Gone are those days when 1TB of storage seemed enormous. Today, the size of applications have increased manifold. Within a few months of usage, your PC may run short of storage. Indiscriminately deleting files is not an option you may end up losing essential data related to your career, finance, and education. Here are the best ways to clean up your PC’s storage so that you can always add your new files.
Uninstall undesirable application
A significant space of your PC’s storage is taken by the installed applications. List out the redundant applications because one software is usually enough for one task. For instance, there is no point in keeping Evernote as well as OneNote since both perform the same tasks. Keep the one you are handier with. Uninstalling unnecessary applications will save much storage. You can do this in the following steps.
- Go to Start > Apps and Features
- Identify unnecessary applications
- Click the Uninstall button to remove them.
Optimise your Downloads folder
The Downloads folder contains a variety of files saved from the internet. These include image, text, video, and application setups. Once you have used some or all of the downloaded files, you may not require them anymore. The best practice is to delete them. A cleaned Downloads folder helps you quickly find new files downloaded from the internet.
Use the Disk Cleanup software
Disk Cleanup is an application that comes installed with the Windows 10 operating system. The app allows you to get rid of unnecessary system files in a few clicks. As you use an application or install a new one, the operating system generates new files and copies of the existing ones. Cleaning them will save a lot of storage space. To optimise the storage using Disk Cleanup software, follow these steps.
- Go to Start and type Disk Cleanup.
- As soon as you launch the app, you will be asked to choose the drive that you want to clean.
- Click OK to clean the desired drive. The cleaning process may take some time depending on the size of the drive.
Transfer files to the Cloud
Using cloud storage is the best way of storage expansion. It is reliable, secure, and accessible. There are several cloud storage services including Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox. These services provide free and paid storage options. If you don’t require a high amount of storage, you can go for the free tier as follows.
- Google Drive: 15GB of free storage
- Microsoft OneDrive: 5GB of free storage
- Dropbox: 2GB of free storage
Delete temporary files
Temporary files are files that are created for faster access. These are like cookies of a web browser that store the address, images, and cache data to optimise the experience. Over a period, these files can get accumulated and acquire significant storage space. Discarding temporary files will immediately release a chunk of storage. To delete temporary files, follow these steps.
- Go to Start and type %temp%.
- Hit Enter to open the Temp folder.
- Delete all the files in the folder.
It must be noted that deleting temporary files does not affect the installed applications or other files and folders. You may not be able to delete some temporary files because they are constantly used by the system.
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date with the Gadget Bridge Android App.
