Free disk space windows 7

Article Summary. Part 1. Type in disk cleanup. Doing so will search your computer for the Disk Cleanup program, which is included in all versions of Windows 7. It should be near the top of the Start menu. This will open the Disk Cleanup window. This is in the lower-left side of the Disk Cleanup window. If you aren't on an administrator account, you can't clean up system files. Skip this step and the next one. Click Yes when prompted. Doing so will allow Disk Cleanup to restart with additional options available.

Click the checkbox next to each category of files or items you want to delete from your computer, making sure to uncheck any checkboxes next to items you want to keep.

Some of the categories are as follows, though you may see more categories than these: Windows Update — Removes the last Windows Update files from your computer this does not remove the current update. Downloaded Program Files — Removes unnecessary files from programs.

Temporary Internet Files — Removes saved Internet files. System created Windows Error Reporting — Removes error reporting files.

Recycle Bin — Removes any files stored in the Recycle Bin. Temporary files — Removes other temporary files created by programs or web use.

User file history — Removes history of browsing e. Everything in this menu can be deleted safely, but removing things like the Windows Update cache will prevent you from being able to roll back to the previous version of the Windows update. It's at the bottom of the window. Click Delete Files when prompted. Doing so will allow Disk Cleanup to begin erasing the selected items from your computer's hard drive. Once this process completes, Disk Cleanup will close itself.

It may take anywhere from a few minutes to around an hour for Disk Cleanup to finish running. Part 2. Click Control Panel. It's on the right side of the Start menu.

Doing so opens the Control Panel window. If you don't see Control Panel here for some reason, type control panel into the text box at the bottom of the Start menu, then click Control Panel in the search results. Click the "View by" drop-down box. You'll see this in the top-right corner of the Control Panel page. A drop-down menu will appear. Click Category. It's in the drop-down menu.

Click Uninstall a program. This is under the "Programs" heading in the lower-left side of the list of options. Select a program. Scroll down until you find the name of the program that you want to uninstall, then click the program's name to select it.

Click Uninstall. It's at the top of the window. For more info, see Manage drive space with Storage Sense. If your system doesn't have Storage sense, you can use the Disk Cleanup tool to delete temporary files and system files from your device. In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup , then select it from the results. Select the check box next to the type of files you want to delete. To view a description of each type of file, select the name.

Be sure to clear those check boxes if you don't want to delete those files. To free up even more space, select Clean up system files , and then select the type of system files you want to delete. Disk Cleanup will take a few moments to calculate the amount of space that can be freed up.

If you need to free up drive space, you can delete it, but keep in mind that you'll be deleting your Windows. If you delete your previous version of Windows, this can't be undone.

You won't be able to go back to your previous version of Windows. Selecting this option compresses the drive on which Windows is installed, helping you gain extra space to install important updates. This action does not delete the contents of this drive, and you shouldn't experience problems opening and saving files from the compressed drive.

After you install the update, you can manually decompress the OS drive at any time. Right-click or tap and hold the OS drive usually disk C , and then select Properties on the shortcut menu. Windows 11 may indicate that it needs more space to get the latest Windows 11 feature update. You can use an external storage device to help you complete the update.

To learn more, see Free up space for Windows updates. Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can take up a lot of space on your device.

To see which files are using the most space:. Select File Explorer from the taskbar and find the files you want to move. Under This PC in the menu on the left, select a folder to see what files are saved in it.

If there are files you no longer need on your device, you can either delete them or move them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card. Note: If you delete any files, remember to empty the Recycle Bin to completely remove them from your device and free up space.

To move photos, music, videos, or other files that you want to keep but don't use very often, consider saving them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card.

You'll still be able to use them when the drive is connected, but they won't take up space on your PC. Select File Explorer from the taskbar and go to the folder that contains the files you want to move. Select the files, then select Cut on the ribbon. Navigate to the location of the external storage device you connected, then select Paste. Instead of saving all your new files to the default drive, you can save some of them to a different drive that has more free space.

Open Storage settings. For each content type, select a drive from the drop-down menu. If the drive you want to use isn't listed there, make sure it's connected to your PC. You can save space by turning on OneDrive Files On-Demand, which stores a smaller placeholder file on your hard drive instead of the full-size file that's stored in your OneDrive account in the cloud.

You'll be able to get to your OneDrive files from your PC without having to use up hard-drive space downloading full-size versions of them all. Sometimes a virus or other malware can consume significant hard-drive space by corrupting your system files. If you suspect your PC is infected with malware, use an antivirus program like Windows Defender to run a virus scan and cleanup. If this doesn't fix the problem, you might need to reset your PC.

This is also recommended if your attempts to free up drive space trigger particular error codes that you need help resolving. The following questions concern low disk space and Windows Update specifically. Learn more about Windows Update.

When you select Fix issues , you'll be informed about how much additional space is needed. Learn how to free up space to install Windows updates. The total free disk space your device requires to complete an update varies. Learn about the difference between a feature update and a quality update. You need disk space to download the update, download new versions of any optional features and languages that are currently installed, and to apply the update. Additional space is temporarily required to support removal of the update typically for 10 days.

Use Google Fonts in Word. Use FaceTime on Android Signal vs. Customize the Taskbar in Windows What Is svchost. Best Smartwatches. Best Gaming Laptops. Best Smart Displays. Best Home Security Systems. Best External Solid State Drives. Best Portable Chargers.

Best Phone Chargers. Best Wi-Fi Range Extenders. Best Oculus Quest 2 Accessories. Best iPad Air Cases. Awesome PC Accessories. Best Linux Laptops. Best Wireless iPhone Earbuds. Best Bluetooth Trackers. Best eReaders. Best VPN. Browse All News Articles. Windows 11 Uninstall Clock. Teams Walkie-Talkie. PCI Express 6. Wordle Scams.