How to Check, Manage, and Free Up Disk Space in Windows 11: The Ultimate Guide

Maintaining sufficient free disk space is crucial for ensuring that your computer operates efficiently and doesn’t experience performance slowdowns or system issues. Regularly checking how much storage has been used, identifying what files or programs are taking up space, and freeing up unnecessary data can help you manage your system more effectively. Fortunately, Windows 11 offers several methods to easily monitor and manage disk space usage.

Checking Disk Usage Using File Explorer

One of the simplest ways to check the storage status of your hard drive is through File Explorer. To begin, open File Explorer on your Windows 11 PC by either searching for it in the Start menu or using the shortcut (Windows + E).

Once the File Explorer window opens, click on ‘This PC’ from the left-hand navigation panel. Under the ‘Devices and drives’ section, you will see a visual representation of each drive on your computer, along with information about its total size and available free space.

For more detailed information about any specific drive, simply right-click on the desired drive and select ‘Properties’ from the drop-down menu. In the ‘General’ tab of the Properties window, you’ll find comprehensive details about that drive, including its total capacity, used space, and remaining available space, both in bytes and gigabytes (GB).

2. Checking Disk Usage in Windows 11 via Settings

To check how much space apps and files are using on your hard drive, start by right-clicking on the Windows 11 ‘Start’ menu and selecting ‘Settings,’ or press Win+I.

In the Settings window, click on System from the left pane, then scroll down and select Storage from the right pane.

On the Storage settings page, you’ll see a breakdown of space usage under Local Disk (C:) and how much free space is available. To view additional categories of storage usage, click on Show more categories. You can manage a specific category by selecting it.

To view and manage storage across all drives on your computer, scroll down and click on Advanced storage settings. Then select Storage used on other drives from the options under Advanced storage.

This will display a list of all drives connected to your computer, along with their used and available space. To view storage usage by category for a particular drive, click on the drive name.

On the next page, you’ll see a list of all data categories and their respective storage usage. This includes system files, apps, games, temporary files, documents, OneDrive files, and media (pictures, music, videos). You can manage a category by selecting it.

For example, clicking on the System & reserved category will show how much space is taken up by the Windows operating system, reserved storage, virtual memory, and hibernation files.

If you select a different drive and category (such as Other), you’ll see a list of folders sorted by size in descending order, giving you a clear picture of what is occupying space.

3. Checking App/Program Disk Space Usage via Settings

You can also review the disk space used by apps and programs through Windows 11 settings.

Open the Settings app, click on Apps from the left pane, and then select Installed apps.

Here, you’ll find a list of installed applications along with the space they occupy. You can filter the list by drive and sort the apps by size, date, or name.

4. Checking Disk Usage with Third-Party Apps

Several free disk analyzer tools can help you visualize how storage is being used on your hard drive. These apps provide a graphical representation of space usage, making it easier to identify large files or folders and clean up unused data.

One of the best tools for this is WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics). It scans your drives or specific folders and provides a visual breakdown of disk usage.

To use WinDirStat:

Download and install the app.
Launch it, and in the Select Drives dialog box, choose to scan all local drives, individual drives, or a specific folder.
Once the scan is complete, you’ll see a color-coded graphical representation of the disk usage for each file and folder.

Here are some additional third-party apps for analyzing disk space:

Freeing Up Disk Space on Windows 11

Windows 11 offers a built-in feature called Cleanup recommendations to help you free up disk space quickly and efficiently.

To access Cleanup recommendations:

Open the Windows 11 Settings app.
Go to System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations.

On this page, you will find four categories: Temporary files, Large or unused files, Files synced to the cloud, and Unused apps. You can explore each dropdown to see the recommended files or items to delete.

Clicking on Temporary files reveals a list of items such as Previous Windows installations, Downloads, and Recycle Bin contents. You can select the options you wish to delete and click Clean up to free up space. For more options, click See advanced options.

In Advanced options, you’ll see a detailed list of temporary files arranged in descending order by size. Check the boxes next to the files you want to remove and click Remove files.

Note: Some temporary files are required for the proper functioning of your system. Only delete files that you are certain are unnecessary.

Large or Unused Files

In the Large or unused files section, you will find a list of files sorted by size. To delete them, simply select the files by checking the boxes next to them and click Clean up.

Sync Files to Cloud

This option displays a list of files that have already been synced to your cloud service, such as OneDrive. You can safely delete these files from your computer to free up local storage. Simply select the files you want to remove and click ‘Clean up.’

Unused Apps

In this section, you’ll see a list of applications that are not frequently used. Select the apps you wish to uninstall to free up space and then click ‘Clean up.’

Note: You don’t have to delete everything suggested by the Cleanup tool. Only remove files and apps that are unnecessary for your needs.

3. Free Up Space by Deleting Unnecessary User Accounts

When you create a new user account on your Windows PC, a corresponding folder is created, which takes up minimal space initially. However, as the user logs in and begins using the account, this folder grows as Windows stores profile data, settings, and files.

To free up space on your C: drive, you can delete unused or unnecessary user accounts. Here’s how:

Open Settings in Windows 11, and navigate to System > Storage.

On the Storage page, click on Other people under the Local Disk (C:) section.

Here, you’ll see the storage used by other user accounts. Click Manage other people to remove unwanted accounts.

This will take you to the Family & other users settings. Alternatively, you can access this directly by navigating to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users.

From the list of users, select the account you want to delete, and click Remove.

By removing these accounts, you can free up valuable storage space.

4. Enable Storage Sense to Automatically Free Up Disk Space

Storage Sense is a built-in feature in Windows 11 that automatically cleans up temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and manages local cloud content. Enabling Storage Sense can help maintain disk space by automating these tasks. To enable and configure Storage Sense, follow these steps:

Open Settings in Windows 11, click System, and select Storage.

Turn on the toggle for Storage Sense under the Storage Management section.

To customize how Storage Sense works, click the right arrow (>) next to Storage Sense.

Configure Storage Sense

When you open the Storage Sense settings, you can customize how and when it runs:

Under Cleanup of temporary files, keep the checkbox selected to automatically remove temporary files. If you prefer manual cleanup, uncheck it.

To automate file cleanup, turn on the toggle for Automatic User content cleanup.

Under Configure cleanup schedules, specify when Storage Sense should run: daily, weekly, monthly, or when disk space is low.

You can also set how often Storage Sense should empty the Recycle Bin, with options ranging from ‘Never’ to every 60 days (default is 30 days).

Additionally, you can configure Storage Sense to delete files in the Downloads folder that haven’t been opened for a set period (1, 14, 30, or 60 days), or choose ‘Never’.

Storage Sense can also manage files synced to the cloud (OneDrive). You can choose to delete locally stored cloud files that haven’t been accessed for a set number of days (1, 14, 30, or 60 days). Files marked as ‘Always keep on this device’ will remain available offline.

Once configured, Storage Sense will automatically run and clean up files based on your schedule. You can also manually trigger it by clicking Run Storage Sense now at the bottom of the page.

5. Use Disk Cleanup to Free Up Space on Windows 11

Aside from using the Settings app, you can also take advantage of Windows 11’s built-in Disk Cleanup tool to remove temporary files, system files, cache, and other unnecessary junk, freeing up valuable disk space. Disk Cleanup is a legacy maintenance tool that lets you quickly clear out unwanted files from your Windows 11 PC. Here’s how to use it:

Launch Disk Cleanup:

Click the Start menu, search for Disk Cleanup, and select the app from the results.

Alternatively, press the Windows+R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command box. Type cleanmgr and hit Enter.

Select the Drive to Scan:

A pop-up window will appear asking you to select the drive to scan. By default, the system drive will be selected. Click OK to proceed.

To scan a different drive, use the Drives drop-down menu to select the desired drive, then click OK.

Choose Files to Delete:

The Disk Cleanup window will display a list of temporary and junk files available for removal under the Files to delete section. This can include items like Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Delivery Optimization Files, DirectX Shader Cache, and items in the Recycle Bin. Some options, such as downloaded program files and temporary internet files, are selected by default.

Check the boxes next to the file types you wish to delete, then click OK. For more information about each file type, click on the file name to view a description.

View More Temporary Files:

The initial list may not include all temporary or large junk files. To view more options, including items like previous Windows installations, system error memory dump files, and more, click the Clean up system files button.

After clicking this, choose the Windows drive once again. The system will take a few moments to scan for additional files.

Select and Delete Files:

Once the scan completes, you can select additional files to remove in the Files to delete section. As you select files, the Disk Cleanup tool will show you how much disk space

you’ll free up.After making your selections, click OK.

In this example, up to 14.1 GB of space can be freed from the C: drive. Be cautious not to delete any files that may be needed later.

Confirm File Deletion:

When you’re ready, click Delete Files on the confirmation box to remove the selected items. Once the cleanup process is complete, you’ll regain some disk space.

Additional Cleanup Options:

You can free up even more space by removing unused apps and system restore points. To do this, switch to the More Options tab in the Disk Cleanup window.

Remove Unused Apps:

Under the Programs and Features section, click the Clean up… button to open the Programs and Features control panel. From here, select the apps you no longer use and click Uninstall to remove them.

Remove Old System Restore Points:

Some versions of Windows keep shadow copies and full backups as part of system restore points. You can recover additional disk space by deleting all but the most recent restore points.

To do this, click Clean up… under the System Restore and Shadow Copies section.

Here’s a refined and corrected version of the text for your tech blog:

6. Uninstall Large Unused Applications

Over time, your system can accumulate large apps that take up valuable storage space. These programs, along with their associated files, can grow in size, making your device run slower. By removing unused or unnecessary applications, you can reclaim a significant amount of storage.

To uninstall applications in Windows 11:

Open Settings, then click on Apps from the left-hand menu, and select Installed apps.

On the Installed apps page, you will see a list of all the apps installed on your device. Here, you can uninstall the ones you no longer need or that are taking up too much space.

You can filter the list by drive and sort by name, date, or size to easily find apps you want to remove.

Once you locate an app to uninstall, click on the three vertical dots next to the app and select Uninstall.

Move Installed Apps and Games to a Different Drive

Applications like video editing software and games can consume a lot of space on your C: drive. Instead of uninstalling them and risking losing progress or settings, you can move them to a different drive to free up space.

To move an app:

Click the three vertical dots next to the app and select Move. Note that this option is not available for all apps.

In the pop-up window, select the destination drive and click Move.

Automatically Archive Unused Apps in Windows 11

Windows 11 can automatically archive apps that are rarely used, saving storage space and bandwidth. The next time you open the app, it will automatically be restored to its original state.

To enable this feature:

Open Settings and navigate to Apps > Advanced app settings.

Select Archive apps and turn on the toggle to enable automatic archiving.

7. Empty the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file, it isn’t permanently erased; it moves to the Recycle Bin. Over time, this can consume significant storage space. To free up space, regularly empty the Recycle Bin.

To clear the Recycle Bin:

Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Empty Recycle Bin.

Alternatively, open the Recycle Bin, click Empty Recycle Bin at the top, and confirm by clicking Yes.

You can also configure Windows to skip the Recycle Bin and permanently delete files immediately:

Right-click the Recycle Bin icon and select Properties.

In the properties window, select Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin and click Apply, then OK.

8. Delete System Restore Points to Save Space

Windows creates restore points when major changes are made, like program installations, driver updates, or Windows updates. These restore points can take up a considerable amount of space. If you’re low on storage, deleting or limiting restore points can help.

To manage restore points:

Search for system restore in Windows Search and select Create a restore point from the results.

In the System Properties window, switch to the System Protection tab.

Under Protection Settings, select Local Disk (C:) and click Configure.

To delete all restore points, click Delete under the Disk Space Usage section.

You can also adjust the maximum space allocated for restore points or disable system protection entirely by selecting Disable system protection. Click Apply, then OK.

9. Manage Files in the Downloads Folder

The Downloads folder often becomes cluttered with files you no longer need, like videos, music, apps, and documents. Deleting or moving these files is an easy way to free up space.

To manage your Downloads folder:

Open File Explorer by clicking the folder icon on your taskbar or pressing Win + E.

Select Downloads from the sidebar.

Sort the files by size, date, or name, and delete or move unnecessary files to another drive.

Change Download Location

If your C: drive is filling up quickly, you can change the default download location for files:

Open Settings and go to System > Storage.

Click Advanced storage settings and select Where new content is saved.

Change the destination for apps, documents, music, photos, and other files by selecting a different drive or an external storage device from the drop-down menu.

10. Delete Temporary Files Stored on Your PC

Temporary files, or temp files, accumulate when you perform tasks like browsing the web, streaming videos, or using applications. These files can take up substantial space on your hard drive, but they can be safely deleted.

To manually delete temporary files:

Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, type %temp%, and press Enter.

The Temp folder will open. Select all files by pressing Ctrl + A, then press Delete to move them to the Recycle Bin.

For permanent deletion, press Shift + Delete and confirm by clicking Yes.

Some files may be in use and can’t be deleted. In such cases, click Skip to bypass these files and delete them later.

Delete Temporary Files Using Command Prompt

Alternatively, you can use the Command Prompt to delete temp files:

Search for cmd in the Start menu, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.

Type or paste the following command and press Enter:

   del /q/f/s %TEMP%\*

This command will delete temporary files from your system.

Here’s the revised version of your text for your tech blog:

11. Disable Hibernation on Windows 11

When you put your computer into hibernation, it saves a snapshot of the current state of the operating system and open programs to a hidden file called Hiberfil.sys, allowing you to resume your work later. However, this file can consume a significant amount of storage space, depending on the size of your computer’s RAM. For instance, with 8GB of RAM, the Hiberfil.sys file can take up to 6GB of your storage. You can disable hibernation using either PowerShell or Command Prompt.

To disable hibernation using PowerShell:

Open PowerShell as an administrator by searching for ‘PowerShell’ in the Windows search bar and selecting Run as Administrator.

Once the PowerShell window opens, type the following command and press Enter:

   powercfg /hibernate off

To disable hibernation using Command Prompt:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Type the following command and press Enter:

   powercfg.exe /hibernate off

12. Disable Reserved Storage on Windows 11

Windows 11 includes a feature called Reserved Storage that ensures there is enough space for system updates and improves stability. By default, this feature can use between 4GB and 8GB of your storage. If you’re running low on space, you can disable Reserved Storage.

To check the status of Reserved Storage:

Go to Settings > System > Storage.

Under Local Disk (C:), click Show more categories, then select System & reserved to view how much space is used by system files, reserved storage, virtual memory, and hibernation.

To disable Reserved Storage using PowerShell:

Open PowerShell as an administrator.

Enter the following command to check the status:

   Get-WindowsReservedStorageState

To disable Reserved Storage, type:

   Set-WindowsReservedStorageState -State Disabled

To re-enable it, use:

   Set-WindowsReservedStorageState -State Enabled

To disable Reserved Storage using Command Prompt:

Run Command Prompt as an administrator.
Use the following command:

   DISM /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Disabled

13. Save Files to OneDrive

Windows 11 comes with built-in OneDrive integration, which allows you to back up important files such as documents, photos, and desktop content. You can easily sync your files to the cloud after signing in with your Microsoft account.

By default, your Desktop, Photos, and Documents folders are synced to OneDrive, but you can add or remove additional folders as needed.

To manage your OneDrive files:

Open File Explorer and select the OneDrive icon from the left-hand panel.

Review the files stored on OneDrive and delete files from your local storage as needed to free up space.

14. Find and Delete Large Files in Windows 11 Using File Explorer

You can use File Explorer to find and remove large files that are consuming space on your Windows 11 PC. Before searching, make sure to enable hidden files so that you can locate all memory-intensive files.

To enable hidden items:

Open File Explorer and click on the View menu at the top.