Hard disks represent an essential area of computing systems- they store anything and everything from necessary documents, videos to junk files and apps which we seldom use. Hard disks have been getting bigger by the day, yet they seem to fill up faster than before. A filled up hard disk becomes the centerpiece of our troubles as we become devoid of necessary space to perform any activities or download files on our machine.
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Windows 10 specially invites the use of many apps which have known to be space hungry- they use up almost all the space available and encroach on territories not marked for their use. Some best possible methods which have been used by many to successfully free up hard disk space on windows 10 have been listed below:[/fquote]
Windows 10 specially invites the use of many apps which have known to be space hungry- they use up almost all the space available and encroach on territories not marked for their use. Some best possible methods which have been used by many to successfully free up hard disk space on windows 10 have been listed below:[/fquote]
1. Analysis of Disk Space
The most priority should have given to determine which component is using up the most space and their location. There is one simple logic behind this move: getting rid of large items will clean the drive quicker.
Another great way of assessing the unused items is the Disk Analyzer. It will sniff out the files which meant something years back, but have lost their shine with time.
Tools for hard drive visualization such as WizTree or Windows Directory Statistics (better known as WinDirStat) can be used to scan your system, and organize the folders, as well as show which ones are taking up the most space.
2. Use of Disk Cleanup to Clear Temporary Files
Windows 10 has one inbuilt feature, the Disk Cleanup, which takes care of temporary files. Since most of these files are deposited during software installations, it’s pretty safe to delete them, without the fear of breaking into demanding procedures.
To start Disk Cleanup, Open Run command by using Windows + R. Then write “cleanmgr” and hit enter. Now select the drive and disk cleanup for that particular drive should open up. Select all the unnecessary files and click ok.
On top of these, every browser too generates their sharing of temporary files, which can be cleared by Browser Cleaner.
3. Clear out Files which has been Duplicated
Many a times, we tend to keep more than one copy of a file to either keep a backup or because we have saved it a couple of times unknowingly. These gobble up valuable space, if they are especially large files.
Deleting these files do not cause any amount of damage as these are duplicates. Apps like DupeGuru can effectively manage and delete these sorts of files.
4. Removal of Space Hungry Apps
The Size column from Programs and Features Control panel can effectively show, which app is using up how much of disk space. If installation of apps which does not create much of a stir, or games which are not used are performed, it will lead to a considerable opening up of disk space.
5. Check Space used by Unused Features
System features like Windows Restore and Hibernate require hard disk space to operate. For example, the Hibernate feature may require up to 6 gigabytes of space to function. These features are best removed if they haven’t been used since time unmemorable, as this will cause a lot of hard disk space to open up.
6. Use the Cloud Storage facilities
The concept of cloud storage allows the storage of important files to be uploaded to a server and stored safely. As an example, Dropbox cloud storage allows a significant amount of your data to be stored safely, thus effectively freeing up your hard disk space.
7. Managing Optional Features
Many optional items can be installed on a system without even knowing about it. It is better to regularly check for such unwanted optional features, and clean them off.
8. Use of Offline Services
Offline services like Offline maps aid in navigation without internet connectivity. However, these are required to be downloaded on a system, which ends up in using up of hard disk space. Deleting such features after they have been used effectively saves a lot of this space. This step is useful for Windows 10 tablets and mobiles.
9. Planned use of One Drive
Windows offer its own cloud services, popularly known as the One Drive. This works similar to Dropbox, with one added characteristic: it has the capability to save files offline. If you are saving every file using One Drive, there is a good chance you are wasting your precious hard disk space.
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