How can I free up some space in my C: drive?

Question

Each time I try to save a file, I get a message from my computer (with Windows 7) that asks me to free up some space in my Drive C before being able to save my intended file.

But the more I search for extraneous files to delete, the more I get frustrated. I simply can't find out what "extra" file(s) I have that are occupying about 20 gigs of my C drive.

As far as I know I save all the downloadable stuff to my other drives, and the most part of what I do with my computer is just Internet browsing.

Would you please help me find the file or files that have occupied so much space in my Drive C so that I can remove them?

Answer 1

1. It's quite possible that system restore has taken up a bit of space saving previous restore points. Try the steps in the link to delete restore points and free up disk space.

2. Did you install service pack 1 for Windows 7? In case you did, try the suggestion from this link.

3. If you can, try installing a software like CCleaner which will scan your computer and remove unwanted files. This software doesn't take up much space when installed and also has a portable version that does not require any installation (that can be run from a flash drive), incase you do not want to loose any more space.

-Once you manage to free some space, take KCotreau's advise.

Answer 2

Rather than just free up space, I am guessing that you have probably two partitions on the same disk, with D: being much larger, and hopefully, with a lot more space. I would use GPARTED, or some other partition manager, and just make C: larger, and solver the problem permanently, as you are sure to keep running low as time goes on.

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

In the short term, I am with the guys, who said use CCleaner, but also you can consider moving your swap file, which often takes up a lot of space, especially on newer systems with more RAM.

You can also use WinDirStat to look at your files to see if there are any really large ones that may not be necessary.

http://windirstat.info/

Answer 3

Some simple things:

• Empty your trash can
• Find and clear the several "downloads" folders on the box. Microsoft has one, and each non-MS browser you have has another.
• Clear the caches in your browsers, especially browsers you seldom use.
• If you have created any "restore points", delete the ones you're no longer apt to roll back to.
• Open "Programs and features" and delete applications you are no longer using.

(And, sad to say, 20G is probably too small for a Windows 7 box.)

Answer 4

Try using Disk Space Fan to visualise your hard drive. This can help you see where some of your biggest folders are, and what's in them.

Answer 5

Open the drive in explorer, in the search box type ‘size:gigantic‘ and press enter. This will list out all the files that are using > 128MB space.

More tips for freeing up disk space : 10 tips to free up space on windows

Answer 6

Download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com, install it, make sure to uncheck possible boxes like "Install Google Chome" during the installation, start CCleaner, click the Analyse button, click the Clean button, Done! :)