How to Free Up Space on a C:\ Drive That’s Full

Windows operating system is primarily installed on your Hard Drive C. All the files which the operating system needs to function and operate are installed on your drive. By default, all the other programs you install are also saved on your Windows Drive C.

Because of all the installations and downloads being directed to C by default, the storage might get full and prove to be a problem. We will guide you on how to delete unnecessary programs from your computer and delete unnecessary files to free up space.

First, you should check if you have more than one drive on your computer. Open “This PC” by searching it on your taskbar (Windows + S). On the main screen, your disk drives are listed. In this example, there are two drives present (Local disk C and E).

If you have another drive, try keeping C empty by copying all your data into the other one. However, if you only have one drive and that too is full, you can go through the solutions which can help free up storage space. Otherwise, you can purchase a bigger drive and clone your old drive.

Method 1: Uninstalling Programs

The most efficient way to free up space without searching and deleting files is to uninstall programs which you don’t really need.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run application. Type “control panel” in the dialogue box and press Enter.

2. Locate the sub-category “Programs” and click on “Uninstall a program” located underneath it.

3. Now navigate through the list of programs installed. Locate the ones which you don’t use and are lying dormant on your computer for a very long time. Right-click on them and select Uninstall.

Only keep the ones you use and uninstall all the ones accordingly. There is really no point in keeping heavy applications if you don’t plan to use them in the future.

Method 2: Using Windirstrat

Windirstat is a free open-source disk usage analyzer developed for Microsoft Windows. It shows you all the files present on your computer which are consuming all the space. Using this utility, you can easily identify the files consuming the most space and delete them so your Disk C gets some space free.

Note: Appuals doesn’t have affiliations with any third-party applications. All the applications mentioned are for the information of the reader.

1. Download and install Windirstat from the official website.
2. Once you have installed the application, launch it. A window will pop up asking you to the select the drives to be analyzed. Select Local disk C (or another drive you want to analyze) and press Ok.

Now WinDirStat will start scanning all your files present and list them accordingly. Do note that this might consume some time as each and every file/folder is being scanned so be patient.

3. After all the files are analyzed, you will be looking at a window like this.

The modules present at the bottom of the screen represent the different files/application on your computer. The bigger the module is, the more space it is consuming.

Furthermore, on the top right side of the screen, you are given details of all the different file type present and the amount of space they are consuming.

If you spot any file too big and not of use for you, you can easily delete it by right-clicking it and selecting “Delete (no way to undelete!)”.

Note: Always be careful which deleting things you have no knowledge about. Your Local Disk C consists of different operating system and application files. Deleting essential computer files might render your computer unusable. Only target files which are made by you and you are the sole owner (such as spare os images, movies, music etc.)