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6 Ways to Make Necessary Space on Your Windows Hard Drive

If you’re reading this, you may fall into one of two categories. You’ve run out of room on your computer, and you have no more room for any more files or programs, or your computer is running incredibly slow, and you need to speed it up so you can get stuff done.

Whichever relates closest to you, the solution is to clear up your computer and get more space back under your control. There are multiple ways you can go about doing this, of which six of the best we’re going to explore below.

Way 1. Clear the Recycle Bin

Perhaps the easiest and most common way to clear up space straight away from your computer is to clear the Recycle Bin. It’s where all the files you deleted go to, waiting for you to either restore them (if you needed them or accidentally deleted them) or to clear the computer.

To do this, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Empty Recycle Bin. Then you’re done!

Way 2. Run Disk Cleanup

If you’re looking for a more detailed scan and cleanup of your computer, the best way to do this is to run a feature known as Disk Cleanup. This program scans everything on your computer, including cache files, download folders, and temporary folders, before allowing you to select what you want to delete.

Simply open the Start menu and search Disk Cleanup. Then select the drive you want to clean up and click on OK. This can secure you literally gigabytes of space!

Way 3. Start Using OneDrive

If you don’t already use OneDrive, this can be a great way to save space on your actual computer for things like programs and applications. You just need to simply move your portable files like photos and word documents to the OneDrive.

Of course, you could use other file-sharing platforms if you prefer, including Google Drive and Dropbox, each of which will free up space on the hard drive of your computer.

Way 4. Run Windows Storage Sense

If your computer is running the Windows 10 operating system, you can easily create more space by running the Storage Sense feature. For this, simply click Settings > System > Storage, and then click the Configure Storage Sense option to begin.

From there, you’ll be able to clear temporary files from your computer, empty the Recycle Bin, clear your Downloads folder, clear OneDrive files, and much more with the click of a button.

Way 5. Run a Disk Defragment

When you use your computer, your hard drive will constantly move files around and create temporary spaces in which to run programs and applications. It’s all very technical, and I won’t go into here. But over time, this causes your computer to get very unorganized and full of these temporary files it no longer needs.

The best thing to free up space, and to speed up your computer, is to run a disk defragment task. In this way, your computer will get rid of unnecessary files and run much faster.

Simply open the Start menu and search “Disk Defragment”. Then run it by following the on-screen instructions.

Way 6. Uninstall Unused Software & Programs

Over the years, our computers start to collect programs, files, and software that we no longer want nor need. And eventually, our computer gets overloaded with the stuff. When you reach this point, you know it’s time for a cleanup.

The best way to do this is to open Control Panel and select “Uninstall programs”. Then go down the populated list, find all the programs you no longer want to use and remove them.

If you don’t know what a program or list entry is, your best bet is to leave it to save something not working. But if you know it’s a program you don’t use anymore, get rid of it to make more space.

Summary

As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can speed up your computer and gain more space at the same time. Run one of the methods above or all of them, and you’ll have your computer run like new in no time at all.

This post is contributed by Ashley Halsey. She is an IT and tech writer at Luckyassignments and Gumessays.com who has helped individuals and businesses around the world make the most of modern technology. As a mother of two children, she enjoys traveling, going to festivals and attending cooking classes!