How to identify the files that take up the most space on your hard drive

  • It is essential to check how much free space is left on your hard drive to avoid performance issues.
  • Using disk analyzers can help you identify files that are taking up a lot of space quickly.
  • Disk Cleanup is a useful tool for removing unnecessary files.
  • Uninstalling outdated programs and cleaning up backups are essential steps to free up additional space.

hard drive files

We do not always pay due attention to the storage capacity of the HDD of our PC. We simply download programs and accumulate files of all kinds until one day, suddenly, we discover that that space is not infinite. In this post we are going to show how to identify the files that take up the most space on your hard drive and what are the solutions that we can apply.

The first warning sign is usually when, suddenly, one day a message appears on the screen: little available disk space. This not only affects the storage capacity of the computer, but also its performance correct: new applications cannot be installed, the computer is very slow, etc.

The key to solving the problem is to locate its origin. What is taking up so much space on our hard drive? In a normal situation, on the hard drive we find system files, installed applications, personal files and backup copies, but unknown files from viruses or other types of malware are also present (too often).

But let's go in parts. The first thing we must do in these cases is check how much free space we have left on our computer. Once we have identified those files that take up the most space on the hard drive, we will review the most effective methods to delete them.

How much free space do I have on my hard drive?

storage

To give an answer to that question, you just have to do a very simple check from Microsoft's own operating system. The steps to follow are these:

  1. First of all, from the Windows search bar we write "Settings" and we click on the result icon that appears.
  2. Then we select "System".
  3. From there, we access "Storage".
  4. Lastly, we click on the disk we want to check and all the information will appear.

What files take up the most space?

ridnacs

Knowing exactly how much space each element or folder occupies on our hard drive is a very slow and tedious task, since it requires registering each file or folder manually. Luckily, there is a type of program specifically designed to check all the data we have saved: they are the hard drive analyzers.

These programs execute their mission in much less time than we would do and provide us with the results in a clear and understandable way through useful graphics. They allow us to find out which files take up the most space on the hard drive.

Although there are many options that exist, some of the most popular hard drive analyzers and what works best are Disksavvy, Ridnacs (pictured above) or Wiztree.

Tools to free up space on our hard drive

It would be of no use to us to know which files take up the most space on the hard drive if we later did not know what to do to get rid of them. There are several ways to carry out this operation without complicating ourselves too much with external programs. We list them below:

Disk Cleanup

free up disk space

This is a resource well known to most Windows users. Its handling is very simple. It consists of clicking on the disk you want to clean. Then, in the window that opens, select the tab «Properties» and there choose the option Disk Cleanup. Finally, you have to mark the files we want to delete and click "Accept" to delete them permanently.

However, the Disk Cleanup It may be only a partial solution. After a while we may run into problems of lack of space again, so we must try other methods.

Uninstall obsolete or unnecessary programs

Almost always the problem of lack of disk space lies in the presence of programs and games that take up a lot of space. Furthermore, in many cases it is programs that we no longer use or that we don't really need.

That's why it's so important do a good cleaning every so often. The procedure is known to everyone: from the Start button we go to "Settings", from there we first jump to "Applications" and then to  «Applications and functions». That is where we will be able to uninstall the programs that we no longer want to have.

Delete backups and restore points

We will not tire of emphasizing the importance of backup, although it must also be admitted that they take up considerable space on our hard drives. That's why it's better turn to the cloud and undo everything we've done before: delete backups and restore points to free up disk space.

To delete those restore points and reduce the space used for system restore, do the following:

  1. First, we open the administrator and right click on "This team".
  2. Then, in the drop-down menu, we select the tab «Properties» and we click the button "Set up".
  3. Finally, we delete all system restore points and we disable system protection to free up disk space.

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