Free up space on c drive windows 10

When the computer’s hard drive begins to fill up, you will start wondering what’s taking up all the available space, which is when “Storage sense” will come in handy.

Table of Contents Show

Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10
Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10 1809 and older
How do I free up space on my C drive Windows 10?
How do I free up space on my C drive?
What do I do when my C drive is full Windows 10?
Why is my C drive always so full?

On Windows 10, most people know Storage sense as a feature to free up hard drive space. While this is true, it is also a tool to analyze the content of any drive to figure out the space utilization to know where to start cleaning up files you cannot remove using this feature.

In this guide, you will learn how to use Storage sense to understand how storage is utilized on Windows 10.

Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10
Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10 1809 and older

Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10

To see the files taking up space on the hard drive on Windows 10, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 10.
Click on System.
Click on Storage.
Under the “(C:)” section, you will see what’s taking up space on the main hard drive.
Click the “Show more categories” option to view the storage usage from other file types.
(Optional) Under the “More storage settings” section, click the “View storage usage on other drives” option.
Select the drive to see its storage usage if you have multiple hard drives.
See storage usage for the other drive.

Once you complete the steps, you will understand what files take up most of the space on your device. (See also a video tutorial.)

Find out what files are taking up space on Windows 10 1809 and older

To see the drive space utilization on Windows 10 1809 (or older releases), use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on System.
Click on Storage.
Under the “Local storage” section, click the drive to see the storage usage.
While on “Storage usage,” you can see what’s taking up space on the hard drive. Also, you can click on each item to get more details and take additional actions.
For instance, if you notice that some apps are taking up most of the space, you can click the “Apps & games” item to see and uninstall apps you no longer need.

If temporary files are the items consuming most of your storage, you can use this guide to free up space quickly.

Storage usage offers an overview of everything stored on the drive, including system files, apps, games, temporary files, and those stored in the Documents, OneDrive, Pictures, Music, Videos, and files from other accounts if you share the device with other users.

Alternatively, you can also use third-party tools, such as WinDirStat, to see what files fill out the hard drive to take action accordingly.

How do I free up space on my C drive Windows 10?

Select Start > Settings > System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations. Open Storage settings..

Select the temporary files, unused files, files synced to the cloud, or unused apps you want to remove, then select the Clean up button for each section..

How do I free up space on my C drive?

Open Disk Cleanup by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Disk Cleanup, and then, in the list of results, select Disk Cleanup. If prompted, select the drive that you want to clean up, and then select OK. In the Disk Cleanup dialog box in the Description section, select Clean up system files.

What do I do when my C drive is full Windows 10?

In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, then select it from the results. Select the drive you want to clean up files for, then select OK. Select the check box next to the type of files you want to delete.

Why is my C drive always so full?

However, the major causes responsible for filling up of C drive are: Recycle Bin is full. Installation of multitude of applications and programs. Large files downloaded and stored in C drive.