Three Ways to Save PC Storage Space

Now is the time for SSD and eMMC eMMC, two choices of PC storage space that are often used in many modern laptop products. An SSD can have a capacity of up to 256GB, with capacities as low as 32GB. Of course today’s capacity of that size is not enough.

Often we have a penchant for saving photos, installing certain applications, or storing other important files. In an age when the installed SSD capacity may not be as much as the HDD, how can we save more storage space?

Of course we don’t need to buy a new SSD. Instead of doing that, all that needs to be done is to optimize the SSD or eMMC space that we have. This means that we need to get rid of unnecessary junk, as well as remove games and apps that we don’t need or rarely use.

Well, there are at least three steps you can take to optimize the internal storage space on your computer. The first is to take advantage of Disk Cleanup.

Cleaning programs such as Disk Cleanup are readily available and can be found easily in the Windows 10 OS you are operating on. The operating steps are also fairly simple, as written below:

#1. Open the Disk Cleanup program by using the ‘Search’ box. Once the program is found, highlight and click on the application, then select drive ‘C’.

#2. Then click the ‘OK’ option.

#3. Put a check mark on all types of files that you want to delete. Computer owners can delete certain types of files when they are not needed. When selecting files to delete, pay attention to file types such as ‘temporary files’ which are often garbage collections that take up more space. After ticking the type of file you want to delete, click ‘Ok’.

#3. A window will open, where you will see two options. Select the ‘Delete Files’ option to confirm deletion.

#4. Wait until Windows 10 finishes the cleaning process. Then restart Disk Cleanup. Select drive C, then click the ‘Clean up system files’ section. Select drive C one more time. A window will open, where you can tick certain file types. After that click ‘Ok’.

Disabling the Hibernation option

Generally, every type of laptop provides a ‘Hibernation’ option, a condition in which the laptop will store the contents of RAM in the internal storage. In order for the ‘Hibernation’ system to work properly, the system must save a system named ‘hiberfil.sys’ which takes up several gigabytes of laptop storage. So if you can live without the Hibernation option, the system can be wiped to save a few gigs. The method?

#1. Open a Command Prompt program as an administrator. You can find it by typing ‘cmd’ in the ‘search’ box. Right-click in the search results and select the option ‘Run as administrator.’

#2. A Command Prompt box will open. Type the command ‘powercfg[spasi]/hibernate[spasi]off, then press Enter.

Looking for large files, but not important to save

The computer you are using may be hiding large files deep in its internal storage. They don’t need you, but they basically take up a lot of storage space. Those files include ‘log files’, ‘temporary files’ or ‘installation apps’ that come from programs you have installed inside.

Here’s how to find it.

#1. Open File Explorer. Sort the ‘Select This PC’ option in the left pane. That option is to perform a search on all parts of the computer you are using. But choose drive C if you want to clean that part only.

#2. Type ‘size:’ in the search box and select the ‘Gigantic’ option. It may take a few minutes for File Explorer to finish searching across the selected drives.

#3. Once done with the process, select ‘details’. This option is on the View tab. Click the ‘Size column’ section to narrow the file options from ‘largest to smallest’.

#4. A window will open. After that you will be shown a list of files that can be deleted when you don’t need them. Here you have to be careful not to delete important data. Program installers as well as ISO files and temp files are usually the kind of rice you can get rid of easily.

#5. When you’re done with step three, switch to the ‘Download’ folder (usually visible in the ‘Quick Access’ toolbar. Delete one by one the files in it, which you don’t need.