As we all know, as the system disk of the computer, the C drive is generally used to store or install the system. The “Program Files” folder in C drive is generally the default location for installing software, and the default download path for many files is also C drive.
Most of us hardly change the path when installing software or downloading files, which causes the C drive to be overloaded. And with the frequent using of computers, there will be more and more redundant data, which will eventually cause the computer to become very stuck and slow down.
At this time, it’s time to clean up the C drive. Here are a few convenient ways to clean up the C drive. I hope that will help you.
- System Build-in
1. Storage Awareness
Click the start menu in the lower left corner of the computer. Click Settings, and select the System Settings. Find storage in the system settings. Turn on “Storage Sense”. Then, the computer will automatically delete unnecessary files when the system space is insufficient to free up space, such as temporary files and the contents of the recycle bin.
Which files are released and how long the files are stored will be automatically deleted? These can be controlled by the option of “Change how to release space”.
2. Optimize the Drive
Click the start menu in the lower left corner of the computer, click Settings, and select System Settings. Find storage in the system settings. Then we open the optimized drive at the bottom of the storage page. In the pop-up page, optimize the disks that need to be cleaned up based on the disk status given in the “Current Status”.
For a disk whose current status is normal, select it and click “Analyze” below. It will analyze the percentage of disk fragments to disk capacity. After the analysis is complete, click “Optimize” to manually clear the fragments in the current disk.
3. Disk Cleanup
Open “This PC” on the desktop. Find the C drive, and right-click the C drive. Select the attributes. In the properties window, click Disk Cleanup at the bottom right. If there is a lot of software installed on the C drive, you need to wait a few more minutes until the cleanup window pops up. Check the content that needs to be deleted and click “Clean up now”.
This method is very simple and can be used to delete some of the garbage that cannot be found. But its disadvantage is that it can only delete a small part, which is just a drop in the bucket for our entire C drive. So how can we find the big trash and delete them? The following method is very suitable.
- Manually Clear
Maybe many of us can clear it manually. Find the garbage that needs to be deleted, and just right-click to delete it. However, it is not easy to accurately find the large garbage that needs to be deleted and ensure that the system files in the C drive are not deleted by mistake.
Many people delete the system files by mistake when manually deleting. Then the system cannot be used normally, and finally the system has to be reinstalled. Here I have compiled some suggestions for deleting and undeleting for you, and teach you how to delete rubbish effectively.
1. C drive Folder Inventory
Under normal circumstances, there are generally only the following 5 folders in the C drive.
All other folders can be deleted, which is some software that you have downloaded or installed yourself and will not affect the computer. Among them, the ProgramData folder is a hidden folder and needs to be set to display it. Click the “View” option on the top folder and check the display hidden items.
2. Folder Meaning
Program Files: It is the installation directory of the software. For a 64-bit computer, the 32-bit software will be installed in the Program Files (x86) folder by default. Open the folder, and each installed software has its own directory.
Windows: It is the system disk, which contains the software that comes with the system and some self-installed content. Generally, the contents cannot be deleted!
ProgramData: It is the usage data and setting files of the program. if deleted randomly, the program cannot be used normally.
User: It is the place where all our user files are stored, and it is also a place where a lot of garbage exists in AppData.
3. What Can Be Deleted
Application cache cleaning brought by Superfetch function: directly delete the files in the c:\windows\prefetch folder.
Cleanup of temporary files generated by applications: it generally stored in the windows\temp folder and in the temp folder of the user folder. Just delete the files in C:\windows\temp and C:\Users\your user\AppData\Local\Temp folder.
To clean up temporary files generated by IE and other browsers: Open the Control Panel—
Internet Options, and delete cookies and IE temporary files.
Windows7 system log and event log cleaning: Open C:\windows\system32\LogFiles and delete the files in the folder.
User folder cleanup: Open the user folder. Right-click the folder inside. Click Properties, and find the folder with larger content. Here, my AppData folder is the largest, so there must be garbage in it that can be deleted. Open AppData. Use the method just now to find a larger folder. Confirm that it is unnecessary content, and click Delete.
- Move the Installed Place of the Software
When installing software on Windows, almost all software will install the software on the C drive, so that you need to manually change the installation location every time.
In addition, some software does not provide the option to change the installation location, but are simply and rudely installed on the C drive. If we directly move the folder where the software is installed to another disk, it may sometimes cause the software not run normally.
In order to move the software from the C drive to the non-system drive more conveniently, we can use a third-party tool—FreeMove.
FreeMove download link：
https://github.com/imDema/FreeMove/releases/download/1.6.0/FreeMove.exe
After downloading FreeMove, double-click to run it without installation. Right-click and select “Run as administrator”. Click the “Browse” button on the right of Move From. Select the file where the software you want to move from the C drive, and then click the “Browse” button on the right of the “To” to specify the save file. Finally, click the “Move” button in the lower right corner and wait for the software to automatically complete the migration.
