How to free up space on my windows xp

It tells me I need to delete unused files from the hard drive. I do not have any new hardware or files added, just the updating files for security and for the usual updates.

Any help would be appreciated. Mike I want to add another tool I recently tested:. It is very easy to use, light on resources and very fast. With the default settings recommended settings it is safe to use and will not harm your System. Mfrakes Thanks for your suggestion. Wisecleaner kicks ass! Tina Max,. If you have less than say GB, you need to free up space by removing files or data. You can start by clearing temporary files, such as browser cache or your Windows recycle bin.

Download Article Explore this Article Steps. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: May 16, Remove any unwanted programs Click Start and select Control Panel. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Malware, viruses etc can not only harm your computer, but also take up lots of space.

You can rid of them by downloading antivirus virus software e. Or you can do a scan without downloading anything by clicking Start, Run, Typing in "CMD" without the quotations and running through the scan process.

Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Defragmenting your hard drive is good thing to do to. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. This can cause undesired results. You Might Also Like How to. Select a program, and then click Uninstall.

Some programs include the option to change or repair the program in addition to uninstalling it, but many simply offer the option to uninstall. To change a program, click Change or Repair.

If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Note: If the program you want to uninstall isn't listed, it might not have been written for this version of Windows.

To uninstall the program, check the information that came with the program. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings. If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings. Select Search and apps , and then select App sizes to see how much space each app is taking on the local drive.

Once you locate an app you want to uninstall, select the app, and then select Uninstall. Note: This will only uninstall Store apps from your user account. If you have photos, music, videos, or other files that you want to keep but don't necessarily want on your PC, consider saving them to removable media, such as an external drive, USB drive, DVD, or cloud storage. You'll still be able to view those files as long as your PC is connected to the removable media or cloud storage, but they won't take up space on your PC.

Open This PC by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search , entering This PC in the search box, and then tapping or clicking This PC. In the Search This PC box in the upper-right, enter size:huge. Select the View menu, select Sort by , and then select Size. The largest files display at the top.

Once you locate a file you want to delete, press and hold or right-click the file and then select Delete. Warning: Deleting files from the WinSxS folder or deleting the entire WinSxS folder might severely damage your system and make it impossible to restart or update your PC.

It stores the Windows Component Store files, which are used to support functions needed to customize and update Windows. You can use the Task Scheduler to reduce the size of this folder. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search. Enter Control Panel in the search box, and then select Control Panel. Files that are available offline take up more space on your PC.

To free up space, you can make some files or folders online-only. If you have Access all files offline turned on, you need to first turn off this setting before you can make files online-only.

If you have pending uploads to OneDrive, you need to wait until they are completed before making files online-only. Select Make online-only. To make your entire OneDrive online-only, swipe in from the right edge of the screen or, if you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, and move the mouse pointer up , select Settings , select Options , and then select Make all files online-only.

Open File Explorer by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search , entering File Explorer in the search box, and then tapping or clicking File Explorer. Press and hold or right-click the file or folder, and then choose Make available online-only. To make your entire OneDrive online-only, press and hold or right-click OneDrive, and then choose Make available online-only.

Before you move your OneDrive files, you should make sure the removable drive has enough space to store your files. Follow these steps:. Select Properties , and then look at the amount next to Size on disk.

First, you'll need to create a folder on the removable drive for your OneDrive files. After you create the folder, follow these steps to move your files:.