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Manbsecak's avatar
Manbsecak
Tin Contributor
Jul 31, 2026

Storage Running Out of Space on Windows 10

My Windows 10 system drive is almost completely full, showing less than 5 GB of free space out of 256 GB, even though I have already emptied the Recycle Bin and uninstalled a few large programs. I ha...
NathanReed's avatar
NathanReed
Brass Contributor
Aug 05, 2026

With less than 5 GB free, move large personal files off C: first so Windows has room to work. Then open Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files and review the categories before removing anything. Also run Disk Cleanup as administrator, choose Clean up system files, and look for Windows Update Cleanup, System error memory dump files, and Previous Windows installation(s). Only remove the previous installation if there is no need to roll back Windows.

To find what is actually growing, scan C: with a disk-usage tool such as TreeSize Free or WinDirStat. Use it to identify large folders, not to delete items inside Windows folders by hand. Check System Volume Information through Create a restore point > Configure, since restore points can occupy many gigabytes. If no recent crash is being investigated, memory-dump files can be removed through Disk Cleanup.

An Administrator Command Prompt can also run this safe cleanup:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Do not manually delete WinSxS, SoftwareDistribution, the page file, or other Windows folders. After cleanup, keep roughly 15-20 GB free if possible. If space begins disappearing again, compare a new disk-usage scan with the first one to identify the folder that is growing.