How to free up space on Windows 11

UPDATED 12/27/2024: Whenever your Windows 11 computer runs low on space, freeing up space is critical to make room for other files and improve system performance. Operating a device with a full drive will make the system sluggish and cause many errors. You should never use more than 70 percent of the total capacity to avoid performance issues.

Windows 11 offers many ways to free up space when your computer’s hard drive has little available space. Some of the easiest methods include using the Temporary file settings, Cleanup Recommendations, and Storage Sense features. You can also perform other actions, such as disabling hibernation, scanning for malware, uninstalling apps you don’t need, or using excessive storage.

In this guide, I will teach you several easy ways to free up space on Windows 11.

1. Cleanup Recommendations
2. Temporary files
3. Storage Sense
4. Disable hibernation
5. Scan for malware
6. Uninstall apps
7. Disable Windows Recall
8. Rebuild Windows.db file
9. Run OneDrive File On-Demand
10. Shrink install with Compact OS
11. Transfer files to an external drive

Free up disk space on Windows 11

These are the top methods you can use to free up disk space on your computer running Windows 11.

1. Cleanup Recommendations

“Cleanup Recommendations” is a feature that automates the process of identifying the contents you can delete to help free up hard drive space on the computer, including junk, unused, large files, and unused apps.

To use Cleanup Recommendations to free up space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on System.
Click the Storage tab.
Click the Cleanup recommendations option under the “Storage management” section.
Click on Temporary files.
Check the files to delete to free up space on Windows 11.

Quick tip: You can also click “See advanced options” to access the “Temporary files” settings to clean up more files.
Click the Clean up button.
Click on Large or unused files.
Select the suggested files to free up storage space on Windows 11.
Click the Clean up button.
Click on Files sync to the cloud.
Select the files available locally since they are already in the cloud.
Click the Cleanup button.
Click on Unused apps.
Select the apps you would like to remove to make more space on the device.
Click the Clean up button.

After you complete the steps, the Cleanup Recommendations features will delete the files to make more space to store other important files. Depending on the amount of data, Windows 11 should improve noticeably.

2. Temporary files

The “Temporary files” settings allow you to delete files that are not critical to running Windows 11. For instance, leftover files after installing a new version, upgrade logs, error reporting, temporary Windows installation files, and many others.

To delete temporary files to free up space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on System.
Click the Storage page on the right side.
Click the Temporary files setting under the “Local Disk” section.
Select the temporary files to remove from Windows 11.
Click the Remove files button.

Once you complete the steps, junk files will be removed from your computer, freeing up space for more important files.

3. Storage Sense

“Storage Sense” is another feature that can help you free up space automatically whenever the drive is low on space. It does this by deleting temporary system and apps files, emptying the Recycle Bin and Downloads folder, and converting files already synced to OneDrive to online-only content.

To free up space with Storage Sense on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on System.
Click the Storage tab.
Click the Storage Sense setting.
Check the “Keep Windows running smoothly” option.
Turn on the “Automatic User content cleanup” toggle switch.
Under the “Configure cleanup schedules” section, use the “Run Storage Sense” setting and select the “During low free disk space” option.
Use the “Delete files in my recycle bin” setting to choose the files to delete from the Recycle Bin. (Then the 1-day option clears the most files.)
Use the “Delete files in my Downloads folder” to clean up the files from the Downloads folder. (You want to make a copy of any important file before selecting this option.)
Under the “Locally available cloud content” section, use the OneDrive setting and select when synced files should become online-only to free up space.
Click the “Run Storage Sense now” button.

Once you complete the steps, Windows 11 will free up space, making more room to store other files. Also, since you are enabling the feature, Storage Sense will run automatically when there is little available drive space.

4. Disable hibernation

Although the Hibernate feature allows you to conserve energy, it also requires a large amount of space to work since the content in memory has to be saved on the hard drive to preserve the session state to shutdown the computer. However, you can disable the feature to free up space on your computer.

To disable hibernation to free up disk space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Start.
(Optional) Search for Command Prompt or PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to disable Hibernate and press Enter:
```
powercfg /hibernate off
```
Type the following command to confirm the hibernation has been disabled and press Enter:
```
powercfg /availablesleepstates
```

After you complete the steps, the system will disable the feature, thus freeing up additional disk space on the computer.

5. Scan for malware

A virus or other type of malware can corrupt system files and use storage space to the point that it leaves the drive without space for additional files. You can use Microsoft Defender Antivirus or other third-party tools to scan and remove the malware and free up space.

To scan and remove a virus or another type of malware affecting the storage space, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Windows Security and click the top result to open the app.
Click on Virus & threat protection.
Click on Scan options under the “Current threats” section.
Select the Full scan option.
Click the Scan now button.

Once you complete the steps, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will scan, detect, and remove virtually any malware that may be causing the device to run out of space.

6. Uninstall apps

On Windows 11, programs can take from a few bytes to many gigabytes. One way you can quickly free up space is by removing those applications that are wasting space or that you rarely use.

To uninstall unnecessary apps to free up drive space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Apps.
Click the Installed apps tab.
Select the app to remove under the “Apps list” section.
Click the app menu (three dots) button and choose the “Uninstall” button.
Click the Uninstall button again to confirm.
Continue with the on-screen directions (if applicable).

After you complete the steps, the app and any files associated with it will be removed from Windows 11.

If, after using these methods, the computer continues to have low drive space, you may want to try resetting the system or performing a clean install of Windows 11.

7. Disable Windows Recall

If you have a Copilot+ PC and use Recall, this feature can use up to 150GB of space, depending on the drive capacity. If your computer runs low on storage, you can always delete some or all the snapshots to free up space. Alternatively, you can disable the feature to prevent snapshots from taking over the hard drive.

To free up space by disabling Windows Recall, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Privacy & security.
Click the Recall & snapshots page.
Turn off the “Save snapshots” toggle switch.
Click the Delete snapshots setting.
Click the Delete all button.

Once you complete the steps, Windows Recall will turn off, and the snapshots will be deleted from the system to free up space on the hard drive.

To delete the snapshots without disabling Recall on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Privacy & security.
Click the Recall & snapshots page.
Click the Delete snapshots setting.
(Option 1) Choose the timeframe to delete snapshots and click the Delete Snapshots button.
(Option 2) Click the Delete all button to remove all the snapshots saved on the computer.
(Optional) Click the Storage setting.
Change the maximum storage usage to a lower number, for example, 25GB.

After you complete the steps, the system will delete the snapshots saved on your computer, freeing up space on the hard drive. However, the feature will continue to save snapshots on the computer.

8. Rebuild Windows.db file

On Windows 11, “Windows.db” is the core database for Windows Search. The problem is that sometimes, the file can grow very large for many reasons. If your computer is experiencing this issue, rebuilding the database can free up space and resolve search issues on your device.

To recreate the Windows.db file to reclaim storage space, use these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Privacy & security.
Click the Searching Windows tab.
Click on Advanced indexing options under the “Related settings” section.
Click the Advanced button.
Click the Rebuild button to delete the “Windows.db” file under the “Troubleshooting” section.
Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the operating system will delete and create the “Windows.db” database again.

This option will work best when there’s a problem with the database, and it’s already using up a lot of the local storage.

9. Run OneDrive File On-Demand

OneDrive Files On-Demand allows you to access files in your cloud account without downloading them or using up storage space on your computer. If you store a lot of files on your device, making OneDrive files online-only can help to free up space.

To run the OneDrive Files On-Demand feature to free up space, use these steps:

Click the OneDrive icon in the System Tray.
Click the Help & Settings (gear) button and choose the Settings option.
Click on Sync and backup.
Click the Free up disk space button under the Files On-Demand section.
Click the Continue button.

After you complete the steps, the feature will set all OneDrive files as online-only, freeing up space on the device. It’s important to note that you will continue to have to the files, but the device will need an internet connection when you try to open a file to download the contents again.

10. Shrink install with Compact OS

The Compact OS command has been designed to compress or decompress files and directories on your system. It can significantly reduce the disk space used by the operating system and apps, especially on devices with limited storage.

You should only use this option if it’s critical to reclaim every byte possible on the hard drive. Otherwise, consider that this feature may have a slight impact on system performance, especially during file operations.

To use the Compact OS command to free up space on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to compress the current setup and apps and press Enter:
```
compact /compactOS:always
```

Once you complete the steps, the command will run to reclaim additional space on the hard drive.

If you want to undo the changes, you can use the same instructions, but in step 3, run the compact /compactOS:never command. If you don’t know if the feature is enabled, you can run the compact /compactos:query command.

11. Transfer files to an external drive

If your device is running low on storage, deleting unnecessary files may not be enough, and an external USB drive may be necessary.

To export your files to a USB hard drive on Windows 11, use these steps:

Connect the USB hard drive to the computer.
Open File Explorer.
Copy and paste the following path to the address bar and press Enter:
```
%HOMEPATH%
```
Open each folder (Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Music, and Videos) to confirm where your large files are stored.
Select the files or folders taking the most space and click the Copy button from the command bar.
Open the USB hard drive.
Create a new folder (“Ctrl + Shift + N” keyboard shortcut) and confirm a name, such as “PC_Files.”
Open the newly created folder.
Click the Paste button from the command bar.

After you complete the steps, the files and folders will be copied to the external drive, freeing up space on the drive holding the setup.

Update December 27, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.