When a computer has been used for a rather long period of time, its hard drive eventually accumulates clutter and unwanted files in its system. This can lead to poor performance and hampers the efficiency of the unit. A regular cleanup of the computer hard drive is important to fast up your PC. The following steps outline to run disk cleanup on windows 8.1 and 7.

Speed Up the PC by Using Disk Cleanup to Clear Out Space

Quick Steps To Disk Cleanup windows 8.1 and 7

Step 1: Open “My Computer” or “Windows/File Explorer”. Right-click the system drive (eg. Local Disk (C:)) and click “Properties”.

Step 2: In the “General” tab, you can also see how much free space is left on the drive. Click “Disk Cleanup”.

Step 3: The system might take a few minutes to process how many files may be safely deleted. A window will pop up, showing a list of these files and how much space can be freed up. Click “Clean Up System Files” located on the bottom left (this requires administrative rights). Windows will then do a re-calculation of files to delete.

Also Read: Check and Fix Disk Errors In Windows 7, 8.1

Step 4: Windows will once again present a list of files you can opt to delete. Generally, most of these are safe to check, except “Office Setup Files”. For Windows 8 and 8.1, you may also tick “Windows Update Cleanup” to get rid of old Windows update files, but in some cases this takes hours to complete.

Step 5: Once you have selected the files you want to remove, click “Ok.”

Once you get into the habit of cleaning your hard drive regularly, your computer will run more smoothly and without much trouble. A regular clean-up also saves time and money because your PC will last longer and won’t need much repairs