Use a reliable cleaning tool or script designed for large file volumes. Ensure proper backups before proceeding.
Use a reliable cleaning tool or script designed for large file volumes. Ensure proper backups before proceeding.
My C: contains 105 GB of information, and before you make assumptions, not everything is Windows software—there are also programs and personal files. Since a full clean install isn’t possible, I have around 400,000 files here, many of which are leftover from programs that got removed. Do you know if any tool can try to identify and remove files it considers unnecessary? Because no, I’m choosing the manual approach.
The traditional approach I usually recommend involves grabbing several folders at once and removing them. Simply emptying the recycle bin completes the task quickly. Uninstalling each unwanted application via the Windows uninstall tool, navigating to the programs folder, choosing everything, and pressing Delete will take only a few minutes. Clearing the system cache in the settings is also very useful. You can even choose the Downloads folder to remove files there.
Likely the worst plan ever. Even if it wasn't first, it would be second at best.
Did you misinterpret the original message? Are the users preserving their personal data, or is this a complete cleanup?
Edited December 3, 2022 by Fasauceome
Removing the Program Files directory typically clears only the items the uninstaller misses, like a few DLLs or a configuration file. Many applications store extra data in hidden ProgramData folders or three appdata locations. I suggest using WizTree to inspect your storage—it reveals what’s consuming most space, which saved me from a week of error logs growing by a thousand gigabytes because of a single broken registry entry.
I’m not sure what the other person means either; it seems like they’re suggesting removing Windows system files or are unsure about which ones are important... That’s not a good idea—Windows usually doesn’t store large amounts of data there, though it can grow over time. You could simply delete the unnecessary files, which usually takes just a few seconds. It depends on what you want to keep. There are generally only a handful of folders where programs save their data, so deleting everything inside them (except the actual folders) is possible. However, Windows might also keep some personal settings there, which could cause issues. If you’re not able to reinstall Windows, that would be risky—deleting system files could make the computer unusable until you fix it. In short, it probably just means clearing out unused programs, which isn’t a big deal unless you’re dealing with huge amounts of data.
Initially I’m fine with the 400k files, but they’re slowing down my system. It’s not just about removing raw data, it’s about freeing up the file system. The process I’m aiming for is clearing out program files and junk files. I understand there are many unnecessary items scattered across the C drive, but I won’t delete anything essential. There must be a tool that keeps track of unused files and folders in its own database.
For programs you can try revo uninstaller... it works well, too. It clears registry entries (though maybe not needed), giving a clean feel. From the way it sounds, it seems to handle "unwanted files" effectively. I used it to remove duplicate files recently—perfect, since none showed up in duplicate file removers. By the way, curious about how much gets deleted by built-in cleanup tools? They help keep things running smoothly and optimize storage. Windows already does this, plus there’s hard disk optimization built in. I don’t see any major junk files, so I stick with what I have. Just a note: my folder is 23GB, the install was about four years ago—still fine as long as it works.
I usually clear bloat by adjusting window settings and choosing "free up space now." You can find this in storage, and I pick everything except the downloads folder to remove. Because many of these are old cached files, they could significantly improve your experience. Edited December 4, 2022 by Fasauceome