✅ Ответ / Решение

The safest way to free up 5–10 GB on your C drive right now: Press Win + R, type cleanmgr, and hit Enter. Select your C drive. In the window that opens, make sure to click the "Clean up system files" button. Check all the boxes, especially "Windows Update Cleanup" and "Recycle Bin". Click OK.

A red, completely full C drive is every Windows user's worst nightmare. When your system drive has less than 10% free space, your computer starts freezing, and programs refuse to launch.

Many people try to delete personal photos or games, but the real problem usually lies within hidden system folders. Let's clean your PC of accumulated digital junk.

1. Deep Clean the Temp Folder

The Temp folder is the Windows junkyard. This is where programs dump unpacked files during installation and where browsers store temporary data. Over time, it can grow to massive sizes.

  1. Press the Win + R keys together.
  2. Type %temp% and press Enter.
  3. A folder with hundreds of strange files will open. Press Ctrl + A (select all) and then Shift + Delete (delete permanently, skipping the Recycle Bin).
ℹ️ Pro Tip

If you get a "File in Use" warning during deletion, just check the box that says "Do this for all current items" and click Skip. This simply means the file is currently being used by a running program.

2. Disable Hibernation (The Secret Space Eater)

Hibernation mode saves the state of your open programs to the hard drive when you shut down. To do this, Windows reserves a hidden file called hiberfil.sys, which is roughly the size of your RAM (if you have 16 GB of RAM, this file takes up about 16 GB of space!).

If you use a desktop PC (or if you always shut down your laptop instead of putting it to sleep), you should disable hibernation:

  • Click Start, type cmd, right-click on "Command Prompt", and select Run as administrator.
  • Type this command: powercfg -h off and press Enter.
  • Restart your PC. The space will be freed up instantly.

3. Delete Old Windows Update Caches

Every time Windows updates, it saves copies of the old files just in case you need to roll back the system. These are stored in the SoftwareDistribution folder.

  1. Navigate to: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download.
  2. Select all the contents inside this folder and delete them. Do not delete the Download folder itself, only the files inside it.

4. How to Find the Largest Files on Your PC?

If space is still mysteriously disappearing, you need a free micro-utility like WizTree (or SpaceSniffer).

It scans your entire drive in about 3 seconds and displays a visual map of colored blocks, showing you exactly which folders or files (like a forgotten game ISO or Adobe cache) are taking up the most space. It is incredibly more efficient than the standard Windows File Explorer.

⚠️ Never delete files from the C:\Windows\System32 folder or any random files with a .dll extension, even if they are large. Doing so will break your operating system!