How to Delete Big Files in Windows 11/10/8/7?

Why need to delete big files in Windows 11?

When you open any one of your hard drives in Windows 11, you may find there are all kinds of big files on it. Some of them you are familiar with and some of them you don't know at all. If you want to figure out how to delete big files in Windows 11, you have to know the reasons for removing them. Generally speaking, the following factors will cause you to delete large files:

» To free up more space. This is the major reason for many users to remove big files in Windows 11 especially when C drive is full after using a long time. Deleting large files on C drive can perfectly release much available space from it.

» To manage files better. There must be some large files you will never use in your daily life and work. Thus, you can delete them all so that you can quickly find out other commonly-used files on the same disks.

» To make PC run faster. This is the result of getting more free space after cleaning up some big files. When system is running on a drive with enough space, it will certainly run smoothly.

How to delete big files in Windows 11/10/8/7？

After having a basic understanding of reasons for big files deletion, what you concern most must be how to delete unwanted files in windows 11. Basically, there are three options for you to clear large files in Windows 11 and other Windows systems. Let's see them one by one.

Way 1. Via File Explorer

The first one is using Windows File Explorer, which is the traditional way to manage your files on the hard drives. The detailed steps are as follows:

Step 1. Press "Window + E" keys to open File Explorer.

Step 2. Click "This PC" to open the target hard drive and find the large files you want to delete, right-click it and select "Delete" from the drop-down menu.

★Notes:

Please make sure you have closed the files you plan to delete, otherwise, the system won't allow you to delete out of data safety consideration.

The biggest problem is that you need know where the to-be-deleted large files exactly are, or you will waste a lot of time finding them out.

Way 2. Via Command Prompt

The second method is to use Command Prompt, which is a more advanced Windows built-in tool to manage your disks as well as files on it. Let's see how to delete big files on Windows 10 or 11 with Command Prompt.

Step 1. Type "cmd" in the Windows Search box and right-click on it to choose "Run As Administrator".

Step 2. Open your file explorer and go to the target folder or file and copy and paste the folder path from the top bar. Eg. c:\sample\mydoc.

Step 3. In cmd box type "cd path" and press "Enter". Eg. cd c:\sample.

Note: Please note the space between cd and the path. If you miss it, the command line won't work.

Step 4. Now, your directory will be changed to your folder. You can put the following command:

del filename.extension.

Eg. del test123.docx.

Then the target large file will be deleted.

The same as using File Explorer, using Command Prompt also requires you to know the specific location of the target large files. Moreover, if you delete large files on your Windows 11 via CMD, you must type the correct commands, otherwise, the operation will fail or the wrong files will be deleted.

Way 3. Via a third-party file deletion tool

As we can see from what we have talked about, Windows File Explorer and Command Prompt have some requirements and limitations on deleting big files on Windows 11. In such a case, switching to a third-party disk manager should be a great choice.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is an all-in-one file deletion tool designed for Windows 11/10/8/7 users. The "Delete Large files" feature will scan all the large files on your hard drive and list them one by one. In case of deleting some important files by mistake, this tool lets you tick the files by yourself, marks the files not recommended to be deleted in red and makes you confirm again before operation.

Now, download the demo version and have a look at how to delete big files in Windows 11/10/8/7 step by step.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and then click "Free up" and "Delete Large Files".

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select the partitions that you want to find and delete large files, click "Start Scan" to scan for files larger than 16MB.

Step 3. When the scan is complete, all large files found are listed. Tick the files you want to delete, and then click the "Delete" button.

Step 4. Next window will ask you to confirm the files you have just ticked for deleting. If it's correct, click “Delete Now” to begin the deletion process.

Further reading: How to free up space on Windows 11 C drive?

Actually, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is also a PC cleaner which will help you get more space on your hard drive. Here, we'd like to show you how to move files/folders from C drive to D drive so that you can make much room for system and other new data.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Partition assistant Professional, click "Free up", then select the "App Mover" feature.

Step 2. In the new window, you will see all partitions, the number and size of installed programs on every partition will also be displayed. Select one partition that you want to move applications from and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose applications you want to move and select the target location, then click "Move".

Step 4. In the pop-up window, you need to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.

Conclusion

That's all about how to delete big files in Windows 11 as well as Windows 10/8/7. There are three practical ways in this passage. If you don't mind downloading the third-party tool, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional should be your first choice. In addition to the features mentioned above, you can use it to migrate OS to SSD, recover lost data, clone the old hard drive to a new one, resize and move partitions, and so on. Moreover, if you are using Windows Server system, you can try the Server edition.