Select Temporary files from the storage breakdown. Note: If you are unable to see the Temporary files option, click Show more categories .
Windows will use a few moments to determine what apps and files are consuming the most disk space on your device.
Tap the items you plan to delete, and then click Remove files . Each of the listed item will include a description.
Notes :
You may need to scroll down to select Recycle Bin and some other settings. This is because these settings are not, by default, selected for delete.
Click on the Recycle Bin in order to free up space that has been taken up by files you have previously deleted. You should understand that Windows moves your deleted files to the Recycle Bin should you change your mind later and want them again. You might be able to free up a sizeable amount of space by choosing Recycle Bin to permanently remove files you have previously deleted.
You can open your Recycle Bin from the desktop to view what is inside the Recycle Bin before you empty the content. In case you are unable to see Recycle Bin on your desktop, you can just enter the word “recycle bin” inside the search bar on the taskbar, and then click on it from the result displayed.
Follow the prompts below to turn on and configure Storage Sense
Click Start , tap Settings , click on System and select Storage .
From the Storage window, toggle on Storage Sense .
Click on the Configure storage sense or run it now menu below the ON button
You will be taken to another window where you can choose how often you plan for the Storage Sense to run.
Choose which of your files you want the Storage Sense to automatically delete on your computer, then choose the corresponding time intervals.
Scroll down and click on Clean now .
It will take some moments before Windows clean up your files completely, and you will then see a prompt showing how much disk space has been freed.
If your computer doesn't have Storage sense, the Disk Cleanup tool can be used to remove system files and temporary files from your computer.
- Inside the search box on your taskbar, enter disk cleanup , then click on it from the displayed results.
- Tap the check box that is next to the category of files that you wish to delete. (To have a description of each file type, click on the name.) By default, Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Program Files , and Thumbnails are selected. Ensure that you clear the checkbox in case you don’t plan to delete these files.
- If you wish to free up more space, click on Clean up system files , and then choose the category of system files that you wish to delete. Disk Cleanup will be used sometimes before it computes the quantity of space that can be freed.
Note: If it has been less than 10 days that you upgraded to the new Windows 10, you will see the previous copy of Windows listed as one of the system files that you can delete. You can actually delete this old Windows if you need more disc space on your computer, but be reminded that this will delete your Windows.old folder, which contains all the files that can give you the opportunity to access or go back to the old Windows. Once you delete the old Windows version, you will not be able to get it back, which means that you will not have your old Windows version again.
- Once you have marked the types of files that you wish to delete, click OK , and then choose Delete files from the confirmation window to initiate the cleanup.
Important:
There is an option in the Disk Cleanup that will allow you to compress your OS drive. Choosing this option will compress the drive where Windows was installed, allowing you to have extra space where other important updates can be installed. This process will not delete the drive’s content, and you should be able to open and save your files without experiencing any issue from the compressed drive.
Once the update has been installed, the OS drive can be de-compress at any time. To de-compress the OS drive, click on File Explorer from the taskbar, and click on This PC from the left pane. Tap or Right-click and hold the OS drive (also called Disk C on your computer), and then click on Properties on the shortcut menu. Clear the Compress this drive to save disk space check box, select Apply and tap OK.
If you clean up disk space as specified above, and the Windows issue is not resolved, then you can consider reinstalling Windows as will be discussed below.
How to reinstall Windows using Installation Media
This option will utilize a tool to set up installation media that you can deploy to wipe your disk completely and install a new copy of Windows 10. For this option, you will be required to use an external drive like a USB drive, and you might have to go through some extra steps, though everything will be deleted for safest and cleanest installation. This category of clean install will usually delete and recreate system partitions. All of the personal files on your computer and the partition on your hard drive that is currently being used for recovery will be deleted.
Before you start, ensure that you have the following;
▪ A reliable internet connection
▪ An external storage device like an SD card, USB drive, or external hard drive having at least 8GB of usable space
Create the installation media
You will need to create the installation media that you will use to carry out a clean install of the Windows 10 first.
Make sure that you have backed up any files on your computer that you plan to save onto an external storage device like SD card, USB
