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How to Free Up and Increase Available Storage Space on Windows PCs

Running out of storage space on your Windows PC can cause major headaches. You may start getting error messages that there is not enough room to install updates or save files. The computer can also start running much slower. Fortunately, there are several ways to free up drive space and increase available storage.

Clean Up Temporary Files

Temporary files from your internet browser, Windows updates, and other programs can quickly consume GBs of space. Here are some ways to delete these unneeded files:

  • Use the Disk Cleanup Utility – Disk Cleanup comes built-into Windows and provides an easy way to delete temporary files, empty the recycle bin, and remove other unneeded data. Just search for “Disk Cleanup” from the start menu.
  • Clear the Browser Cache – Deleting your internet browser cache can free up 1 GB or more of drive space. For specific instructions, search online for “How to Clear [Your Browser] Cache”.
  • Delete the Windows SoftwareDistribution Folder – This folder contains installation files from Windows Updates and can get very large over time. You can safely delete everything in it.
  • Manually Delete Temp Folders – Navigate to C:\Users$$User]\AppData\Local\Temp and C:\Windows\Temp and delete all files inside.

Uninstall Unused Programs

Uninstalling programs you no longer use can free up a surprising amount of drive space.

  • Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features to view all installed programs. Sort by size to see which are using the most space.
  • If you have not used a program in over a month, strongly consider removing it.
  • Be careful not to uninstall anything required by your computer’s manufacturer or critical programs like security software.

Move Data to External Storage

If your PC has an SD card slot or USB port, moving files to external storage can quickly free up internal drive space.

  • An external hard drive or high-capacity USB flash drive works well for storing large files like photos, videos, and game installers that you access infrequently.
  • An SD card may have less capacity but makes transferring phone photos/videos easy.
  • Automatically backing up personal files to cloud storage like OneDrive can also minimize drive usage.

Use Storage Sense

The Storage Sense feature in Windows allows you to automatically remove temporary files and data in the recycle bin if your disk space gets low.

  • Go to Settings > System > Storage > Configure Storage Sense to enable it.
  • You can also set it to regularly delete temporary files even if space is not low.

Change Where New Data Is Saved

When your primary system drive has little free space left, configure new data to save elsewhere by default.

  • Go to Settings > System > Storage and under “More Storage Settings:”
    • Set “New apps will save to:” your secondary drive
    • Move the Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, and Downloads folders to your secondary drive
  • This ensures new files end up on a drive with ample free space.

Set Virtual Memory Size Manually

Virtual memory is drive space Windows sets aside to use as “fake” RAM. It can grow very large if not managed properly.

  • Go to Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Performance Settings
  • On the Advanced tab, click Change under Virtual Memory
  • Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives”
  • Choose your fastest drive, set a Custom Size of 8192 MB, and click Set

This prevents Windows from reserving excess drive space for virtual memory while still allocating enough to operate smoothly.

Use CompactOS To Move Windows Files

CompactOS is a free utility that can intelligently move Windows files around to reclaim wasted space and consolidate free space into one area.

  • Download and install CompactOS from https://github.com/ImminentFate/CompactGUI/releases
  • Run CompactOS, click Analyze, check all boxes under “Compaction Methods”, and click Compact
  • Restart your computer afterwards to allow files to be moved

This can recover GBs of previously unusable drive space by neatly organizing Windows system files.

Format and Clean Install Windows

If the above tips don’t free up enough space, performing a clean reinstall of Windows can provide dramatic results.

  • Backup any personal files first, as this erases everything
  • Boot from a Windows installer USB drive
  • Delete all existing partitions during setup until only unallocated space remains
  • Create a new partition filling all the unallocated space
  • Format with NTFS and perform a clean Windows install

You will have to reinstall programs afterwards but will get maximum free space.

Replace Your Main Drive

As a last resort, you can replace an older, small capacity drive with a new higher capacity one:

  • SSDs now offer 1-4TB of storage very affordably
  • Clone your old drive to a new SSD using free software like Macrium Reflect
  • Or do a clean Windows install on the new drive and transfer data after

If your system uses a hard disk drive, upgrading to an SSD provides a massive boost in speed along with more storage capacity.

Following these tips will have your Windows PC cleaned up and enjoying ample free drive space again. Be sure to regularly clear out unneeded files and programs to maintain improved system performance.

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