1. On the Windows desktop, double-click Recycle Bin.
   Figure : Recycle Bin icon

   
2. If there are any files you wish to keep, select the files, click the Manage tab, and then click Restore the selected items.
3. In the Manage tab, click Empty Recycle Bin, and then click Yes.
   Windows removes the contents of the Recycle Bin from the hard disk.
4. Close the Recycle Bin.

Deleting temporary files and directories increases hard disk space and reduces the time Windows takes to access the hard drive. Windows uses a TEMP directory to temporarily store files intended only for short-term use. Over time, these files might not be removed and can build up and cause problems.

1. Close all open apps and programs.
2. Open Disk Cleanup.
   • Windows 10: Using the search box on the taskbar, search for and open Disk Cleanup.
   • Windows 8: From the Start screen, type cleanmgr to open the Search charm, and then select cleanmgr from the search results.
   The Disk Cleanup : Drive Selection window opens.
3. Select the drive you want to clean up from the drop-down menu, and then click OK.
   A message displays stating that Disk Cleanup is calculating how much space can be freed.
4. When the Disk Cleanup for Windows window displays, place a checkmark next to the types of files you want the Disk Cleanup utility to delete. Temporary files are safe to delete.

     caution:

   Selecting some options can have a negative effect. If you are unsure about what to delete, do not delete files until you know which ones are important.

   Figure : Selecting files to delete

   
5. Click OK.
6. Click Delete Files to confirm.
   Windows deletes the files.
   Figure : Clicking Delete Files

   

You can remove unused or unwanted programs from your computer in order to increase the space on your hard drive.

System Restore is a feature of Windows that can revert system software and settings back to a particular date. System Restore does this by saving the changes made to system files in a restore point. Restore points use a lot of hard drive space. Adjusting the System Restore settings can free up hard drive space.

1. Open System settings in the Control Panel.
   • Windows 10: Using the search box on the taskbar, search for and open Control Panel. Make sure the View by setting is set to Large icons, and then click System.
   • Windows 8: In Windows, search for and open System.
2. Click System Protection in the tasks menu.
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
   Figure : Clicking System protection

   
3. On the System Protection tab of the System Properties window, click Configure.
   Figure : Clicking Configure

   
4. To reduce the amount of hard drive space the system reserves for system restores, slide the Max Usage slider bar to a lower percentage. You can choose more or less depending on how many restore points you want and the capacity of your hard drive.
   Figure : Max Usage slider set to 2%

   
5. Click OK to save the settings.

Check the amount of free space on the hard drive. If the free space is under 5% of the total disk space, it is time to free up space on the disk.

1. In Windows, search for and open This PC.
2. Under Devices and drives on the This PC window, right-click the main hard drive (usually C:), and then click Properties.
   Figure : Clicking Properties for the main hard drive

   
3. Click the General tab to view the amount of free space available on the hard drive.
   Figure : Checking Free space

   
4. If less than 5% of the total hard drive space is available, repeat the steps in this document to free up more hard drive space.

If your PC has two or more drives, storing personal files on the main drive can cause the PC to run slower. To improve performance move personal files to a secondary hard drive.

1. In the Windows search field type storage, and then click Storage system settings in the results list.
   Figure : Opening the Storage settings

   
2. Select a drive under Local Storage to check the drive space used on that drive.
   Figure : Storage list of drives

   
   Check the different types of content and the space they use.
   This information can help you decide which content to save on another drive. Click on a drive under the Local storage section (shown above).
   Figure : Storage usage by content type

   
3. Back on the Storage screen, under More storage settings click Change where new content is saved.
   Figure : Change where new content is saved

   
4. In the list, click This PC under the type of content you want to have saved to a different hard drive. Then select the drive where you want your new content to be saved (in the example we use New apps).
   After changing the drive designation, click Apply to change the drive where the content is saved in the future.
   Figure : Drive choices for New apps will save to:

   

Windows 10, when set properly, can automatically delete unwanted files, like temporary files, old items in the recycle bin, and files in the Downloads folder that have not been accessed or used in a month. Using Storage sense frees up space on your computer.

Storage sense does not remove all the files you do not need, so in addition to the files that are automatically deleted, you might need to delete other temporary files, Update logs, or other unwanted and unneeded files.

To enable Storage sense in Windows 10:

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Click System.
3. Click Storage.
4. Turn the Storage sense toggle switch to On.
   Figure : Storage sense toggled to On

   
5. Click Change how we free up space.
   Figure : Change how we free up space selected

   
6. Make the desired selections:
   Under Temporary files select what you want to delete:
   • Delete temporary files that my apps aren't using.
   • Delete files that have been in the recycle bin for over 30 days.
   • Delete files in the Downloads folder that haven't changed in 30 days.
   Under Free up space now you can delete the previous installation of Windows if you have installed a newer version of Windows.
   Click Clean now to immediately free up the space or close the Settings window and Storage sense deletes the items later.

     note:

   Depending on your version of Windows, the Change how we free up space window might vary slightly, but most of the selections are available.

   Figure : Change how we free up space

   

If you have data or files you want to save, but you do not need them very often, you can save them on a removable drive. Then, you can connect the drive when you need the files, but they will not be taking up space on the main hard drive.

  note:

Make sure the external storage device has sufficient unused space to accommodate the files you are moving to it.

1. Connect the external drive, open the storage location on your computer and create a new folder on the drive.
2. On the computer hard drive, open C: \Users\yourname.
3. Right-click My Documents or Documents folder and select Properties.
4. Click the Location tab.
5. Click Move.
6. In the dialog box, navigate to the new folder you created on the external hard drive, and create a new folder inside it called Documents. Select that new folder.
7. Click OK, and then click Yes to move the files.
8. Wait while the files are moved.