Free up drive space in Windows

If you used Cleanup recommendations to free up space on your device and then see a Low Disk Space error, it’s possible that your Temp folder is quickly filling up with application (.appx) files that are used by Microsoft Store. To fix this problem, you’ll need to reset the Store, clear the Store cache, and run the Windows Update troubleshooter:

1. To reset Microsoft Store, select Start  > Settings  > System  > Troubleshoot  > Other troubleshooters , then next to Windows Store Apps , select Run.

2. To clear the Microsoft Store cache, press the Windows Logo Key  + R to open the Run dialog box, then type wsreset.exe and select OK. A blank Command Prompt window will open, and after about ten seconds the window will close and the Store will open automatically.

3. To reset Windows Update, select Start  > Settings  > System  > Troubleshoot  > Other troubleshooters , then next to Windows Update , select Run.

4. Restart your computer and see if you are still experiencing the issue.

Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid of items that you don't need, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin.

For more info, see Manage drive space with Storage Sense.

If you don't want to use Storage Sense, Cleanup recommendations can help you identify and clean up temporary files and system files from your device.

1. Select Start  > Settings  > System  > Storage  > Cleanup recommendations.

2. Review each of the categories, including Temporary files, Large or unused files, Files synced to the cloud, and Unused apps, and select the items you'd like to remove. Windows will suggest files for you and show the amount of space you'll save when you remove those items.

3. After you've selected items to remove, select the Clean up button for each section.

   Note: If it’s been fewer than 10 days since you upgraded Windows, your previous version of Windows will be listed as a system file you can delete. If you need to free up drive space, you can delete it, but keep in mind that you'll be deleting your Windows.old folder, which contains files that give you the option to go back to your previous version of Windows. If you delete your previous version of Windows, this can't be undone, and you won't be able to go back to your previous version of Windows.

Windows may indicate that it needs more space to get the latest Windows feature update. You can use an external storage device to help you complete the update.

To learn more, see Get more space with external storage.

Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can take up a lot of space on your device. To see which files are using the most space:

1. Select File Explorer  from the taskbar and find the files you want to move.

2. Under This PC in the menu on the left, select a folder to see what files are saved in it. The Videos, Music, Pictures, and Downloads folders usually contain the largest files that you’ve saved to your device.

3. To see the size of the files in a folder, select View from the taskbar, then select Details. Right-click in the open space (or select and hold), then select Sort by > Size to show the largest files at the top of the list.

4. If there are files you no longer need on your device, you can either delete them or move them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card.

To move photos, music, videos, or other files that you want to keep but don't use very often, consider saving them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card. You'll still be able to use them when the drive is connected, but they won't take up space on your PC.

1. Connect an external storage device like a USB drive or SD card to your PC.

2. Select File Explorer  from the taskbar and go to the folder that contains the files you want to move.

3. Select the files, then select Cut on the ribbon. Navigate to the location of the external storage device you connected, then select Paste .

Saving new files to another drive will help prevent low space problems on that drive in the future, so you won’t have to move your files to another drive repeatedly. Instead of saving all your new files to the default drive, you can save some of them to a different drive that has more free space.

1. Select Start  > Settings  > System  > Storage  > Advanced storage settings  > Where new content is saved.
   Open Storage settings

2. For each content type, select a drive from the drop-down menu. If the drive you want to use isn't listed there, make sure it's connected to your PC.

You can save space by turning on OneDrive Files On-Demand, which stores a smaller placeholder file on your hard drive instead of the full-size file that's stored in your OneDrive account in the cloud. You'll be able to get to your OneDrive files from your PC without having to use up hard-drive space downloading full-size versions of them all.

For more info, see Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows.

Sometimes a virus or other malware can consume significant hard-drive space by corrupting your system files. If you suspect your PC is infected with malware, use an antivirus program like Windows Security to run a virus scan and cleanup.

If you used Disk Cleanup to free up space on your device and then see a Low Disk Space error, it’s possible that your Temp folder is quickly filling up with application (.appx) files that are used by Microsoft Store. To fix this problem, you’ll need to reset the Store, clear the Store cache, and run the Windows Update troubleshooter:

1. To reset Microsoft Store, select Start  > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot, then select Windows Store Apps from the list and select Run the troubleshooter.

2. To clear the Microsoft Store cache, press the Windows Logo Key  + R to open the Run dialog box, then type wsreset.exe and select OK. A blank Command Prompt window will open, and after about ten seconds the window will close and the Store will open automatically.

3. To reset Windows Update, select Start  > Settings  > Update & Security  > Troubleshoot, then scroll down and select Windows Update from the list, and select Run the troubleshooter.

4. Restart your computer and see if you are still experiencing the issue.

Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid of items that you don't need, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin.

For more info, see Manage drive space with Storage Sense.

If your system doesn't have Storage Sense, you can use the Disk Cleanup tool to delete temporary files and system files from your device.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, then select it from the results.

2. Select the drive you want to clean up files for, then select OK.

3. Select the check box next to the type of files you want to delete. (To view a description of each type of file, select the name.) By default, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Thumbnails are selected. Be sure to clear those check boxes if you don't want to delete those files.

4. To free up even more space, select Clean up system files, select a drive, select OK. When the system has done its calculations, select the type of system files you want to delete. Disk Cleanup will take a few moments to calculate the amount of space that can be freed up.

   Note: If it’s been fewer than 10 days since you upgraded to Windows, your previous version of Windows will be listed as a system file you can delete. If you need to free up drive space, you can delete it, but keep in mind that you'll be deleting your Windows.old folder, which contains files that give you the option to go back to your previous version of Windows. If you delete your previous version of Windows, this can't be undone., and you won't be able to go back to your previous version of Windows.

5. After you’ve selected the types of files you want to delete, select OK, and then select Delete files in the confirmation window to start the cleanup.

Windows may indicate that it needs more space to get the latest Windows feature update. You can use an external storage device to help you complete the update.

To learn more, see Get more space with external storage.

Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can take up a lot of space on your device. To see which files are using the most space:

1. Select File Explorer  from the taskbar and find the files you want to move.

2. Under This PC in the menu on the left, select a folder to see what files are saved in it. The Videos, Music, Pictures, and Downloads folders usually contain the largest files that you’ve saved to your device.

3. To see the size of the files in a folder, select the View tab, then select Details. Right-click in the open space and then select Sort by > Size to show the largest files at the top of the list.

4. If there are files you no longer need on your device, you can either delete them or move them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card.

To move photos, music, videos, or other files that you want to keep but don't use very often, consider saving them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card. You'll still be able to use them when the drive is connected, but they won't take up space on your PC.

1. Connect an external storage device like a USB drive or SD card to your PC.

2. Select File Explorer  from the taskbar and go to the folder that contains the files you want to move.

3. Select the files, select the Home tab, and then select Move to and select Choose location.

4. Select the external storage device you connected in the location list, and then select Move.

Saving new files to another drive will help prevent low space problems on that drive in the future, so you won’t have to move your files to another drive repeatedly. Instead of saving all your new files to the default drive, you can save some of them to a different drive that has more free space.

1. Select Start  > Settings  > System  > Storage .
   Open Storage settings

2. Scroll down and under More storage settings, select Change where new content is saved.

3. For each content type, select a drive from the drop-down menu. If the drive you want to use isn't listed there, make sure it's connected to your PC.

You can save space by turning on OneDrive Files On-Demand, which stores a smaller placeholder file on your hard drive instead of the full-size file that's stored in your OneDrive account in the cloud. You'll be able to get to your OneDrive files from your PC without having to use up hard-drive space downloading full-size versions of them all.

See Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows for more info.

Sometimes a virus or other malware can consume significant hard-drive space by corrupting your system files. If you suspect your PC is infected with malware, use an antivirus program like Windows Security to run a virus scan and cleanup.