5 Ways to Use Disk Cleanup on Your Windows 10 Computer

Imagine downloading your favorite movie on your laptop. And right when it reaches 90%, your computer decides to flash a notification indicating unavailability of enough space in the hard drive. Sounds exasperating, right? But with the disc cleanup option on your Windows computer, you can now use the utility every time the hard drive runs low on space. Although you can locate unnecessary files manually and delete them one by one, the process is quite a tedious one. But if you know the techniques, then Disk Cleanup just takes a few seconds to get rid of unwanted files that are crowding your computer. Moreover, Disk Cleanup can trace hidden files that several third-party cleaners fail to detect.

In Windows 10, you can run Disk Cleanup via several techniques. Today I’m going to walk you through the various methods to use Disk Cleanup on your Windows 10 computer.

1. Disk Cleanup via Administrative Tools

The simplest, although a little tedious, way to run Disk Cleanup on your hard drive is to simply go to the Control Panel and then click on the option ‘Administrative Tools’. Here you will find the option Disk Cleanup. Click on it and wait for the utility tool to remove files. However, remember to set permissions for important files and strategic management assignment to help them keep safe. In case you delete an important file, you would get a drop-box asking for permission. Only when you click on “Permit All” does your file get deleted. If you feel that you cannot remember the process, just right-click on Disk Cleanup in Administrative Tools and select “Pin to Start” to make it easier.

2. Disk Cleanup via Run Dialog

Another easy way to do run Disk Cleanup is to open a run dialog and type in the direct executable command for disk cleanup. Click the Search in the Windows 10 taskbar and type “Run.” You’ll see the command appear at the top. Type in the command Cleanmgr.exe and press enter. To save time, right-click on Run command and select Pin to Start/taskbar for easier access.

3. Disk Cleanup via Explorer

You can also open Explorer and right-click on the drive that you want to clear and choose Properties. You’ll see the Disk Cleanup option on the right-hand side beside the space that shows the capacity of the drive.

4. Disk Cleanup via Start Search

At times, remembering the shortcuts can prove to be complicated. If you cannot remember the shortcuts, simply click on Start and type in disk cleanup and click on the option to run the utility on your hard drive.

5. Running the Extended Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 comes with an extended Disk Cleanup that includes several other options beyond what you get in the standard version. Initially, you may feel that the extended version is similar to the normal Disk Cleanup dialog, but that is not true. You can access the extended disk cleanup by opening a command prompt and then putting in this: cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535. This should remove the files that were not detected by the Disk Cleanup option under the system files.

Troubleshooting Disk Cleanup

If you face a problem with disk cleanup where it won’t run, then there are ways you can troubleshoot the problem yourself without having to call in a software solutions guy. Firstly, you can run a checker scan on the system files to make sure that all the files are still secured. To do so, open the command prompt by clicking on Start and typing ‘cmd’. In the prompt, type in the following command: sfc /scannow. You can also open Explorer and type in ‘%temp%’ in the address bar and manually delete the files located there.

Save both time and space on your hard drive to make room for your best series on your computer. Moreover, when you clean your drive off unwanted files, your computer operates faster. An often neglected utility, Disk Cleanup does an excellent job when it comes to cleaning out your hard drive. So delete all the third-party tools and run this free utility for a seamless experience.

Author Bio: Andy Alvin is a software engineer who acts as a business keynote speaker for several IT brands. He is also associated with the assignment problem solution brand MyAssignmenthelp.com through which he extends educational insights like to students pursuing IT. He is a gadget lover and an active blogger.