Today's hard drives feature jaw-dropping amounts of space. But no matter how big your drive, you'll be amazed at how quickly application installs, browser caches, and temporary files can eat up your free space and clutter your system. Some simple hard-drive cleaning measures can free up valuable disk space and get rid of applications and data files that you no longer use or want.
A raft of commercial utilities can help clear disk space, but you don't need to lay down the bucks to get the job done. Windows has an array of built-in tools for doing a thorough drive cleaning. You can sweep away many megabytes--and sometimes even gigabytes--of unneeded files.
As always, before you begin, do a complete backup of your system.
Stan Miastkowski is a contributing editor at PC World. Address your questions to him at stan_miastkowski@pcworld.com.- Page 1 of 8
- Next »
Would you recommend this story? YES NO
-
PCWorld on your iPad!
PCWorldDaily gives you the best from our experts each day.
-
Master Windows 7!
Our expert guide will help you get the most out of Windows 7.
- SpaceX's Dragon Capsule Splashes Down, Historic Mission Comes to an End The firstever docking mission of the ISS by a commercial company has come to an end, and the Dragon capsule returned to Earth safely with return-cargo onboard.
- Intel Intros Dual-Core Ivy Bridge Chips; Releases Sneak Peek of Upcoming Ultrabooks The chipmaker also ramps up the standards for Ultrabooks.
- Five Fun and Geeky Alternatives to Instagram Is Instagram too mainstream for you? Check out five alternatives for the geek that loves their photo filters.
- How to Download and Install the Microsoft Windows 8 Release Preview The latest fine-tuned beta version of Window 8 is now available for your testing pleasure. It's free.
- 12 Criteria for Selecting the Best ERP System Replacement An ERP system is your information backbone and reaches into all areas of your business and value chain. Replacing it can open unlimited business opportunities. This white paper explains the 12 criteria that allow you to identify and select the solution that will meet these expectations.
- Leveraging Social Computing Technologies for ERP Applications This white paper details how Web 2.0 technologies support business strategies by improving efficiency, productivity, and collaboration.
























