Windows disk cleanup - how it works

With Windows Disk Cleanup, files that are no longer required can be found and deleted on all drives. Here we show you how the program works.

Disk Cleanup: Delete unnecessary files

Disk Cleanup lets you delete temporary internet files, thumbnails, and more. You can find the program in the Control Panel.

1. Open the Windows Control Panel. Click Administrative Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. Use the category view in the control panel, first click on "System and Security".
2. In the new window, select the drive to be cleaned. Then click on the OK button.
3. Disk Cleanup now searches for files that are no longer needed. After a moment, the program shows you the results of the search. Now check all file types that you want to remove.
4. Click on the OK button and then on "Delete files". This will start cleaning the disk.

Disk Cleanup: Delete unnecessary system files

You can also use Disk Cleanup to remove system files that you no longer need. The procedure is similar:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel. Click Administrative Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. Use the category view in the control panel, first click on "System and Security".
2. In the new window, select the drive to be cleaned. Then click on the OK button.
3. Disk Cleanup now searches for files that are no longer needed. After a moment, the program shows you the result of the search. Click the "Clean System Files" button. You may now have to enter your administrator password or confirm the selection.
4. Select the drive to be cleaned again and click the OK button.
5. After a moment you will see an overview of the files found again, but this time system files that are no longer required will also be listed. Select the file types you want to remove and click "OK" and then "Delete Files".

If you are not satisfied with the result, you can get rid of even more data garbage with the freeware CCleaner.