How To Make Disc Space

• How To Make Disc Space On Mac
• How To Make Disc Space On My Pc
• How Do I Create More Disk Space

Are you running out of your Disk Space? Have you upgraded to Windows 10? Are you storing hundreds of HD quality movies, 'n' number of high-resolution photos, thousands of songs then sure you would have already hit the upper limit of your disk space storage capacity? So, you would be worried how to clean disk space capacity in your Windows 10.

If you can't free up enough disk space for your needs, you may even have to replace your hard drive with one that has more capacity. To free up disk space on your hard drive: Choose Start→Control Panel→System and Security and then click Free Up Disk Space in the Administrative Tools. The Disk Cleanup dialog box appears. Just leave the volume unallocated and let the other operating system's installation program do its thing with the drive. To allocate the unallocated space as a usable hard drive in Windows, follow these steps: Open the Disk Management console. Open the Control Panel.

This is quite a common issue that almost everyone is facing in today's digital world. Even if drives are bigger than earlier times and at a lesser price but still we keep running low on disk space. Moreover, with Microsoft's aggressive update strategy and low requirements of Windows 10 system has enabled even the older machines that have less amount of space as compared to modern models to upgrade to Windows 10.

However, whatever may be the reason for you approaching the upper limit of your disk space capacity, your first step should not be to simply go and buy a new drive. Instead, your first approach should be to make optimum use of your disk space. This can be achieved by removing files, apps, and games that you are not using anymore.

Here are ways to restore your storage space back on your Windows 10 PC.

1. Delete older versions of Windows

How To Make Disc Space On Mac

Windows by default save the data from the older versions of Windows post up gradation. This is so as to facilitate you to get back to your older version whenever you feel to do so. But this old data utilizes a lot of space. Not only the older versions but Windows also automatically saves files while installing the latest Anniversary update. It is quite easy to delete these files. Here is how to do it:

• Go to the Settings app.
• Select Storage in System.

• Select primary storage.
• A list of different categories will be displayed with a list of space they are using.
• Click on temporary files. Here mark the checkbox beside 'Previous Versions of Windows' and click on Remove files.

2. Clean the Recycle Bin

Whenever you delete any file or folder or photos in your PC, they are deleted from that space but are stored in Recycle Bin in case if required again. However, they occupy your crucial disk space. To empty the Recycle Bin, simply

• Right-click on your Recycle Bin.
• A drop-down menu will be displayed. Click on Empty Recycle bin.
• A dialogue box asking if you permanently wish to delete these items will be displayed on your screen
• Click 'Yes' to delete them permanently.

3. Clean the Update Cache

The copies of the Update installation files are stored in the Update Cache. In case, when you are forced to reapply an update, it can use the saved one. However, they take up space of your disk. In order to clean the disk space first stop the Windows Update Service:

• Search Services in the taskbar.
• Right click on it and a drop-down menu will be displayed.

• Click on Run as an administrator.
• From the list select Windows Update and right click on it.
• On the displayed menu click on Stop.

We have successfully stopped the Windows Update Service. Now, we need to delete the files.

• Now, Click Windows +R to open the run box.
• Type C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionand press Enter.

• You can delete everything displayed in the download folder.
• Now, go back to services and re-enable the Windows Update.

This method also enables you to remove corrupt files.

4. Disable Hibernation

Hibernation allows you to conserve power when you are not using your Windows machine. Sleep also does that. But the difference in both is that Sleep mode saves all your open documents and running applications in RAM, while Hibernate saves it all to the hard disk. Hibernate thus, saves the content of your PC in the disk so that you can shut down your PC completely and still your current data will be safe. In spite of its good use, it consumes several gigabytes of space to save the content in RAM to the hiberfil.sys file on the hard drive. In fact, if you don't use Hibernate mode simply delete it. As deleting it will by default also delete all the data that is saved from earlier hibernations.

To clean disk space, you need to disable hibernation to delete the hibernated data that is occupying space in your disk. To do so,

• Open Start and search Command Prompt.

• Right-click on it and select Run as an administrator.
• Type on it powercfg /hibernate off
• This will also turn off your ability to use Hibernation. However, when you have low space on your disk and you need space immediately, this is the good option.
• However, if ever you wish to turn it on repeat the above steps and type exe -h on instead.

5. Delivery Optimization Files

Desktop screenshot software for windows 7. Delivery Optimization is a new feature of Windows 10. It enables your device to pull updates from other machines nearby. The motto behind it is to deliver the updates faster. However, there are complains that it is using higher bandwidth and occupies a bigger chunk of memory.

The earlier files can be easily deleted and also disable this option so new files don't keep on taking more space. Here is a step by step process to clean disk space:

• In Windows taskbar go to Settings.
• Click on Update & Security
• Select Advanced Options.

• Choose How Updates Are Delivered.
• Turn it off.

Head to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Options > Choose How Updates Are Delivered. Once there, make sure the slider is set to the Off position.

Now to clean the space,

• Search Disk Clean-up and open the app.
• A dialogue box will be displayed asking you to select the drive you want to clean and click OK.
• A list of files that can be removed will be displayed. Search for Delivery Optimization files in the list and check the box beside it. Click OK. Windows will automatically delete it.

6. OEM Recovery Partition

Windows 10 also has OEM Recovery Partition. They are not much required and so can be removed safely. But it requires creating a recovery drive. Creating a recovery drive implies the need of a USB stick.

In order to create a drive,

• Type in the Taskbar – Create a Recovery Drive.

Follow the instructions as displayed on your screen. Insert a USB drive when asked. Once the process is finished, you'll see the option to delete the recovery partition from your PC on the final screen. Click the link and choose Delete to proceed.

7. Recovery Partition

Once you off this option, you would neither be able to use the Windows 10's recovery options nor will you be able to boot into the recovery environment to troubleshoot other aspects of the operating system. Moreover, before initiating this process, have the backup ready for all your data and even create a USB recovery drive.

Once you are done with it, you can start the process.

• Search Command Prompt in the taskbar.
• Right click on it and click on Run as administrator.
• Type Diskpart and Press Enter.

• Now type List disk and again press Enter.
• Type Select disk _ (in blank write the number of the disk where your recovery partition is saved.) Then type List Volume.

• A list of all the volumes on the disk will be displayed. Along with it, your recovery partition will also be displayed.
• Now type Select Volume 3 (here I have written 3 as that is my recovery portion. You write your recovery portion number.)
• Type Delete Volume and press Enter.

Unused apps and games

Many apps and games came preinstalled on your computer and you may not be using them all. Deleting such apps may clean disk space on your device. Or even games or apps that you may have installed and you don't use them now. But they eat up a lot of storage place.

Here is a detailed process to remove them from your device:

• Go to Settings.
• Click on Apps.
• Select Apps and Features.
• Choose the game or app you wish to remove and click on Uninstall button.

Do this process for all the apps and games to clean disk space and you may have enough free space in your Windows 10 laptop. How to make a youtube end screen on imovie.

What is taking up space on my hard drive?

If you haven't got space on your computer for that new app or game, or the clutter on your hard drive is just driving you crazy, you're not alone.

With the introduction of SSDs (solid-state drives) offering loads less space than traditional mechanical hard drives, in conjunction with games and applications requiring more and more disk space, your hard drive can easily become full.

In this article, we'll go through the top 8 ways to clean up your Windows hard drive: finding out what is taking up so much space on your hard drive, reducing the clutter and creating space for those all important new applications or files. So, without further ado, let's get started…

Using Mac instead? Find out how to clear disk space on Mac >

Jump straight to:

New Update: Windows Storage Sense

Since the initial publication of this article, Microsoft have been busy working on the issue of saving space on people's computers. The amalgamation of their hard-work comes in the form of 'Storage Sense' - An all-in-one, intuitive feature which cleans a computer of unwanted files easier and more efficiently than ever before!

If you are using Windows 10, you can use this feature in place of the 'Windows Disk Cleanup' and 'Take out the Trash' sections of this article. This is because these steps are now covered by Storage Sense (Disk Cleanup and Recycle Bin are still available too if you prefer to use those, or if you are running another version of Windows like Windows 7). Let's see how to use this new feature.

• Use Storage Sense on demand
• Set up Storage Sense to run automatically

How to use Storage Sense on demand

If you don't need to clean up your computer files very often, or if you want control over exactly what files are deleted, I would recommend using Storage Sense on demand, rather than allowing it to run automatically. Here's how:

1. Click your Windows icon and open 'Settings'.
2. Click 'System'.
3. Select 'Storage' from the list on the left.
4. Under 'Storage Sense', click 'Free up space now'.
   
5. Your computer will be scanned for temporary files which may want to delete.
6. Once the scan is complete, tick the files you want to delete.
7. Click 'Remove Files' to permanently delete the files from your computer.

How to configure Storage Sense to run automatically

If you often need to clean up your computer for temporary files and like the sound of automating the process, I would recommend using Storage Sense to automatically and periodically clean up your files. Here's how:

1. Click your Windows icon and open 'Settings'.
2. Click 'System'.
3. Select 'Storage' from the list on the left.
4. Under 'Storage Sense', click 'Change how we free up space automatically'.
   
5. Choose your preferences (set when you would like Storage Sense to run, what to delete, and how long).
6. Once you're happy with your selections, toggle Storage Sense on.
7. Click 'Clean Now' if you want to start your first scan now.

The tool is great, right? It's a massive improvement over the separate, hard-to-find features from before. However, it still does not deal with duplicate files, uninstalling unused programs and more. Jump to: finding and deleting duplicates now >

1. Windows Disk Cleanup

Windows comes with a handful of great tools to help keep your computer's storage nice and tidy. The problem is, not everybody knows where to find these functions, or what to look for.

Disk Cleanup is the first of these tools. It allows you to delete data such as temporary files, which can amount to GB's (gigabytes) of data over time.

To access the Disk Cleanup function:

1. Go to your Computer window (Start -> Computer)
2. Right-Click your hard-drive and select ‘Properties'
3. Under the ‘General' tab, click ‘Disk Cleanup'
4. Windows will scan your drive and let you know how much space you can save by running Disk Cleanup
5. Select the files that you wish to delete form the drive, and hit OK

Another function to mention here is ‘Clean up system files'. Using this function, you can remove older Windows restore points from your drive, leaving only the most recent one. If you wish to use this function, please ensure that your computer is running as expected, as once the restore points are removed, you will not be able to fall back to them.

To use ‘Clean up system files': https://download-import.mystrikingly.com/blog/jump-desktop-remote-desktop-6-0-3-download-free.

1. Click Clean up system files
2. Go to the ‘More Options tab' in the Disk Cleanup window
3. Click ‘Clean up…' under the ‘System Restore and Shadow Copies' heading

2. Uninstall Programs

For many computer users, most of the disk space used is by applications and games. If you find that you no longer use certain programs, you can uninstall and remove them from your hard drive.

Again, Windows provides the ability to easily get rid of any unwanted programs that we may have on our computer. To uninstall/remove programs, follow the steps below:

1. Start -> Control Panel -> Uninstall a program
2. Sort the list of programs by file size by clicking the ‘Size header'. Now you can see which programs take up the most space on your computer.
3. Click any program that you wish to remove, and click ‘Uninstall'

3. Remove Duplicate Files

It is likely that you've accumulated duplicate files over time, which are unnecessary for the running of your computer. Unfortunately, Windows does not provide an easy way to find and remove these duplicate files, so a third party software is needed.

There are a number of applications for the removal of duplicate files, but we'll look at Duplicate Sweeper here. Duplicate Sweeper has a clear and easy interface, and finds and removes duplicates easily.

Let Duplicate Sweeper automatically select duplicate files for removal, using your preferences, or select individual files yourself.

For more information about Duplicate Sweeper, or to download the free trial:

Try Duplicate Sweeper free ▼

Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:

How To Make Disc Space On My Pc

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.

On a similar point, you can also delete any duplicate tracks in iTunes which can take up a lot of disk space. This function can be found in iTunes -> File -> Library -> Show Duplicate Items. From this list you can delete any duplicate tracks.

However, if you have loads of duplicate files listed, which ones should you delete? To manually go through each track and pick the best may take some time. For this reason, many people use a third-party software to help out.

One such application is Tune Sweeper. Tune Sweeper can quickly search your iTunes library for duplicates, and automatically select which to remove based on preferences such as highest quality, longest duration or latest played.

Tune Sweeper can also tidy up your iTunes library by fixing track information, downloading missing album artwork to tracks, removing missing tracks and loads more.

For more information about Tune Sweeper, or to download the free trial:

4. Temporary Files

'Wait, we just removed temporary files using Windows Disk Cleanup', I hear you say. Yes, we deleted temporary files containing webpages, stored on your hard drive for quick viewing. Unfortunately, the Disk Cleanup method did not include files saved by external apps such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. There may still be gigabytes worth of cookies, internet history and caches stored on your computer.

You can delete this information directly from your browser, or by using a third-party application.

For example, using Google Chrome, you can open the settings menu (the 3 dots next to the address bar) -> More tools -> Clear Browsing data… From here you can select which data you wish to remove, then click ‘Clear browsing data'.

5. Take out the Trash

Some of these files which we have removed using the above steps may end up being moved to the Recycle Bin. This is a nice safety measure, because if you make a mistake and have removed a file which you now want back, you can easily restore the file from the Recycle Bin.

However, the files in the Recycle Bin are still taking up space on your computer. If you're sure that you would like to remove the files in your Recycle Bin, you can select files and right-click to delete them, or simply click ‘Empty the Recycle Bin' to permanently delete all of the files.

6. Store data on External Storage or in the Cloud

All previous methods in this list describe how to delete or remove files from your computer which you may not need. However, what of the files which you wish to keep, such as precious photos, video and music? These media types can accumulate to some serious storage space, but if you no longer have space for them on your PC hard drive, you still have options!

A common method for keeping data safe is to transfer it to external storage. There are 2 platforms for storing your data elsewhere from your main computer: physical storage and cloud storage.

Physical storage comes in many different shapes and sizes, but can most commonly be seen as USB Drives or external hard drives. Transferring data from your PC hard drive to an external hard drive allows you to delete the original files on your PC, while still keeping them safe in storage. Needless to say, this can clear a huge chunk of storage space on your PC.

Cloud Storage allows you to store your files on remote servers, and access them via the internet. There are many different cloud service providers: Apple iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive are only two examples. Most providers offer a certain amount of storage space free, and then give the option to pay monthly for more storage space if you should need it.

7. Defragment your Hard Drive

How Do I Create More Disk Space

When adding a new file to your computer, a particular portion of your hard drive is allocated to store the file. However, after constantly saving and deleting files, a disk will become ‘fragmented'. This means that there are gaps in your hard drive where subsequent files would not fit, so they are left vacant.

As well as affecting your usable free space on your hard drive, fragmentation also has a negative impact on your computer's ability to store your data in sequence, hence slowing down it's speed.

Luckily, Windows has us covered, providing a ‘Disk Defragmentation' tool. Using this tool, we can analyze which of our drives would benefit from defragmentation, before we commit to defragging. This is very useful, as if you have a large drive full of data, it may take a substantial amount of time to defrag.

To make use of this tool, hit your Windows icon, or Start menu, then start typing 'Defragment'. From the search list, click Disk Defragmenter. Once you see the tool's window, you can elect each drive and analyze them to determine what percentage of them is fragmented. Higher percentages mean higher fragmentation.

To defragment your disk, just hit 'Defragment Disk'.

Note:

• It is not advised to defragment your hard drive too often, as the constant writing and erasing of data can reduce the lifespan of your hard drive.
• It may also be worth pointing out that there has been some debate as to whether defragmentation of SSDs (solid-state drives) is beneficial or detrimental to the drive. If you are unsure, you can read up on the discussion at PC World.

8. Sufficient RAM

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the hardware in your computer which determines how you store data. RAM stores data or instructions which you use frequently, providing fast read or write processes to improve the general speed of your computer experience.

Sounds great, right? Right. However, if you don't have sufficient RAM, your computer will start to store the overflow of information which should be stored in RAM, in your hard drive instead. Then, when your computer wants to read or write this data, it is a much slower process between hard drive-computer than RAM-computer.

For these reasons, make sure that you have enough RAM for the processes that you generally do on your computer. It may be worth pointing out that the average user, who's agenda may be text editing and web browsing, will not require as much RAM as a user who frequently runs multiple programs at once including photo or video editing and rendering software.

You can find out how much RAM you currently have installed in your computer by going to Computer > Properties.