How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 11 Quickly!

If you are facing issues with storage on your Windows 11, then this article will help you. Like Windows 10, Windows 11 comes with a Storage Sense feature that will help you to optimize your storage. You can easily remove unwanted files from your Windows 11 and clear storage. If you don’t have enough storage, you won’t run apps on your PC. Here are some easy ways to free up disk space on Windows 11.

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How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 11

Windows 11 comes with a number of ways to clear disk space without any 3rd party tool. So let’s check them out.

Method 1: Clear Temporary Cache

A temporary cache is created automatically by your Windows system and apps. You can delete these temporary files as they are temporary. When you open any software or apps, Windows will create a cache again.

Step 1: Press Windows + R button on your keyboard to open the Run command box.

Step 2: Type “%temp%” in the Run box and press enter. This will open a Temp folder where all temporary files are stored.

Step 3: Use CTRL + A to select all files and press the delete button on the keyboard. It will delete all the temp files.

Step 4: You can also use this address to access temporary files. C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\Temp

Replace the word USER in the above address with your Windows 11 username.

Step 4: Once done, you have to restart your PC.

Method 2: Remove Temporary Files

Step 1: Press and hold the Windows key + I key from the keyboard to open the Settings app.

You can also use the Windows + X button to access the quick menu and choose settings from the list.

Step 2: Click on the system in settings.

Step 3: Now scroll down and then select the storage option from the left sidebar.

Step 4: Now click on the Temporary files in the right sidebar.

Step 5: Now select the type of temp files and click on remove.

Step 6: You have to wait for some time. Once done, restart your PC.

Method 3: Remove Temporary Files Using Command Prompt

If you don’t want to use the manual approach then you can also delete temp files using the command prompt tool.

Step 1: Open the Windows start menu with Windows + I button on your keyboard.

Step 2: Now search for CMD and click on Run as administrator to open the command prompt with admin access.

Step 3: In the cmd window, type this command and press enter.

del /q/f/s %TEMP%\*

Step 4: This command will delete all the temporary files automatically from Windows 11.

Method 4: Use Disk Cleanup

Windows OS comes with this built-in tool called Disk Cleanup. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Open the start menu with the Windows button on your keyboard.

Step 2: Search for Disk cleanup. Click on the first result.

Step 3: Select the drive for which you want to delete temp files. Select the drive and click OK.

Step 4: Disk Cleanup will scan your selected driver for all cache files stored on your system.

Step 5: Once done, select files that you want to delete and then click on Ok.

Step 6: Restart your PC.

Method 5: Remove Unwanted Apps

You can also delete unwanted apps from your Windows 11 computer to free up some space in your hard disk or SSD. Here is how to delete apps on Windows 11.

Step 1: To remove apps or software from your PC, open the run command using the Windows + R button on your keyboard.

Step 2: Now type appwiz.cpl in the Run box and then press enter to open Programs & Features.

Step 3: In the Programs & Features, find the app you want to uninstall and then right-click on it.

Step 4: Then click on ‘Uninstall’. Follow all the on-screen steps to remove that app from your system.

This will clear data and clear some storage on your Windows 11.

Method 6: Empty the Recycle Bin

When you delete anything on your Windows, it will automatically move to the recycle bin folder. This Recycle Bin allows to review and restore delete items in Windows. But it uses your storage to store deleted files and items. You have to delete all the files of recycle bin regularly.

Step 1: Right-click on the Recycle Bin and choose the empty recycle bin to clear all the data.

Step 2: Once deleted, your store will increase. Restart your PC.

To configure Recycle Bin, not to store deleted data, then right-click the Recycle Bin > go to Properties and select the option “Don’t move files to Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted.” Click on “Ok” once the changes are done.

This creates free space every time you delete something as it will not be stored anymore in Recycle Bin.

Method 7: Clear the Cache in Your Browser

When you open any website, the browser saves information like fonts, images, and settings to store website data so that it can load the website faster next time. These files are known as the cache. We should not delete these cache files are they are very important for your internet browsing. But if you need more storage, then you can do it.

Clearing cache is an efficient troubleshooting process to fix issues with the app launch or storage. You might be using a different browser as compared to other users.

So we’ve tried to mention most of the popular browsers in this method. Kindly have a glimpse at each one of them in the following steps with respect to the browser you use.

1. How to Clear Cache on Google Chrome

Step 1: Click on the 3 dot icon in the upper right corner of the browser and hover the cursor over History > then again select History.

Step 2: Select Clear browsing data on the left side of the browser history.

Step 3: In the new window, select All time > Check the box located near.

Step 4: When finished, all the cache will be removed from chrome.

2. How to Clear Cache on Microsoft Edge

Just like chrome, it is very easy to delete cache on Microsoft edge.

Step 1: To clear the edge browser cache, press the CTRL + H button on your keyboard.

Step 2: Then click on the three-dot icon.

Step 3: Select Clear browsing data.

Step 4: Now select all time. Finally, click on cached images and files > click on the clear now button. Now everything will be removed.

3. How to Clear Cache for Mozilla Firefox

Step 1: Click on the hamburger icon in the top-right corner > select history.

Step 2: Find and click on Clear recent history.

Step 3: Next, select ‘Clear recent history’ from the list of options that appear.

Method 8: Delete Unwanted Files from the Downloads Folder

When you download any file in Windows 11, it will be saved in the Downloads folder. The folder is located in your system driver, so it will keep increasing the size of your system drive. Also, it is very messy. When you download any software, the installer file will be saved to the Downloads folder.

Step 1: Open your file explorer and then go to Downloads from the left sidebar. You can use the Windows + E button on your keyboard to access the file explorer.

Step 2: In the folder, select the file and folder which is useless and delete them. You can use shift + delete to delete all the files directly permanently.

Step 3: If you have used the normal delete procedure, you have to remove all the files again from the recycle bin.

Step 4: Once done, restart your PC.

Method 9: Use Storage Sense Feature

As we mentioned, Windows 11 comes with a Storage Sense tool that will help you to manage your storage and files.

Storage Sense will automatically delete temporary and unwanted files to free disk space. You don’t need to find and delete temp files manually.

Step 1: Open the Windows start menu with the Windows button and then search for Setting. You can also use Windows + I button on your keyboard to access Windows 11 settings.

Step 2: Now, find and open the System.

Step 3: Select Storage on the right panel. Then click on Storage Sense.

Step 4: Turn ON the toggle that says, ‘Automatic User content cleanup’. This will enable Storage Sense on Windows 11.

You can also configure the cleanup schedule to allow the system to clean unwanted files automatically. You have now successfully set up ‘Storage Sense’. The feature will henceforth automatically remove unwanted files and clear the disk space.

You can also run Storage Sense using the ‘Run Storage Sense now’ button if you don’t have enough storage. The clearing will take some time to identify and remove unwanted apps.

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Did This Free Up Disk Space on your Windows 11 PC?

Well, if this didn’t help you to free up disk space on your Windows 11 PC or laptop, you should get it checked with the technician. Else, the above-given solutions should work like a charm!

How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 11 Quickly

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