6 methods how to empty or clean the disc C when it is full

We will remove unnecessary and unused software and video games using the tool Applications and features Windows.

How to free up disk space when the hard drive is full ?

When the hard disk (especially disc C) fills up over time or is full quickly without reason, the following advice will be useful to release or find space on the hard drive of your PC with Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Almost full hard drive – why ?

As the computer is used, the problem concerning the full hard drive becomes common in coditian life. Some even receive a low disk space warning. Windows is running down and it is impossible to install a new application, or you cannot update Windows due to the insufficient disk space.

The disk space decreases can be due to various factors, such as the increase in user data and applications, catering points, disk rupture, etc.

Here are 6 very useful tips for making room on the hard drive under Windows 10, 8 and 7. In any case, hard drive cleaning is the most basic and most important point to release part of the space used.

Summary

• Daily cleaning of the hard drive (necessary)
• Remove old catering points and limit your space used
• Disable prolonged standby
• Increase disc size C
• Transfer data to removable media
• Replace the old disc with another larger

Daily cleaning of the hard drive

Periodic disk cleaning via Windows cleaning tools to release disk space and optimize hard drive performance:

1. Empty the basket to delete unnecessary files definitively.

2. Defragment the hard drive. The defragmentation will make it possible to group the files scattered on the disk.

Press Win+R, then type DFRGUI.exe In the execute window to open it.

3. Clean the hard drive. Open this PC/Computer> Right click on the DD to clean> Properties> Disk cleaning (in the General tab), then check the files you want to delete and click OK.

4. Uninstall applications you no longer need. Go to the Start menu> Search Configuration Panel> Uninstall a program.

Remove old catering points and limit your space used

Some users suddenly find the C Full disc without reason. In this case, first check if there are hidden files, then start software to check the presence of viruses and clean it. Otherwise, it is probably because the restoration points of the system.

To delete them except the most recent, simply go to this PC/computer, right click on disc C (where the dining points are located), then Properties> Disk cleaning> Cleaning system files> Other options> System restoration and instant shots> Clean> Delete.

Afterwards, it is better Limit the space used for catering points so that the concern does not happen again.

To configure it, right click on Computer/This PC> Properties> Advanced system settings> System protection> Choose Local disk C> Configure. Finally, you can adjust the maximum disk space used for system protection in the next window.

Certainly, it is wiser to use efficient backup software, here we are recommended for Aomei Backupper, backup, catering and free cloning software but easy to use, also in French.

Disable prolonged standby

Like the hidden file of the Hiberfil system.Sys occupies a certain amount of space if the prolonged standby is executed, you can deactivate it to make room on the hard drive.

1. Press Win+R, then type cmd To launch the command prompt.

2. Then enter the code: PowerCFG -H OFF and validate by pressing the Enter key.

You can probably free up a lot of space on the hard drive by applying the above advice. But, if the space is still missing on the hard drive, it is necessary to try one of the following methods.

Increase disc size C

If your system score (often C 🙂 is almost full, but another partition still has a lot of free space, it is availability to transfer disk space from another score to disc c c.

And this tutorial will give you the best method to enlarge the CLF space C in Windows 10/8/7 without data loss, also in a few clicks. Increase the size of a partition without data loss – the most complete tutorial

Transfer data to removable media

If there are files or applications that you want to keep but rarely use, such as games and videos, you can copy or save them to removable media (external hard drive, USB key, DVD, etc.) or a cloud service in order to release disk space.

If you prefer to make a backup or synchronization of the files, you can also download Aomei Backupper to make it. Apart from automatic backup, backup encryption is also supported.

Replace the old disc with another larger

If your current hard drive seems to be on the edge of the breakup or its capacity no longer satisfies you, and you intend to buy a new larger hard drive to replace it, then, the cloning of hard disk or system can help you quickly transfer the content of the current disk to a new disc.

As the Windows tool does not support the cloning, you can try Aomei Backupper Free.

1. First, connect your new hard drive or SSD to your PC and make sure it can be detected.

2. After downloading and installed the free software, click on Clone > Disk cloning.

3. Then select the source disk and the target disk, finally click the Cloner button.

Noticed : If the target disc is an SSD, check the front box alignment of the SSD.

Cloning ends successfully. You can then put the new hard drive to replace the old one, then restart your PC to enjoy more disk space.

If you meet the insufficient disk space, this tips will help you release hard drive space under Windows 10, 8 and 7 Effectively.

Free software

Simplest backup and catering solution

Partition and manage your hard drive securely.

Popular articles

Contact us

If you encounter difficulties when using our software, do not hesitate to contact us.

Subscribe to our bulletin

© 2009-2023 Aomei. All rights reserved.

[6 methods] How to empty or clean the disc C when full ?

My disc is full, how to empty the disc C or clean the disc C ? This is a very common problem when using the computer. But do you know how to clean the local disc ? We give you 6 methods in this article.

By EVA/Last update: 05/19/2023

• Why should we empty the disc C ?
• 6 Methods to empty the disc c under windows 11/10/8/7
• Resolve “the disc is full” by increasing the capacity of the partition
• Conclusion

Why should we empty the disc C ?

When you browse the forum, you may see the questions like My disc is too full, how to empty it ? Usually, the local disk is used to install the operating system, so we will not install other programs there, as this could slow down the operating speed of our computer. But many computer beginners do not know it, they install almost all programs in disc C, which leads to insufficient space on the disc C. Therefore, you must clean the local disc to free up space.

6 methods to empty the disc C under Windows 11/10/8/7

We show you in the following part the methods to empty the disc C when it is full under Windows 11/10/8/7.

Method 1: Empty the disc C by deactivating prolonged standby

Notes:
♦ The prolonged standby is activated by default, and this does not really damage your computer, so it is not necessary to deactivate it even if you do not use it. However, when it is activated, it uses part of your disk to keep its file – the hiberfil file.SYS – which is allocated to 75 percent of the installed RAM of your computer.
♦ If you have 8 GB of RAM, your Hiberfil file.Sys will occupy 6 GB of space on your hard drive; If you have 16 GB of RAM, your Hiberfil file.SYS will occupy 12 GB.

When your computer has activated the prolonged standby, you can see it under the power button

1. Click on the shortcut key Win+X, choose Windows PowerShell Admin.

2. In the pop-up window, type powercfg.Ex /Hibernate Off, click on Enter, Then type exit to leave.

(If you want to activate the prolonged standby one day, type powercfg.Ex /hibernate on)

(If the above operations do not succeed, you can also try operations as follows ： type in the search zone the command prompt (or cmd) to find it, And right click on this application, choose Execute as administrator, Then type Powercfg.Ex /Hibernate Off ))

Like that, prolonged standby has been deactivated, you can see that this button is missing.

Method 2: Empty disc C by performing disc cleaning

Cleaning the local disc is also a good way.

1. Type in the search area Disc cleaning, Open this application.

2. In its pop-up window, select the disk you want to clean. Here is disc c. Click on OK.

3. After that, he will calculate how much space you can release on the disc c.

4. Then choose the files you want to clean.

After cleaning the C disc, you can create a system restoration point . Once you need it, you can use it to restore the system. (You can click on this link impossible to create a restoration point in Windows 10 to find out more. ))

Method 3: Empty C disk Deleting temporary files and downloaded files

Temporary files are generally stored in “C: \ Windows \ temp” or “C: \ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Appdata \ Local \ temp”. You can delete them without running disc cleaning.

1. Click on the shortcut key Win+R To open the dialogue window Execute.

2. Then type temp Or %temp% and click on Enter To find the file Temp which stock temporary files,.

3. Click on the shortcut key Ctrl+A, Right click on these files, and select DELETE ( You can delete files directly under both folders).

4. In the pop-up window, click on Ignore.

Method 4: Empty C disc by deleting internet temporary files

To delete temporary Internet files, proceed as follows:

1. Open Internet Explorer (IE), click on Setting, select Internet options.

2. Then the Options Internet window will appear. Click on DELETE and the window Delete navigation history will open, in which you can choose to delete temporary files, history, cookies, etc.

Method 5: Empty the disc C by emptying the basket

When you delete elements from your PC, they are not immediately deleted. They simply stay in the basket and continue to occupy a precious space on the hard drive. Thus, emptying the basket is another way to release space for the disc c.

To empty the basket, you must:

• 1. Right -click on the basket on the desktop,

• 2. Then click on empty the basket.

• 3. It will display a warning do you want to definitively delete all these elements.

• 4. Click yes to continue.

Method 6: Empty the disc C by moving all applications from C to D

If your disk is almost full because there are too many applications, you may want to move them to another larger disc, for example, the disc D. However, how to move them and make sure they can work as usual ? You can use software to release disc space C. This can simply be done via Aomei Partition Assistant Professional. Its new feature Mover app can help users transfer programs from one volume to another. You can also choose to move the disc C on a larger hard drive via Aomei Disk Migration Assistant Assistant.

Here you can download its demo version and try it for free.

Download

Step 1 : Install and perform AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click on Release above and then Mover app.

Choose Move apps.

2nd step : Choose the volume VS and click on Following.

Step 3: Select the applications you want to move, the target volume (you can also choose another volume like E, F), and click on Move.

Step 4: Confirm that you have closed the selected applications, click on OK.

It is the most effective and reliable way to completely empty the disc C without backup and deletion. I hope it can help you a lot.

In fact, there are some people whose disc is full but d is empty. For these users, extending disc C with free space on disk D should be the best way to solve the C disc C instead of emptying it.

Resolve “the disc is full” by increasing the capacity of the partition

Emptying disc C which is full is only a provisional solution. After a while, you may notice that the disc is again full. The best way to solve the low space problem of the disk is to extend the available space. Some users choose to reinstall the system to distribute the hard drive. But now, in order to extend the disc C, you can use Aomei Partition Assistant Professional to start the hard drive without losing data and without having to reinstall the operating system.

Situation 1: disc it’s full, but disc is empty

In this case, you can use the free space of disk D to extend the disc C.

Step 1 : Install and launch Aomei Partition Assistant Professional, right click on the partition from which you want to allocate free space and choose Allocate free space. (The volume H is the empty volume in my computer, so I choose it as a source volume, you can choose your empty volume)

2nd step : In the contextual window, type the amount of free space you want to move from your source partition, and this free space will be directly added to the target partition.

Step 3: In the main interface, click on Apply, Then you can check the information in the pop-up window, confirm the operations, if there is no problem, click on Execute.

Situation 2: disc is full, and there is space not allocated on the hard drive

If your disk is full, and there is space not allocated to the hard drive, you can extend the disc C with the unrelated space.

Step 1 : Launch Aomei Partition Assistant, right -click on disc C, select Advance -> Merge the partitions.

2nd step : Check the unrelated space to add it to disc c.

Step 3: Click on Apply, Check the waiting operations, click on Execute To start the operation. And you can see in the image below that the capacity of volume C has increased.

Conclusion

When you encounter the problem as a disc is full without reason, you can empty the disc C with these 6 methods, or try to extend the disc C with free space on another volume. Aomei Partition Assistant Professional is intended for Windows PC users, including Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP. It can also convert MBR to GPT without data loss, move software to another hard drive, repair the boot sector when you meet a system crash, etc.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is compatible with Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 (R2)/2008 (R2)/2003. I hope this article can help you a lot. If you have other ideas, do not hesitate to share them in the comment space, thank you in advance !

Free partition manager

• Extend/move the partition
• Clone the system/disc
• Convert an MBR/GPT disc
• Check the disk errors

Download assessment.com

Still need help?

Your problem has been solved? Otherwise, please enter your question in the search field below.

Release disk space on Windows [10, 8, 7]

The disk of your computer is almost full ? �� We will have to act ! Indeed, to store new data on your PC, you must now release. And to do this, disc cleaning is essential !

That’s good: in this tutorial, I explain how to do to freeze Disk space on your PC so that you can use it in peace and avoid having to buy a bigger disc ! ��

Indeed, over time, the files and the folders accumulate and the disk that was more than enough to accommodate all this data is now cramped. Before coming to buy a new disc which remains a costly solution, There are several methods that save several gigabytes on your disc. But on what and how to act ? ��

To clean a disc on a Windows PC, you can rely on these Three levers ::

• THE temporary files : Over time, the temporary files created by Windows are more and more numerous and take up more and more space on the disk. A temporary file is very useful because it allows the system to quickly return data to the user without needing to calculate them again by requesting the resources of the computer (processor, RAM, etc.) and without wasting him. Nevertheless, it is good to regularly clean these temporary files which can not only become obsolete and useless but also bulky.
• THE personal files : You accumulate without realizing it the files (documents, images, music, videos, installation files …) that you no longer need and which today clutter the disc.
• THE software and games installed : you store software that you no longer use, video games you are no longer playing, and it is generally they who take up the most space on your PC !

In this tutorial, it is on these levers that we are going to act to release disk space. To achieve this, we will first use Windows cleaning tools Then we will see how to use Bleachbit in addition.

Before we start headlong in this company, I highly recommendIdentify exactly what takes up space on your PC (cf. the preamble). It only takes a few minutes and it will allow you to be more effective in cleaning the disc ! The goal is also to understand how you got there ! Use cleaning software without knowing exactly what’s going on is in my opinion counterproductive. ☝

Let’s go, let’s go Identify what clogs Our good old PC ! ��

Preamble: Identify what takes up space on the disc

The first thing to do before starting anything is to know exactly what takes up space On his PC ! We can then act efficient, by targeting the largest records on the disc.

To find out what takes up space on our disc, we will use the essential software Treesize Free. We will also use a tool Storage Windows 10 in addition.

With Treesize Free

Treesize is a disk space analyzer which displays all the files and all the sub-folders of a disc (it is also possible to analyze any directory) sorted by size, in the form of a very simple tree to read. This is the reference software to find out exactly what takes up space on your PC !

Here’s how to use it:

1. Download and install Treesize Free.
2. Launch Treesize Free ::
   • via the start menu> treesize free.
     
   • via the file explorer, right click on the folder or disk to analyze> Treesize free.
     
3. Perform it as a administrator To be able to analyze all the record files, some being protected in reading.
   If you don’t, you will have a warning message on the impossibility of analyzing protected files. Select Restart as a administrator To relaunch the analysis with administrator privileges.
   
4. Click on Choose a directory And choose the reader to analyze (VS: For example).
   
5. Once the analysis is completed, Treesize displays all the files and files of the reader, sorted. Thanks to the bars, we can see at a glance the largest folders and files.
   
6. Unroll the tree files and Identify files and folders who take up a lot of space. In the example below, we see that some files of the user directory (in C: \ USERS \ Le Crab \ Downloads) and a Steam (AGE2HD) game have a large size.
   

Now that you know why your record is full, You can act ::

• If these are folders or files from your user directory (C: \ Users \), you can delete them directly in Treesize via right click. These will be placed in the basket. After emptying it to free up space on your disc (see section 2.1. Delete temporary files).
• If these are programs, video games (located in C: \ Program Files) or temporary files (located in C: \ Windows), it is preferable toUse internal tools of Windows to clean up (see chapter 2. Release space on the disc).

For Start cleaning the disc, Pass on reading the next chapter: 2. Freeze on the disc !

With storage (W10)

Practical, storage in Windows 10 settings has a page Storage use which allows you to quickly see the elements that take up space on a reader, all sorted by category: system, applications, temporary files ..

It’s a good complement to Treesize !

Here’s how to use it:

1. Open the page Storage ::
   • Via the Settings Application> System> Storage.
   • Via the execute command: MS-Settings: StorageSense .

Click on the drive to analyze.

Identify them categories who take up the most space on the reader.

To have more information on a category, click on it. For example, by clicking on Applications & Games, You will find the list of software and video games installed on your system. Sort the list by size to more easily locate bulky applications.
Unfortunately, Windows cannot detect the size of certain applications. In the example below, the size of the games is not indicated, while they represent the most important part of the occupied space. Not top.The category System & reserved space allows you to understand the space occupied by the operating system, between system files and virtual memory.

Now that you know why your record is full, You can act ::

• If these are folders or files from your user directory (category Documents, Images, Desk, Other…), You can delete them directly from the file explorer by clicking on the button Display. These will be placed in the basket. After emptying it to free up space on your disc (see section 2.1. Delete temporary files).
  
• If these are programs or video games (category Application & Games), you can uninstall them directly here by clicking on the button Uninstall After selecting the application in question.
  
• If these are temporary files (category Temporary files), everything is explained in section 2.1. Delete temporary files.

For Start cleaning the disc, Pass on reading the next chapter: 2. Freeze on the disc !

Freeze on the disc

Delete temporary files

We will delete temporary files using the tool Disc cleaning Windows.

1. Open the Disc cleaning ::
2. On Windows 10: Settings> System> Storage>Free up space now.
3. on Windows 7 and 8.1: Configuration panel> System and security> Administration tools>Disc cleaning or clean.exe .

Note : If you are on this window, click the button Clean System files To display more options.

Check all the elements you want to delete:

Downloads.

! Attention : All elements of the file C: \ Users \\ Downloads will be deleted !



The storage space that will be released is displayed in front of Total selected number (here 73.3 MB).

That’s a good thing done ! Disk space problems are generally resolved after using the Disc cleaning.

→ If your disc is always saturated, Continue reading the tutorial. ��

Uninstall unnecessary and unused software

We will remove unnecessary and unused software and video games using the tool Applications and features Windows.

1. Open the page Applications ::
   • On Windows 10: Settings> Applications>Applications and features or MS-Settings: Appsfeatures .
   • on Windows 7 and 8.1: Configuration panel> Programs>Programs and Features or control appwiz.CPL .
     
2. Sort the applications by size To quickly identify software and video games that take up the most space on the disc.
3. Locate unnecessary applications or that you no longer use.
4. Select the apps to delete and click the button Uninstall.
   
5. Repeat For all other applications you no longer want on your system.

Your disc should now feel much lighter !

→ If your disc is always saturated, Continue reading the tutorial. ��

Activate files on demand (OneDrive)

If you use OneDrive, the Microsoft online storage service, you can also free up space on your disk thanks to the functionality On demand files.

THE On demand files is a feature that allows you to explore your OneDrive folder in the file explorer without having to download all the files it contains and use the storage space of your PC. This can save a large amount of space: files are only present in the cloud. You only download the files to your local disk when you want to consult them, “on demand” so !

1. Click on the icon OneDrive in the notification zone.
2. Click on More then on Settings.
   
3. Under request files, check the box Release space and download files when you need to use them.
   
4. Click on OK.

You can now release space on your local disc:

1. Open your OneDrive file in the file explorer.
2. Select the files stored on your PC (with the icon ☑ ), right click on it then select Release.
   
3. Here, the selected files are now stored only in the cloud (icon cloud ), they no longer take up space on your local disc. They will only be downloaded from your disk when you want to consult them.
   

And there you go, again from the won disk space ! ��

→ If your disc is always saturated, Continue reading the tutorial. ��

Use Bleachbit cleaning software

Bleachbit is free and completely free free disk cleaning software that allows you to target Software installed on the system. Because they too store temporary files which can in the long run occupy a lot of space !

It is an excellent alternative to CCleaner that tends to be intrusive for a few versions.

Here’s how to use it:



1. Download Bleachbit And install it.
2. Launch Bleachbit, check the items you want to clean and then click the button Preview.
3. Once the analysis is completed, the software displays the size occupied by each element as well as the disk space which can be released by cleaning (in front of Potentially recoverable disc space)).
4. Click on the button To clean To start cleaning the disc.

Free space do you want it here !

→ If your disc is always saturated, Continue reading the tutorial. ��

Move large files

If what has been done so far is still not enough, here is the last and ultimate solution: move the files and large folders of the system disk to an external disk !

Here’s how to proceed:

1. Identify large files and folders thanks to the software Treesize Free (seen in the preamble).
2. Connect a USB key or USB hard drive to your PC.
3. Move the large files/folders of your local disk to the USB hard drive via the file explorer:
   • by making a drag and drop ::
     
   • Using the Ribbon : Select your files and folders> Home> Move to> Choose a location>Move.
     

I Trick : You can also free up space on your PC by moving the large files to a Online storage space Like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox… !

There it was, it was the last solution (the most radical) to release disk space ! Now you should be able to save new data on your disk. ��

To avoid being in such a situation in the future, go further and Follow the recommendations next chapter !

Go further

Activate the Storage Assistant (W10)

L’Storage assistant from Windows 10 (available since version 1703, aka. “Creators Update”) is a functionality that automatically releases disk space by deleting temporary files, the contents of the basket and that of the downloads folder.

Here’s how to configure it and activate it:

1. Open the page Storage ::
   • Via the Settings Application> System> Storage.
   • Via the execute command: MS-Settings: StorageSense .



• Under storage wizard, click on Modify the way we free up space automatically.
  
• Activate the switch under storage assistant.
  
• Use the drop -down list Execute the storage assistant To choose when the storage assistant will run:
  • Each day.
  • Every week.
  • Each month.
  • When the disk space is low (recommended).

  

  • Never.
  • 1 day.
  • 14 days.
  • 30 days.
  • 60 days.

  

  The storage wizard is now configured to execute automatically according to the settings you have defined. Without doing anything, disk space will be released automatically and regularly on your PC ! ��

  Save your files on another disk

  Basic, Windows Backs User’s Applications and Personal Files on the System reader (C 🙂.

  To unclutter this reader, you can ask Windows to record your applications, documents, images, videos, etc. on another reader, For example another internal disc or a permanently connected USB key to the PC (such as the very discreet USB Sandisk Ultra Fit).

  Note : If you are on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Follow the instructions of this article instead: move your personal files to another partition.

  Here’s how to proceed (on Windows 10 uniquely) :

  1. Open the page Storage ::
     • Via the Settings Application> System> Storage.
     • Via the execute command: MS-Settings: StorageSense .

  

• Under other storage settings, click on Change the new content recording location.
  
• Select a other location For each type of content (applications, documents, music, etc.) then click on Apply.
  

Here, now Windows 10 will register by default the new content in the locations you have defined.

Move your applications and games to another disc

To unclutter your system disk, you can also Move your applications and games on another disc.

To do this, you have several possibilities:

• Use some portable versions (“Portable apps”) of your favorite applications (Firefox, Libre Office, etc.). To do this, help yourself with the excellent laptopapps.com.
  
• If you use the platform Steam, You have the option of moving your games to another location: Move the Steam installation files and games.
  
• If you are on Windows 10, You can move the Microsoft Store applications and games to an external disk without needing to reinstall them:
  1. Open the page Applications and features Via Settings> Applications or MS-Settings: Appsfeatures .
  2. Select the application to move and click on Move.
  3. Choose the reader on which the application will be stored then click again on Move.
     

Disable prolonged standby

If you are really lacking in disk space, you can Disable prolonged standby (hibernation).

On Windows, the prolonged standby is a functionality that records all the content of the computer memory in a file hiberfil.sys and which then completely turns off the computer. When you turn on your PC, you can resume your job where you left it.

Several disk spaces may be necessary to save memory data in the file hiberfil.sys. This is why it can be useful in extreme situations to deactivate prolonged standby in order to win several Go.

Here’s how to proceed to Disable prolonged standby On Windows:

1. Open a Command Prompt as a administrator.
2. Enter the following command:

PowerCfg /Hibernate Off

Here, the prolonged update has been disabled, allowing you to win even more disc space. To reactivate prolonged standby, you just need to enter the command: POWACFG /Hibernate on .

• disk
• cleaning
• to optimise
• Windows 10
• Windows 7
• Windows 8