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How to Delete Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 & 10? Detailed Guide

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Written By Chirag Arora
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh  
Published On November 22nd, 2024
Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading

Overview: It is crucial to delete unnecessary files for maintaining overall performance of your system. It ensures you have enough storage space on your pc in order to store important files. In this blog, you will go through how to delete unnecessary files in Windows 11 or 10 using various methods to ensure free space by removing junk files on your computer and improving performance effectively.

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Reasons to Delete Unnecessary Files in Windows 10 & 11

To avoid system performance issues, it is necessary to delete unwanted files in order to have smooth operation. When your storage gets full, it creates problems like the system may get slower or any other system problem. Read the below reasons to delete unwanted files from your system:

  1. Improve Space Utility: When we Remove junk files it can significantly increase storage space and provide space for all your important files.
  2. Boost System Performance: When you delete unwanted files you can create space and boost your system overall performance.
  3. Prevent Malware Errors: In junk files, most of the time identities are hidden such as malware. So it is recommended to remove these unused files to eliminate the substantial threats.

How to Remove Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 & 10?

It is important to delete Unnecessary files for maintaining overall system performance and making it fast. Overtime, your computer tends to store or download unknown temporary files, cache, and other junk files that can slow down the performance which takes up valuable storage space. So, when you regularly clean up your unwanted files you can keep your system fast, free up disk space, and increase speed. Follow the below steps to remove unnecessary files from your system in an efficient manner:

#1. Delete Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 or 10 – Run Disk Cleanup

1. Press ‘Windows + S’ and type Disk Cleanup in the search box and click on the result to open the app.

open disk cleanup
2. Choose the drive which you want to clean up like your C drive.

drive selection for disk cleanup

3. Select the files which you want to clean up and click OK > Delete Files.

select the Clean up system files option

#2. Delete Unnecessary Files in 10 or 11 – By Deleting Temporary Files

On your system, there would be many duplicate files known as junk files, to free the disk up one should delete temporary files. To do this, follow the steps given below:

1. Press ‘Windows + R’ and type ‘temp’ and hit ‘OK’.

type %temp% and enter

2. Now, select all the files which are in the temp folder and delete them.

3. Another way of doing this is by navigating to “ C:\Windows\Temp” and repeating the same process to clear temp files.

location of temp folder

#3. Remove Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 or 10 – Emptying Recycle Bin

The Recycle bin is like the temporary storage for deleted files. Whenever you delete a file it automatically goes into the recycle bin section, so there is an option to restore that file again to the same location where it was earlier whenever required.

To delete them from the recycle bin in order to permanently delete those junk files, You can go with the following steps:

1. Right-click on recycle Bin on the desktop and select Empty recycle Bin.

right click on recycle bin

2. Click on yes to confirm the deletion of all files.

#4. Delete Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 & 10 – Using Storage Sense

You will find the feature called Storage Sense that allows automatically deleting files, you will not need temporary files and any content in the recycle bin. To do this, follow the steps:

1. Press ‘ Windows + I’ to open the settings.

open settings by pressing windows +I

2. Go to “System” > “Storage”.

3. Then turn on the storage sense to let automatically delete files and empty the recycle bin.

turn on storage sense

4. Next, you can click on temporary files on the storage page and check the items which you want to delete.

5. Then, tap on Remove Files or Run Storage Sense.

storage page

#5. Remove Unnecessary Files in Windows 10 or 11 – Clearing Browser Cache

It is an effective way to remove unwanted files. With time, browsers temporarily files and cookies which ultimately slow down your browser experience. Cleaning up the cache daily can speed up your browser. To do this, follow the given steps:

  1. Firstly, open a web browser.
  2. Go to the settings from the top right corner.
  3. Find history for removing browser data.
  4. Now, select the cache and cookies and delete them.

Drawbacks of Using Manual Methods

There could be various limitations of deleting unnecessary files in Windows 11 or 10 using manual methods. Let’s know all of them in below steps:

  1. It can be a lengthy process as you have to search manually for deleting files especially when you don’t know where your temporary files are stored.
  2. You may accidently delete important files, if you don’t have the proper knowledge.
  3. Using manual methods you can miss some hidden files that are taking up space, and slow performance improvements.
  4. Daily manual clean ups require ongoing efforts to maintain system performance.

Professional Solution to Permanently Remove Unnecessary Files in Windows 11 & 10

If you are wanting to permanently delete unused files in Windows 10 and 11 without any errors, you can use SysTools File Wiping Software which is designed in such a way that it can securely delete all your unnecessary or junk files with minimal amount of time. It offers many advanced features to boost your system performance and continue your work without any complications.

Features of Using this Tool

  1. It removes all data residue (data remanence) or classified data spills.
  2. Delete caches, logs, temporary files and other application traces.
  3. Also, generate data destruction reports after the audit trail is completed.
  4. It has compliance with 20+ global standards including NIST, DoD, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, ISO and more.
  5. It can wipe all the data from multiple storage devices such as HDD, SSD, NVMe, SATA, PATA etc.

Final Outcome

Deleting unnecessary files in Windows 11 & 10 on a daily basis helps you maintain the optimal performance, increase storage space, and increase overall system performance. By following all these methods you can manage system storage and ensure that your PC runs smoothly and  efficiently.

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By Chirag Arora

Having around 9+ years of experience in technical writing. Knows about the core technical areas. Also, provides easy and reliable solutions to resolve difficulties faced by users while working with different platforms.