How to get rid of old computer files

We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Open Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup is one of the fastest ways to delete unneeded files created by the Windows operating system. Select the files you want to delete. The top section contains options for deleting personal and temporary files—it's usually safe to delete most of these, but if there's anything you're unsure of, leave the selection unchecked.

The amount of space you'll save by deleting the selected files appears below the list of file types, and will update as you select and deselect files. Downloaded Program Files are the program installers you've downloaded from the internet. These are usually not needed after you've installed the file, unless you plan to install it again. Temporary Internet Files are the cached files from browsing with Internet Explorer. Windows error reports are log files that contain errors that occur as you use your PC.

They aren't required for operation and are safe to delete. Delivery Optimization files are previously-downloaded files used for installing updates and are safe to delete. Recycle Bin is a folder that contains the files you've deleted.

You should only select this option if you are sure you won't need to restore files from your Recycle Bin later. Temporary files are simply temporary files created by various apps on your computer. They are not meant to be permanent, so don't worry about losing anything by deleting them. Thumbnails are cached images of pictures and videos on your computer that appear when you browse for files. Deleting them is fine and they'll just be automatically created again when necessary.

A confirmation message will appear, asking if you are sure you want to permanently delete the selected files. Click Delete Files to confirm. This erases all of the selected files. Disk Cleanup will close automatically once the selected files are deleted. Re-open Disk Cleanup if you want to delete more files. If you're an administrator on your PC and want to delete even more files, you can use Disk Cleanup again to delete system files.

Click Clean up system files. It's the button in the lower-left area of the window. This scans your drive and calculates how much space you may be able to save by deleting additional files.

You may be prompted to select the drive again after clicking this button. Delete old system restore points optional. Windows automatically creates images of your computer it can restore in the event of an emergency. If you're running low on space, you can free some up by deleting old restore points that have been replaced by newer ones.

To do this: Click the More Options tab at the top. Click Delete to delete all but the most recent system restore point. Return to the Disk Cleanup tab when you're done to continue. Select files to delete. In addition to the same sorts of files you were able to select earlier, you have some more options: Windows Update Cleanup files can take up a significant amount of space and are only used to install Windows Updates.

Windows will automatically download the latest update files in the future, so you probably won't need to keep these older ones unless instructed by an admin. Then, you can access that location to delete the undesired downloaded files.

There are so many duplicate files on your computer and they occupy much space on the hard drive. The duplicate files can also be called as junk files on your computer. But, they exist. You can use a duplicate file finder to find out the duplicate files and then delete them to free up disk space. Note: You should not use the duplicate file finder to delete the important system files from your computer.

Otherwise, your computer may become unbootable. We suggest removing files from these locations like Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures or Videos folders as well as the Desktop. Here's how to effectively recover data when PC won't boot and what to do when PC won't boot. You should have saved numerous files on your computer. Some of them are useful to you.

While some of them are idle and useless. The latter files are the junk files that you can remove them from your computer. Deleting the needless files is a task that you should do by yourself. It is a good idea that you can periodically clean your unnecessary files to guarantee a good computing environment. After trying these measures, most junk files will be removed from your computer and you will get some free space on the hard drive. Most importantly, your computer should run much faster.

If you think these measures benefit you, you can press the following button to share them with your friends. Click to tweet. If you delete some useful files by mistake when you use the above methods to perform a Windows junk removal, you can try to get the lost data back. Third-party data recovery software can help you do the job. MiniTool Power Data Recovery, a free file recovery tool , is specially designed to rescue your lost and deleted files from different types of data storage devices like computer hard drives, memory cards, SD cards, pen drives, and more.

This software can be used to all types of files including photos, videos, movies, music files, documents, and more as long as these files are not overwritten by new data. It fully meets your need to get your deleted files back. It has a trial edition.

There are many cloud storage services that let you save files and data online. You may be familiar with some, like Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, or iCloud, but there are many others out there.

Many of these services come with some free storage space and you can pay for more storage. Do they have privacy and security settings you can adjust? Do they use encryption to protect your data? Encryption is the process of scrambling the information to hide the contents of the file.

Un-pair your computer from Bluetooth devices like a mouse, keyboard, or wireless display. Look for a program or function on your computer that will let you erase all your files from the hard drive and reset it to factory settings. So what are your options? By clicking log in you agree to texting terms and conditions.

Need to get rid of an old computer or other device? Taking certain precautions first can help protect your sensitive information. After all, your computer may store your bank records, Social Security number, passwords , tax records or other personal information. Physical destruction of your device or hard drive is one method to help protect your info, but it may not be the most practical option if you plan to donate or sell the device.

Below are some steps to consider taking no matter how you plan to dispose of an old device:. Your data is valuable. Time to treat it that way. Allstate Identity Protection helps you secure your data. Start the process by making a copy of your files on an external hard drive or a new computer. Microsoft has suggestions on how to do that on a computer running Windows; and here are Apple's recommendations for backing up your Mac's hard drive.

You should also review any software you have installed on your old computer and research licensing rights. According to TechSoup , you may be able to install some software on multiple computers.

But, if not, you'll likely want to remove the software from your old computer so you can retain it for a new one. Take precautions to protect your sensitive information. That's because even if you move files to the recycle bin on your computer and then "empty the trash," the information is still there and can still be retrieved, says the agency. A better alternative, according to CISA, is to use a program that deletes the data and then overwrites, or wipes, the information from the hard drive.

CISA recommends that users overwrite the drive's data multiple times using a program that uses all zeros in its layering.