5 Best Tools to Clean Up C Drive in Windows 11

What Happens if We Clean Up C Drive?

The all-The "C" drive, where the operating system is installed, is the core of most computers, but it's also the drive that runs out of storage space quickly due to Windows updates, downloaded files, and temporary app files. As a result, your PC may slow down, boot up slowly, and experience delayed file transfers, program responses, and app launches. This can even prevent you from installing important Windows updates, ultimately affecting your PC's speed and performance. To maintain your computer's efficiency, it's essential to clean up the "C" drive, ensuring your PC stays updated and runs smoothly.

How to Clean Up C Drive in Windows 11? 5 Best Tools You Can't Miss

To clean up your "C" drive and recover space in Windows 11, you can use various tools to free up space on your system disk. The most useful tools for cleaning up your "C" drive include.

1. Qiling Disk Master
2. Disk Cleanup
3. Storage Sense
4. Apps & Features
5. OneDrive

To free up space on the "C" drive, you can use various tools, some of which require manual deletion of unwanted files, while others automatically remove them. For a more comprehensive solution, we recommend using Qiling Disk Master, which offers multiple features compared to other tools like disk cleanup, storage sense, Apps and Features, and OneDrive. By using these tools, you can efficiently clean up the "C" drive and optimize its storage capacity.

Tool 1. Qiling Disk Master

All-in-One "C" Drive Clean Up Software

Qiling Disk Master Free offers many features and allows you to clean up your C drive for free with ease.

Qiling Qiling Disk Master, a disk cleaning software, typically features a user-friendly interface for scanning and cleaning up unwanted data, including temporary files, system logs, and other disk space-hogging items, to free up storage space and improve system performance.

1. System Cleanup

To avoid running out of disk space and slowing down your computer, use a System Cleanup software to remove unwanted files and junk that build up over time.

Our System Cleanup software helps clean junk files from the system, browser, and other apps, freeing up disk space and improving system performance, ultimately making your PC feel like new again.

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To use System Cleanup, follow these steps: First, go to the Start menu and search for "System Cleanup". Next, click on the "Run" option and enter the command "cleanmgr" in the dialogue box.

Step 1. To use Open Qiling Disk Master, start the program on your computer. Then, click on the "System Cleanup" option and select the "Scan" button to proceed.

Step 2. When the scan is finished, a list of junk files will be displayed. Carefully select the unwanted files, being cautious not to delete essential files that impact your computer's normal functioning or software operation.

Step 3. Click the "Clean up" button and confirm the cleanup operation to free up disk space. This can be done regularly to keep your disk space organized.

Cleaning junk files from your computer is a great way to free up space on your system, and it also has several other benefits. By removing unnecessary files, you can speed up downloads, expedite virus scans, and improve streaming performance, ultimately resulting in a faster and more efficient computer.

2. Large File Cleanup

Our hard disk drives often run out of space, causing our system to slow down. This is often due to unnecessary files stored on the C Drive, such as log files, temporary files, or installation apps for programs that are no longer needed. These heavy files can consume a significant amount of space, leading to a sluggish system.

If your hard drive is running low, it's time to clean up some files. The best way to do this is by locating the largest files on your C Drive, which can be done using software like Large File Cleanup from Qiling Qiling Disk Master. This tool helps you identify and remove unnecessary files, freeing up space on your hard drive.

Large File Cleanup has two folders:

Folder 1: Move and delete large files
Folder 2: Move default folders

The Move and Delete Large Files option enables you to relocate or erase large files from the chosen drive(s).

The Move Default Folder option allows you to relocate personal folders like Desktop, Documents, etc. to a different location, helping to conserve disk space.

Note:When installing programs, avoid deleting files from the installation directory, as this may prevent the programs from functioning properly.

3. App Management - Uninstall corrupted or useless apps.

4. App Migration To transfer installed programs and software from the C drive to another drive without any boot issues, you can follow these steps. First, ensure that the destination drive is formatted with the same file system as the C drive, typically NTFS.

Tool 2. Disk Cleanup

It is a Windows Built-The Disk Cleanup tool helps clean up the C drive by deleting unnecessary files that the operating system no longer requires, freeing up space and improving system performance.

The Disk Cleanup tool allows you to remove temporary files, system logs, and other unnecessary items from the "C" drive, freeing up space and improving system performance.

1. Clean up system files

2. Windows Update cleanup

3. Downloaded Program Files

4. Temporary Internet Files

5. Recycle Bin

6. Temporary Files

7. Thumbnail

8. User file history, etc.

To clean up your C drive, run the Disk Cleanup app. This app will scan your drive and identify files that can be safely deleted, such as temporary files, system logs, and other items that are no longer needed.

Step 1: To run the Disk Cleanup tool, click the search icon on the taskbar, type "disk cleanup", and select it from the search results.

Step 2:To delete files, select the checkbox next to the files you want to delete, and clear the checkboxes next to any files you don't want to delete, such as Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Thumbnails.

Step 3: To free up more space, select the "Clean Up System Files" option and choose the system files you want to delete. This process may take a few minutes as the Disk Cleanup app calculates the available space.

Step 4: To delete unwanted files, select them, click "OK" to confirm, and then choose the "Delete Files" option from the confirmation window to initiate the cleanup process.

Note:

The Disk Cleanup app offers an option to Compress Your OS Drive, which compresses the drive where Windows is installed, freeing up space for updates. This process compresses files without deleting their contents, so you won't have issues opening or saving files from the compressed drive.
Once you've installed the updates, you can manually decompress the C drive at any time. To do this, open File Explorer, select This PC in the left pane, right-click or tap and hold the C drive, and then choose Properties. Clear the Compress this Drive to Save Disk Space checkbox, and select Apply and then OK.

Tool 3. Storage Sense

Disk Usage Checker and Disk Cleanup Tool

Storage Sense is a feature on Windows that automates disk cleanup tasks, monitoring storage space and cleaning up items when it's running low. It performs basic tasks like emptying the recycle bin, clearing old files in the downloads folder, and deleting temporary files, all of which can be accessed in Windows 11 under "Storage Management".

You can use this tool to clean up the "C" drive by running a disk cleanup and disk defragmentation to free up space and improve performance. This tool also allows you to remove temporary files, system logs, and other unnecessary items that can take up a significant amount of space on your drive.

1. Delete Temporary Files

2. Automatically clean up recycle bin, and temporary files once enabled

3. Configure OneDrive online only

4. Free up space

Following is the procedure to use Storage Sense:

How Storage Sense Works

If Storage Sense is enabled by default, it will automatically run when storage space is low, removing unnecessary temporary files. It will also clean the recycle bin, but will not touch the download folder or OneDrive unless specified.

Note: Storage Sense only works on the C drive, so if you want to clean up space on another drive, you'll need to go to More Storage Settings and view storage usage on that specific drive.

Turn on Storage Sense

1. Go to Settings on your Windows 10 device.

Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage
Under Storage Sense, turn on Storage Sense.

For Choosing Your Storage Sense Settings

To control how often Storage Sense runs and what it cleans up, follow these steps: Go to Settings, then Storage, and finally Storage Sense. Here, you can adjust the frequency at which Storage Sense runs, as well as which types of files and data it cleans up. You can choose to run Storage Sense daily, weekly, or monthly, and select which types of files to clean up, such as temporary files, recycle bin contents, and device maintenance files.

Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage
To proceed, select the option to configure Storage Sense or run it immediately.
To customize Storage Sense, select your desired settings, which include when the feature runs and how often it cleans files, among other options.

Choose When to Run Storage Sense

First, ensure Storage Sense is turned on
Storage Sense is a feature in Windows that automatically deletes temporary files and system files that are no longer needed. When you run Storage Sense, it will scan your computer for any unnecessary files and delete them to free up space on your hard drive.

Choose Your Preferences for Deleting Temporary Files

To set when files from your Downloads folder or Recycle Bin are deleted, go to the Temporary Files section. There, you can specify the time frame for which files are kept before being deleted.

The files in the Recycle Bin will be automatically deleted based on how long they have been in the Recycle Bin.
Files in the Download folder will be deleted based on how long they have not been opened, unless you specify not to delete them.
Check the box before "Delete Temporary Files That My Apps Aren't Using" to clean up unnecessary files associated with apps on your computer.

Manage Locally Available Cloud Content

Files stored in the cloud can also be stored on a local disk, giving users flexibility in where their files are stored. By selecting an option, users can choose to make files that are not accessed for a specified period of time available online only, freeing up local disk space.

When you choose these settings, files are not deleted permanently and can be made locally available again if there is free disk space and network connectivity. However, files marked as "Always keep on this device" are exempt from Storage Sense management.

Tool 4. App & Features

Another effective way to clean the "C" drive is by utilizing the Windows Built-in app manager, which allows you to uninstall apps that are no longer used or hardly used, freeing up space on your computer.

1. View App size

2. Uninstall unwanted or big apps

3. To move some installed apps to another location, go to Settings > Apps, select the apps you want to move, and choose the "Move" or "Change location" option. You can then select a new location, such as an SD card or an external storage device, to move the apps to.

You can clean up C drive by using Apps & Features in Windows 11. To do this, go to Settings, then Apps, and finally, Apps & Features, where you can uninstall any unused or unnecessary apps to free up space on your C drive. This simple process helps declutter your computer and optimize its performance.

The first step is to Open Settings.
Next, click on Apps.
In it, click on Apps & Features.
To quickly identify the apps and games consuming the most space, choose the "Sort by" filter and select the View By Size option.
The next step is to select the item you want to remove. This can be done by clicking on the item you want to delete, or by using the keyboard shortcut to select the item.
Now click the uninstall button.

Again, click the uninstall button.
Continue with the on-screen directions.

To remove unwanted apps and games from your device, follow these steps: go to the Settings app, select the General tab, and tap on iPhone Storage. Then, scroll down to the list of apps and games and tap on the one you want to remove. Tap on the "Delete App" button and confirm that you want to delete it.

Tool 5. OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive Files On-The Demand feature allows you to access OneDrive cloud storage from Windows 11 without taking up local storage space, storing only a piece of file information locally and letting you browse files without using local storage.

OneDrive features:

1. Make OneDrive Files online only

2. Make File Explorer Files online only

To use the OneDrive Files On-Demand feature, you can select the files you want to access and right-click on them. From the context menu, choose "Always keep on this device" to keep the file locally stored on your device, or "Free up space" to remove the file from your device and store it in the cloud.

To turn on Files On-Demand, go to Settings > System > File system and turn on the "Save space and reduce clutter on this PC by storing files in the cloud" toggle switch. This will allow you to access your OneDrive files without them being downloaded to your local device.

Now press right-To access OneDrive settings, click on the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar and select Settings.

open onedrive cloud - 1

In Settings, under "Files On-To enable the feature "Save Space and Download Files as You Use Them" on the app, check the box that says "Demand".

file on demand

Next Click OK.

To disable the Files On-Demand feature, clear the checkbox in the "Save On-Demand" section of the OneDrive settings. This will download files that are configured to sync with OneDrive.

Saving Storage Space

To free up space by making files available online-only, right-click one or more files and select the "Free Up Space" option from the context menu, allowing you to still view them in File Explorer with a cloud icon, but requiring an active internet connection to open them.

saving storage

Conclusion

The "C" Drive in Windows 11 can be cleaned comprehensively using Qiling Qiling Disk Master's "All in One C Drive" clean up software, which offers a most effective way to free up storage space. To do this, follow the detailed steps to clean the "C" Drive using this software, which is a convenient and efficient way to maintain your computer's performance.

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