Delete or move some Win10 stuff

jeb1000 · 19 Feb 2016

I have a new laptop with C: drive a 128 SSD and D: a 1T.

I have upgraded to Win10 which is on the SSD. I also put Armored Warfare on that drive as well as Bitdefender. The drive had some stuff from Acer and I have deleted or moved some of it - some still left.

I would now like to download FireFox and put that on the SSD as well but only have 17GB left.

There is, of course, a ton of stuff in Win10 that I don't need or don't need on the SSD.

Is there any place I can go to find just what I can delete without causing a problem - Keeping in mind that I did delete some wrong things and had to re-download and start all over.

Also, what can I move to the D: 1T drive and how do I do so so that they still work?

Tks for the help - appreciate it. - jb

BurrWalnut · 19 Feb 2016

Jeb

Here is my on-going list of things to do to reclaim disk space. Most of them are straightforward but if you feel apprehensive or unsure about running something, just ignore it. Here they are:

1. It may sound strange to install a program when you’re trying to save disk space, but download WinDirStat, which shows where disk space is being used, including a nice graphical display. Just let the mouse pointer hover over the coloured areas to identify different file types and large ‘chunks’ of used space. Download it here http://windirstat.info/ Uninstall the program after you’ve finished with it.

2. Reduce the amount of space used by system restore by pressing the Windows Logo key+X (or right-click or press and hold the bottom left corner) and choosing System > System Protection (in the left pane) > System Protection Tab > Configure and change the disk space allocation.

Also, as you have a separate hard drive, more space can be released by moving the page file to it via the Windows Logo key+X (or right-click or press and hold the bottom left corner) and choose System > Advanced system settings (in the left pane) > Advanced Tab > Settings alongside Performance > Advanced Tab, then Change alongside Virtual memory, remove the tick from Automatically manage ...... and select your drive and disk space size.

3. Delete any temporary files that may be left over from CD and DVD burning. Navigate to the hidden folder C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Burn\Temporary Burn Folder and delete all the files.

4. Remove any programs that are no longer used, via the Windows Logo key+X (or right-click or press and hold the bottom left corner) and choose Programs and Features. You may also want to turn some Windows features off (in the left pane).

5. Open Computer (This PC) > Double-click or double-tap the 'C' drive > Manage > Cleanup > Cleanup system files (at the bottom). After the system checks for files that can be removed, tick any other files you want to cleanup and press OK > Delete files.

6. Now cleanup two other folders by opening a Run window (Windows Logo key+R), type temp and press Enter. Delete everything that appears (there may be a few files that cannot be deleted, just skip them). Repeat the command for the other folder using %temp% in place of temp.

7. If you don't use Hibernation you can save almost the equivalent in hard drive space as the amount of RAM that is installed by turning it off. In a Run window (Windows Logo key+R), type powercfg.exe -h off (note the two spaces) and press Enter. To turn it back on type powercfg.exe -h on and press Enter.

8. Examine the contents of the Recycle Bin and delete any unwanted items. Also, reduce the space used by the Recycle Bin by right-click or press and holding the Bin, clicking Properties > Custom Size and amend as necessary.

9. Check if you have unwanted language packs installed. Press the Windows Logo key+X (or right-click or press and hold the bottom left corner) and choose Command Prompt (Admin). Type LPKSETUP /U (the capitals for clarity only) and press Enter.

10. Remove any other files that you may have overlooked in the past, e.g. old videos, also look in the Downloads folder for unwanted items.

bobkn · 19 Feb 2016

This is explicitly covered in post #2, but:

If you upgraded an older OS to Windows 10, a windows.old folder was created. That contains the information needed to revert to the older OS, if you should need to. windows.old tends to be large. If you don't need to revert, you can get rid of it using the Disk Cleanup utility.

jeb1000 · 19 Feb 2016

Tks guys - this is a new Acer V 15 Nitro with all the goodies on it so nothing old to delete.

It came with Win 8.1 and I upgraded to Win 10. The only other things on it at this time are Bitdefender, a game, Nvidia folder, a few odd stuff which I am moving to D: and the Nvidia folder for the video card.

I was not sure if the anti-virus should be on the SSD or not - If it will work just as well on D: I will put it there.

I will go through your steps and see how it comes out.

Again, tks - I appreciate it. - jb

Edit - If I delete the Windows.old folder will Microsoft still be able to see that this computer came with Win 8.1 and I upgraded to Win 10 if I should ever need that info in the future?

whs · 19 Feb 2016

The only function the Windows.old folder has is to let you go easily back to your old OS. But I think that works only for 30 days - after that the activation of the old system will no more work.

Work on that list that Burr posted. That is pretty comprehensive.

b1rd · 19 Feb 2016

Hi jeb1000,

The only other things on it at this time are Bitdefender, a game, Nvidia folder, a few odd stuff which I am moving to D: and the Nvidia folder for the video card.

You and I have similar set ups with the way we have our drives set up, but my SSD is a bit smaller than yours (110 GB). I, however, have roughly 67 programs installed and I'm still showing over 74 GB of free space.

So, it certainly seems as if something is taking up a good amount of room. I guess it's just a matter of what & where?

b1rd

jeb1000 · 20 Feb 2016

Tks all - good info and I will get started on it tomorrow.

jeb1000 · 20 Feb 2016

In older versions of Win I seem to remember that you had the size of folders as well as each item in that folder. In Win 10, the only size I can get is for files which does nothing to help me see what is taking up so much room on the SSD.

Is there a way to see size of the folders with everything in them?

b1rd · 20 Feb 2016

Is there a way to see size of the folders with everything in them?

If you just want to check the size, then you can right-click the folders and check the 'Properties'.

Also, there are other programs that can show you where the room is being used up, like BurrWalnut posted. If I recall, there are even some that will tell you which files type are where.

b1rd

PiKo · 21 Feb 2016

Check your back-up settings. If wrongly set-up, it might take a lot of disk space.