How to Check Disk Usage in Windows 11

Running out of disk space is one of the most common causes of a slow PC — Windows needs free space to create temporary files, run updates, and manage virtual memory. This guide shows every way to check what is using your disk in Windows 11 and how to free up space quickly.

How to Check Disk Usage in Settings

1. Go to Settings → System → Storage

This shows a bar chart of your drive usage broken down by category: Apps & features, Temporary files, Documents, Videos, Pictures, Music, and Other. Click any category to drill down and see exactly what is taking up space.

The most useful categories to check first:

• Temporary files — often gigabytes of unnecessary data. Click it to see the breakdown and delete it directly.
• Apps & features — lists all installed applications by size. Uninstall anything you no longer use.
• Other — catches anything that does not fit a category. Large “Other” figures usually mean old downloads or large files in unexpected locations.

How to Use Storage Sense to Free Up Space Automatically

Storage Sense runs automatically when disk space gets low and deletes temporary files, the Recycle Bin, and old downloads:

1. Go to Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense
2. Toggle Storage Sense on
3. Click Storage Sense to configure when it runs and what it deletes:
   • Run Storage Sense: Automatically (when low on disk space) or on a schedule
   • Delete files in Recycle Bin after a number of days
   • Delete files in Downloads that have not been opened after a number of days
   • OneDrive: convert locally available files to online-only after a number of days

You can also click Run Storage Sense now to trigger an immediate clean-up without waiting for the schedule.

How to Check Disk Usage in File Explorer

1. Open File Explorer (Win + E)
2. Click This PC in the left panel

Each drive shows a bar indicating how full it is and the remaining free space. Right-click a drive and select Properties for a pie chart showing used vs free space.

How to Find Large Files

Windows Settings shows categories but not individual large files. To find specific large files anywhere on the drive, use File Explorer search:

1. Open File Explorer and click on This PC or a specific drive
2. Click in the search box (top right)
3. Type size:gigantic to find files over 128 MB

Search filters available:

• size:small — under 1 MB
• size:medium — 1–128 MB
• size:large — 1–128 MB (overlaps)
• size:huge — 128 MB – 1 GB
• size:gigantic — over 1 GB

Sort the results by size to find the biggest files first.

How to Check Disk Usage in Task Manager

To see which applications are actively reading or writing to your disk right now:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Click the Processes tab
3. Click the Disk column header to sort by disk activity

High disk usage (90–100%) slows the PC significantly. Common causes: Windows Update downloading in the background, antivirus scanning, Windows Search indexing after an update. These typically resolve on their own within an hour. If a specific app is consistently high, investigate or uninstall it.

How to Run Disk Cleanup

The traditional Disk Cleanup tool catches some items not shown in Settings:

1. Press Win + R, type cleanmgr and press Enter
2. Select the drive to clean (usually C:) and click OK
3. Tick the categories of files to delete
4. Click Clean up system files for additional options including previous Windows installations
5. Click OK → Delete Files

The Previous Windows installations category can free up 10–30 GB after a major Windows update. It is safe to delete once you are satisfied with the update.

Common Disk Space Culprits

• Windows.old folder — left over from a Windows upgrade. Removed by Disk Cleanup → Previous Windows installations. Can be 20+ GB.
• Hibernate file (hiberfil.sys) — reserves RAM size worth of disk space. To disable: open Command Prompt as Administrator and run powercfg /hibernate off. Only do this if you do not use Hibernate.
• Virtual memory paging file (pagefile.sys) — managed by Windows. Do not delete this manually.
• OneDrive local copies — right-click files in the OneDrive folder and choose Free up space to convert to online-only placeholders.
• Recycle Bin — right-click the Recycle Bin on the desktop and choose Empty Recycle Bin.

Related Guides

• How to Speed Up Windows 11
• How to Turn Off OneDrive in Windows 11
• Windows 11 Running Slow After Update