Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid of items that you don't need, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin. For more info, see Manage drive space with Storage Sense.

Use this app to try to recover lost files that have been deleted from your local storage device (including internal drives, external drives, and USB devices) and can’t be restored from the Recycle Bin. Recovery on cloud storage and network file shares is not supported.

In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup from the list of results. Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select OK. Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it. Select OK.

Initialize a new drive. Extend a basic volume. Shrink a basic volume. Change a drive letter. Troubleshoot Disk Management. To open Disk Management, right-click (or long-press) the Start button and select Disk Management. If you need help freeing up space on your PC, see Disk cleanup in Windows or Free up drive space in Windows.

To start the Disk Cleanup tool and specify the hard disk to be cleaned by using the command line, follow these steps: Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type the following command, and then press Enter:

Check the current space on your PC. Use Disk Cleanup. Uninstall desktop apps you no longer need. Uninstall Windows Store apps you no longer need. Archive or delete files you're no longer using. Reduce the size of the WinSxS folder. Make OneDrive files online-only. To make files online-only using the OneDrive app.

Windows 10. Delivery Optimization in Windows 10 clears its cache automatically. Files are removed from the cache after a short time period or when their contents take up too much disk space. However, If you need more disk space on your PC, you can clear the cache manually. In the Search box on the taskbar, enter disk cleanup.

Select Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings. Make sure the check box for Recycle Bin is checked, then select OK. You should see the icon displayed on your desktop. Note: If you are in tablet mode, desktop icons are not displayed.

Windows 11 Windows 10. If you used Disk Cleanup to free up space on your device and then see a Low Disk Space error, it’s possible that your Temp folder is quickly filling up with application (.appx) files that are used by Microsoft Store.

Learn how reserved storage works in Windows to conserve disk space for temporary files, caches, and other files.