Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: How to clean up your disk
• Method 2 of 3: How to Delete Temporary Internet Files
• Method 3 of 3: How to remove duplicate files
• Tips
• Warnings

Over time, unnecessary and temporary files and duplicate files accumulate on your computer's hard drive. These files take up space, which can slow down your computer or fill up your hard drive. Delete these files to improve system performance and clean up hard disk space.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: How to clean up your disk

1. 1 Open the Computer window. Right click on the drive you want to clean up and select Properties from the bottom of the menu.
2. 2 Click Disk Cleanup. This option is in the disk properties window. Disk Cleanup is a built-in Windows utility that you can use to remove unnecessary files.
3. 3 Specify the files you want to delete. Most likely, you will want to delete temporary files, log files, Recycle Bin files, and other non-essential files; to select files, check the boxes next to them.
4. 4 Delete unnecessary files. When you have selected the files you want to delete, click OK. A window will open in which you need to confirm your actions - click "Yes".
   1. You might want to get rid of unnecessary system files, but they don't appear in the Disk Cleanup window. To view these files, click Clean Up System Files at the bottom of the Disk Cleanup window.
5. 5 Click on the "Advanced" tab. Now, under System Restore and Shadow Copies, click Clean. The cleaning process will take a few minutes.
6. 6 Find out how much space has been freed up on your hard drive. Now that you've deleted unnecessary or temporary files, your computer should run faster and smoother. To find out how much space has become available on your hard drive, open the Computer window and select your hard drive. The amount of available space is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Method 2 of 3: How to Delete Temporary Internet Files

1. 1 Open the Internet Options window. To do this, click Start> Control Panel> Network and Internet> Internet Options. It describes how to delete temporary internet files that accumulate when you visit certain websites. Such files are the browser cache; they store certain content, such as videos and music, that load quickly when you visit the site again.
2. 2 Click on the General tab. In the "Browsing history" section, click "Delete". A window will open in which you need to confirm that you want to delete the files. Click Remove All> Yes.
3. 3 Click on "OK". All temporary Internet files will be deleted, thereby freeing up space on your hard drive.
4. 4 Find out how much space has been freed up on your hard drive. Close the Internet Options window. To find out how much space has become available on your hard drive, open the Computer window and select your hard drive. The amount of available space is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Method 3 of 3: How to remove duplicate files

1. 1 Select a program to find duplicate files. There are many programs that find and remove duplicate files on your hard drive. Popular programs include dupeGuru, VisiPics, Duplicate File Finder, and DigitalVolcano's Duplicate Cleaner Free.
2. 2 Run the program. In the window that opens, select the drive or folder you want to check. Then click Scan, Find, or a similar button.
3. 3 Remove duplicate files. When the program checks the specified drive, it will display duplicate files - select them and click "Delete", "Erase" or a similar button.
4. 4 Find out how much space has been freed up on your hard drive. Do this when you have checked 2-3 folders. Close the duplicate finder. To find out how much space has become available on your hard drive, open the Computer window and select your hard drive. The amount of available space is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Tips

• Delete unnecessary files once a month or when your computer's performance drops.
• There are many programs on the Internet with which you can delete unnecessary files (for example, you can find such programs on the website www.tucows.com).
• You can also download a program that will show which files or programs are taking up a lot of hard disk space.

Warnings

• Be careful not to delete any files you want or your documents. This will not be the case if you carefully read the instructions on the screen, but still check the contents of the Trash before emptying it.