UTILITIES

Using Windows 10’s Disk Cleanup utility, you can get rid of unwanted files and free up your
storage space. The tool finds unnecessary files on its own, so you don’t have to manually locate
any items. We’ll show you how to use this useful tool on your PC.

Generally, the tool only gives you options to delete files that don’t affect your system. However,
you can review the files before they’re deleted to make sure they aren’t important, and we’ll give
you some advice on making that judgment.

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Remove Unwanted Files on Windows Using Disk

Cleanup
To begin cleaning your PC, launch the Disk Cleanup tool. You can do that by opening the
“Start” menu, searching for “Disk Cleanup”, and selecting the app in the search results.

Disk Cleanup will prompt you to choose the drive to clean. Here, since most of your temporary
(unwanted) files are stored on the Windows installation drive, select that drive. You’re free to
choose another drive if you want.

Then, select “OK.”

Wait for the tool to scan your drive and find unwanted files. This can take some time depending
on your drive’s size.

Once the scan is finished, you’ll see the file types that you can remove from your PC. Click each
file type and you’ll see more details about it.

Note that the tool may recommend deleting “Windows ESD Installation Files,” but you
shouldn’t delete them. This is because Windows uses those files to help you reset your PC.

Here’s what each file type means in Disk Cleanup:

 Downloaded Program Files: These are temporary ActiveX and Java applet files that
were downloaded to let you view your content. You can safely delete these files.
 Temporary Internet Files: These are the cache files for Microsoft Edge and Internet
Explorer. You can delete these files without any issues. Note that this won’t delete
your Chrome or Firefox cache.
 Windows Error Reports and Feedback: These are various Windows error reports
and feedback generated on your system. You can delete them.
 Delivery Optimization Files: These files are used to upload Windows Updates to
other PCs. Feel free to remove these files.
 Recycle Bin: Choosing this option deletes the files currently sitting in Recycle Bin.
 Temporary Files: This option deletes your apps’ various temporary files. It only
removes the files that haven’t been used recently.
 Thumbnails: These are the thumbnails of your various file types. You can delete
them and Windows will recreate them when you open your folders.

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When you’ve chosen the items to delete, at the bottom of the Disk Cleanup window, choose
“OK.”
Choose “Delete Files” in the prompt and the tool will start removing your files. You’ll then be
all set.

Enjoy a clean Windows PC!

Defragmentation, also known as “defrag” or “defragging”, is the process of

reorganizing the data stored on the hard drive so that related pieces of data are put
back together, all lined up in a continuous fashion.

You could say that defragmentation is like cleaning house for your Servers or
PCs, it picks up all of the pieces of data that are spread across your hard drive and
puts them back together again, nice and neat and clean.

Defragmentation increases computer performance.

How to defragment your Windows 8/7/Vista/10 PC

Method 1: Allow Disk Defragmenter to run automatically

Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista , and Widows 10 are built with an updated
®

Disk Defragmenter utility, which automatically performs periodic defrags. Unless you
need to perform a manual defrag, you don’t have to do anything – just let it run!

If you want to change when Disk Defragmenter runs, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start menu or Windows button

2. Select Control Panel, then System and Security
3. Under Administrative Tools, click Defragment your hard drive
4. Click Configure schedule…
5. Select the schedule you want. Pick a date and time that the computer will be on
but no one is typically using it. The computer can be asleep.
6. Click OK

Method 2: Manually run Disk Defragmenter

To run Disk Defragmenter manually, it’s usually best to analyze the disk first.

1. Click the Start menu or Windows button

2. Select Control Panel, then System and Security
3. Under Administrative Tools, click Defragment your hard drive
4. Select Analyze disk. The report you get will indicate if you need to defrag your
disk.
5. If you need to manually defrag your disk, click Defragment disk
After defragmenting, you should experience a performance increase from your
computer.

To enable System Restore on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Create a restore point and click the top result to open the System
Properties page.
3. Under the "Protection Settings" section, select the primary "System" drive.
4. Click the Configure button.

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

5. Select the Turn on system protection option.Quick tip: Windows 10 can automatically
manage the space. However, under the "Disk Space Usage" section, you can use the
slider to specify the storage for recovery. You will also find a Delete button, which you
can use to remove all restore points, which can come in handy to free up space or want to
start over with the recovery feature.

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

6. Click the Apply button.
7. Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, the system will automatically create restore points
when applying a new update or applying specific system changes.
System Restore doesn't enable automatically for all drives. If you have other drives
connected to your computer, you must enable the protection manually on each
storage. Also, it's important to note that this is not a backup solution. It's only a
feature to undo system changes without affecting your files.