10 that allows you to compress installation files and pre-installed applications, thus reducing the disk space consumed by the operating system.

Warning. This is a reminder that you will be modifying system files when using this feature. And although you can use "Compact OS" It is generally safe, but no one is immune from accidents. It is highly recommended to make a complete backup of your PC, or at least the files that are most important to you.

So, in the search bar we enter "Command line", find the desired application in the results, right-click and select "Run as administrator".

Enter the following command to compress Windows 10 and installed applications and click "Enter": "Compact.exe /CompactOS:always"(without quotes).

You can cancel this action at any time using the same instructions, but at the command prompt, enter: "Compact.exe /CompactOS:never" and press "Enter".

Using this method, you can free up about 2 GB of hard drive space, but the exact amount will depend on each specific operating system.

While using this feature on a regular basis shouldn't noticeably impact your computer's performance, we recommend using this option only on a device with extremely limited disk space, or when you simply have no other choice.

Disable sleep mode (hibernation) in Windows 10

"Sleep mode" is a function that saves the data contained in RAM to the hard drive, which allows you to completely turn off the device, and the next time you turn it on, continue working in the same place where you left off.

Although "Sleep mode"– an extremely useful function (in our opinion), but for saving the contents of RAM in a file "hiberfil.sys" The hard drive requires several gigabytes of memory.

This function can be disabled and as a result, you will receive an increase in free space from 2GB to 12GB, depending on the amount of RAM installed on your PC.

Again, the easiest way to do this is from "Command line", open it with administrator rights and enter "powercfg /hibernate off" to disable sleep mode and press "Enter".

The only downside to disabling this feature is that you will lose the ability to use "Sleep mode". But this option can provide a fairly large amount of disk space almost immediately. Naturally, "Sleep mode" You can turn it back on when you figure out the problem.

Move files, programs and games to an external hard drive

At the beginning of the article it is said that you do not need to immediately buy an external or additional hard drive to get rid of this scourge. But if you’ve tried everything and haven’t gained much space, then you should seriously think about such a purchase.

By using an external or additional hard drive on your system, you can move existing files and configure Windows 10 so that new data is saved and installed on the new drive. You can also transfer some applications and games from "Microsoft Store", which will significantly increase the free space on the system disk.

How to move existing files to a new drive?

Connect an additional disk or flash drive. Open Windows Explorer, go to the directory containing the files and folders you want to move. Select the desired items and in the menu item "Home" click on the button "Move to".

Press "Select location", then select a new disk and press the button "Move".

Saving new data to a new drive

To automatically save files to an additional disk, do the following. Connect the drive, go to "Start", Further "Options" and press "System", go to the tab "Vault".

We go down and find the line "Other storage options" and click on the link. Next to each field, open the drop-down menu and select a new drive that Windows 10 will use to automatically save applications and files of each type. Click "Apply".

Moving applications and games to a new drive

In Windows 10, you can also move certain apps and games from "Microsoft Store" to another storage device without having to reinstall them.

Connect the removable drive, open it again "Start" – "Options". Next we go to "Applications" and select the menu item on the left "Applications in Possibility". Scroll down to the list of all installed applications, select the application or game and click "Move".

Select a new location from the drop-down menu and click the button "Move".

In any Windows system, hard drive clutter is one of the biggest problems. But you can free up space on the system drive C in Windows 10 using several interesting methods; by the way, some of them are simply not available in systems of a lower rank. It is worth considering all the main available methods that will speed up the entire OS.

How to free up space on drive C (Windows 10): general principles

First, let's figure out what, in fact, is connected with the fact that the space on the system disk or in a logical partition is catastrophically reduced.

The question of how to free up hard drive space in Windows 10 may involve several basic decisions, the main ones being:

• deleting old copies of the system after updating;
• deleting system files and backups;
• uninstallation of unused user programs and pre-installed system applications;
• cleaning traces of your Internet presence.

Based on this, we can offer several standard options for resolving the problem.

How to free up disk space after installing the system?

The first thing you should pay attention to is the moment associated with installing the tenth version as an update on top of the existing seventh or eighth.

The product itself downloaded during the installation of a new system takes up about 30 GB or more. In addition, files from the old OS are saved on the hard drive for 30 days in case the user decides to abandon Windows 10 and return to the previous working system with all installed applications and settings.

Thus, the solution to the problem in question (how to clean up the system drive C in Windows 10) most often comes down to deleting the installation files of the new system and residual components of the old one. To do this, use the standard disk cleanup tool, which can be accessed through the RMB menu on the selected partition in regular Explorer. Simply click the clean button, then select the necessary components and click the delete button.

In some cases, you can use system file cleaner. But here you need to be as careful as possible. You can also easily get rid of old copies of Windows 10 if you installed a new build of the system (namely the build of Windows 10, and not the tenth version instead of the seventh or eighth).

They are stored in a special folder Windows.old. Again, simply deleting a directory from Explorer is not recommended. It is better to use a standard cleaning product.

Standard system tools

But it was in the tenth version that interesting settings related to the storage section appeared. You can free up space on the C drive (Windows 10) there. To do this, you need to use the options menu and the system section where you select the “Storage” item.

Here the priority is the automatic memory control parameter (the slider just needs to be moved to the on position). If you go into additional settings, you can specify which files will be deleted without user intervention (unused ones or those that have been moved to the Trash and have been there for more than 30 days). At the same time, you can perform instant cleaning by pressing the appropriate button.

Uninstalling unnecessary programs

There is another effective way to free up space on the C drive in Windows 10, which is to use uninstall tools for unneeded programs. To do this, use either the settings menu with access to the applications section, or the standard Programs and Features tool located in the “Control Panel”, which can be called in the fastest way through the “Run” console by entering the control command.

As an additional tool, you can use the removal of installed updates through the specified sections or even driver updates.

Removing built-in system applications

You can also free up space on drive C in Windows 10 by uninstalling embedded system programs supplied from the Store. The native command line and PowerShell console tools look quite complex, so the easiest way is to use special uninstallers like iObit Uninstaller.

In such an application, you need to use the system manager section (Win Manager), go to the installed Windows applications, select the component and remove it. You can use batch uninstallation, which consists of uninstalling several programs at once. After completing the standard uninstallation process, it is recommended to use the powerful scanning mode, which will identify unnecessary remains in the form of directories, files, or even registry keys. All results are deleted using the destroy function.

Cleaning Browsers

Browsers accumulate garbage the fastest. Even if the user accidentally calls Edge or Internet Explorer, not to mention other browsers, cache and temporary files will still be saved because they are not set to blank by default.

However, in any browser you can go into the settings and use the options to clear your browsing history. But when removing all temporary components, it is advisable to indicate the cleaning not for the last day or hour, but from the very beginning. The same can be done using uninstallers, simultaneously removing all unnecessary panels, extensions and add-ons present in web browsers (which is much preferable due to the complete removal of remnants, not to mention the uninstallation of virus or adware applications).

A few final words

Finally, it remains to add that if some kind of optimizer program is installed on the computer, the matter is simplified even more. It is enough just to run system cleaning automatically (for example, in the CCleaner application or similar), after which all found garbage will be removed. But in general, the first thing you need to do is get rid of heavy files and folders left over from previous systems and from updates to the current OS. But it is not recommended to delete backup copies that are used for recovery under any circumstances. This can only be done when, for example, a copy of the system partition is saved on an external drive or the system is planned to be restored exclusively from removable media.

The problem with free space on system drive C is familiar to many Windows 10 users. Over time, it runs out. It is not surprising, because it is on drive C that files in browsers are downloaded by default, system updates are installed, and all programs are installed.

In this article we will tell you how you can free up space on the C drive in Windows 10 without resorting to uninstalling programs.

What can you delete or move from the C drive?

The simplest and most effective method that allows you to free up about 4 GB is, which almost no one uses anyway. At the root of drive C there is a hidden file that is responsible for the operation of hibernation mode. By disabling this mode, you will immediately free up about 4GB.

hiberfil.sys file on drive C

The next step towards freeing up space on your system drive is to move to another local drive. This will free up a few more gigabytes.

Location of the pagefile sys page file on the hard drive

Removing the previous version of Windows along with the windows.old folder

Does your hard drive or SSD boot quickly? Want to free up space on your Windows 10 PC? In this guide, we will discuss all the ways to free up hard drive space in Windows 10.

You can free up gigabytes (GB) of disk space on your computer - it's not difficult at all. In this article, we will list all the possible ways to free up space on your Windows 10 PC.

Here are 16 ways to free up disk space in Windows 10.

You know about this and have probably already done it. If not, remove unnecessary programs and applications right away to free up disk space. Some of the programs may reserve GB of valuable disk space.

By going to the application " Options» → « Applications» → « Applications and features", you can view the disk space occupied by applications and programs. You can also uninstall apps and programs directly from this page.

You may want to consider deleting not-so-useful installed apps to free up disk space in Windows 10. Refer to our Windows 10 guide for instructions.

2. Turn off hibernation mode to free up disk space

Before you start, let's clarify that we only suggest disabling the hibernation feature if you don't use it or don't know what the hibernation feature is.

The hibernation feature creates a file when enabled hyberfil.sys, which takes up the size of RAM, on your PC. For example, if your computer is equipped 8 GB RAM, the sleep mode function takes about 7 GB disk space, decent size, isn't it.

Remember that the feature is enabled by default in Windows 10, but it is not added to the Start menu by default. So make sure it is disabled if you are not using it.

Here's how to turn off the hibernation feature.

Step 1: Open a command prompt as administrator by typing CMD in the search field "Start/Taskbar", right-click the element "Command line" and select "Run as administrator".

Step 2: At an elevated command prompt, enter:

and press the key Enter to turn off the hibernation feature and free up space.

You can use instead Command line - PowerShell

3. Disable or delete system restore points

System restore points come in handy if you want to restore your Windows 10 PC to an earlier date to fix possible problems. Depending on the number of restore points and the allocated space for the Create System Restore Point feature, this takes up GB of disk space. Again, disabling System Restore is not recommended, especially if you know how to use it!

But there is one thing, you can delete all restore points except the last one if you do not want to disable this feature. There are also ways to delete individual restore points.

Here's how to disable System Restore.

Step 1: In the search field Start/Taskbar enter and press key Enter.

Step 2: Go to the tab "System protection". In chapter "Protection settings" select the drive and click the button "Tune".

Step 3: In the dialog box that appears, select and click the button "Apply".

Repeat steps 2 And 3 for other drives to completely disable System Restore for all drives and free up disk space in Windows 10.

4. Empty Trash

You probably know that when you delete a file in Windows 10, by selecting the file and then pressing the Delete key, the file is moved to the Recycle Bin. While the file is in the Recycle Bin, it continues to occupy disk space. You can recover valuable disk space by allocating less disk space for the Recycle Bin and deleting all files from the Recycle Bin.

If you frequently use the Shift + Del keyboard shortcut to delete files without moving the files to the Recycle Bin, you should probably disable the Recycle Bin. We also recommend setting Windows 10 to automatically delete old files from the Recycle Bin.

Like older versions of software, older drivers are unnecessary and take up disk space. Luckily, Windows 10 allows you to easily remove old device drivers. Please see our instructions on how to remove old device drivers in the Windows 10 guide for step-by-step instructions.

Step 1: Open This computer. Right-click on the drive where Windows 10 is installed, and then click "Properties".

Step 2: Click the button "Disk Cleanup".

Step 3: In the next dialog box, click " Clean system files".

Step 4: When you see the results, check the box next to "Device Driver Packages" and press the button "OK" to remove the Driver Packages files.

6. Delete the Windows.old folder

If you recently upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8.1 or upgraded to the latest version of Windows 10, you will most likely have a folder called Windows.old in the root directory of your system drive.

The Windows.old folder contains data from previous versions of Windows and takes up at least 10 GB disk space. If you are sure that you don't need the data from previous Windows installations, you should delete the Windows.old folder to free up a significant amount of disk space.

10. Deleting unused user accounts

The new user account usually takes up very little disk space. Depending on the number of files and size, a user account may take up several MB or GB of disk space.

In short, if you have an unused user account on your PC, you can delete it, although you may get very little space by doing so. You can always create a new account whenever you need it. To delete an account, open "Options"→ "Accounts" → "Family and Other People". Select the account you don't need and click the button "Delete".

Compressing disks is probably not a good idea, especially if you don't want to reduce overall performance. However, if you are severely short on space, you can do this to free up some space.

12. Find large files and delete them if you don't need them.

Finding large files is quite easy. Find out how to find large files in Windows 10 for step-by-step instructions. Delete large files as well as small files that you no longer need.

Step 1: Open File Explorer. Navigate to the drive or folder where you want to search for large files.

Step 2: Click on the search field to see the tab "Search".

Step 3: Click the Search tab to view all search options.

Step 4: Click "Size", and then select one of the filters. As you can see, there are a total of seven filters: Empty (0 KB), Tiny (0-10 V), Small (10-100 KB), Medium (100 KB - 1 MB), Large (1-16 MB) , Huge (16 - 128 MB), Giant (> 128 MB).

If you select the Giant (>128MB) filter, File Explorer will automatically search for all files larger than 128MB.

What if you want to search all files larger than 500 MB? Just. In the search field, enter size:> 500 MB to view all files larger than 500 MB. Likewise, use size:>1 GB to find all files larger than 1 GB.

Finally, to find all files larger than 1 GB, but less 5 GB(you can set any size), just type in the search field size:>500MB<5GB . Of course you can change these values!

Delivery optimization files are files that have previously been downloaded to your computer. You can delete these files to free up disk space in Windows 10. To delete Delivery Optimization files:

Step 1: Open This computer. Right-click on the drive where Windows 10 is installed, and then click "Properties".

Step 2: Click the button "Disk Cleanup".

Step 3: When you see the results, check the box "Delivery Optimization Files" and press the button "OK" to remove delivery optimization files.

Temporary files that applications do not use can also be deleted. Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Open the application "Options". Go to section System → Storage.

Step 3: Select Delete temporary files not used by my applications.

Make sure no other options are selected, and then click "Clear Now"

Some Windows devices, like tablets, have limited memory. From time to time, users encounter a lack of internal space when installing new programs or system updates. In this manual we will tell you how to free up space on the Windows 10 system disk from unnecessary files.

There are many different cleaning programs available, such as CCleaner, but Microsoft strongly discourages their use. That is why we will consider only systemic mechanisms.

How to delete temporary files in Windows 10

Windows 10 has a fairly easy way to delete unused temporary files.

What files should be deleted

Let's figure out what types of files you can delete without any consequences.

• Windows Update files. You can and should get rid of them (since Update Center in Windows 10 often forgets to do this automatically), but we recommend using the utility for this Disk Cleanup or clear the update center folder manually (this will be discussed a little later in our instructions). Application Options sometimes it fails to remove these system files and freezes.
• Windows Error Reporting Files. This temporary data can be safely deleted.
• Windows Defender Antivirus. You can also safely get rid of these files.
• Sketches. You should not delete these files on weak devices or on devices with a slower drive, especially if you view photos in Explorer quite often. The thumbnail cache usually doesn't take up much space, but it greatly speeds up Explorer.
• Files from previous versions of Windows. During the first 10 days after installing a major update, you have the opportunity to roll back to a previous version of Windows using these files. If you do not intend to do this, or 10 days have already passed, you can delete them. True, as in the case of the Windows Update cache, for this we recommend using the utility Disk Cleanup.
• Temporary files. They can be removed without problems.
• Temporary Internet files. After removing them, you may notice a slight slowdown in the Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer browsers, but this will go away very soon - as soon as the browsers create new cache files.
• Delivery optimization files. You can easily remove them.
• DirectX Texture Builder Cache. You can also get rid of these files without any problems.

How to enable and configure automatic deletion of temporary files

How to clear app cache from Windows Store

Each application from the Windows Store creates its own temporary files in order to work correctly. Some of these objects are deleted automatically, but some are not. For manual cleaning, there is a separate option for deleting unnecessary temporary files.

Note: Please note that after such an operation you will have to log in to your account in the application again and configure it. All current data will be lost.

How to remove unnecessary applications

Almost everyone has unused applications on their computer. To prevent them from taking up extra space, it makes sense to get rid of them.

1. Go to Settings - Applications - Applications and features.
2. Click on menu Filter by and select the item This computer (C:).
3. Find programs you don't need in the list of applications.
4. Click on such an application and click Delete.

Please note that not all standard applications can be removed using this method. If you want to get rid of standard programs, the "" instruction will help you.

How to use the built-in Disk Cleanup utility

For many years now, Windows has had a special utility for deleting most non-critical system files. It works quite well, so you shouldn’t neglect it.

How to clear folders with cache of Win32 programs and Update Center

Above we showed how to delete temporary application files from Windows Store. But regular Win32 programs often create even more cache. In addition, Windows Update often stores files of already installed system updates for a long time. Fortunately, all this is easy to get rid of.

How to move system folders to another drive

Many users unknowingly store their documents, presentations, music and other files on the system drive, often without even knowing it. Recall that folders like Documentation, Music, Downloads, Desktop, are located on the system drive by default. In addition, the OneDrive folder is usually placed on drive C.

How to clean up or move system folders in Windows 10

Some system folders with temporary files cannot be cleared using normal actions. The most voluminous of these directories is WinSxS. You can read about that in the corresponding article.

How to activate Compact mode in Windows 10

A special system operating mode has been added to Windows 10 - Compact. It is intended for devices with SSD storage, but can be useful on regular computers as well.

The essence of Compact mode is to compress rarely used system files, which allows you to free up up to 2 GB of space on the system disk. You can find detailed instructions on how to activate this mode in the article "".

How to Shrink or Delete the Hibernation File in Windows 10

Windows 7 debuted this feature hibernation, which migrated to Windows 10. Its essence is to save all files from RAM on the system drive, so that even after turning off/on the computer you can continue working from where you left off. Also part of the hibernation function is quick start- a special mode that speeds up system loading.

The advantage of hibernation is convenience. The downside is that for it to work, the system creates a special file on the system disk, the size of which often exceeds several gigabytes. And even if you don't use it, the hibernation file will still take up precious space. But Windows developers have provided the ability to reduce the size or delete the hibernation file.

How to reduce hibernation file size

Reducing the file size will disable the ability to directly hibernate, but will retain the Fast Launch feature.

How to delete the hibernation file

Deleting the hibernation file completely will free up more space, but will remove both the hibernation feature and the Quick Startup feature.

How to reduce or delete the page file in Windows 10

(or virtual memory) is used by the system as a replacement for RAM. It has a beneficial effect on multitasking and performance in Windows 10, but it also takes up several gigabytes of your system disk. The system contains tools that allow you to change the file size or delete it.