Computer storage is getting better and (digitally) bigger. Once upon a time, a typical consumer-grade computer hard drive held only 40MB of data, per Pingdom. Now, we have computers that can save up to a terabyte of data depending on a customer's preferences.
Humanity has also come to a point where we can save our data on a cloud server, digitally storing them for future use.
However, there will always come a time when even a terabyte isn't enough to hold all your files and programs.
Here are some tips to keep in mind to help you free up your computer's storage:
Uninstall Unnecessary Apps And Programs
Whether it's a game you haven't played in a long time or a pre-installed program you didn't know you had, they both have to go for the sake of freeing up space for you to use on other things.
To easily find these programs and help you uninstall them from a single place, Windows advises users to open their computers' Program and Features window by clicking on the Start button, followed by clicking on Programs, and then finally, Programs and Features.
The computer will then list all installed programs and applications in it, allowing you to choose which ones you wish to uninstall easily.
Use The Disk Cleanup Tool
Uninstalling applications and programs are all well and good, but some things take up space in a computer that can't be easily seen, such as unnecessary operating system files.
Windows has a tool called "Disk Cleanup" that removes these files from your computer, freeing up space for users to use, per HP.
To find and use this tool, search "Disk Cleanup" using the search bar on the lower left corner of the screen and select it. Next, Choose "Drive: C" to execute the disk cleanup process, which may take longer than several minutes if it's only done for the first time.
Remove Temporary Files
Unfortunately, the Disk Cleanup tool can't remove files like cookies, internet history, and caches saved by external apps like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, per Wide Angle Software and Avast.
Luckily, most modern web browsers come with their own tools to remove such files from a computer to free up space. To do so in Google Chrome, open the settings menu and choose More Tools, followed by Clear Browsing Data. A new tab will then appear asking which files should be removed from the computer. Clicking on Clear Data will remove them from a computer as soon as the process ends.
However, to get a thorough clean, users may want to download a third-party application like CCleaner to remove them and other similar files from their computers.
Store Data on External Storage Or In The Cloud
If you are unwilling to remove a particular set of files from your computer permanently, you may want to look into buying yourself an external hard drive or Cloud storage.
External hard drives come in all shapes and sizes, as well as their storage capacity. This option is the more physical of the two, and as such, its contents can be transferred from one computer to another offline if needed.
The other option, investing in Cloud Storage, is the intangible of the two. Using this storage option lets you keep your files while freeing up space. However, accessing the files stored in them requires an internet connection, which could be a hassle if your internet connection's spotty.
Empty The Recycle Bin
Last and definitely not least is emptying your recycle bin. Users tend to forget (or are unaware) that a recycle bin acts much like a trash can.
The recycle bin stores deleted files so users can find and restore them if needed. However, like a trash can, they won't delete the files stored in them right away unless you take (digitally) take them out by clicking on the Empty Recycle Bin option when it is opened.
Emptying the recycle bin can free up a varying amount of space depending on how much is in it.
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