As a result of these manipulations, the properties window of the drive installed in the system will open.

So, we got to the cleaning mechanism. All groups of files that are listed in the list that opens can be safely deleted. As you check the boxes, the system calculates the amount of free space. However, the possibilities of the utility do not end there. Since we are going to carry out a total cleaning, we will clean up the system files at the same time.

The parameters indicated in the screenshot allow you to:

• Remove programs that have not been used for a long time. Selecting the first item "Clear", we will move to the standard software management menu. As a result, it works as an interactive reminder for especially forgetful users;
• The second point is much more interesting. If your computer has System Restore enabled, which creates restore points, you can delete them. In a long-running system, they can take up significant space.

The actions performed when selecting the second item will need to be confirmed additionally.

Go to the main tab and confirm the choice again.

The system is deleting temporary files. The time to complete the operation will depend on their volume and type of drive.

New cleaning menu

In addition to the classic method that we just reviewed, Windows 10 has a new one. To use it, go to the options menu.

We will use the search function as a universal option suitable for any user.

Select the item highlighted in the screenshot to go to the new system settings.

In the quick transition menu located on the left side, select the item "Vault". We click on the stylized image of the system disk, which displays the degree of its filling.

The disk space usage statistics opens, showing the size occupied by each file category. We are interested in deleting temporary files, so let's move on to the corresponding item.

We tick the necessary items and confirm our action. After making sure that the operation is completed, we return back to the section "Vault". In it, we still have one more option not considered. Pay attention to the position of the slider in the "Memory Sense" section. His position answers the question: why are temporary files not deleted, accumulating in the system over time. It is always disabled by default.

Move the slider to the on position to allow Windows to automatically clean up temporary files. Opening the link "Change the Way to Release" and see what exactly falls under the action of automation.

If you don't use the Recycle Bin as a closet for storing unnecessary files, you can leave the sliders on. We click on the highlighted button to make sure that there is no “garbage” left in the system. On this cleaning can be considered complete.

System cleanup after update

After another update from Microsoft, called the Fall Creators Update, Windows 10 received additional tweaks and the first elements of Fluent Design. The main changes affected the optimization of the executable code and are almost invisible from the outside. This is where the good news ends. After installing it, the user may be faced with the fact that the disk "WITH" crowded.

Let's see where the place disappeared after the update. First, let's see how long Windows 10 takes after installation. Open the system drive in File Explorer.

Pay attention to the highlighted folder Windows.old- we will return to it a little later. We find the directory with the installed OS and right-click the context menu.

We are interested in the item marked in the screenshot. By clicking on it, we will open the properties of the selected folder.

Now let's go back and by analogy check the size Windows.old.

Now you understand how it turned out that the disk is full.

At the time of installing an update, Windows makes a complete copy of the previous version so that the user can go back if something does not suit him. Microsoft gives 10 days for testing. After they expire, the copy should be deleted automatically. If there is really not enough space on the system drive, you need to delete the Windows.old folder ahead of time.

We go to the section in which we configured the settings for automatic cleaning of temporary files.

After installing the Fall Creators Update, its appearance has changed somewhat. Added auto-cleaning of the downloads folder, and replaced the sliders with checkmarks. We go down and see additional options related to the latest OS update. To delete a saved copy, check the corresponding item and press the highlighted button. As a result, we return almost 20 GB of disk space.

How the OS interacts with RAM

A few more gigabytes can be taken away from the system by changing the order of working with memory. During operation, Windows creates and uses two hidden files with the "sys" extension:

• Pagefile- the so-called "paging file" or virtual RAM. To take advantage of the processing speed of RAM, it caches non-urgent data. By default, the size of this file is controlled by the operating system. If the amount of RAM is large enough, from 8 GB or more, it is practically not used. The smaller the RAM value, the larger the swap file will reach;
• hiberfile- is intended to store the contents of RAM at the time of transition to the "deep sleep" or hibernation mode. Accordingly, in order to successfully save information, it must have a size within 75% of RAM.

The use of the options listed in this part depends on the tasks for which the computer is being used and its hardware configuration. The struggle for free space should not be done at the expense of performance.

Resizing Pagefile

To change the size of the paging file, you will need to open the system properties (Win + Pause / Break).

We select the marked item and move to the window of additional parameters.

Go to the desired tab and open the performance settings.

Again we change the tab and go to the management of virtual memory.

We carry out the sequence shown in the screenshot, first of all, unchecking the automatic size selection. After that, the remaining items are activated. To determine how much space to allocate for the pagefile, we will use the value recommended by the OS. In this case, let's agree and reduce the size of the paging file by setting it to a fixed value. On click "OK" You will be warned that a reboot is required.

We confirm our decision. After restarting, the computer will use the limited amount of disk space allocated to it to organize virtual memory.

Disable hibernation

Users who prefer to turn off the PC after each working session can safely get rid of hiberfile. It is worth noting that this may slightly increase the overall boot time of the OS. If ten seconds are not critical, then run PowerShell in administrator mode.

The menu shown in the screenshot is called by right-clicking on the button "Start". If you did not agree to switch to a new shell at one time, the command line will be located in this place. The functionality of PowerShell is higher, but using any of these tools will produce the same results.

Entering the command shown in the screenshot instantly deletes the Hiberfile from the hard drive. Replacement « off" on the "on" puts it back in place. A reboot is not required.

Compression mode

You already know how and what can be removed from the disk to free up space, without deleting programs. Consider another useful feature available in Windows 10. It’s worth mentioning right away that you can use it successfully only on computers with a modern configuration. In this case, in accordance with Microsoft recommendations, the presence of an SSD as a drive is implied. According to the technical documentation, the Compact OS feature is enabled automatically when it does not cause a general drop in performance.

The meaning of its work lies in the "transparent" compression of system files. As a result, the space required to place the OS on the drive is reduced. You can check if compression is active on your computer with the following command (you need to enter it at the command prompt or PowerShell):

compact /compactos:query

You can see the result of its execution in the screenshots below.

Now let's see how much space it took to install Windows 10 in both cases.

It can be seen that in the right screenshot, the space occupied by the OS on the disk is 2.5 GB less than the actual size of the folder.

The result is fully consistent with the declared. In the documentation, Microsoft promises savings from 1.5 to 2.5 GB, depending on the bit depth.

If Compact OS did not start automatically, but you decided to check how it will work in your configuration, you can do it forcibly. In the above command, after the colon, enter no « query", a "always". After some time, which is spent on compactification, you will see the result.

We check how much space the system folder takes up to make sure that the actions taken are effective.

If the result of running the OS in a compressed state does not suit you, you can perform the reverse process. We enter the parameter after the colon in the command « never" and return the system to its original state.

Third party cleaners

Users who are too lazy to do the work with their hands can use third-party programs to clean up Windows. When installing such software, be sure to read the license agreement.

It says in black and white that the developers are not responsible for the consequences of using the software.

Reg Organizer

The product of domestic developers, distributed on a paid basis. The cost of a license in a personal version is 650 rubles. However, you can find version 7.52 from September 2016, which is free for non-commercial use.

You cannot update the program for free, but you can use it as much as you like.

The screenshot shows the main window with a list of features expanded on the left side. You can download the program on its official website.

CCleaner

The most popular utility among Windows users. Developed by the British company Piriform Limited and distributed under a shareware license. More than 50 languages ​​are supported, including Russian. At the time of installation, it offers to additionally install the Chrome browser.

As you can see, the program offers a lot of possibilities. Checkboxes indicate "safe" items. How inactive partitions look, showing what can be removed additionally.

In any program designed for automatic cleaning, the main thing is not to overdo it. Do not repeat the mistake of users who, having discovered the OS view options, first of all seek to delete hidden files. Check only those items that you are sure of.

Finally

Reasonable use of the above methods will allow not only to restore one-time order in the computer, but also to maintain its stable operation for a long time.

Video

For those users who love visual material, we have prepared a video on the topic.

For stable and fast operation of the Windows 10 operating system, there must be enough space on the disk where it is located. Recently, users are increasingly using low-volume ones, installing on them exclusively a system and programs whose fast operation is necessary. However, over time, there will be less and less space on the system hard drive, and there will be no visible files for deletion. There are two effective ways to free up disk space with Windows 10 quickly and without third-party applications - remove the "garbage" and "shrink" the operating system. In total, this can help free up to 20-30 GB.

How to clear a Windows disk of temporary files

The Windows operating system “remembers” a lot of data in the process of work, saving them as temporary files on the disk where it is installed. This can be data about thumbnails of files in folders, temporary files for restoring a previous version of the operating system, "garbage" left after installing Windows, and much more. The user can delete all this information from the hard drive, which sometimes takes up tens of gigabytes, using the pre-installed Disk Cleanup utility.

Important: Before deleting any data, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the purpose for which they were saved by the system. Most often, when cleaning disks, you can gain a place if you remove the "Previous installations" and "Temporary files" of the operating system. But it is important to understand that without them it will not be possible to return the previous version of Windows if there are problems with the current one. Accordingly, you should delete these files only if you are sure that the current version of the operating system is stable.

To clean your Windows 10 disk from temporary files, you need to do the following:

It will take a few seconds to clear the hard disk of unnecessary information, after which space will be freed up on the drive.

How to free up disk space with Windows using Compact OS

In the Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft has added a new tool, the purpose of which is to optimize the space on the system drive. It is called Compact OS and is supposed to be used from the command line. With Compact OS, the user can free:

• Approximately 2 GB hard drive with x64-bit operating system;
• Approximately 1.5 GB on a drive with an x32-bit operating system.

When using the Compact OS utility, hard disk space is freed up by compressing system files and pre-installed universal applications in Windows. Microsoft is warning Windows 10 users that compressing operating system files using Compact OS can slow down the speed of the device. In practice, this problem is not observed.

On some versions of Windows 10, file compression with Compact OS may be enabled by default. To determine whether the optimization of the operating system data size is enabled or not, you need to run and enter the following command in it:

Compact /compactos:query

After entering the command, press Enter. Depending on whether compression is enabled or not, different messages will appear on the command line.

If file compression using Compact OS is not used by the system, it can be enabled with administrator rights. To do this, you need to write on the command line:

Compact /compactos:always

After pressing Enter, the command line will display how many files were compressed, how much they weighed before optimization, and how much they weigh after it.

Read how to remove junk files, apps and games you don't use. How to disable system features that require disk space, compress files, set up file storage in the cloud or external media. Sooner or later, free space, especially on the C:\ drive, runs out and it is constantly lacking.

Even though drives are getting bigger and prices keep dropping, we keep taking up more and more space on our Windows 10 devices. Because every day we download a lot of files from the Internet, take a lot of photos and record hours of video.

This problem is more common on low-end devices that have limited, and usually small, internal memory (ROM). The situation is more acute with solid-state drives (SSD), the prices for them are still quite high than for traditional hard disk drives (HDD), and the most common sizes are 64, 128 and 256 GB. If on "SSD drive" Windows 10 is installed, then there is simply no free space for various useful programs.

However, if you encounter this problem, then the first step should not be to buy a new media. The first thing to do is to optimize the occupied space, get rid of unnecessary files, applications and games that you do not use.

How to uninstall unwanted apps and games in Windows 10

Deleting apps you don't use is a great way to clear up extra disk space. You can remove both those that were pre-installed on your PC, and those that are installed manually.

At the same time, games installed through "Microsoft Store", can be stored in different places at the same time, so it is recommended to delete those that are already boring and you no longer play them. To do this, open the window "Options" through the menu "Start", then click on "Applications".

On the tab, we go down and see a list of all installed applications and programs.

Note. Drop down menu "Sort by" select "The size" to show the apps and games that take up the most space first. Also select disk "WITH:\" on the menu "Filter by" to free up space on the system drive. This greatly simplifies the search.

Go through the list and do these steps several times to remove all the games and applications you don’t need, you can also remove the pre-installed ones.

Use the new feature OneDrive Files On-Demand(files on request)

OneDrive Files On-Demand is a new feature introduced in Windows 10 with the update Fall Creators Update, which allows you to access your files stored in the cloud using "Windows Explorer" without having to sync (download them to your local drive).

If you are running out of free disk space, you can use the function Files On Demand to upload and store files in the cloud One Drive to download them only when you need them.

Shrinking Windows 10 with "Compact OS"

"Compact OS" is a tool added with Windows 10 that allows you to compress installation files and pre-installed applications, thus reducing the disk space occupied by the operating system.

A warning. This is a reminder that by using this feature, you will be modifying system files. And although to use "Compact OS" generally safe, but no one is safe from accident. It is strongly recommended that you make a full backup of your PC, or at least the files that are most important to you.

So, in the search bar, enter "Command line", in the results we find the desired application, right-click and select "Run as administrator".

Enter the following command to compact Windows 10 and installed apps and click "Enter": "Compact.exe /CompactOS:always"(without quotes).

You can cancel this action at any time using the same instructions, but at the command prompt, type: "Compact.exe /CompactOS:never" and press "Enter".

Using this method, it will be possible to free up about 2 GB of hard disk space, but the exact amount will depend on each specific operating system.

Although using this feature on a regular basis should not noticeably affect the performance of your computer, we recommend that you use this option only on a device with extremely limited disk space, or when you simply have no other choice.

Disable sleep mode (hibernation) in Windows 10

"Sleep Mode"- This is a function that saves the data contained in the RAM to the hard disk, which allows you to completely turn off the device, and the next time you turn it on, continue working in the same place where you left off.

Although "Sleep Mode"- an extremely useful feature (in our opinion), but to save the contents of RAM in a file hiberfil.sys The hard drive requires several gigabytes of memory.

This feature can be disabled and as a result, you will get an increase in free space from 2GB to 12GB, depending on the amount of RAM installed on your PC.

Again, the easiest way to do this is "Command line", open it with administrator rights and enter powercfg /hibernate off to disable sleep mode and press "Enter".

The only downside to disabling this feature is that you will lose the ability to use "Sleep mode". But this option can provide a fairly large amount of disk space almost immediately. Naturally, "Sleep Mode" you can turn it back on when you figure out the problem.

Move files, programs and games to an external hard drive

At the beginning of the article it is said that you do not need to immediately buy an external or additional hard drive to get rid of this scourge. But if you have tried everything, and the place has not increased much, then you should seriously think about such a purchase.

By using an external or secondary hard drive on your system, you can move existing files and set up Windows 10 so that new data is stored and installed on the new drive. Also, you can transfer some applications and games from "Microsoft Store", which will significantly increase the free space on the system disk.

How to move existing files to a new drive?

Connect an additional drive or flash drive. open "Windows Explorer", navigate to the directory containing the files and folders you want to move. Select the desired items and in the menu item "Home" click on the button "Move to".

Press on "Select location", then select a new disk and press the button "Move".

Saving new data to a new drive

To automatically save files to an additional drive, do the following. Plug in the drive, go to "Start", Further "Options" and press "System", go to the tab "Vault".

We go down, we find the line "More storage options" and click on the link. Next to each field, open the drop-down menu and select the new drive that Windows 10 will use to automatically save applications and files of each type. Click "Apply".

Moving apps and games to a new drive

On Windows 10, you can also move certain apps and games from "Microsoft Store" to another storage device without having to reinstall them.

Connect removable disk, open again "Start" – "Options". Next, we go to "Applications" and select the menu item on the left "Apps in Opportunity". We go down to the list of all installed applications, select an application or game and press "Move".

Select a new location from the drop-down menu and click the button "Move".