Easy Ways to Get More Hard Drive Space

Hard drives are one of the most important components of a computer. The central purpose of a hard drive is to store information, such as documents and programs. Many people, especially those with older computers, tend to run out of hard drive space. Once you are out of space it is impossible to save anything unless you delete something else first. What many people don't know is that there are easy ways to free up some space.

Delete temporary files.

Temporary files take up more space than most computer users realize. Anytime you use the internet your computer automatically saves some files. The easiest way to clear this up is through 3^rd party software such as Ccleaner. Using the "Cleaner" application you can select file types to be deleted or left alone. Always make sure you aren't deleting anything important because it is nearly impossible to get these files back.

Run Disk Cleanup.

Disk Cleanup is a feature built into Microsoft, made specifically to free up hard drive space. To access Disk Cleanup: Open "My Computer" and right click on your hard drive. Select properties, then click on the "Disk Cleanup" button. This will open Disk Cleanup, which will automatically analyze your system. After the analysis is complete you can choose from many different files to be deleted. Again, it is up to you what you delete, but always make sure it isn't something you need. Probably the most effective way to cleanup files through Disk Cleanup is to delete all but the newest system restore point. This will usually free up a significant amount of hard drive space.

Uninstall programs.

Obviously if you are running out of space you have too much stuff. How often do you actually use most of your programs? Open the "Add/Remove Programs" applet from the Control Panel. In the upper right corner you can select to sort by "Frequency of use." This will show you which programs you rarely use, and can probably uninstall without needing. Uninstall as many as you feel you don't need and you should gain some substantial storage space.

Combine all three of the methods and you should have plenty of space for all your files now. It is a good idea to repeat each of these steps every month or two, just to keep some free space. As always, if you mess something up or something goes wrong feel free to just restore to a previous restore point and you will be back to normal again!