Freeing up disk space in your Windows 11 hard drive

There are several ways to free up disk space. The following steps help to optimize storage and improve system performance.

1. Use Storage Sense 

Windows 11 has a built-in tool called Storage Sense that automatically frees up space. 

How to enable it: 

• Go to Settings > System > Storage 

• Toggle Storage Sense to On 

• Click Configure Storage Sense or run it now to customize cleanup options 

2. Delete temporary files 

• Go to Settings > System > Storage 

• Click Temporary files 

• Select items like Recycle Bin, System created Windows Error Reporting, and Temporary files 

• Click Remove files 

3. Uninstall unused apps 

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps 

• Sort by size or last used 

• Uninstall apps you no longer need 

4. Move files to OneDrive or external storage 

• Transfer large files (videos, photos, documents) to OneDrive, an external hard drive, or a USB stick 

• Use the “Free up space” option in OneDrive to keep files in the cloud only 

5. Clear browser cache 

• Browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox store cache files that can be cleared via their settings. 

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