Windows 10 Memory Sense – Automatic Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 has a built-in Storage Sense feature that allows you to automatically or manually delete unnecessary files to free up disk space. This system tool monitors storage to maintain optimal disk space size.

Over time, data gradually fills up disk space, leaving less and less free space on your computer’s hard drive. This process affects the system drive “C:” and other partitions on the computer. There comes a time when there is not enough disk space.

For the normal operation of the Windows operating system, there must be free space on the system partition, which usually takes 10-15% of the total disk space. This place is used to store temporary files and other data necessary for the regular operation of the OS.

If there is not enough disk space, problems in Windows begin: slow execution of commands, long program launches, and the like. This affects the productivity of the computer.

To solve this problem, you need to free up disk space on your PC. In response to these circumstances, Microsoft has developed a special feature called Windows 10 Memory Sense.

The Windows Storage Sense tool helps you free up disk space on your computer. After enabling this function in the operating system, if the space on the system partition is full, the PC will start automatic disk cleanup.

Windows 10 automatically turns on memory control when such situations occur. A message will appear in the notification area: “We have enabled Windows 10 Memory Sense.” The OS will remove unnecessary files that prevent the system from working properly due to lack of space.

If you enable the memory control function, the system will independently control this process. If you do not enable the system tool, the user has the opportunity to independently familiarize himself with the data that takes up a lot of space, he can manually delete unnecessary files.

How to enable Windows 10 Memory Sense

To access the Windows 10 Memory Sense tool, you must enter the operating system settings.

Do the following:

1. Right click on the start menu.
2. Select “Settings” from the context menu.
3. In the Windows Settings window, enter the System option.
4. Open the Memory tab.
5. In the Memory section, move the slider to the On position to enable memory monitoring features on your computer.

Memory Sense is triggered when there is little free space on the disk. As a result of the actions of the tool, enough space is freed up on the system partition, which is necessary for the optimal operation of Windows.

Setting Windows 10 Memory Sense

After enabling the function to manage the storage of information on the computer, it makes sense to configure the appropriate settings for this tool.

Entering the memory control settings:

1. Click on the “Set up storage sense or run it” link.
2. The window of the same name contains the settings of the parameters of the system tool.

In the “Start Memory Sense” option, select the appropriate option:

• When there is little disk space left.
• Daily.
• Every week.
• Every month.

In the “Temporary Files” options, by default, the item is enabled: “Delete temporary files that are not used in my applications.”

In the setting “Delete files from the recycle bin if they are there more than:” select the appropriate option:

• Never.
• 1 day.
• 14 days.
• 30 days.
• 60 days.

In the “Delete files from the Downloads folder if they have not been used for more than:” option, specify the desired frequency:

• Never.
• 1 day.
• 14 days.
• 30 days.
• 60 days.

In the Locally Available Cloud Content setting, you can choose to remove unused content from your computer that is backed up in the cloud. In the “OneDrive” section, select:

• Never.
• 1 day.
• 14 days.
• 30 days.
• 60 days.

From the “Free up space now” option, a manual cleanup is started using the options on this page. Click on the “Clear Now” button. This feature is available when memory monitoring is disabled.

View information about the computer’s system drive

To get information about the data that takes up space on the system drive “C:”, click on the “Show more categories” link.

The Memory tab will display more detailed information about the types of files available on the system drive.

Click on the appropriate category for more detailed information about how much space a particular type of file takes up on your computer’s drive.

The Apps & Features category displays information about the storage space occupied by programs. From here, you can remove installed programs: highlight the appropriate program, and then remove the application you don’t need.

The Temporary Files window shows files that you can now delete from your computer. Some of the items in the list are selected by default, the user sets the cleaning of other locations on his own. After selecting the desired items, click on the “Delete Files” button.

Temporary files can be deleted without turning on the storage sense function at any convenient time.

Get information about memory usage on other drives

If your PC has other partitions or hard drives, you can find information about disk space usage.

Click on the “View memory usage levels on other drives” link. The window displays information about the local storage of this computer.

Click on the appropriate drive to see storage usage by data type.

New Content Storage Changes

If your computer has problems storing new files, the Windows 10 operating system has options for transferring new data to other partitions (disks).

On the Storage tab, in the Other storage options section, click the Change where new content is saved link.

In the window that opens, select the locations where new applications, documents, music, photos and videos, movies and TV shows, maps will be saved.

From the “More storage options” option, there is access to other system tools:

• Manage Storage Spaces – Create a new pool and storage space.
• Optimize disks – defragment disks available on this computer.

How to disable Windows 10 Memory Sense

At any time, the user has the ability to disable the “Memory Sense” feature in the Windows 10 operating system.

Go through the following steps:

1. Enter the “Start” menu, click on “Settings”.
2. In the Windows Settings window, go to the “System” section.
3. In the system settings, go to the “Memory” tab.
4. In the “Memory” section, move the slider to the “Disabled” position.

Article Conclusions

While using the computer, a large number of files accumulate on the system disk and on other sections of the PC. If data takes up a lot of space on the system drive, this negatively affects the operation of the operating system: Windows performance decreases, and the process of performing operations slows down.

To solve this problem, you can use the built-in Windows 10 Memory Sense feature. The OS will automatically free up as much disk space as is sufficient to keep Windows running optimally.