Hard drives more and more, but there is still not enough space for them. This statement is even more true if you use SSD drive instead of traditional mechanical hard drive.

Especially for you, we will talk about 7 ways in which you can, by removing unnecessary "garbage" that clogs your HDD.

Run Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 (like almost everything previous Windows) has a built-in tool "Disk Cleanup", with which you can remove temporary and not required files. To access it, just click on the hard drive right click mouse and select "Properties".

Select "Disk Cleanup" in the drive's properties window.

Select the file types you want to delete and click OK. You can select temporary files, logs, files in the trash and other non-essential files to delete. You can also clean up system files that are not on this list. Click on the "Clean up system files" button if you want to remove unused system files.

Once you've done that, you can go to the Advanced tab and select Clean up under System Restore and Shadow Copy. This action will delete shadow copies of files and all restore points except the last one. Therefore, I do not recommend using this item for novice users.

Remove "heavy" applications

Removing unused programs can free up space on your hard drive, but some programs use very little space; removing them will make little difference to the overall picture. Therefore, in the Programs and Features section, programs can be sorted by size. Press Win+X and select Programs and Features. Click on the "Size" field name to sort applications by size. Select necessary program and click the "Delete" button

In Windows 10, you can go to the path "Start" - "Settings" - "System" - "Apps and features" to remove any programs from the computer, as well as some built-in Windows applications 10. To remove all built-in Windows 10 applications and tracking in the system, you can use the article

Perform hard drive analysis

In order to find out what information takes up the most space on your hard drive, you can use a hard drive analysis program. This application will scan your hard drive and show you which files and folders are taking up the most disk space. There are many similar programs, but you can try Windirstat. The program is free, in Russian. After launching the programs, it will scan all your disks (or a specific one) and clearly show what your hard disk is doing.

Clean up temporary files

The built-in Windows Disk Cleanup utility is very useful, but it does not clean up temporary files that are used by other programs. For example, it doesn't clear the Firefox or Chrome cache, and browsers can store gigabytes of data on your hard drive. The cache is used by the browser to speed up web page loading and access to content for you, but this is little consolation if your hard drive is full and you need to clear it right away to stabilize your computer.

For a more aggressive cleaning of temporary files and "junk" on your computer, you can use the CCleaner program. The official site has free version programs, with somewhat truncated functions, but quite suitable for our purposes. CCleaner can remove "junk" files of third-party programs, and also removes "unnecessary" Windows files, which are bypassed by the Windows Disk Cleanup wizard.

Working with the program is extremely simple. Install it, run it, press the "Analysis" button, then "Cleanup". Please note that cookies are also deleted by default. If you want to save them (for example, in order not to re-enter the password on your favorite site), you should uncheck the box (everything is clear in the screenshot).

Find duplicate files

You can use special software to remove duplicate files on your hard drive and delete them as they are useless. I will offer you a free, functional program in Russian for finding duplicate files. It's called " dupeGuru". Its extremely easy to use. Download the program from the official site, install, run. Click on the "+", add a drive or folder to scan and wait for the results. Check the "Duplicates only" checkbox and choose what to do with duplicate files. That's all. All duplicate files that take up extra space on your hard drive will be deleted.

Reduce the space used for system restore

If System Restore eats up too much hard disk space, you can reduce the amount of memory allocated for System Restore. The price to pay for reducing the hard drive space for recovery will be fewer restore points available to you. If this suits you, then feel free to reduce the amount of disk space for system recovery. How to do this, I already wrote in the article (in the very first paragraph it is written in great detail)

Not enough disk space - doing "bad" things to free up some more space

If the previous methods did not help free up the hard drive space you need, you can get some more free space by disabling some system functions.

Disabling sleep mode- When the computer goes into "sleep mode", the system saves the contents random access memory to the hard drive. This allows you to resume using the computer from the state you left it when you wake it up. Windows saves the contents of RAM to the Hiberfil.sys file on drive C. To save hard drive space, you can turn off hibernation and delete the Hiberfil.sys file.

Disable System Restore— If reducing the volume of the hard drive allocated for system recovery did not satisfy your need for free disk space, you can disable System Restore altogether. But keep in mind, if a major OS disruption occurs, you won't be able to use System Restore.

So today we have discussed several ways free up hard drive space in Windows 10 (and not only). I think the article turned out to be exhaustive. If there is "what to ask" and "what to add" - leave comments.

Have you just installed the April 2018 Update? If so, more than 10 GB of data is missing from your hard drive. On a laptop or tablet with limited memory, this can be quite annoying.

If you have a computer with a lot of storage available, you may not even notice this useless data. They will be kept for about 10 days until Windows cleans them up automatically. But, if you already have little hard disk space, then you probably want to delete them yourself.

These files allow you to roll back changes within 10 days.

Upgrading between "builds" of Windows 10, like the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update or the April Update, is treated the same as upgrading to a brand new one. operating system Windows.

When you upgrade to a new "build", Windows creates a Windows.old folder containing the system files from your "old" build. Windows installation. This allows you to "return" to the previous building Windows 10 if you have a problem with the new build.

However, this folder uses over 10 GB of space on your hard drive. Windows will automatically delete it after 10 days, but you can delete it earlier to free up space immediately.

You can return to latest version Windows 10 that you installed by going to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and clicking the "Get Started" button under "Go back to a previous version of Windows 10." This button is only present if the files are still available on your computer.

How to delete the Windows.old folder

If everything works fine after a few days, you can delete these files. You don't need to delete the Windows.old folder manually.

Starting with the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, you can erase these files using the new Free Space tool in Settings. To access it, go to Settings > System > Device Storage > Free Up Space Now.

Check the "Previous Windows Installations" option in the list. You will see the amount of space you save next to it here.

If you do not see this option in the list, then either you have already deleted these files, or Windows 10 has already deleted them for you.

Select the other types of data you want to delete and then click the Delete Files button at the top of the window. Safely delete all types of data here if your computer is working properly.

How to delete the Windows.old folder using Disk Cleanup

You can also use the Disk Cleanup tool which will clean everything up for you. To launch it, open the Start menu, search for Disk Cleanup and press Enter.

Check the "Previous Windows Installations" option in the list. You can also check other types of files you want to remove from your hard drive to free up space.

Click "OK" after you have chosen what you want to delete. Disk Cleanup will remove previous Windows setup files and free up space on your hard drive.

If you need to revert to a previous version of Windows 10 after deleting these files, you will need to reinstall Windows 10 from the old build installation media.

Or just over time, the computer inevitably starts to slow down or freeze. It's time to clean Windows 10. It would be nice if somewhere in the system there was such a button "Clean Windows in one click." You press it and in an instant the system works like clockwork again, and gigabytes of junk user files and system files magically disappear. Unfortunately, there is no such button. And in order to clean Windows 10, you need to perform a series of manipulations, which we will describe in detail.

Disk Cleanup Windows 10

Let's start with the main, perhaps, cleaning function of Windows 10. Many users know how to open the properties of a local disk, see its volume, occupied and free space. But not many people go further and carry out the removal of junk files and system optimization through this section. But now in more detail:

• Click on File Explorer on the taskbar.
• Open the folder " Thisa computer».
• On the local disk with the system, right-click the mouse. Here, in context menu we are interested in the item Properties».

• On the tab " General", click on the button" cleaningdisk».

• We are waiting for the system to analyze the system files and after, in the window that appears, we need to check all the items for cleaning. We delete files.
• We repeat this step, only now we click on the button " cleaning system files ».

Here you can find tens of gigabytes of temporary files and outdated updates.

In our example, we will delete more than 5 GB of them, most of them are the previous ones. Windows installations after Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Important: after cleaning the disk from unnecessary system files, especially previous installationsWindows, rollback updates no longersucceed.

Work table and basket

Desktop is a folder stored on system drive. And when storing large amounts of multimedia, audio and video files in this folder, the usable space on the hard drive is reduced, leading to various kinds of brakes and freezes. local disk for normal operation, at least 15% of the free space of the total volume is required. Otherwise, there will be no space left to unzip and install new updates. And there is no space left for , which is also stored on the C drive: Try not to litter the Trash, Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music and Downloads folders.

Temp Folder

In System Windows folder there is such an invisible folder Temp. It also needs to be cleaned sometimes. When the computer is running for a long time, when it is often installed and removed various applications, games, updates, the volume of temporary garbage is growing rapidly. Sometimes growing to an impressive size of 10 GB or more. We go into this folder, select all the contents with a key combination Ctrl+A and click Delete . You can't touch the folder itself, it's important system folder, but its contents can and even need to be deleted.

Many applications and programs after installation are loaded with the system, often their background work only interferes, loading the system with unnecessary processes eating up space in the computer's RAM. These programs are automatically written into the startup of the computer without special permission from the user. To reduce the load on the system, many programs can be removed from autorun, to exclude their autoload from Windows. We don't remove these programs, we just disable them so they don't run in the background all the time.

• We launch Task Manager combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc (autoload in Windows 10 is now here), and go to the "" tab.
• Disable all unnecessary utilities and programs.

CCleaner

You can also clean Win 10 using third-party software. An excellent utility that helps the user to clean the system of various debris and perform optimization is the CCleaner program.

• Run the utility, on the start screen of the utility, click " Analysis”, wait for a while. In the process, you may need to close browsers or open folders for a complete cleaning.
• After the analysis, we clean the found junk files.
• Switch to the tab " Registry"We also start searching for problems and fix them.

The utility is very easy to manage, free, has a Russian-language interface. You don't need to make any settings. The program already initially marked all the necessary items for cleaning and optimization.

• Next there is a tab Service» here we can manage startup applications, delete duplicate files on the computer. Manage scheduled tasks, browser add-ons. Perform a system restore and more.

Applications

Initially in Windows system 10 there are a lot of programs that are not used. In addition, we ourselves download different programs for one time, they remain in the system only in vain, taking up useful space.

• On the menu " All parameters» - « Applications»- « Applications and features» you can remove most of the unused programs. Launch all computer settings with a key combination win+ I , or click on the icon Notification Center”, where in the menu quick access open system settings.
• We click on the utility or application that needs to be removed and click, in fact, delete it.
• Here we can move these applications to other drives.

This is the minimum set for cleaning Windows 10, there are many more on the network different programs to solve such a problem. Some are paid, some are free, some are useful, some are not. As we can see, cleaning Windows 10 is a simple task, it will take, of course, some time, but it's worth it. After carrying out these manipulations, the computer will become fast and it is a pleasure to work with it.
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Debugging windows

Everyone knows that a cluttered operating system starts to work very badly. This is due to the fact that the Windows system partition is full. And this, in turn, adversely affects the read and write speed of the hard disk.

Many experts in the field computer technology recommend cleaning system partition(and the entire hard drive) at least once a month. And it is right. So the OS will work longer. It won't need to be reinstalled.

Why is it worth cleaning the system regularly?

Read also: [Instruction] Testing computer performance: using popular programs + Reviews

To answer this question, it would be worth testing the speed of the OS before cleaning and after it. But there are several main reasons for regular system cleaning activities.

Of course, all of the above arguments may not affect some users. But one thing is certain: a clean operating system is faster and less prone to crashes, glitches and brakes.

This is not just a program, but a whole set of powerful tools for comprehensive optimization of the operating system. In the arsenal software product there are such things as the optimizer of services and Internet connections, modules for optimizing and cleaning the registry, and much more.

However, this wonderful harvester is not free at all. You will have to pay a very tangible amount for a license. And yet, to date, Auslogics BoostSpeed ​​is the best software for comprehensive cleaning and optimization of the computer.

Among the features of the program - cleaning the operating system from any debris. To do this, the product has a whole set of modules. But we will consider only cleaning disks. So, download the program, install it and run it using the shortcut.

DOWNLOAD

In the main window of the application, go to the tab "Tools".

After the removal process is complete, the utility will show you general statistics. Compare the amount of removed items and show the amount that was freed.

The cleaning process is now complete. However, the performance gain will be noticeable only after restarting the computer or laptop. By the way, it is not necessary to clean manually. BoostSpeed ​​allows you to set up scheduled cleaning. This is very convenient.

3. CCleaner

Read also:

Another product for comprehensive testing and optimization of Windows OS. Unlike previous program CCleaner does not have such rich functionality, but it does an excellent job of cleaning the system of all kinds of garbage.

The utility has a powerful disk analysis algorithm, a built-in defragmenter and a number of other modules. The main feature is modern design and intuitive clear interface. There is also support for the Russian language.

However, the program requires the purchase of a license. Its cost depends on the version of the product (Professional, Engineer, Technician, and so on). But this utility is worth every penny spent. So, download the application, install and run.

DOWNLOAD

As soon as the scan is completed, the utility will display a list of found files and demonstrate how much space they occupy. To remove them, just click on the button. "Cleaning".

This is how easy it is to check and clean the OS using CCleaner. You only need to press two buttons. The software product from Piriform uses an advanced algorithm for finding unnecessary elements. That is why the process is always successful.

4.Advanced SystemCare Free

Read also: 5 Tips for Setting Up the Windows Page File

This is a multi-purpose set of programs for monitoring the state of the computer and troubleshooting problems associated with insufficient optimization. The software product includes such things as a RAM optimizer, a defragmenter, a registry kit, and much more.

Unlike the previous options reviewed, this application is completely free. It has a Russian language and a bunch of settings to optimize the troubleshooting and cleaning process. The versatility of this program lies in the fact that you can not only clear the HDD.

IObit, the company that created this product, specializes in developing applications for optimizing and tuning your computer. That is why the program turned out pretty good. You need to download the application, install it and run it. What follows is very simple.

DOWNLOAD

In the main window of the utility, select the item "Garbage Removal" and press big button "Start". The file analysis will start immediately.

This is how disks and the operating system are cleaned up using Advanced System Care by iobit. The program works quickly and accurately. However, some antiviruses do not respond to it in the most adequate way. However, there is no malware in the composition.

5.PC Decrapifier

Read also: 9 ways to turn off automatic updates in Windows 10

small free utility who knows her business very well. She's different high speed work and good results. However, it is not particularly popular among domestic users. This is because the interface is completely on English language.

It is worth noting that the program uses standard methods for cleaning up garbage and removing unnecessary applications. There are no own modules and advanced algorithms in its composition. But that doesn't stop the app from working great.

The utility is completely free and available for download on the developer's website. But there is also a special paid version. However, for us it is not important. Downloading Free version, install it and run it using the shortcut.

DOWNLOAD

The main window greets the user with a bunch of incomprehensible text in English and just one button "Analyze". You need to click it to start scanning your computer.

After the scan, the utility will display a list of programs, components, and files that can be removed. However, the user himself must mark the items to be deleted. Then you need to press the button "Remove Selected". The program will immediately get to work.

It is worth noting that PC Decrapifier does not provide information about the importance for the system of a particular file being deleted. Therefore, to perform any actions using this program should be with a certain degree of caution.

All the best!

Why does Windows always work with different speed? Probably a rhetorical question...

When you just install the system - it seems to "fly": it loads quickly, folders open immediately without delay, nothing freezes: everything works as it should be. But a week or two passes, a month, and Windows seems to have been replaced: they appear, lags, freezes, tabs in the browser also slow down. What to do with all this?

This happens due to the fact that "garbage" begins to accumulate in the system: incorrect and erroneous entries in the registry, remaining temporary files, cache in the browser, empty folders, shortcuts leading to "nowhere", etc. All this creates a load on the OS, and because of this, performance decreases.

In this article, I want to give you some smart programs for cleaning the Augean stables of Windows from debris so that your PC / laptop works faster (all programs are compatible with Windows 10 and support 100% Russian!).

How many people, so many opinions...

But I believe that Advanced SystemCare is one of the best programs to optimize and clean Windows from all sorts of garbage (which I listed above in the article). Moreover, which is especially pleasing, the program is not replete with some complex settings, the developers have made it so that any user can easily and easily understand it and quickly clean up their PC.

So, at the first start, the program will automatically prompt you to check the status of your PC (see the example in the screenshot below). You just need to press one button - START.

Note: looking ahead, I will say that then SystemCare will monitor the state of your Windows, warn about potentially dangerous software, warn about changes start page in the browser, changing startup, etc. And besides this, remind you of the need for timely cleaning and optimization of Windows. In general, it will take full control over the state of your system.

By the way, about 35 thousand problems were found on my laptop. Moreover, there are as many as 6 GB of junk files, which is quite significant ...

By the way, the program quite corrosively scans the system, checks:

1. loading elements;
2. junk files;
3. shortcut, registry, disk errors;
4. malware;
5. Internet problems;
6. performance issues, etc.

To fix all these problems, it is enough again to press just one button - "Fix" (see the screen below).

Well, in addition to this review, I also want to add about the tab "Acceleration". If after cleaning the system you are still unhappy with its responsiveness, SystemCare has a special acceleration tab that will allow you to make your system even more productive.

All in all, I recommend it for regular use. Perhaps the only negative is that the program is paid and to unlock all the options it will require the purchase of a license. But the free version is also very, very good at cleaning up your OS.

CCleaner

One of the most popular junk cleaners for Windows. The utility quite "corrosively" checks your Windows for: temporary Internet files, files in the recycle bin, old and junk files from Firefox, Opera, media player, eMule, Kazaa and other applications. Moreover, all this garbage will be found quickly and just as quickly removed. By the way, I want to note that the utility only removes really garbage, you don’t have to worry about the necessary files - when using it for more than 10 years, I have never encountered it ruining Windows (or any program).

To start the system analysis - just open the section "Cleaning" and then click the button "Analysis". Within a few minutes, the program will estimate how much garbage it can remove, and you just have to confirm it...

CCleaner, by the way, does quite a lot of work with the registry: erroneous entries will be deleted, various "tails" from remote programs, various time events, etc. The screenshot below shows the "Registry" tab, which shows what the program will work with.

In addition, CCleaner has some pretty useful features:

1. uninstall programs: firstly, using this tab, you can remove even those programs that are not removed in the usual way; secondly, this uninstaller removes applications cleaner than the one that is built into Windows;
2. autoload: helps you to be aware of what is loaded instead of your Windows (some software can be disabled for more fast loading OS);
3. duplicate search: find and remove duplicates identical files on disk (collections of music, pictures, photos, etc.);
4. system restore (no comment);
5. disk analysis: helps you find folders and files that take up a lot of space on your HDD.

In general, the program is rightfully considered one of the best for cleaning the system from unnecessary "junk". I recommend to use!

Wise Disk Cleaner

This program is the best in terms of cleaning your hard drive (and, I emphasize, in terms of cleaning!). It will remove as much garbage as no other similar utility!

The interface of the utility is insanely simple, several tabs are presented at the top of the window: quick cleaning, deep cleaning, system cleaning, defragmentation. The user only needs to press one button - "Scan" (the program already has all the necessary presets for optimal cleaning of the OS).

Wise Disk Cleaner - disk analysis, garbage search

Compared to CCleaner and SystemCare (which found about 6-7 GB of junk) - Wise Disk Cleaner found almost 15 GB of junk files! There is something to compare!

The utility also has the ability to delete some files in Windows: downloaded OS files (for example, update files), installer cache, help files, etc. For this, the program has a special. tab "System Cleanup" (screenshot below).

Well, one more thing - Wise Disk Cleaner can defragment your hard drive, which will have an even better effect on system performance. By the way, it is recommended to do defragmentation after complete cleaning systems.

If you need a good disk cleaner - then better programs can not found. In functionality, of course, the program loses to such analogues as SystemCare or CCleaner.

Unlike other programs presented in this review, Reg Organizer- this is a more multifunctional package of utilities in one bottle! Contains everything you need to optimize the OS, its point settings and cleaning.

After starting the program, Reg Organizer will conduct an express check of your system to identify problems: with the registry, with unnecessary files on the disk, with Windows autorun, will analyze your Internet connection (can it be accelerated), etc. In general, despite the initial positioning of the program on advanced user, now, the modern version of the package - even a complete beginner can use it.

Reg Organizer: main program window // express system check

Key features of the Reg Organizer package:

1. the function of cleaning the disk from garbage (including from old Windows versions, updates, help, etc.);
2. cleaning and optimizing the registry;
3. defragmentation and compression of the registry;
4. registry editor;
5. a function for removing programs (which will check if there are any "traces" of the program being removed in the system - and remove them if they are found);
6. autoload optimization function: checks if there is anything extra in startup that makes your PC turn on much longer in time;
7. fine-tuning the system (such utilities are also called tweakers). Before using them, I recommend doing a copy of Windows(so that in case of something - it could be).

By the way, I want to highlight separately in this review disk cleanup function (note: because the key message of this article): the program will check old driver files, temporary folders in Windows, program crash and error reports, explorer thumbnails, error reports, etc. In general, the amount of garbage removed is comparable to the Wise Disk Cleaner program (Which I dubbed the best cleaner!).

jet clean

Despite the too "simple" look and design of this utility, JetClean is enough powerful program to remove various "garbage" from Windows: erroneous entries in system registry, "tails" from programs, history in browsers, etc.

Also, I would like to note that many other similar utilities of its kind are paid programs (or, at least, they ask for payment for all the functionality), while JetClean is a free utility!

Main features of JetClean:

1. cleaning Windows from debris;
2. registry cleaning;
3. cleaning applications and shortcuts;
4. cleaning RAM;
5. reducing the number of system failures, errors, freezes, etc.;
6. OS startup optimization;
7. internet accelerator;
8. as a consequence of the previous steps - improving the performance of the PC as a whole.

By the way, JetClean has tools for fine-tuning the utility itself, for example, to perform auto-cleaning (and forget about manual verification and a separate note). Thus, having once configured the utility, you can generally forget about Windows cleaning and always work in a "fresh" fast OS!

In general, JetClean deserves a fairly high rating and recommendation for use. By the way, the program supports the Russian language in full, is 100% compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10.

The report is over, thank you for your attention.

By the way, how do you clean the Augean stables of Windows?