author avatar
19 April 2019  John Weaver  Senior Program Developer
 

Summary
Local disk C is getting full after the PC is used for a period of time. Although junk files have been removed, C drive is still full. How do we solve this problem? Read this article and you will get 3 useful ways to free up C drive in Windows 10.



3 Ways to Cleanup C Drive in Windows 10

Solution 1：Delete Junk Files Using Storage Sense

Storage sense, a built-in option in Windows 10, provides an easy way to quickly remove junk files from the local disk, such as temporary files, the files in recycle bin and in Downloads folder for over 30 days, previous Windows installation included in Windows.old folder, which can free up disk space on Windows 10 effectively. Please note that Storage sense is only available in Windows 10 Creators Update or later.

How to Cleanup Disk for more Space on Windows 10 with Storage Sense:
Step 1: Press “Win”+ “I” key at the same time to open “Windows Settings”. Then click “System”.
open Windows 10 system settings
Step 2: Click “Storage” in the left pane. Then click “Change how we free up space automatically”.
perform disk cleanup in Windows 10
Step 3: Check the box of temporary files that aren’t using or previous Windows installation. Click “Clean now”.
Delete junk files in Windows 10

Solution 2: Move the Desktop Files to another Disk with More Free Space

How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 10 by Moving Desktop Files to Another Disk:

By default desktop files in Windows 10 are stored in the system disk which is usually to be the C drive. Most of users would like to directly save files or applications to the desktop, which results in the C drive getting full and the PC running slowly. In order to free up space of the C drive, it’s recommended to change the path of desktop and move files or applications to D drive or another non-system disk with more free space.

Step 1: Create a new folder named “Desktop” in D drive or another non-system disk with more free space.
Step 2: Go into “This PC”. Right click “Desktop” in the left pane and select “Properties”.
desktop of this PC
Step 3: Switch to the “Location” tab and click “Move”. Then select the already created “Desktop” folder from D drive. Finally, click “OK”.
move desktop to another drive

Solution 3: Extend C Drive via Disk Compression

C drive allocated with less space will be full as time goes by. Using disk management tool, you could extend the C drive by shrinking other volume. Generally, disk space only can be adjusted between two primary partitions. So when you are ready to extend the C drive, please make sure C drive and D/E/F drive stay in the same disk and C drive also stays next to one of them such as D drive.

Shrinking a volume may lead to data loss. It’s suggested to backup your disk in advanced.
Step 1: Press “Win” + “R” key at the same time to open Run box. Then type in “diskmgmt.msc”. Press Enter.
run disk management
Step 2: When you go into the “Disk Management”, right click the primary partition which is generally D drive next to the C drive. Select “Shrink Volume” and enter the amount of space to shrink in MB such as 10240 MB (10 GB). Click “Shrink”.
shrink the volume
Step 3: There will be an unallocated partition. Just right click the C drive and select “Extend Volume”.
extend C drive
Step 4: In the “Extend Volume Wizard”, select the maximum available space in MB. Then click “Next” and “Finish”.
how to free up space in Windows 10
If the C drive can’t be extended, please take the following steps to make it.
Step 1: Backup the D drive.
Step 2: Right click the D drive and select “Delete Volume”.
Delete the volume
Step 3: Right click C drive and select “Extend Volume”.
extend C drive
Step 4: In the “Extend Volume Wizard”, select the maximum available space in MB. Then click “Next” and “Finish”.
extend local disk C

How to Backup Your Important Files

The space on C drive is gradually taken up. Removing junk files or extending volume for the C drive can free up the space, but it may cause data loss. It’s suggested to backup your important files in advanced with Renee Becca that provides backup and recovery for system/ hard drive/ partition/ files and supports running backup on schedule and performing a differential/ incremental backup.

press to the download button
Before reducing some burden of the C drive, you could backup your files using the “File backup” option in Renee Becca. Here’s step-by-step guide for files backup.
Step 1: Open Renee Becca and enter the main interface. Click “Backup” and then select “File Backup”.
File backup of Renee Becca
Step 2: Select target file and the destination where you want to save the file. Then click “Backup”.

Note: Please save the file to the non-system disk that won’t need to shrink. It’s suggested to save the backup file to external hard drive.

how to back up files in renee becca
Renee Becca provides 5 backup solutions. You can select one of them to perform a backup.
  • Version chain mode: Only save the 5 latest versions, delete the useless old version automatically when the backup is done.
  • Single version mode: only save the latest version, delete the last old version automatically when the backup is done.
  • Full mode: create full backup.
  • Incremental mode: Only create incremental backup after the initial full backup.
  • Differential mode: Only create differential backup after the initial full backup.
backup solutions of Renee Becca
You can also schedule a backup. Renee Becca will create the backup at specific time.
run backup on schedule
Step 3: After the backup completes, click the “task” tab and you will see the backup file. Once the file is missing or deleted, you could restore it immediately.
restore the backup