Disk Cleanup allows users to remove files that are no longer needed or that can be safely deleted. Removing unnecessary files, including temporary files, helps speed up and improve the performance of the hard drive and computer. Using Disk Cleanup at least once a month is an excellent maintenance task and frequency.
How to open Microsoft Disk Cleanup
For Windows 10 and Windows 8
Press Windows key+X to open the Power User Task Menu.
In the menu, tap or click the Run option.
In the Run text field, type cleanmgr and press Enter.
Disk cleanup in Windows 10
To delete temporary files:
In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup from the list of results.
Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select OK.
Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
Select OK.
If you need to free up more space, you can also delete system files:
In Disk Cleanup, select Clean up system files.
Select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
Select OK.
Run Disk Cleanup in Windows 8 or 8.1
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. Then, click Delete files
To delete system files that are no longer needed on your computer, click Clean up system files.
Note: Shadow copies and restore points (except the last ones) can be deleted by going to the More options tab > Click Cleanup.