AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup
Easily Use Windows to Find Large Files And Delete Them
Some users can’t find large files in Windows system, don’t worry, you can follow this guide to easily find large data files and delete them.
By Lucas / Updated on July 10, 2025
If a PC's storage space is running out of space, the user is presumably wondering which files are eating up the most space. Indeed, your computer stores countless files to ensure your system and programs can run smoothly every day. Some of them may reach GB size to encroach on your disk capacity. Thus, it might be the simplest way to find large files and then permanently remove or migrate them to another storage location to free up space in Windows.
To help users to find large files, Windows OS also provides some tools to execute this task. And you can turn to third-party tools on the market for better and more convenient service.
How to find large files in Windows 10/11?
Option 1. Use Windows built-in tools to find large files in Windows
In Windows OS, users have 2 tools can use Command Prompt and File Explorer. So in the first section, we’ll show how to use them to find and delete large files.
▶ 1. File Explorer
File Explorer can search for all files on your PC, you just need to use some search options.
Step 1. Open the Start Menu, search for Show hidden, and click on Show hidden files and folders.
Step 2. When the dialog box opens, click on the View tab at the top. You’ll see various options that you can modify.
Step 3. Find the option that says Show hidden files, folders, and drives and put a checkmark on it. Then click on the OK button to save your changes.
Now, you can view all files on your computer.
Step 4. Open “This PC” on your PC to launch File Explorer. When the utility launches, click on the search box given in the top-right corner.
Step 5. Then a new menu item will be added to the top of the window. Click on the newly added item that says Search to view further options.
Step 6. Select the Size option and then select an appropriate option from the list. It’ll let you find large files available on your PC.
If the file you're looking for isn't in the menu, type size:>xGB. You can change x to any size in the search box and hit Enter. It will only look for files larger than the size you specified. When the search results page appears, please right-click anywhere in the window and select Size > Descending. This ensures that the largest file is displayed at the top of the results.
Then you can delete unwanted files.
▶ 2. Command Prompt
CMD can search and delete junk files via command lines but it requires users to use commands to execute the exact tasks, so the job includes two parts, searching and deleting.
◤ Part 1. Searching for files
Step 1. Press the "Windows + R" keys to open the Run box. Then, type "cmd" into the Run box and hit Enter key to open Command Prompt window.
Step 2. Type: FORFILES /S /M * /C "cmd /c if @fsize GTR 1048576 echo @path > largefiles.txt
If you want to search for the largest files in a specific drive, for example, C drive, type: cd C:\ press Enter, and type the above command: C:\>forfiles /S /M * /C "cmd /c if @fsize GEQ 1048576 echo @path> largefiles.txt
The results will show as a txt file which will list all the large files.
◤ Part 2. Deleting files
Step 1. Type Command Prompt on the search bar, right-click the result and select the Run as administrator option.
Step 2. Navigate to the file or folder that you want to delete (with all its files and subfolders) and copy the path from the top.
Step 3. Input cd path to locate the file you want to delete in Command Prompt, e.g. cd C:\Users\New folder.
Step 3. Type del /f/q/s *.* > nul command to delete all the files in that folder and press "Enter".
Step 4. Type cd.. to go back to one level in the folder path and press "Enter".
Step 5. Type rmdir /q/s folder name command to delete the folder and subfolders, then press Enter.
You can choose the folder name by checking the txt file in the part 1.
Option 2. Use a third-party tool to clear files
File Explorer and CMD can help you find large files but the former takes too much time and the latter has many complex orders. Both might be no that convenient for users. So, here we recommend you AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup to help you easily find and remove large files.
This program works with all versions of Windows 11/10/8/7. It has a visual interface that guarantees that you view your disks simply and precisely. The tool avoids scanning vital system big files to safeguard your Windows.
It will highlight some files that should not be deleted in red to keep you from deleting them since you don't know what they are. In the event of an incorrect deletion, it will prompt you to tick the files and approve the action again before committing.
AOMEI Partition Assistant for CleanupFree Up Disk Space To Keep Your PC Running Smoothly and Efficiently
Step 1. Initiate Delete Large Files. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup. Click the "Delete Large Files" tab.
Step 2. Select a path to scan large files. You can either click "Scan System Drive" to start the scan of your system C: drive. Or, click "Custom Scan" to manually select paths to be scanned. (Here, we take the "Custom Scan" as an example.)
Step 3. After clicking "Custom Scan", all local and external drives on your PC and the common Desktop, Documents, and Downloads paths will be displayed. You can manually select paths to be scanned. Once necessary paths are added, you can click the "Scan Now" button to start the scan process.
Step 4. The scan process might take time. After the scan is complete, all large files found will be listed.
Step 5. You can also check the large files and click the button behind to locate them.
Step 6. Select large files to start deletion. Tick the files you want to delete, and then click the "Clean Now" button to start the deletion.
Step 7. Delete successfully. The deletion might take time. After the process is finished, the selected files will be deleted, and you will get a cleaning completed window displaying how much data you deleted in total.
To sum up
In this guide, we show you 2 methods to use Windows to find large files. If you don’t know how to find large files on Windows 10/11, this guide will help you a lot. Then, we show you how to use a practical tool, AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup to find all large files and clear disk easily. Its operation is simple for all users, and it’s safe for system files.
In addition, this tool supports Windows Server 2025/2022/2019/2016/2012(R2) users to efficiently manage their Server devices.
