This page is part of a 7-part story, 7 things you can do to make Windows 7 (and other versions) easier to use.
Applies to: All
Why? Over time, your computer's hard disk (or solid state disk drive if you are using a mobile/netbook device equipped with such) accumulates files, as a result of software installations, music or video downloads, or web browsing and other temporary files, to name but a few causes.
Ever-increasing disk space usage can lead to greater file fragmentation, which can slow your system and makes the built-in disk defragmentation utilities work harder and, in extreme cases, may prevent defragmentation from taking place at all due to insufficient free space. Freeing up disk space by deleting large, unused files is a great way to help keep your system running smoothly and responsively.
How? Use handy utilities to clean up large or unused files on your computer.
- Use the built-in "Disk Cleanup" utility.
- Download and install WinDirStat, an excellent, free, and widely-used utility that displays a visual 'map' of disk usage.
- Download and install TreeSize free, another excellent free utility that provides a helpful (though slightly less visually interesting) display of the disk hogs on your system.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
Delete files using Disk Cleanup in Windows Vista
Delete files using Disk Cleanup in Windows 7
