How to Free Up Hard Drive Space (on Windows 7)

In this article, wikiHow will show you how to free up hard drive space on your Windows 7 computer. You can use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to remove temporary files and other unwanted files. other unnecessary items or go to the Control Panel to delete programs that are no longer in use.

Table of Contents

Using Disk Cleanup

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/2/29/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-1-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-1-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/ 29/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-1-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-1- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Open Start

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/b/b3/Windowswindows7_start.png”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b3/ Windowswindows7_start.png/30px-Windowswindows7_start.png”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:460,”bigWidth”:30,”bigHeight”:30,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output” “></div>”}

. Click on the colorful Windows logo located in the lower left corner of the screen. A new menu will appear.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/00/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-2-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-2-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/ 00/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-2-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-2- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:344,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:544,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click the search bar at the bottom of the Start menu.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/06/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-3-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-3-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/ 06/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-3-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-3- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:341,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:540,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Type disk cleanup to find the Disk Cleanup program on your computer. This program is available in all versions of Windows 7.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/c/cc/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-4-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-4-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/ cc/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-4-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-4- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:541,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Disk Cleanup to open the Disk Cleanup window. Usually this option will be near the top of the Start menu.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/b7/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-5-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-5-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/ b7/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-5-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-5- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:344,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:545,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click on the item Clean up system files at the bottom left of the upper window.

If you do not use an administrator account, you will not be able to clean system files. In that case, skip this step and go to the next step.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d4/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-6-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-6-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/ d4/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-6-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-6- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:344,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:544,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Yes when prompted, allowing Disk Cleanup to restart with additional options.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/1b/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-7-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-7-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/ 1b/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-7-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-7- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:341,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:539,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Select the item to delete. Click the check box next to each group of files or items that you want to delete from your computer, uncheck the items you want to keep. Some common file/item groups are:

Windows Update —Delete the latest Windows Update file from the computer (current updates will not be affected).
Downloaded Program Files — Delete unnecessary program files on the device.
Temporary Internet Files —Deletes files that are used as browser cache.
System created Windows Error Reporting — Delete error files.
Recycle Bin — Delete all files stored in the Recycle Bin.
Temporary files — Delete other temporary files that come from programs or web usage.
User file history — Clear browsing history (such as searches in Windows Explorer).
Everything in this menu can be safely deleted. However, deleting items like the Windows Update cache will prevent you from reverting to its previous version.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/10/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-8-Version-5.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-8-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/ 10/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-8-Version-5.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-8- Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:344,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:545,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click the OK button located at the bottom of the window.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/05/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-9-Version-4.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-9-Version-4.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/ 05/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-9-Version-4.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-9- Version-4.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:348,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:550,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Delete Files when prompted, allowing Disk Cleanup to begin deleting selected files from the hard drive. This program will close automatically when the deletion is complete.

Deletion can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.

Uninstall programs

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/b7/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-11-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-11-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/ b7/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-11-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-11- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Go to Start

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/b/b3/Windowswindows7_start.png”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b3/ Windowswindows7_start.png/30px-Windowswindows7_start.png”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:460,”bigWidth”:30,”bigHeight”:30,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output” “></div>”}

. Click on the colorful Windows logo located in the lower left corner of the screen. The Start menu will appear.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/06/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-10-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-10-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/ 06/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-10-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-10- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:542,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Contrp Panel on the right side of the Start menu. The Contrp Panel window will appear.

If for some reason the Contrp Panel doesn’t appear, you can type contrp panel into the text box at the bottom of the Start menu and then click Contrp Panel in the list of search results.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/38/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-12-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-12-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/ 38/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-12-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-12- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:343,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:543,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click the “View by” drop-down box. This box is located in the upper-right corner of the Contrp Panel page. A menu will be dropped down.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/2/27/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-13-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-13-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/ 27/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-13-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-13- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:541,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Category in the drop-down menu.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/a5/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-14-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-14-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/ a5/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-14-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-14- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:541,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Uninstall a program under the “Programs” heading in the lower left part of the options list.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d5/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-15-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-15-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/ d5/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-15-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-15- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:541,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Select a program. Scroll down until you find the program you want to uninstall and click on the name to select it.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d4/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-16-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-16-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/ d4/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-16-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-16- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:342,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:541,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Click Uninstall at the top of the window.

With some programs, instead of Uninstall, it will be Change / Uninstall .

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/7/79/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-17-Version-2.jpg/v4 -460px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-17-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/ 79/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-17-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-17- Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:348,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:550,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></ div>”}

Follow the on-screen instructions. Usually you will have to confirm that you want to remove the program and follow the instructions of its uninstaller.

In some cases, to completely remove it, you will have to restart the machine.
Some programs will uninstall as soon as you click Uninstall .

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/5/5e/Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-18.jpg/v4-460px-Free -up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-18.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5e/Free-up-Disk- Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-18.jpg/v4-728px-Free-up-Disk-Space-%28Windows-7%29-Step-18.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight” :348,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:550,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Wait for the uninstallation to complete. At this point, you can uninstall another program if needed.

Advice

You can transfer files to a spare hard drive for external storage.

Warning

Be careful when uninstalling programs on your computer. If the program comes from a Microsoft distributor or computer manufacturer, unless you know exactly what it is, don’t touch it.

Steps

Using Disk Cleanup

Uninstall programs

Advice

Warning

Related Posts