How to Free Up Disk Space on Windows 11: 8 Ways That Work

The fastest way to fix a full C: drive on Windows 11 is to turn on Storage Sense, run Cleanup recommendations (the modern replacement for Disk Cleanup), uninstall apps and optional features you don't use, switch OneDrive to Files On-Demand, and, if you're comfortable with the command line, clean up the WinSxS component store with DISM. Do those five things in order and most PCs recover several gigabytes without touching a single personal file.

Why Windows 11 storage fills up so fast

Temporary files, cached app data, Windows Update leftovers, and superseded system components all accumulate quietly in the background. Microsoft's own guidance notes that a lot of this bloat is hidden from a normal folder-size check because of hard linking — the same underlying file data can be referenced from multiple places at once, so Windows Explorer's reported folder sizes don't map cleanly onto how much space you'd actually reclaim by deleting something. That's part of why the WinSxS (component store) folder in particular can look enormous even though it isn't wasting as much real disk space as its apparent size suggests, as Microsoft explains in its component-store documentation.

The good news is Windows 11 ships with several built-in tools that handle most of this automatically once they're configured correctly. The rest of this guide walks through each one, based on Microsoft's own support and documentation pages.

Turn on and configure Storage Sense

Storage Sense is Windows 11's automatic cleanup feature. According to Microsoft support, it works by "getting rid of items that you don't need, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin."

To turn it on:

1. Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage.
2. Set Storage Sense to On.

To configure exactly what it cleans and how often, open Storage Sense from that same Storage page and set:

• Run Storage Sense — how often it runs while you're signed in and online.
• Temporary files — deletion thresholds for your Recycle Bin and Downloads folder.
• Cloud content — under "Content will become online-only if not opened for more than," you choose how long an unused OneDrive file stays downloaded locally before Storage Sense frees the space. Microsoft notes that starting in Windows 11 version 22H2, the default is 30 days.

One limitation to know about: Storage Sense "works on your system drive only," so if you store files on a second internal drive or an external SSD, you'll need Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Storage used on other drives instead.

Fix Storage Sense when it's "not working"

If Storage Sense doesn't seem to be freeing any space, check these in order:

1. You need to be signed in and online for at least 10 minutes. Storage Sense's automatic runs won't trigger otherwise.
2. Check its schedule. By default, Storage Sense only runs "during low free disk space," not on a fixed daily schedule — you can change this to daily, weekly, or monthly under Configure cleanup schedules, per Microsoft's Storage Sense configuration documentation.
3. An IT policy may be blocking it. On a managed work or school PC, an administrator can disable Storage Sense entirely, or lock its thresholds, through Intune, an MDM policy CSP, or Group Policy. Microsoft's documentation lists the exact settings — AllowStorageSenseGlobal, AllowStorageSenseTemporaryFilesCleanup, and the cadence and threshold policies — that a managed environment can use to override your local configuration. If your PC is domain-joined or enrolled in a company MDM, this is the most common reason toggles in Settings don't seem to stick.
4. It only targets the system drive. If the drive that's actually full isn't C:, Storage Sense won't touch it — use the "Storage used on other drives" tool instead.

Run Cleanup recommendations and Disk Cleanup

Windows 11 also has a one-time, on-demand cleanup view that's separate from Storage Sense's automatic background runs. Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations. Microsoft's support documentation describes four categories here:

• Temporary files
• Large or unused files
• Files synced to the cloud
• Unused apps

Review each section and select Clean up to remove what it finds.

The classic Disk Cleanup tool (cleanmgr.exe) is still present in Windows 11 and is what you want specifically for Windows Update cleanup. Search for "Disk Cleanup" from the taskbar, pick your system drive, then select Clean up system files to unlock the extra categories — including old Windows Update files and previous Windows installations. Microsoft's own WinSxS documentation confirms this option is what "helps reduce the size of the component store," since Windows Update leftovers are one of the biggest contributors to a bloated WinSxS folder.

Clear temp files if Storage Sense can't keep up

If your Temp folder itself fills up enough to cause a "Low Disk Space" error even after cleanup, Microsoft's troubleshooting guidance for low disk space issues recommends, in order:

1. Resetting the Microsoft Store via Settings > Troubleshoot > Windows Store Apps, or running wsreset.exe from Command Prompt.
2. Running the Windows Update troubleshooter via Settings > Troubleshoot > Windows Update.
3. Restarting the computer.

This is also good housekeeping right before or after installing a large feature update — for instance, if you're upgrading from Windows 11 24H2 to 25H2, clearing temp files and running Windows Update cleanup first can avoid the setup process stalling on a low-space warning.

Uninstall unused apps and optional features

Installed programs and optional Windows components are one of the easiest places to reclaim space, since you're deleting things you already know you don't need. Per Microsoft's own uninstall guide, there are three ways to remove an app in Windows 11:

• Settings: Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find the app, select More > Uninstall.
• Start menu: Start > All apps, right-click the app, choose Uninstall.
• Control Panel: search the taskbar for Control Panel, go to Programs > Programs and Features, right-click the program, select Uninstall or Uninstall/Change. Microsoft notes some legacy desktop apps "can't be uninstalled from the Settings app," so this is your fallback.

If uninstalling fails outright, Microsoft's guide points to the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter as the next step.

Optional Windows features are separate from apps and are managed at Settings > Apps > Optional features, per Microsoft's documentation on managing add-on components like language packs and feature packs. Select View features to see what's installed, and remove anything you added but no longer use — legacy tools, extra keyboard layouts, or speech/handwriting packs are common candidates. A restart is generally required for the change to fully take effect.

Use OneDrive Files On-Demand to free local space

If you sync a large OneDrive library, Files On-Demand can free up a significant amount of local disk space without deleting anything from the cloud. Per Microsoft's OneDrive support documentation, to turn it on:

1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon in your notification area.
2. Open Help and Settings > Settings.
3. Go to the Sync and back up tab, expand Advanced settings, and toggle on Files On-Demand.

Once it's on, right-click any synced file or folder in File Explorer and choose:

• Always keep on this device — downloads it for full offline access, using local storage.
• Free up space — converts it to online-only. Microsoft's documentation notes the file "no longer takes up space on your device," while you can "still be able to see the file from OneDrive mobile apps or on the website."

Files On-Demand requires Windows 10 version 1709 or later (Windows 11 qualifies), and current OneDrive builds have it enabled by default.

Clean up the WinSxS component store safely

The WinSxS folder (C:\Windows\WinSxS) stores the Windows Component Store — the versioned system files that let Windows Update, feature installs, and rollback recovery work. Microsoft is explicit that you should never delete files from WinSxS manually: doing so "may severely damage your system so that your PC might not boot and make it impossible to update," according to Microsoft Learn's WinSxS cleanup documentation.

Instead, Windows already runs an automatic StartComponentCleanup scheduled task in the background — it waits at least 30 days after a component update before removing the superseded version. To trigger the same cleanup immediately, advanced users can run this from an elevated Command Prompt:

Use /ResetBase only if you're confident you won't need to roll back a recent update — Microsoft's warning is specifically that "all existing update packages can't be uninstalled after this command is completed." If you've recently installed a big cumulative update, such as one covered in our rundown of the September 2026 preview update, it's worth waiting a few days before running /ResetBase in case you need to back out of it.

Move and manage large files

Beyond automated cleanup, Microsoft's drive-space guidance also recommends the manual basics: move personal files out of your Videos, Music, Pictures, and Downloads folders onto an external USB drive or SD card, and use Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Where new content is saved to redirect future app installs, downloads, and media to a secondary internal drive if you have one. If your C: drive is a small SSD, offloading large game installs or media libraries this way is usually more effective long-term than any single cleanup pass.

Cleanup method comparison

Bottom line: what to do next

Start with Storage Sense so cleanup keeps happening automatically, then run Cleanup recommendations once for an immediate win. If you're still tight on space, uninstall apps and optional features you don't use, turn on OneDrive Files On-Demand if you sync a large library, and — only if you're comfortable with the command line and don't need to roll back a recent update — run DISM /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase to shrink the WinSxS folder. None of these steps require deleting personal files, and all of them are reversible except the WinSxS reset base command, so work through the list in that order before you consider a drive upgrade.

Written byFelix Moreau

Felix Moreau writes Pandromeda's software coverage and how-to guides. He covers Windows, macOS and Linux updates, the apps people rely on, emulators and developer tools, and turns official documentation into clear, numbered steps that work on the current version.

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