5 ways to free up disk space with Windows 10

Posted on by Paul

In this informatics guide, we explain how to free up disk space, without resorting to the deletion of personal documents. Here are some tips and tricks for Windows 10 and earlier versions of the operating system.

One of the most common problems among those who use a personal computer is to identify a valid strategy to free up disk space, without deleting personal data. Although modern notebooks or desktops use hard disks of increasing capacity, it can happen that the available space runs out quickly, with devastating consequences, such as loss of PC performance and the inability to store additional personal documents on the media. In this informatics guide we explain some tricks to free up disk space, without giving up your personal files. These procedures are based on the Windows 10 operating system, but can also be safely applied to previous versions of the Microsoft operating system.

Use the Windows Disk Cleanup Tool

Not everyone knows that Windows 10 has a cleaning tool for temporary files and data that is not necessary for the proper functioning of the computer. Thanks to the Windows Disk Cleanup tool, you can free disk space with simple clicks. In addition, the “System File Cleanup” option can be selected within this tool to free up additional space, such as “heavy” files relating to Windows Update updates. To be even more effective, operations to free up disk space can count on the deletion of Windows recovery points or Shadow Copies.

How to use the Windows Disk Cleanup tool:

  1. Press the WIN + R key combination to open the Run window;
  2. Type cleanmgr.exe and press ENTER;
  3. Select the items to be cleaned and press OK;
  4. At the end of the cleaning, repeat the operation by clicking on the “System file cleaning ” button;
  5. To delete shadow copies and Windows recovery points, click on the “More Options” TAB, available after selecting the “System File Cleanup” option.

Uninstall unnecessary apps and programs

Uninstalling a Windows program, or applications, might seem like a trivial and obvious operation. However, although most programs do not take up much space on your PC, these are crucial operations that can help you free up disk space quickly and effectively. You can uninstall Windows 10 programs using the tool built into the operating system, or free third-party programs like Revo Uninstaller. The program RevoUninstaller Free is very useful as it helps to eliminate all traces of the software installed on the PC (registry keys, files, folders), optimizing the process of uninstalling the software. This application is available for free, even in the portable version, which requires no installation.

How to uninstall programs with Windows:

To uninstall programs with integrated Windows tools, follow these steps:

  1. Press the WIN + R key combination to open the Run window;
  2. Type control. exe and press ENTER;
  3. Click on Programs;
  4. Click on Programs and Features;
  5. Select the program to remove;
  6. Click on Uninstall;
  7. Close the window.

The uninstallation of programs with Windows 10 can also be done through this dedicated menu, which can be reached from the operating system settings.

How to uninstall programs with Revo Uninstaller Free Portable:

  1. Download the RevoUninstaller Portable program;
  2. Unpack the compressed package of the program on the PC or on an external device;
  3. Open the RevoUPort.exe file in the unzipped folder;
  4. In the application interface, right-click on the program to be removed and select “Uninstall” or “Uninstall”, depending on the language selected in the settings;
  5. RevoUninstaller will create a restore point and start the software uninstaller (creation of the restore point can be disabled by the RevoUninstaller settings);
  6. In the meantime, select the scanning mode of the “residual” elements of the software (we suggest to keep the default choice on “Moderate”) and click on “Scan”;
  7. The program will show as the first elements the residual registry keys, which according to Revo are certainly to be removed. Click on “Select All” and select Delete to proceed;
  8. The last screen displays any files related to the uninstalled software that have not been deleted. Warning: This window only appears if there are other files or folders of the application uninstalled on the PC. Click “Select All”, Delete and “Finish” to finish the uninstallation process;
  9. Repeat the previous steps to uninstall other Windows programs.

In the RevoUninstaller horizontal toolbar you can click on the “Options” button and select the Italian language for the main interface (Options menu> General) and to enable the creation of the system restore point , before uninstalling the drivers (Options menu > Uninstaller).

Find and delete duplicate files

Often, by distraction or habit, we end up keeping duplicate files on your computer such as documents, images and videos. However, this situation can be a problem that will require some operation to free up disk space. By avoiding the possibility of having to manually locate duplicate items on Windows, there are some programs that allow you to search for duplicate files on your computer and delete them with simple clicks .

How to find duplicate files with CCleaner:

The popular CCleaner software is used by millions of people to optimize and clean up Windows. However, it is a complete program that, among the many features, allows you to search for duplicate files on your PC and remove them easily. To take advantage of this function, simply follow this procedure:

  1. Download CCleaner , also in Portable version, from the official website;
  2. Install and launch the application;
  3. Click on the “Tools” menu;
  4. Click on “Search for duplicates”;
  5. Customize the content search and click on “Search”;
  6. At the end of the scan, we will have a complete list of potentially “duplicated” elements to check, skim and delete.

Reduce the space dedicated to restoring the system configuration

While working with our computer, the Windows operating system takes care of our data, creating Shadow copies of files and the recovery points of the entire system. This is a feature that occurs in the background, without any user interaction. However, to free up disk space it may be necessary to limit the space available for data recovery or, in the most problematic cases, completely disable this activity.

How to disable the creation of Windows 10 recovery points:

  1. Press the WIN + S key combination to display the Windows 10 search box;
  2. Type “Create restore point” and click on the item proposed;
  3. Select the disk on which to disable the system protection and click on the “Configure” button;
  4. Select “Turn off system protection”;
  5. To delete the already created restore points, click on “Delete” and confirm with OK.

Create a script to delete Windows temporary files

The last suggestion we want to give you is the most technical and fun . The computer technicians and computer enthusiasts most geeks will be happy to create a PowerShell script to delete temporary files of Windows 10 , performing the cleaning of the disc with a simple click. Simply copy the instructions at the end of the article, paste them into a text file and assign the .PS1 extension to the generated file.

How to create a PowerShell script to delete temporary Windows 10 files:

  1. Copy the contents of the script published under this procedure;
  2. Create a new text document and paste the contents of the script into it;
  3. Assign the .PS1 extension to the new generated text file;
  4. Press the WIN + S key combination and type PowerShell in the search field;
  5. Right-click on the “Windows PowerShell Desktop App ” result and select Run as administrator;
  6. Go to the folder where the file is located (eg type CD USERS \ PIPPO \ DESKTOP);
  7. Type the file name in this way ” . \ My_script.ps1 “;
  8. Press the “Enter” key to execute it;
  9. At the end of the activity, the script will generate a log file with the results of its activity (path: c: \ windows \ temp \ data execution.log).