Why my external hard drive has less space than it should?

If your external hard drive has less space than it should and you want a way to fix it, here’s what I’d suggest:

1. Delete Unnecessary Files: Go through your drive and remove stuff you don’t need anymore—old downloads, duplicate files, or backups you no longer need. Just be careful not to delete anything important!
2. Empty Recycle Bin: Sometimes, deleted files are still lurking in the Recycle Bin. Empty it to free up space.
3. Use Built-in Disk Cleanup Tool:
- Connect your external drive.
- Open “This PC” or “My Computer.”
- Right-click on your external drive and select Properties.
- Click Disk Cleanup.
- Check the boxes for files you can delete (like temporary files, system files, etc.) and hit OK.

4. Move Files to Another Storage:
If you have another external drive, cloud storage, or even your internal drive with free space, move some files there to free up space on the problematic drive.
5. Compress Files:
For files you don’t use often, consider compressing them into ZIP files to save space.
6. Use Free Disk Management Tools:
There are free programs like WinDirStat that show you what’s taking up space on your drive. It’s super handy to identify the big culprits.

If external hard drive has less space than it should on Windows computer and if after doing all this you still need more space, sometimes the best free solution is just getting a bigger external drive or splitting your data across multiple drives.