How to see what is taking up a lot of disk space – 7 ways

In this article, we will consider the question of what is taking up disk space on a computer, how to find out what is taking up disk space. Many users have encountered situations when they lose space on the “C” drive or on other partitions (disks), if any, on the PC.

With active use of the computer, it is easy to notice that free space on disks (partitions) becomes less and less. To solve this problem, the user needs to perform certain actions.

Before you start freeing disk space, you first need to look at what is taking up disk space. You need to figure out why the space on the “C” drive is taken.

Too Much Disk Space Used: Causes of This Situation

Most often, users are faced with a lack of space on the system drive “C:”. We need to find out what is taking up disk space in order to decide what to do with it next.

In the Windows operating system, the following data can take up a lot of disk space:

• Temporary files and other digital junk.
• Browser cache.
• System restore points.
• Duplicate files.
• Installed software.

In addition to the above, on many computers a significant place is occupied by various user data: photos, movies, music, documents, and the like.

To solve some of the problems with low disk space on your PC, follow these recommendations:

• Delete Windows temporary files .
• Clear your browser cache .
• Set the optimal size for recovery points.
• Remove duplicate files.
• Remove unnecessary programs.
• Transfer part of the data to other computer disks or to external storage media.

These steps will not solve all problems with the lack of space on the computer’s hard drive, but they will help to slightly reduce the space occupied by unnecessary data.

In most cases, the largest volume is occupied by user data. Users forget about the many files and folders on the computer that were created at different times, and a lot of data is often stored there. It is necessary to deal with user data and put things in order in storing information.

Due to the lack of free space in the computer’s memory, the device starts to slow down and work more slowly. This causes discomfort to the user. In addition, there is no place to store new data on the PC.

Before you begin to solve the problem, you need to get information about what is taking up space on the C drive or on other drives on the computer. Manually sorting through files and folders is irrational: this process takes a lot of time. To find out what is taking up disk space, you need to use the help of third-party software or the built-in Windows 10 tool.

How to view disk space in Windows 10

If you run out of disk space with Windows 10, the user can get detailed information directly from the system settings. The OS has a built-in memory monitoring function that displays information about the types of data stored on the system and other disks of the computer.

Do the following:

1. Press the “Win” + “I” keys.
2. In the Windows Settings window, open the System section.
3. Go to the “Memory” tab.
4. The window will display the amount of space occupied by various data on the system drive “C”. For more information, click on the “Show more categories” link.
5. The window displays information about how memory is being used and how you can free up disk space. The information is presented in several categories.

In Windows settings, you can get information about other drives on your computer.

Thanks to this information, you can understand problem areas in storing information, as well as delete unnecessary data from your computer.

If this information is not enough for you, or you are using Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 operating systems, use the services of third-party software.

How to see what is taking up disk space in WinDirStat

The free program WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics) is designed to obtain information about the amount of space occupied on the computer’s disks. The program will analyze the disk space occupied, and then show detailed statistical information.

In addition to the usual, there is a portable (portable) version of the application. The Russian interface language is supported.

Main features of WinDirStat:

• The analyzer of the occupied space on all disks of the computer.
• Colored representation of file type extensions.
• Display directory structure and folder contents.
• Disk and folder cleanup.

Click on the colored box for information about a specific file.

This site has a detailed article about the use of this application.

View disk space usage in Files Inspector

In the free Files Inspector program, the user can see what is taking up a lot of disk space and free the HDD from unnecessary data. The program works in Russian, it is developed by a well-known manufacturer: Chemtable Software.

The application has a paid version of Files Inspector Pro, which has the function of photo compression without loss of quality. This allows you to free up to 10% of the space occupied by images.

The Files Inspector program has the following features:

• Express analysis of files on computer disks.
• Advanced analyzer.
• Removing unnecessary files and folders.
• Removing unnecessary programs.

Immediately after launch, the program analyzes the entire disk space of the computer, and then displays the collected information. If you have large disks, the initial data collection process takes some time.

The program shows the amount of space occupied by disks and file types. For more detailed information, you need to click on the corresponding drive or file type in the main application window.

It is possible to delete unnecessary data: files or folders from the computer directly from the application window. Deleted files are placed in the trash to be able to recover data due to erroneous actions.

How to show used disk space in WizTree

In the free WizTree program, you will find out which files are taking up disk space. The program works in Russian, there is a portable (portable) version of the application.

Disk analysis for used space is launched in WizTree as follows:

1. Select a drive to scan.
2. Click on the “Analyze” button.

In the “Tree” tab, in the right part of the window, the WizTree program will display the disk space occupied by folders, and in the left part of the application window there is information about file extensions. At the bottom of the window is a map with a graphical representation of individual objects, colored in different colors by file type.

Scanner – information about the occupied space on PC disks

The free Scanner program will show you what is taking up space on your computer’s disk in a visual form. The application does not require installation on a computer, it runs from a folder, it has a tiny size, and the interface is in Russian.

After the analysis of computer disks is completed, multi-colored charts with information about the occupied space will be displayed in the Scanner program window.

In the application window, you can get information on individual files and folders, and, if necessary, delete unnecessary data.

Free Disk Usage Analyzer by Extensoft – information about disk space occupied

The free Free Disk Usage Analyzer application shows data on how much space folders and files take up on your computer’s hard drive partitions and on other connected devices. The program works in Russian.

Features of Free Disk Usage Analyzer:

• Displays the largest files on the selected drive or folder.
• Show largest folders by folder size, average file size, or number of files.
• Presentation of information visually in the form of graphs.
• There is a function to sort by displayed columns.

From the program window, you can launch the Disk Cleanup system tool. In the Free Disk Analyzer by Extensoft settings, select a filter to search for a specific type of files: pictures and photos, music, videos, documents, archives, Windows files, and more.

View used disk space in TreeSize Free

The free program TreeSize Free shows you how much disk space it takes. The application supports the Russian interface language. From the official site, you can download the installation version or a portable one in a ZIP archive.

In addition to the free version of the application, there are paid versions: TreeSize Personal and TreeSize Professional, with advanced functionality.

After launching TreeSize Free, you need to select a directory and then start scanning. After the collection of information is completed, the application window will display the data available on the computer.

The TreeSize Free window displays useful information: the total size and size of the occupied space, the number of files and folders, the percentage occupied by data.

In the settings there is a choice of the type of charts.

How to see the largest files on a disk

Using the built-in Windows PowerShell tool, the user can get information about the largest files that are located on a specific hard drive partition.

Do the following:

1. Launch Windows PowerShell .
2. In the shell window, enter the command:

Get-ChildItem d:\ -r -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |sort -descending -property length | select -first 20 name, DirectoryName, @{Name="Mb";Expression={[Math]::round($_.length / 1MB, 2)}} | Out GridView

Some command options:

d:\ - drive selection.

-first 20 name - select the first 20 files, you can set your number.

Out-GridView - the table is displayed in a separate window. If you want to display files in a PowerShell window, do not use this option.

3. Wait for the command to complete. The window that opens will display the largest files by size.

Article Conclusions

Some of the users are faced with a lack of space on the computer’s hard drive. This problem needs to be solved, but how to understand what is taking up disk space in order to act correctly. You can get an answer to this question using specialized software or built-in functions of the windows 10 operating system.