Deleting Unnecessary Files to Free Up Space and Increase Speed
With each day you use your computer, and each program you run, messes are left behind. These messes cause the most harm to your Windows registry, but they also occur in the form of unnecessary files.
In this article I’m going to show you two simple ways to clean out unnecessary files from Windows. There are tools out there that will do this for you, but it’s a very simple task and they aren’t completely necessary.
Removing Files with Disk Cleanup
First, we’re going to use a built in tool designed just for this task. It’s called “Disk Cleanup.”
- Click the Start Button
- Enter “disk cleanup” into the search box and hit enter
- Select your primary drive (the one with the Windows icon)
- Click “OK”
At this point, a window will open and show you different categories of files you can remove. It’s safe to check all the boxes, so do that and then click “OK.”
Manually Removing Temp Files
This next step is a little more manual, but still easy enough for anyone with basic computer skills.
- Click the Start button
- Enter “%temp%” into the search box and hit enter
- Press “ctrl+a” on your keyboard to select all files & folders
- Press “delete” on your keyboard
- Click “Yes” to send files to the recycle bin
- When a dialog box comes up, check “Do this for all current files” and press “Skip”
And that’s it. You now have more free space and less clutter on your computer.