Hi Rick,
The Disk Cleanup tool, part of Windows, will perform a search on the hard disk for files that can be deleted from your computer without affecting its functionality or your personal files:
To open Disk Cleanup on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer, follow these steps:
- Click Start
- Go to All Programs > Accessories > System Tools
- Click Disk Cleanup
- Choose what type of files and folders to delete at the Files to delete section
- Click OK
- To delete system files that are no longer needed, click Clean up system files. You may be
prompted by UAC (User Account Control) to confirm the action. - Click Delete Files
To free more space, go to the
More options tab:
- Click Clean up at the Programs and Features section to remove program files that are no longer needed
- Click Clean up at the System Restore and Shadow Copies section to remove restore points, except the last one
Run from Command Prompt
To open Disk Cleanup via Command Prompt (command line) on a Windows Vista or Windows 7:
- Open Command Prompt
- Type
cleanmgr
- Press Enter
Run Disk Cleanup in Windows 8 or 8.1
Run from My Computer
To open Disk Cleanup on a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 system, follow these instructions:
- Click Settings > Click Control Panel > Administrative Tools
- Click Disk Cleanup
- At the Drives list, select which drive you want to run Disk Cleanup on
- Select which files you want to delete
- Click OK
- Click Delete files
To delete system files that are no longer needed on your computer, click
Clean up system files.Shadow copies and restore points (except the last ones) can be deleted by going to the
More options tab > Click
Cleanup.
If Disk Cleanup is getting stuck at a certain deletion process (deletion of temporary files or deletion of Windows updates), try any of the following tips:
- Run Disk Cleanup as an Administrator
- Delete the files and folders manually, but be logged in as an Administrator.If Disk Cleanup is getting stuck at deleting Internet Explorer temporary files, delete the temporary files manually. Be logged in as Administrator or as any user with administrative rights to the system when doing so.
- Run a
sfc /scannow
command. To do so, follow these steps:- Open Command Prompt
- Type
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows\
, where D:\ is your Windows drive letter, and D:\Windows is your Windows installation path - Press Enter
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Lokesh