5 Best to Free Up Space on C Drive in Windows 11

What will happen if we format disk C?

The vital "C" drive is the heart of most computers, where the operating system is installed and all other important files are stored. However, due to endless Windows updates, downloaded files, temporary application files, and everything being saved on this drive, it's also the most prone to running out of storage space. Consequently, your computer might lack available space, leading to slower boot times. Additionally, file transfers could become sluggish, program response times may increase, applications might fail to launch, you might be unable to install crucial Windows updates, and it could overall affect your computer's speed and performance. Hence, cleaning up the "C" drive becomes essential to ensure your computer runs efficiently. Moreover, it helps keep your PC up to date and running smoothly.

How to Clean Up C Drive on Windows 11? 5 Best Tools You Shouldn't Miss

In this guide, we'll discuss how to clean up the "C" drive to reclaim space and ensure your system runs smoothly. There are several tools available to help you clean up the "C" drive and free up disk space on your Windows 11 system. Some of the most useful tools include:

1. Todo PCTrans Tool
2. Disk Cleanup
3. Storage Sense
4. Apps & Features
5. OneDrive

While there are various tools to free up disk space on "C," some methods require you to manually delete unnecessary files, while others automatically remove unneeded files for you. For an all-in-one solution, we recommend trying Todo PCTrans, as it offers more features than Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense, Apps & Features, and OneDrive. Here's how you can immediately use these utilities to clean up your "C" drive.

Tool 1: Todo PCTrans Tool

"Universal C Drive Cleaner Software"

You can download the Todo PCTrans tool, which has many features to help you easily clean up your C drive.

The Todo PCTrans tool's functions for cleaning the "C" drive include:

1. System Tweak

Over time, your system accumulates junk files that take up space and waste resources. As a result, if you don't clean your computer regularly, you risk running out of disk space and experiencing slower performance. To get rid of unnecessary files, you can use our system cleaning software.

Our system cleaner helps get rid of junk files from the system, browser, Windows built-in apps, and other applications. Besides saving disk space, it also enhances your system's performance. Moreover, regularly cleaning junk files from your system drive can give your computer a fresh lease of life.

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Here are the steps to clean your computer using System Cleaning.

Step 1: Run Todo PCTrans on your computer. Click “System Cleanup” and then hit the “Scan” button.

Step 2: When the scan is finished, the junk files will be listed. Select the ones you don't need. Be careful not to delete anything that might affect your computer or software's performance.

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

Your computer is now free of all junk files, and you have more space available on your system. In addition to this, getting rid of junk files also helps speed up downloads, virus scans, streaming performance, and most importantly, improves your computer's overall performance.

2. Clear out the big files

Our hard disk drives often run out of space and the system slows down. This could be because the C drive is cluttered with files that you might not need, or large files that you do need but take up too much room. These files could be log files, temporary files, or the installation apps of programs installed on your system.

So, if you're running low on disk space, it's time to clean up some files. The best way to free up hard drive space is to find the largest files on your C drive. Todo PCTrans's Large File Cleaner can easily locate these files and delete them from your hard drive.

"Large File Cleaner" has two folders:

• Folder 1: Move and delete large files
• Folder 2: Move default folders

The "Move or delete large files" option lets you move or delete large files from the selected drive(s).

The “Move default folders” option lets you relocate personal folders (like “Desktop” and “Documents”) to another location to save disk space.

Note: Do not delete files within the installation directory, as this may render the program unusable.

Uninstall broken or unnecessary apps.

4. App Migration - Moves programs and software installed on the C drive to another drive without causing booting issues.

More articles about cleaning up the C drive:

Tool 2: Disk Cleanup

It is a built-in Windows utility used to clean the C drive. The Disk Cleanup tool finds and deletes unnecessary files that the operating system no longer needs. Its simple interface allows you to clear system files, which make up a large portion of unnecessary files on your system.

With Disk Cleanup, you can easily free up space on your C drive by deleting the following files:

1. Cleaning up system files

2. Windows Update Cleanup

3. Downloaded program files

4. Temporary Internet Files

Trash Bin

Temporary File

Thumbnail

8. User file history, and so on.

Here's a guide on how to use the Disk Cleanup utility to free up space on your C drive:

Step 1: First, click the search icon on the taskbar, type “Disk Cleanup,” and select it from the search results.

Step 2: Check the boxes next to the files you want to delete. By default, the app has “Program Files,” “Temporary Internet Files,” and “Thumbnails” selected. If you don't want to delete these files, uncheck them.

Step 3: To free up even more space, select "Clean up system files," then choose which system files you want to delete. The Disk Cleanup utility may take a few minutes to calculate how much space can be freed.

Step 4: After selecting the files you want to get rid of, click “OK,” and then “Delete Files” on the confirmation window to start the cleanup process.

Notice:

You can also choose to “Compress operating system drive” from the Disk Cleanup app. When you select this option, it compresses the drive where Windows is installed so that you have room to install important updates. Compressing files doesn't delete anything from your C: drive, and opening and saving files from a compressed drive shouldn't be a problem. After installing updates, you can uncompress your C: drive at any time by selecting File Explorer from the taskbar, then selecting This PC in the left pane. Right-click or press and hold C: drive, and then select Properties. Clear the “Compress this drive to save disk space” check box, and then select Apply > OK.

Tool 3: Storage Sense

Disk Usage Checker and Disk Cleaner

Storage Sense is a feature on Windows that automatically cleans up your hard drive. It monitors the storage space on your computer and runs a cleanup when space is running low. Storage Sense performs basic tasks, like emptying the Recycling Bin, removing old files from your Downloads folder, and deleting temporary files on your computer. In Windows 11, you'll find Storage Sense under "Storage Management."

You can use this tool to clean up the "C" drive:

1. Delete temporary files

2. Enable automatic cleaning of the Recycle Bin and temporary files

3. Configure OneDrive to be used online only

Free up space

Here's how to use Storage Sense:

How Storage Sense works

If Storage Sense is turned on by default, it will run automatically when you're low on space and clean up temporary files that aren't needed. It will also empty your Recycle Bin, but it won't touch items in your “Downloads” folder or your OneDrive unless you've set Storage Sense to do so.

Note: Storage Sense is only available for the C drive. To free up space on other drives, go to More storage settings > View storage usage on other drives.

• Turn on Storage Sense

To enable Storage Sense, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu, then go to Settings > System > Storage. 2. Under "Storage Sense," turn on the "Storage Sense" feature.

Choose your storage sense settings

Follow these steps to set how often Storage Sense runs and what it should clean up:

1. Open the Start menu, then select Settings > System > Storage. 2. Next, choose "Configure Storage Sense or run it now." 3. Now, select the storage sense settings that suit your needs, such as how often to clean up files and other options.

Choose when to run Storage Sense

First, make sure that Storage Sense is turned on. Under Run Storage Sense, choose how often you want it to run when you're connected to the internet and signed in.

Preference for deleting temporary files

Under Temporary files, choose when to delete files from your Downloads folder or Recycle Bin.

• Files in the Recycle Bin will be deleted based on how long they've been there. • Files in the Download folder will be deleted based on how long it's been since they were opened. The default is to never delete files, unless you specify otherwise. • Select Remove temporary files that my apps aren't using to clean up unnecessary files that aren't associated with your apps on this PC.

Manage cloud content available locally

Cloud files can be stored on your local disk or online. By selecting "Open only online if not opened for this time:" and choosing a time, you can decide when inactive files should become available only online.

Note: Choosing these settings doesn't permanently delete files, and if disk space allows and you're connected to the network, they can be restored locally later. However, marking any files as "Keep on this device" makes them exempt, and Storage Sense won't manage them.

Tool 4: Applications and Functions

Another effective way to clean up your "C" drive is by using the built-in app manager in Windows. Through "Apps & Features," you can uninstall apps that you no longer use or rarely use. To do this, you can:

1. Check the size of the application

2. Uninstall unnecessary or space-consuming apps

3. Move some installed apps to another location (for select apps only)

You can use "Apps & features" to clean up your C drive in Windows 11 by following these steps:

1. First, open the Settings app. 2. Next, tap on Apps. 3. In there, tap on Apps & features. 4. Choose the "Sort by" filter and select By size to quickly identify the apps and games taking up the most space. 5. Next, select the item you want to remove. 6. Now, tap on the Uninstall button.

Click the “Uninstall” button.

Click “Uninstall” again. Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed with the uninstallation.

After following these steps, repeat the process to remove any other unwanted apps and games from your device.

Tool 5: OneDrive

With Microsoft's OneDrive Files On-Demand feature, you can access all your cloud storage in OneDrive without having to download the files and take up storage space on your Windows 11 device. Files On-Demand only stores some information about the files locally, allowing you to browse them without using your local storage space.

OneDrive features:

1. Set OneDrive files to view online only

2. Set files in File Explorer to be available online only

Here are the steps to use the OneDrive online file editing feature:

First, make sure that “Files on Demand” is turned on, if it isn't already.

2. Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar and select Settings.

In “Settings,” go to “Files On-Demand.” Check the box to enable the “Save space and download files as you need them” feature.

Next, click OK.

To turn off Files On Demand, uncheck the box described in step 2. Remember that doing this will download to your device any files that are set up to sync with OneDrive.

Save storage space

If you don't have enough space, you can easily set files to be available online only when you're not connected to the internet. To do this, right-click on one or more files and select “Free up space” from the context menu. You can still view files that are online-only in File Explorer, but they'll display a cloud icon, and you'll need an active internet connection to open them.

Conclusions

Although there are various tools to clean your Windows 11's "C" drive, Todo PCTrans's "All in One C Drive Cleaner" offers the most comprehensive approach to free up space on your "C" drive. Follow this guide for detailed steps on how to clean your "C" drive in Windows 11.

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