Windows contains plenty of files and folders that you don't really need. Between subconscious caches, old junk that wastes infinite, and files y'all tin can actually delete to solve problems, knowing what's safe to remove from Windows tin be challenging.

Permit'south pace through some Windows files and folders that are totally safety to remove, forth with why you might want to erase them. This will assist you free upward disk space and learn more about your PC. Note that some of these folders are in system-protected locations, and then take intendance when deleting them.

The Best Way to Make clean Windows Folders: Disk Cleanup or Storage Sense

Windows 10 Disk Cleanup

Before we expect at Windows files and folders you can safely remove, you lot should know that manually deleting them isn't ordinarily the all-time fashion to go about it.

Aside from wasting time doing this yourself when you could automate the process, it's safer to allow the Disk Cleanup tool do these cleanings for you. This avoids accidentally deleting files that yous need or messing with the wrong folders.

The Windows Deejay Cleanup tool helps you reclaim deejay infinite on your reckoner and is simple to use. You can open it by searching for Disk Cleanup in the Beginning carte and selecting a drive. Allow it scan, and you lot'll see several categories of files you can erase. For more options, choose Clean up arrangement files and provide administrator permissions.

If y'all discover this interface too clunky, you lot can browse to Settings > System > Storage to try the newer storage cleanup tool in Windows x and xi. Click Temporary files in the listing of options, then y'all'll see a listing populate that's similar to what Disk Cleanup offers.

Windows 10 Storage Sense Temporary Files

What to Delete From Deejay Cleanup

This isn't a total guide to the Disk Cleanup tool, then we're not going to look at every entry in the menu. Notwithstanding, the following options are low-hanging fruit (brand certain to select Make clean up system files first to encounter them all):

  • Windows Update Cleanup: This erases old copies of Windows Update files. These are safe to delete in most cases, but if you run into update-related bug, you should keep them for troubleshooting.
  • Windows upgrade log files: Similarly to the above, these are data files that Windows Update stores to help you dig into problems concerning upgrades or installations. Yous can erase these if yous oasis't had errors related to upgrading Windows to a new version.
  • Linguistic communication resource files: If you've previously downloaded another linguistic communication or keyboard layout that you don't use, this will let you lot hands erase it.
  • Recycle Bin: While you tin empty the Recycle Bin through its ain window, you can also exercise it easily here. Merely make sure there'due south goose egg inside it that you need.
  • Temporary files: As their name suggests, temporary files aren't used for anything in the long term, so you can erase them without worry.

Now, let'south look at what you can delete from Windows ten and Windows 11 safely. Ordinarily, these files are on your C: drive, just you might find them elsewhere if yous take multiple storage disks and have installed Windows with custom options.

one. The Hibernation File

Windows 10 Turn Hibernate Off

Location: C:\hiberfil.sys

Hibernation fashion on your PC is a fleck like sleep mode, except the arrangement saves all your open piece of work to the storage drive and and then shuts down. You can remove the battery from your laptop and stay in hibernation for a week, then start back up and selection up right where you left off.

Of course, this takes up space, which is what the hibernation file is for. Depending on your hard drive size, the hibernation file is probable several gigabytes or more.

If you don't utilise hibernation and want to disable it, you can easily do then via the command line. Note that yous shouldn't just delete hiberfil.sys, as Windows volition recreate information technology once again.

Instead, correct-click on the Commencement button or printing Win + 10, and so open up a Command Prompt (Admin), Windows PowerShell (Admin), or Windows Terminal (Admin) window from the resulting menu. Type the following control to disable hibernation:

          powercfg.exe /hibernate off

That's all information technology takes to disable hibernation. Windows should delete hiberfil.sys on its ain when you do this; feel gratis to delete it later on if non. Annotation that disabling hide way volition likewise prevent your computer from using fast startup in Windows 10 and 11. However, this isn't much of a loss, as this feature is known to cause dull Windows boot times and other problems.

2. Windows Temp Folder

Windows Temp Folder

Location: C:\Windows\Temp

Equally you'd guess from the proper name, Windows temporary files aren't important beyond their initial use. The files and folders inside contain info that Windows used at ane fourth dimension, but doesn't need anymore.

Instead of cleaning via Deejay Cleanup. y'all tin visit this folder and delete its contents manually, if y'all want. Just press Ctrl + A to select everything inside, then hit Delete. Windows might give you an mistake about a couple of items when you practise this—just ignore those and articulate everything else.

This folder will make full with new items over time, which is a normal function of Windows' operation.

3. The Recycle Bin

Location: shell:RecycleBinFolder

The Recycle Bin is a special folder—while information technology appears nether your C:\ drive, this is protected by Windows and y'all don't need to access information technology that way. Whenever y'all delete a file on your system, Windows sends it to the Recycle Bin. This is a special place where deleted files are kept until you lot permanently delete or restore them.

While this might exist obvious to you, we're including information technology in case some aren't enlightened. It'south easy to forget that gigabytes of old data tin sit in your Recycle Bin.

Yous can access the Recycle Bin through the shortcut on your desktop. If you don't see that, type shell:RecycleBinFolder into File Explorer's navigation bar. One time hither, you'll come across everything you've deleted recently.

Right-click on individual items and choose Delete to permanently erase them, or choose Restore to transport the file back to its original location. On the top Ribbon's Recycle Bin Tools tab, you'll run into buttons to Empty Recycle Bin and Restore all items at in one case.

To tweak the way the Recycle Bin works, click Recycle Bin properties here. On this menu, you can modify the maximum size of the bin, or even choose Don't move files to the Recycle Bin.

Windows Recycle Bin

With this option, Windows skips the bin and permanently removes items when you delete them. We don't recommend this, because the Recycle Bin gives you lot a second chance in case of accidental deletion. Similarly, Display delete confirmation dialog will require an extra step whenever you erase a file.

4. Windows.onetime Folder

Location: C:\Windows.old

Whenever you upgrade your version of Windows, the system keeps a copy of your prior files, chosen Windows.old. This folder substantially holds everything that made upward your old installation, in instance something didn't transfer correctly.

If necessary, y'all tin use this binder to curl back to a previous version of Windows. Information technology'due south also possible to open the folder and grab a few devious files if you need them.

Windows automatically removes this binder a brusk time after upgrading, but y'all can remove it yourself if you're crunched for space. It won't delete if you endeavor to become through File Explorer, so to erase information technology from your drive properly, type Disk Cleanup into the Outset Menu and launch the tool as described earlier.

Click Clean upwards system files at the bottom of the window and let the utility do another scan. Once that's done, look for the Previous Windows installation(s) and delete it using this tool.

Plain, removing these files makes information technology harder to recover data in case of an upshot. Afterwards performing a Windows upgrade (even simply to the latest version of Windows 10 or eleven) we advise you to hold onto this folder until you're certain everything is working properly.

5. Downloaded Program Files

Location: C:\Windows\Downloaded Programme Files

This binder'southward proper name is a bit disruptive; information technology doesn't take anything to do with apps yous've downloaded. Instead, information technology holds files used by Internet Explorer'southward ActiveX controls and Java applets, then if you use the aforementioned feature on a website, you don't have to download information technology twice.

In effect, this folder is useless today. ActiveX is an extremely outdated engineering that'southward full of security holes, and Java is well-nigh-extinct on today'due south web. Internet Explorer is the only browser that supports ActiveX, and y'all'll probably only encounter information technology on ancient corporate websites (if ever) now.

Near nobody uses IE anymore, let alone ActiveX. Thus, your Downloaded Program Files folder might already be empty, but feel gratuitous to clean out the contents if it'southward not.

6. LiveKernelReports

Windows LiveKernelReports

Location: C:\Windows\LiveKernelReports

The LiveKernelReports folder is another directory that likely comes up when y'all're scanning for large files on your computer. This folder is abode to dump files, which are ongoing information logs that Windows keeps. If your figurer runs into an consequence, yous can analyze the contents of these files to start troubleshooting your trouble.

Whatsoever huge files ending with the DMP file extension in this folder are safe to delete if you don't demand to look deeper into them. Like the above locations, though, we recommend using Disk Cleanup instead of deleting the file yourself.

When Windows crashes or yous accept other major estimator problems, don't delete these dump files right away. Yous can utilise a programme like WhoCrashed to go more info from them.

7. Rempl Folder

Location: C:\Program Files\rempl

While the Rempl folder isn't big, you lot might be surprised when yous see information technology appear on your system. It contains several pocket-size files, and you might even notice a few Chore Manager processes connected to information technology.

This folder is connected to Windows ten and eleven's update delivery. It includes "reliability improvements" to help brand Windows updates go smoothly and iron out compatibility problems.

And then tin can you delete the Rempl folder? There are seemingly no agin effects from doing and then. However, since information technology simply takes upward a few megabytes and tin can make Windows upgrades less frustrating, it'south all-time to go along it effectually.

The Windows Files You Can Safely Delete

Information technology takes a chip of looking around to find them, but Windows holds plenty of files and folders that aren't necessary. Remember that your computer does a pretty good job of keeping itself clean, so you don't have to constantly remove the contents of these folders unless you're actually low on deejay space.

Running the Disk Cleanup tool once or twice a calendar month should do enough to continue the cruft away. If you yet need to free upwardly a lot of space, try uninstalling some unnecessary Windows software.