[Quick Fix] How to Free Up Space on C Drive on Windows 10/11

This is a quick guide on how to free up space on the C drive to keep your system functioning at its best. We’ve detailed the solutions from the easiest to the too-many-steps method, depending on what works for you. 

Go through them and choose the best method to clear your system if your C drive is full. You can also let us know what method worked for you in the comments below after fixing the issue. 

With that said, let’s begin.

What Is the C Drive?

The C drive is the main or primary storage partition on your computer. This is where you can find the operating system, crucial system files, and installed default programs. In other words, every vital process takes place in the C drive. Without it, your PC is basically brain dead.

If you want to see what’s going on in your primary drive, you can use Storage Sense. It will give you a breakdown of what’s consuming space, from videos to system files to apps.

How to Free Up Space on the C Drive

Follow the solutions below if you want to know how to clear space on the C drive.

Go through the steps, starting from the simplest:

Method 1: Use good third-party software

The best software suitable for freeing up space on your C drive is Auslogics BoostSpeed. It’s an all-in-one utility designed to clean, speed up, and generally make your computer perform better. 

In terms of clearing space on your C drive, BoostSpeed has several tools, depending on what you want to delete. 

In other words, you don’t have to install separate tools for specific tasks, like when you want to delete duplicate files or temporary files. 

Here’s how to use the tool to get storage on your system: 

• Go to the Auslogics official site and download the software and install it. 
• Open the program and click on All Tools to open all the resources available to you. 

• Scroll down to search for Deep Disk Cleaner and click on it. Then, click on Scan Now after ticking the files you want to scan.

• After the scan is completed, select the files you wish to delete and click Clean Up.

• If you want to uninstall programs and apps, go back to All Tools and click on Uninstall Manager. From there, you can select all the applications you want to delete and select Uninstall. It’ll remove the multiple programs at once.

Method 2: Delete temporary files

You can use the Settings app on your Windows 10 and 11 to delete unnecessary files to free up your disk space quickly. These include upgrade logs, error reports, installation leftovers, temporary Windows installation files, etc.

How to delete temporary files on Windows 10:

• Press Windows + I to open the Settings window.
• Next, click on System and select Storage.
• Click Temporary files.

• Check the items under Temporary files to see what you want to delete, like the Recycle Bin files, Windows Update Cleanup files, etc. 
• After everything, click Remove files to delete the unnecessary files. 

That’s how to clear space on the C drive on Windows 10. Let’s find out how it’s done on Windows 11.

How to delete temporary files on Windows 11:

• Go to your Settings window. You’ll immediately see Storage on the right side of your screen. If you can’t, click on Home. Alternatively, you can click on System, scroll down, and select Storage.

• Click on the sections you want to remove. It’ll open another window where you can manually delete the files taking up storage. 

• For example, when you click on Installed apps, all the applications on your PC will appear. From there, you can click on the three dots and select Uninstall. 

Method 3: Disable hibernation

Hibernate is a semi-shutdown mode that helps speed up Windows startup. It’s an alternative to completely shutting down your computer.

To clear space on the C drive, you can switch off the hibernation feature to get more disk space. Here’s why. 

While hibernating, your computer uses disk space to store a snapshot of your drivers and files. You can save disk space if you don’t need a fast startup. 

That’s because the hiberfil.sys files can take up large amounts of drive space. Follow the steps below to disable the hibernation feature: 

• Click the Start button, type “Command Prompt,” and select Run as administrator.
• Type “powercfg /hibernate off” into the Command Prompt window and press Enter. 

If you want to enable the feature again, follow the above steps and enter the command “powercfg /hibernate.”

Method 4: Run Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a built-in tool in Windows designed to remove unnecessary files from your computer.

Here’s how to free up space on the C drive on Windows 10 and 11 using Disk Cleanup:

• Go to your File Explorer. 
• Click This PC, right-click on drive C or your primary drive, and select Properties.
• Then, select Disk Cleanup. 
• Click Clean up system files and check the items you want to delete. 

• Finally, click OK to delete the files.

This method can help you clean up your PC and improve its speed.

Read more: How to Save Disk Space in Windows 10/11

Method 5: Uninstall unneeded programs

If you have programs or applications you don’t need, you can delete them to free up space. Too many programs can slow down your PC, which can decrease productivity.

Also, your computer may have pre-installed bloatware, which could be taking up unnecessary space. Let’s go through steps to delete apps:

Windows 10

• Go to Settings and select Programs. 
• Then, select Apps & features.
• You can then delete the programs by clicking Uninstall. 

You can use the search box to find the programs faster and delete them. 

Method 6: Change the Recycle Bin settings

When you delete files, it goes into the Recycle Bin. If you don’t delete the files in the Recycle Bin, it’ll still take up space on your drive.

However, you can change its settings to create more space besides deleting files from it.

Windows reserves 5% of the available space to keep deleted files. The system automatically deletes files, beginning with the oldest, when this limit is reached.

You can change the space allocated to the Recycle Bin to free up space. 

Here’s how to do it: 

• Right-click on the Recycle Bin and select Properties. 

• If you have multiple partitions, select your preferred location to configure.
• Select Custom size under Settings for selected location.
• Enter the maximum drive space you want to use in the Maximum size (MB) section. 
• Click Apply and select OK to apply the changes. 

You can also choose to remove files permanently the moment they are deleted if your C drive is full. Just check the box and click Apply to confirm.

Method 7: Use NTFS compression to free up space

The NT File System (NTFS) has an integrated compression feature. It reduces the amount of storage current files use while maintaining regular access.

You can compress folders, individual files, or the entire drive.

To enable NTFS compression, follow the steps below: 

• Open File Explorer.
• Search for the folder you want to compress, right-click on it, and select Properties.
• Next, choose Advanced.

• Check Compress contents to save disk space under the Compress or Encrypt attributes section, and click OK.

• Select Apply and select Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files.
• Click the OK button to begin compressing. 

The steps above focus on folders. But you can use the same steps for individual files. If you want to disable the NFTS compression, use the same instructions. 

Just make sure to uncheck Compress contents to save disk space under the Compress or Encrypt attributes.

How to compress an entire drive

Go through the below steps to enable NTFS compression for your drive: 

• Open File Explorer.
• Click This PC.
• Right-click on the device you want to compress under the Devices and drives section and select Properties.
• Check Compress this drive to save disk space.

• Click the Apply button.
• Select Apply changes to drive [drive letter], subfolders, and files. 
• Click the OK button. 

If you want to disable the feature, use the same steps and just uncheck the Compress this drive to save disk space option. This method can help you free up space on the C drive!

What Can I Delete from My Computer?

Even though freeing up space on your PC can improve its performance, you must be careful with some items you delete.

Deleting essential files can cause some apps to malfunction, lose data, or cause your PC to be unstable. Here are some items you shouldn’t delete:

• Windows registry entries. Changing or removing registry entries may seriously impair the system’s functionality. As with everything related to the Windows registry, always proceed with caution!
• System files. The Windows operating system files are necessary for properly operating your computer. If you remove these, your computer may become unresponsive or unstable.
• Program files. Don’t delete folders with installed programs because it can cause some apps to malfunction or stop working entirely. You also shouldn’t remove any files in the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder.
• User account files. Deleting files linked with user accounts, including system folders and user profiles, can cause data loss and affect your computer’s stability.

PRO TIP

Check out this video on how to uninstall programs and remove all leftovers from your Windows PC to effectively clean your disk space.

Additionally, using a PC cleaner like Auslogics BoostSpeed can help keep your PC in top shape.

How to Free Up Space on the C Drive: Explained

I’m positive that the methods we’ve discussed can help you free up space on your C drive, regardless of the files you want to delete.

What’s left is for you to use the best method that guarantees the best results in your situation. A combination of some methods may help to get more space or using PC cleaners, which is far simpler.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

FAQ