Applies ToWindows 11 Windows 10

If your PC is running low on free space, you might not be able to install important Windows updates, and your PC’s performance may be affected. Here are some ways to free up space so you can keep your PC up to date and running smoothly. These suggestions are listed in order, so start with the first one, see if that helps, and then continue to the next one if it doesn't.

To check the total disk space left on your Windows 11 device, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and then select This PC on the left. The available space on your drive will appear under Devices and drives.

File Explorer image of available space on the C drive.

Note: If you follow the steps below and continue to have trouble updating Windows because of low disk space, resetting or reinstalling Windows might help. For more info, see Reinstall 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.

Note: If you delete any files, remember to empty the Recycle Bin to completely remove them from your device and free up space.

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.

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