Clean Up Storage & Speed Up Windows 11 in 5 Minutes!, by My Computer Works on YouTube. 5 min 37 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 37 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 6
What you need
Steps
Open Settings, go to System, then Storage. Wait for the scan to finish and read the list of categories to see which ones take the most space.
Install SpaceMonger and scan your C: drive. The treemap shows large folders as big blocks, so you can spot files Windows does not report clearly.
Open your Downloads folder and sort by size. Delete old installers and duplicates, and move anything you want to keep into Documents or an external drive.
Type Disk Cleanup in the Start menu and run it on your C: drive. Tick Temporary files, Recycle Bin and Delivery Optimization, then click Clean up system files for the larger set.
Go to Settings, System, Storage, Storage Sense. Turn it on, set it to run weekly, and choose how long to keep Recycle Bin and Downloads items before they are removed.
Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps and sort by size. Uninstall games, toolbars and preinstalled apps you never use, then restart your PC.
Tips and common mistakes
Check what is inside a large folder before deleting it, since some system folders look big but are needed.
Set Storage Sense to clean the Recycle Bin automatically, but keep the Downloads cleanup off or long if you save work files there.
Emptying space does not make a slow PC fast on its own, so also turn off startup apps you do not need.
Never delete files from Program Files or Windows folders to free space, as this can break the system.
Questions
Is it safe to delete everything in the Downloads folder?
Most of it is old installers you can download again, but check for work documents and photos first. Move anything you want to keep before clearing the rest.
How much free space should I keep on my drive?
Aim to keep at least 10 to 15 percent of the drive free. Windows needs room for updates and temporary files.
Will cleaning up storage make Windows 11 faster?
It helps when the drive is nearly full, because Windows slows down without free space. A full cleanup plus fewer startup apps gives the biggest gain.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
