[Comprehensive Guide] How to Clear Disk Space on Windows 11

Unnecessary apps, temporary Windows Update files, and media can occupy a huge chunk of your hard drive. Too many junk files and redundant data will bring limited storage space, which prevents you from downloading the necessary software and slows down your PC.

If you’ve hit the storage limit on your Windows 11 PC and need to free up disk space, you’ve come to the right place. Read on as we will share a comprehensive guide on how to clear disk space on Windows 11 with 6 popular methods.

6 methods on how to clear up disk space on Windows 11

How to clean disk space on Windows 11? About that, we prepare several practical and recommended ways to answer. Keep reading to effortlessly and swiftly free up your disk space.

Method 1: Perform Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a maintenance utility provided by Microsoft that scans and reveals the storage space occupied by files on your hard drive. It allows you to remove certain files that cannot be deleted through Windows File Explorer.

Step 1: Right-click on the C drive and select "Properties" Then, click on "Disk Cleanup" in the window that appears.

Step 2: Choose the files you want to target and click "OK" in the Disk Cleanup window.

Method 2: Disable the hibernate file

Hibernation is a useful feature in Windows that saves the contents of your computer's memory to the hard disk, enabling quick startup. Windows reserves approximately half of the RAM space for hibernation files. To know how to clear up disk space on Windows 11 without causing harm to your computer, you can follow the following steps.

Step 1: Go to the Start menu, type "cmd," right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator".

Step 2: Type "powercfg.exe /hibernate off" and press Enter.

Method 3: Activate Storage Sense to free up disk space

Storage Sense is an enhanced disk cleanup feature in Windows 11 that can automatically free up space on SSD or HDD.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, click "Settings", then navigate to "System and Storage".

Step 2: Turn on Storage Sense, which is initially disabled.

Step 3: Select a disk and choose the unneeded files to free up space.

Method 4. Delete hidden files or folders.

About how to free up disk space on PC, you also have the option to reveal hidden files and folders to determine if any hidden items are occupying space on your C drive.

Step 1: Open "Control Panel" > "File Explorer Options" > Click on the "View" tab > Tick the box next to "Show hidden files, folders, and drives".

Step 2: Go back to the problematic drive and assess the amount of disk space consumed by the hidden items. Then, y If necessary, you can delete the ones that are no longer needed.

Method 5: Uninstall unnecessary applications

If you have numerous infrequently used applications installed, they can occupy a significant amount of disk space. When running low on space, uninstalling these apps is also a good idea how to clear up disk space on Windows 11.

Step 1. Press "Win + R," type "control" and hit "Enter".

Step 2. In the Control Panel window, click "Uninstall a Program".

Step 3. Right-click on the listed applications you no longer need and select "Uninstall".

Method 6: Use a PC Cleaner to do a thorough clean

Many methods on how to free up disk space on Windows 11 can be a complex task as it requires navigating through specific paths or using built-in methods one by one. Moreover, there are often hidden junk files deeply stored in the system, making it even more challenging to locate and delete them.

To simplify and expedite the process of cleaning all junk files, cache files, and unnecessary data, we recommend using AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup, a multifunctional computer management tool that boasts wide compatibility for all Windows versions. This software will scan your computer and efficiently removes various types of junk files, thereby freeing up storage space and enhancing overall computer performance. With just a few simple steps, you can achieve a thorough cleanup.

AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup

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Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup. Click the "Clean Junk Files" tab.

Step 2. Click the "Scan Now" button to start the process of scanning junk files.

Step 3. After the scan process is finished. All system junk files (including recycle bin files, temporary files, log files, invalid shortcuts, and so on) and registry junk files (including DLL registry, system registry, and program registry) will be displayed.

Step 4. You can also click the button behind to view the junk files details.

Step 5. And, you can click the button behind to locate the file.

Step 6. By default, the program will select some junk files to clean up, for example, temporary files, log files, and so on. You can also manually check to select more or uncheck to deselect fewer listed junk files. Or, click "Select All" to select all junk files to clean up if you need to clean up all.

After selecting junk files that are not needed anymore, you can click the "Clean Now"button to start the cleanup.

Step 7. The process of the cleanup might take time, and the selected files will be cleaned up. After the process is finished, you will get a cleanup completed window displaying how many files you have cleaned and not yet cleaned.

The whole operation is quite easy for all users. In addition, you can see that this tool also has many other functions to help you manage and optimize your computer. 

You can also use it to further extend the storage space:

Utilize the "Delete Large Files" function to identify and delete large files based on your preferences.

Bottom line

How to clear disk space on Windows 11? In this passage, we share 6 effective methods for you to free up disk space. You can choose to use inbuilt tools or a powerful tool like AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup to clean your disk space.