On Windows 10, when the hard drive starts running out of space, you can always use the Storage settings to see what’s taking up space and remove files and apps you don’t need.
Starting with preview build 19603, Windows 10 is adding a storage analyzer tool known as User cleanup recommendations, which analyzes the entire system automatically to identify unused files and apps you can remove to free up space. The option will display the amount of data that Windows 10 may be able to reclaim by deleting certain large or unused files, uninstalling apps that you not use, and clearing copies of files already uploaded to OneDrive making the task of freeing space a lot easier.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to remove unused files and app using the storage analyzer tool built into Windows 10 to free up space on your device.
How to identify and remove unused files and apps to free up space on Windows 10
To free up space deleting recommended files on Windows 10, use these steps:
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Open Settings.
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Click on System.
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Under the “User cleanup recommendations” section, click the See cleanup recommendations option.
Quick note: In this section, you can also see the approximate amount of space that you can reclaim using the Windows 10 recommendations.
Storage See cleanup recommendations option -
Under the “Temporary files” section, select the temporary files you want to delete.
Delete temporary files on Windows 10 -
Click the Clean up button.
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Under the “Large or unused files” section, select the files you don’t need.
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Click the Clean up button.
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Under the “Files synced to the cloud” section, select the files already uploaded to OneDrive that you want to remove from your device to free up space.
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Click the Clean up button.
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Under the “Unused apps” section, check the apps that you no longer use.
Remove unused apps with storage analyser -
Click the Clean up button.
Once you complete the steps, the storage analyzer tool will remove the files and apps to reclaim space for more useful files.
If you don’t see this option, it’s because you’re not yet running the version of Windows 10 that includes this feature. See cleanup recommendations is available starting with Windows 10 Insider Preview build 19603 and later.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].