Users of a personal computer in the process of work may notice that the free space on the C drive is rapidly decreasing. The reasons for this process are different: from completely natural to those that threaten the performance of the operating system. But more often than not, spare gigabytes are spent on the accumulation of various information and system files.
Instructions
Step 1
The most common reason for a decrease in free disk space is an increased number of installed programs. Some applications can take up a very significant amount of disk space. For example, dictionaries, databases, graphic editors, games. With a stable Internet connection, all anti-virus programs constantly automatically update their virus databases, so the free space fills up imperceptibly.
Step 2
If the user is fond of collecting high-resolution pictures, movies, music, then they are probably copied to the system disk. Firstly, if this data is downloaded from the Internet (from sites, file hosting services, ftp servers), then by default all browsers save information in the Downloads folder, which is located in the My Documents folder, which means that with each new file, disk space is reduced. Secondly, everything downloaded from torrents also goes straight to the C drive.
Step 3
Temporary files accumulate during the operation of the OS and gradually require more and more space for themselves. For example, the Temp folder can "swell" to a decent size and contain, in fact, already unnecessary or insignificant information. It often contains MS Word installation files, distributions of previously installed programs, etc. Internet Explorer also automatically saves web data contained in the Temporary Internet Files folder.
Step 4
System files keep the operating system healthy and help restore its functionality in critical situations. For example, if the driver of a device has not been updated successfully, then you can "roll back" the OS to the last healthy checkpoint. Naturally, these restore points are stored in files and take up space, which only grows over time. Also on the C drive is the pagefile.sys paging file. With its help, at the moments of maximum load, the computer will be able to work faster, but at the same time the number of free gigabytes on the system disk will decrease.
Step 5
The most dangerous reason for reducing free space on the C drive is viruses. Some of these programs are able to place their files in system directories and consume all free system resources without the user noticing. Viruses can create their own folders, in which various entries, punctures and other files of the malicious program accumulate. In this case, disk space will be inexorably consumed.
