How to Free Up Disk Space on C Drive before/for Upgrading to Windows 11

There's nothing more frustrating than running out of disk space, right? A lack of disk space can stop you from installing important updates or upgrading your Windows OS, and it can also slow down your computer's performance. Resetting might be an option, but it can delete all the important data on your device. So, freeing up C drive space is a better solution. You can do this before or after receiving a low disk space notification. Or, if you plan to install the Windows 11 update, free up space before that.

How to Free Up Disk Space on C Drive before/for Windows 11 Upgrade?

It's beneficial to clean up your system before updating to Windows 11. You won't be able to install all of Windows 11 on your PC if you're low on disk space, and therefore, you won't be able to enjoy all the latest and coolest features that Windows 11 has to offer. Hence, you must ensure you have enough storage space to install Windows 11. You'll receive a notification stating that Windows found your storage space running low.

Check the disk space usage

Follow these steps to find out what's taking up space on your disk: 1. Open the Settings app by clicking the Windows icon. 2. Among the available options, click on System. 3. Now, on the left menu, select Storage.

• Next, under Storage, you'll see what's taking up the most space on your hard drive.
• Now click "Show more categories" to view all the categories that are taking up space.
• You can check each file type and the storage it's using. If necessary, delete temporary files you don't need.
• Under "More storage settings," click "View storage on other drives."
• Select "Data" to check the storage usage on your secondary drive. Here, you can view storage usage for different types of files.
• This is how you can review what's taking up space on your hard drive. Now, go through each category one by one and analyze them in depth.

[2] 5 Ways to Free Up Disk Space Before or During the Windows 11 Upgrade

Utilize Todo PCTrans to clean system junk files, large files, and transfer programs from the C drive

The first step to freeing up desktop space is by deleting all the junk files, not necessarily the unused ones that take up a lot of space. Another option is to move some essential or unused necessary files elsewhere to gain more storage space. Wondering how to go about it? Don't worry; there's a tool that can help you with all of that. The Tool is software that performs app migration, system cleaning, large file cleaning, app management, and is ideal for C drive space cleaning on all Windows operating systems. Thus, it can help you easily and regularly clean up all your junk files. You can also use the < a href="/pc-transfer-software/pctrans-pro.html">Todo PCTrans Tool to transfer files for free. With this software, you can quickly and securely transfer your files. It offers three different transfer modes: via network connection, image file, and local transfer. It's compatible with different versions of Windows and other applications such as Adobe software, Apple apps, Zoom, Spotify, AutoCAD, Dropbox, and more. Hence, it can be quite helpful in many ways. The software is available in both a free version and a paid version. They also offer a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee for the Pro version. So, downloading it from the get-go can be significantly beneficial.

Step 1: Open the Todo PCTrans tool on your computer. Click “System Cleanup,” and then click the “Scan” button.

Step 2: When the scan is complete, a list of junk files will be displayed. Choose the ones you want to get rid of. Be careful not to delete anything that might affect your computer or software's performance.

Step 3. Click on “Clean” and confirm the cleanup. You can use this feature regularly to free up disk space.

Delete the old Windows version folder

Here are the steps to delete old Windows folders: 1. Search for "Disk Cleanup" using the Windows icon. 2. Click on 'Disk Cleanup' from the available options. 3. A small window will appear, then click on "Clean up system files."

• Wait for some time while your system completes its internal processing. You'll see another pop-up window indicating that calculations are in progress.
• Next, be patient and wait for the calculation to finish. A new window will then appear on your screen.
• Scroll through the current menu to locate your previous Windows installation. Once found, click on the box to its left to select it.

Select the files to clean up

4. After that, click the "OK" option at the bottom of the page. 5. In the pop-up window, click on the "Delete" option. 6. A new window will appear, initiating the deletion of the old folder. When prompted to confirm the deletion, click "OK." Wait a moment, and the old folder will be removed. 7. Check your C drive, and you'll notice that the old folder option is no longer there, as it has been successfully deleted.

Use Storage Sense on Windows

Here are the steps to use Storage Sense on Windows: 1. Open the Settings option by clicking on the Windows icon. 2. Click on System from the available options. 3. Now, select the Storage option from the left-hand menu. 4. Under the Storage management section, click on the Storage Sense option.

A new window will open. Scroll down and look for the “Automatic Content User Cleanup” option. When you find it, toggle it on.

Set up the cleanup schedule according to your preferences. Then, click the "Run Storage Sense Now" option. Wait for it to finish. When it's done, a checkmark will appear next to it.

"Utilize Disk Management to clean up system files"

To clean system files with Disk Cleanup, follow the same steps for deleting old folders, but instead of selecting the old folders, browse all system files and analyze them. Check any unnecessary files that are no longer in use. Once you've made your selections, click “Clean up system files” to delete them. Wait for a moment, and all unnecessary system files will be removed.

Delete temporary files or folders

Regularly deleting temporary files can save you a significant amount of storage space. To remove temporary files, go to the Settings tab and select the Storage option. Now, click on the "Temporary Files" option. You'll see a menu with different types of temporary files. Select all the categories of temporary files you wish to delete. After selecting the files to remove, click on the "Delete Files" option. Wait for a moment, and all the temporary files will be deleted.

Tips to Fix Insufficient Space Error on Windows 11/10 C Drive

Here are some practical tips for Windows users to prevent running out of disk space on Windows 11/10: 1. Install large programs on a non-system drive to save significant space on your main drive. Always check the file size before installing any files or programs. 2. Regularly clean and delete large, unnecessary files from the C drive. Don't wait for cleanup notifications; proactively clear out unused and unimportant files. Additionally, uninstall applications or software that you no longer need or use. 3. Move programs installed on the C drive to a local drive. This can also save a considerable amount of space. You can use utility software to facilitate this process, as it's straightforward and user-friendly. 4. Shrink the size of the WinSxS folder. You cannot directly delete the WinSxS files, as it might harm your computer. However, you can use the Task Scheduler to help reduce the size of these files. 5. Only set online OneDrive files to be offline, as offline files typically take up more storage space than online ones.

Conclusion

This is a comprehensive guide on how to free up disk space on C drive before/while updating Windows 11. Firstly, inspect all the files that are taking up storage space. After analyzing the storage usage, you can begin cleaning these files as needed. With the five methods mentioned above, you can easily liberate all the storage space on your C drive. Once you've maximized your storage, it's time to manage it effectively. Regularly delete junk files and perform clean-ups. Adhere to all the instructions provided above to successfully accomplish this task. Ultimately, this will aid in better storage management in the future.