no need to buy a new one

Laptops and desktop computers, running Windows, include drives with several gigabytes of storage. However, it is not uncommon that with time and use, these supports become completely filled with documents, images, videos, software and games. This can cause slowdowns, bugs, and many other issues. How to avoid such stressful situations? Is there a quick, easy, and effective way to free up space on your computer and make it faster? Let’s see all this in detail!

You don’t need any technical knowledge to free up space on your PC’s hard drive. Let’s see how without further ado!

Steps to free up space on your computer’s hard drive

By freeing up space on your computer’s hard drive, you limit errors and improve operating system performance. That is how!

Also read: It is not recommended to turn off the computer with the power button: see what happens to your PC

Dealing with a slow computer – Source: spm

1. First, click on the “Start” button, usually located at the bottom left of your screen.
2. Then, in the search bar, type “Disk Cleanup”. See a list of results? Choose “Disk Cleanup”.
3. Click on the drive you want to clean (if prompted to do so) and click “OK.” Or, in the “Disk Cleanup” dialog box, in the “Description” section, select “Clean up system files.”
4. Then, if prompted, choose the drive you want to clean and click “OK.”
5. Now, in the “Disk Cleanup” dialog box, under the “Disk Cleanup” tab, check the boxes that correspond to the file types you want to delete, then click “OK.” To get rid of data from a previous installation of Windows, remember to check the “Previous installations of Windows” box.
6. Is a message displayed? Choose “Delete Files”.
7. Finally, go to “Computer”, in File Explorer, choose the drive you cleaned up, then select “Refresh”. There it is finished!

Other methods to free up space on your computer

A slow computer is annoying – Source: spm

There are other tricks to free up space on your computer, here are some!

Windows Storage Assistant to analyze the data stored on your computer

In the previous tip, we saw how to automatically clean up your PC’s hard drive in just a few clicks. Now, if one wants to get rid of junk files and free up more space, one can turn to Windows Storage Wizard to do it manually. This tool allows you to quickly and easily analyze your storage space by sorting the data and classifying it according to different categories. Thus, you will be able to better detect the software, videos and other documents to be deleted.

1. To access the Windows storage wizard, go to “Settings.”
2. Next, click on the “System” category to access the “Storage” tab.
3. From that moment on, the wizard will be executed to review your folders such as “Documents”, “Music”… as well as their size.
4. Assuming the largest folder is the software folder, click it to locate all installed software, sorted by size. If you find that the sorting is not automatic, please adjust it using the “Sort by” function.
5. Finally, take your pick! All downloaded and unnecessary software should be removed.

N.B: You should not blindly uninstall programs and software! It is possible that you are removing elements necessary for the proper functioning of your PC.

Note that Windows Storage Sense is still effective at removing large software. As for the so-called “classic” files, this tool simply designates you and redirects you to the files that take up a lot of space so you can uninstall them.

Clear Internet Browser Data to Free Up Space on Your Computer

A computer that rows over and over again – Source: spm

Surely you have heard of navigation data. Considered as cache memory, they allow Internet users to load the visited sites more quickly. In addition, this data may also constitute Internet history or files classified by the browser. Follow this tutorial to get rid of it and recover space on your hard drive!

If you use Google Chrome as your browser:

1. Click on the 3 dots at the top right to access the Menu and click on “More tools” and then on “Clear browsing data”.
2. Do you see a page that opens and asks you to select what you want to delete? Make your choice, then click “Clear data.” It’s good, no further action is required!

If you choose Firefox as your browser:

1. Click on the 3 lines at the top right to open the Menu and select “Options”.
2. On the new page, go to ‘Privacy and security’ and scroll down to ‘Cookies and site data’.
3. Finally, click on “Clear data”, choose the cached contents and… delete!

Finally, the handling for the Microsoft Edge browser does not differ too much from the previous two browsers:

Also read: What happens when you close the lid of your laptop without turning it off

1. Click on the famous 3 dots at the top right and go to the Menu to access “Settings”.
2. A page opens that will allow you to access “Privacy and services”. Scroll down to “Clear browsing data”.
3. Click “Choose Items to Clear”, make your selection of cached images and files.
4. Click “Erase Now” to get rid of unnecessary duplicate files that are slowing down your computer!

Last little tip: don’t forget to empty the trash to free up space!

Thanks to these tips, dear readers, you will no longer have to get angry or annoyed in front of your computer screen! Shall we bet?

Also read: What to do when your computer overheats and how to reduce the temperature quickly?