how to find whats taking up space on windows 7

If your PC is running low on free space, you lot might not be able to install important Windows updates, and your PC's performance may exist affected. Here are some ways to costless upward space and then you can keep your PC up to date and running smoothly. These suggestions are listed in social club, so start with the first one, run into if that helps, and and so go on to the next one if information technology doesn't.

To cheque the full disk space left on your Windows 11 device, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and and then select This PC on the left. The available space on your drive will announced under Devices and drives.

Notation:If you lot follow the steps below and continue to have problem updating Windows because of low disk space, resetting or reinstalling Windows might help. For more info, encounter Reinstall Windows.

If y'all used Disk Cleanup to free up space on your device and then run into a Low Disk Space fault, information technology's possible that your Temp folder is chop-chop filling upwardly with application (.appx) files that are used past Microsoft Store. For more info, run across Low Disk Space error due to a total Temp folder.

Storage Sense can automatically complimentary upwardly drive space for you by getting rid of items that you don't demand, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin. For more info, come across Manage bulldoze infinite with Storage Sense.

If your arrangement doesn't have Storage sense, you can use the Disk Cleanup tool to delete temporary files and system files from your device.

In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, then select it from the results.
Select the check box side by side to the blazon of files you want to delete. (To view a description of each type of file, select the proper noun.) By default, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Thumbnails are selected. Exist sure to clear those check boxes if yous don't want to delete those files.
To free upwardly even more than space, select Make clean upwardly organization files, and then select the type of organisation files you desire to delete. Disk Cleanup will have a few moments to calculate the corporeality of space that can be freed upwards.

Note:If it'due south been fewer than 10 days since yous upgraded to Windows x, your previous version of Windows will be listed as a system file you lot can delete. If you need to gratis up drive space, you can delete information technology, but go on in mind that you'll be deleting your Windows.onetime folder, which contains files that give you the pick to go back to your previous version of Windows. If you delete your previous version of Windows, this can't exist undone. (You won't be able to get back to your previous version of Windows.)
After you've selected the types of files you want to delete, select OK, and then select Delete files in the confirmation window to start the cleanup.

Of import:

There'southward likewise an option in Disk Cleanup to Compress your Bone bulldoze. Selecting this pick compresses the bulldoze on which Windows is installed, helping you lot gain extra space to install important updates. This action does not delete the contents of this drive, and you shouldn't feel bug opening and saving files from the compressed drive.
After y'all install the update, you can manually decompress the Os drive at whatever time. To exercise this, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and in the left pane, selectThis PC. Correct-click or tap and hold the Bone drive (usually disk C), and then select Properties on the shortcut menu. Clear the Compress this drive to save disk infinite check box, so selectApply >OK.

Windows 11 may indicate that information technology needs more infinite to get the latest Windows 11 characteristic update. Y'all can employ an external storage device to assistance you consummate the update.

To learn more, see Gratis up space for Windows updates.

Annotation:You lot may demand to use a micro-USB adapter if your device doesn't take a standard USB port.

Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can take up a lot of space on your device. To see which files are using the most space:

Select File Explorer from the taskbar and notice the files yous want to movement.
UnderThis PCin the menu on the left, select a folder to run across what files are saved in it. The Videos, Music, Pictures, and Downloads folders commonly contain the largest files that y'all've saved to your device.
To see the size of the files in a folder, select View > Details. Right-click in the open up space and and then select Sort by > Size to show the largest files at the height of the list.
If at that place are files you no longer need on your device, yous can either delete them or move them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD carte.

Notation:If y'all delete whatever files, think to empty the Recycle Bin to completely remove them from your device and complimentary up space.

To movement photos, music, videos, or other files that you lot want to keep merely don't use very often, consider saving them to an external storage device like a USB bulldoze or an SD carte. You'll withal be able to use them when the drive is connected, but they won't take up infinite on your PC.

Connect an external storage device like a USB drive or SD bill of fare to your PC.
Select File Explorer from the taskbar and go to the folder that contains the files y'all want to motion.
Select the files, and so select Cut on the ribbon. Navigate to the location of the external storage device you connected, so select Paste.

Saving new files to some other drive will help prevent low space problems on that drive in the time to come, and so you won't accept to movement your files to some other drive repeatedly. Instead of saving all your new files to the default drive, you tin salve some of them to a unlike drive that has more free infinite.

Select Start > Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Where new content is saved.
Open up Storage settings
For each content blazon, select a drive from the drop-downwards menu. If the drive you lot want to use isn't listed there, make sure it'due south connected to your PC.

You can save space past turning on OneDrive Files On-Demand, which stores a smaller placeholder file on your hard drive instead of the full-size file that'due south stored in your OneDrive account in the cloud. Yous'll be able to get to your OneDrive files from your PC without having to use upwards hard-drive infinite downloading full-size versions of them all. See Learn almost OneDrive Files On-Demand for more than info.

Sometimes a virus or other malware can eat meaning hard-bulldoze space by corrupting your system files. If y'all suspect your PC is infected with malware, utilize an antivirus program like Windows Defender to run a virus scan and cleanup. If this doesn't ready the problem, y'all might need to reset your PC.

If you've followed the instructions here simply all the same demand help freeing up infinite on your device, y'all tin can contact Microsoft support to chat with a back up agent. This is also recommended if your attempts to free upwards drive space trigger item fault codes that you lot need aid resolving.

The post-obit questions concern low deejay space and Windows Update specifically. Acquire more nigh Windows Update.

When there isn't enough free space bachelor to install an update, a pop-up notification volition prompt you lot that boosted space is required to install the update.

When you select Gear up issues, you lot'll exist informed most how much additional space is needed. You'll also be notified that yous can utilize an external storage device so that you don't demand to free upwardly quite as much space on your system bulldoze. Learn how to free up space to install Windows updates.

Windows needs more space to update message

The full free disk space your device requires to complete an update varies. Typically, feature updates require half-dozen GB–11 GB or more of complimentary space, while quality updates crave two GB–3 GB or more. Acquire about the departure betwixt a feature update and a quality update.

You need deejay space to download the update, download new versions of whatsoever optional features and languages that are currently installed, and to apply the update. Additional space is temporarily required to support removal of the update (typically for 10 days). This space can be reclaimed after the update is completed. To do this, Select Start > Settings > System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations.
Open up Storage settings

The update is compressed to reduce download size.

Note:For devices with reserved storage, an update will first employ the reserved storage infinite before using other disk space. For more info, meet How reserved storage works in Windows.

The space required to complete a feature update depends on 2 factors: which update path is followed and the size of optional content and other updates that apply to your PC when the feature update is installed.

Note:For devices with reserved storage, an update volition first use the reserved storage space earlier using other disk space. For more info, see How reserved storage works in Windows.

Windows follows three different feature update paths, depending on the amount of deejay infinite currently bachelor.

ane. For PCs with plenty of costless disk space

Windows automatically tries to consummate more of the update process in the background while y'all utilize your PC. This significantly reduces the time your PC volition exist offline (or unusable) during the update, although it might temporarily use more disk space to complete the update. Larn more about our efforts to reduce offline time during updates (English simply at this time).

two. For PCs with limited gratis space but still enough to complete the update automatically

Windows volition automatically optimize for reducing the amount of complimentary deejay space required to install the update. This volition upshot in a longer offline install time.

3. For PCs that don't accept plenty space to automatically install the update

Windows will prompt you to free up disk space or use external storage to temporarily extend the storage on your PC. If you use an external storage device, Windows won't need equally much free infinite on the system drive as it temporarily uses your external storage.

Across each of these update paths, the total amount of gratuitous disk space required will vary, depending on the optional content installed and other updates that use to your PC. For example:

Optional features. Many optional features available for Windows are pre-installed or acquired on demand by the system, or manually by you lot. You can run into which ones are installed on your PC past going to Settings > Apps> O ptional features.
Open Optional features settings
These features range in size from less than 1 MB to about ii GB for the Windows Mixed Reality portal. Yous can reduce the amount of infinite required to install a feature update on your PC by uninstalling optional features you aren't using.
Languages installed. Windows is localized into many languages. Although many people only utilize ane linguistic communication at a fourth dimension, some people switch betwixt two or more languages. Y'all can see which languages are installed on your PC past selecting Start > Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
Open Linguistic communication settings
During each update, all language resources and whatever associated typing, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and handwriting recognition resource must exist updated. The content for each language tin range from virtually 175 MB to more than than 300 MB. You tin can reduce the amount of space required to install a feature update on your PC by uninstalling languages you lot aren't using.
Driver updates. OEMs and other hardware partners sometimes publish new graphics, networking, audio, and other drivers in conjunction with the new OS update. The size of these drivers can vary significantly, depending on your PC and on which drivers accept been updated.
OS quality updates. During a feature update, Windows tries to download and automatically install the latest quality update then that your PC is fully up to date when you start using it. Shortly afterward the feature update is released, the quality update for that feature update could be as small equally a few hundred MB, but as more than quality and security changes are implemented, the quality update tin can increase in size to 1 GB or more than. If your PC is short on disk space, you tin can download and install the quality update after the characteristic update is complete.

Finally, Windows Update will temporarily disable hiberfile.sys, pagefile.sys, and other system files in order to use the space these files typically consume to apply the feature update. Whatever files that are disabled to apply the update will be automatically re-enabled when the update is complete. Considering these files vary in size depending on how you lot utilise your PC and the amount of RAM your PC has, even in cases where two different PCs take the exact aforementioned Bone image, the corporeality of free disk infinite required to consummate an update may vary.

The combination of update path and features means there'due south a broad range of free deejay space required to consummate an update. Here are a few examples for PCs updating to Windows x version 1803:

	Optimized for reduced offline time	Optimized for minimal disk infinite	Optimized for minimal disk space with external storage
Minimal optional features, languages, and updates	20 GB	v.5 GB+	4.5 GB+
Lots of optional features, languages, and updates	twenty GB+	13.75 GB+	7 GB+

To cheque the total disk space left on your Windows 11 device, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and then select This PC on the left. The available space on your drive will appear under Devices and drives.

File Explorer image of available space on the C drive.

It may exist all-time to use an external storage device in the following cases:

When access to the internet isn't available.
When yous need to store large files or a big number of files. In these situations, the files more often than not take longer to upload and it might cost more to store files.

Generally, nosotros recommend that you lot choose a larger capacity device because your local storage and disk space needs may change over time. If you know that you won't have many photos, videos, or other files and apps to save to your device, the 32 GB device might be a good selection for you. A skilful example is a device that yous just use to run ane small app, or that you only utilize for online content that never gets downloaded to the local difficult bulldoze.

When considering what storage hardware to utilize in your device, don't look only at the hardware's storage chapters. Often, the speed of the storage is more than important than its size. Devices with boring storage hardware, such every bit those labeled "HDD" are typically slower to use than those using faster storage hardware, such as those labeled "SSD" or "eMMC."

You don't demand to remove everything from your hard drive to update your device, merely you'll need to gratuitous up enough space to complete the update.

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Tips to improve PC performance in Windows
Get help with Windows activation errors

If your PC is running low on free space, you might not be able to install important Windows updates, and your PC'due south performance may be affected. Here are some ways to free upward space and so y'all can keep your PC upwards to date and running smoothly. These suggestions are listed in club, so start with the first one, see if that helps, and then go on to the next 1 if it doesn't.

To bank check the total disk infinite left on your Windows ten device, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and then select This PC on the left. The available space on your drive will appear nether Devices and drives.

Annotation:If you follow the steps below and go on to have trouble updating Windows because of depression disk space, resetting or reinstalling Windows might assistance. For more than info, see Reinstall Windows.

If you used Disk Cleanup to costless up space on your device and then encounter a Depression Disk Infinite fault, it'due south possible that your Temp binder is quickly filling up with awarding (.appx) files that are used by Microsoft Store. For more than info, run across Low Disk Space error due to a full Temp binder.

Storage Sense can automatically free upwardly bulldoze space for y'all by getting rid of items that you don't need, similar temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin. For more info, see Manage drive space with Storage Sense.

If your arrangement doesn't have Storage sense, you tin use the Disk Cleanup tool to delete temporary files and organisation files from your device.

In the search box on the taskbar, type deejay cleanup, and then select it from the results.
Select the check box next to the type of files you want to delete. (To view a clarification of each blazon of file, select the name.) Past default, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Thumbnails are selected. Be sure to articulate those bank check boxes if you don't desire to delete those files.
To free upwards fifty-fifty more space, select Make clean up system files, and so select the blazon of organisation files you want to delete. Disk Cleanup will take a few moments to calculate the corporeality of infinite that can be freed upwardly.

Annotation:If it'southward been fewer than 10 days since you upgraded to Windows ten, your previous version of Windows will exist listed as a arrangement file you can delete. If you need to free up bulldoze space, you lot tin can delete information technology, but go on in listen that you'll exist deleting your Windows.onetime folder, which contains files that give y'all the option to go dorsum to your previous version of Windows. If you lot delete your previous version of Windows, this tin can't be undone. (Yous won't be able to go dorsum to your previous version of Windows.)
After you've selected the types of files you want to delete, select OK, then select Delete files in the confirmation window to start the cleanup.

Important:

There's also an option in Disk Cleanup to Compress your OS drive. Selecting this option compresses the drive on which Windows is installed, helping yous gain extra space to install important updates. This action does not delete the contents of this bulldoze, and you shouldn't experience bug opening and saving files from the compressed drive.
After you install the update, you lot can manually decompress the OS drive at any time. To do this, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and in the left pane, selectThis PC. Right-click or tap and concord the Os bulldoze (unremarkably disk C), and and then select Backdrop on the shortcut menu. Clear the Compress this drive to relieve disk space bank check box, and then selectApply >OK.

Windows 10 may betoken that it needs more infinite to become the latest Windows 10 feature update. You can apply an external storage device to aid you complete the update.

To learn more, come across Complimentary upward space for Windows updates.

Annotation:Y'all may demand to use a micro-USB adapter if your device doesn't have a standard USB port.

Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can accept upwards a lot of space on your device. To see which files are using the virtually space:

Select File Explorer from the taskbar and find the files you want to move.
UnderThis PCin the menu on the left, select a folder to see what files are saved in it. The Videos, Music, Pictures, and Downloads folders usually contain the largest files that you've saved to your device.
To see the size of the files in a folder, select View > Details. Right-click in the open space and then select Sort past > Size to show the largest files at the top of the list.
If in that location are files you no longer demand on your device, you can either delete them or movement them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD card.

Note:If yous delete any files, remember to empty the Recycle Bin to completely remove them from your device and free up infinite.

To motility photos, music, videos, or other files that you want to proceed only don't use very often, consider saving them to an external storage device like a USB drive or an SD carte. You'll still be able to use them when the drive is connected, only they won't have up space on your PC.

Connect an external storage device like a USB bulldoze or SD menu to your PC.
Select File Explorer from the taskbar and get to the binder that contains the files you desire to move.
Select the files, select the Domicile tab, then select Move to > Choose location.
Select the external storage device you connected in the location listing, and and so select Motility.

Saving new files to another drive will help prevent depression space problems on that bulldoze in the hereafter, so you won't have to movement your files to some other bulldoze repeatedly. Instead of saving all your new files to the default drive, you can save some of them to a different drive that has more costless space.

Select Start > Settings > System > Storage .
Open up Storage settings
Under More storage settings, select Change where new content is saved.
For each content type, select a drive from the drop-down carte. If the drive you desire to use isn't listed there, make sure it's connected to your PC.

Notation:OneDrive Files On-Need requires Windows x version 1709 or subsequently and OneDrive customer version 17.3.7064.1005 or later. To run into which version of Windows you're running, select Get-go > Settings > Arrangement > About . To encounter which version of the OneDrive client y'all have installed, see Which version of OneDrive am I using?
Open Near settings

You can save space past turning on OneDrive Files On-Demand, which stores a smaller placeholder file on your difficult bulldoze instead of the total-size file that's stored in your OneDrive account in the cloud. You'll be able to get to your OneDrive files from your PC without having to use up hard-bulldoze space downloading total-size versions of them all. Come across Learn near OneDrive Files On-Demand for more info.

Sometimes a virus or other malware tin consume significant hard-bulldoze space by corrupting your organisation files. If you suspect your PC is infected with malware, use an antivirus program like Windows Defender to run a virus scan and cleanup. If this doesn't fix the problem, you might need to reset your PC.

If you've followed the instructions here but withal need help freeing up space on your device, you tin can contact Microsoft support to chat with a back up amanuensis. This is also recommended if your attempts to costless up drive space trigger detail error codes that you need help resolving.

The following questions concern low disk space and Windows Update specifically. Learn more than about Windows Update.

When there isn't plenty free space bachelor to install an update, a pop-upwardly notification will prompt you that additional space is required to install the update.

When yous select Ready problems, you'll be informed most how much additional space is needed. You'll also be notified that you can employ an external storage device so that you lot don't demand to free up quite as much space on your system bulldoze. Learn how to costless up infinite to install Windows updates.

Windows needs more space to update message

The total free deejay space your device requires to complete an update varies. Typically, characteristic updates crave 6 GB–11 GB or more than of free space, while quality updates require 2 GB–three GB or more. Learn about the difference between a characteristic update and a quality update.

Yous need disk infinite to download the update, download new versions of any optional features and languages that are currently installed, and to use the update. Boosted space is temporarily required to support removal of the update (typically for 10 days). This infinite tin can be reclaimed after the update is completed. To do this, Select Start > Settings > Organization > Storage > Gratis upward space now.
Open Storage settings

The update is compressed to reduce download size.

Note:For devices with reserved storage, an update will first use the reserved storage space earlier using other disk space. For more info, see How reserved storage works in Windows.

The infinite required to complete a feature update depends on two factors: which update path is followed and the size of optional content and other updates that apply to your PC when the feature update is installed.

Note:For devices with reserved storage, an update will get-go use the reserved storage space before using other disk space. For more info, see How reserved storage works in Windows.

Windows follows three different feature update paths, depending on the amount of deejay space currently bachelor.

1. For PCs with plenty of costless deejay space

Windows automatically tries to complete more than of the update procedure in the background while you utilise your PC. This significantly reduces the time your PC will be offline (or unusable) during the update, although it might temporarily apply more disk space to complete the update. Acquire more virtually our efforts to reduce offline fourth dimension during updates (English but at this fourth dimension).

2. For PCs with limited free space but nonetheless enough to complete the update automatically

Windows will automatically optimize for reducing the amount of free disk infinite required to install the update. This will issue in a longer offline install time.

three. For PCs that don't have plenty infinite to automatically install the update

Windows volition prompt you lot to costless up deejay infinite or use external storage to temporarily extend the storage on your PC. If you use an external storage device, Windows won't need as much gratuitous space on the organisation drive as it temporarily uses your external storage.

Across each of these update paths, the full amount of free deejay space required will vary, depending on the optional content installed and other updates that apply to your PC. For instance:

Optional features. Many optional features available for Windows are pre-installed or acquired on demand by the system, or manually by yous. You can see which ones are installed on your PC by going to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Manage optional features.
Open up Optional features settings
These features range in size from less than 1 MB to almost 2 GB for the Windows Mixed Reality portal. Yous tin reduce the corporeality of space required to install a characteristic update on your PC by uninstalling optional features yous aren't using.
Languages installed. Windows is localized into many languages. Although many people but utilize one language at a time, some people switch between two or more languages. You can see which languages are installed on your PC by selecting Start > Settings > Time & Language > Language .
Open Language settings
During each update, all linguistic communication resources and any associated typing, text-to-spoken communication, speech-to-text, and handwriting recognition resource must exist updated. The content for each language can range from about 175 MB to more 300 MB. You can reduce the amount of space required to install a feature update on your PC by uninstalling languages y'all aren't using.
Driver updates. OEMs and other hardware partners sometimes publish new graphics, networking, audio, and other drivers in conjunction with the new Bone update. The size of these drivers tin can vary significantly, depending on your PC and on which drivers take been updated.
OS quality updates. During a feature update, Windows tries to download and automatically install the latest quality update and so that your PC is fully up to date when you starting time using it. Shortly afterwards the feature update is released, the quality update for that characteristic update could exist as small-scale as a few hundred MB, but every bit more quality and security changes are implemented, the quality update can increase in size to 1 GB or more than. If your PC is short on disk space, you can download and install the quality update after the feature update is complete.

Finally, Windows Update will temporarily disable hiberfile.sys, pagefile.sys, and other organisation files in order to utilise the space these files typically consume to apply the characteristic update. Any files that are disabled to utilise the update volition be automatically re-enabled when the update is complete. Because these files vary in size depending on how you use your PC and the amount of RAM your PC has, even in cases where two unlike PCs accept the exact same Os image, the amount of free disk space required to complete an update may vary.

The combination of update path and features means there's a broad range of free deejay infinite required to complete an update. Hither are a few examples for PCs updating to Windows version 1803:

	Optimized for reduced offline fourth dimension	Optimized for minimal disk infinite	Optimized for minimal deejay space with external storage
Minimal optional features, languages, and updates	20 GB	5.v GB+	four.v GB+
Lots of optional features, languages, and updates	twenty GB+	13.75 GB+	7 GB+

To check the full disk infinite left on your Windows 10 device, select File Explorer from the taskbar, and and so select This PC on the left. The available infinite on your drive will appear under Devices and drives.

File Explorer image of available space on the C drive.

It may be best to use an external storage device in the post-obit cases:

When access to the cyberspace isn't available.
When you lot need to shop large files or a big number of files. In these situations, the files generally take longer to upload and information technology might cost more than to store files.

Windows Update automatically offers updates to eligible devices. To double check that your device is up to date, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update , and so select Check for updates.
Cheque for updates

Larn more about Windows Update.

Mostly, we recommend that you choose a larger capacity device considering your local storage and disk space needs may change over time. If you know that you won't have many photos, videos, or other files and apps to save to your device, the 32 GB device might be a good option for you. A practiced example is a device that you but use to run one small app, or that you merely utilise for online content that never gets downloaded to the local hard drive.

When considering what storage hardware to apply in your device, don't look only at the hardware's storage capacity. Frequently, the speed of the storage is more of import than its size. Devices with irksome storage hardware, such as those labeled "HDD" are typically slower to employ than those using faster storage hardware, such as those labeled "SSD" or "eMMC."

You don't need to remove everything from your hard drive to update your device, but you'll demand to gratuitous up plenty space to consummate the update.

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how to find whats taking up space on windows 7

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