Gaming - Leftover files from the gaming platform Steam, such as installers for DirectX or Visual C++ Redistributable files, are no longer needed after you’ve installed and launched the game you downloaded. While that’s quite convenient, it’s also a privacy risk. “Recently used files” lists - Many programs, including Windows, create lists of files you recently opened.
Thumbnails - You definitely don’t need these temporary thumbnail files created and displayed by Windows Explorer.
It searches for unnecessary files such as:Ĭrash reports - Windows produces information when your PC has crashed, but this is only useful to software engineers and can be easily deleted.Ĭache files - These are temporary files left on your disk by programs and Windows. This Disk Cleaner is part of Avast Cleanup Premium which you can try for free. It allows you to clean not just Windows and its various features (e.g., apps from the Windows Store), but also over 200 third-party applications, such as Adobe Reader and Steam, as well as all modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) in one go. One tool our engineers have been working on for years is Avast Cleanup Premium: Disk Cleaner. For one thing, it will not cover third-party applications or browsers, and for another, it doesn’t run on a schedule. While this covers some of the basics, the built-in cleaner doesn’t reach all areas. Select all the files you find there - check the descriptions so you know what you’re deleting, but in most cases, none of these are necessary to your day-to-day. When the shortcut is created, right-click on it and select Run as Administrator. I suggest something like “My Disk Cleaner”, but it’s entirely up to you. %SystemRoot%System32Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 &Cleanmgr /sagerun:65536 But there’s a secret, more advanced version that goes a bit deeper, and to launch that in any version of Windows (including Windows XP, 7, Vista, 8, and 10), right-click on your desktop and select New/Shortcut. Find it by opening up the Start menu and searching for Disk Cleanup. First, you can use the built-in Windows disk cleanup tool which deletes the basic clutter on your PC. Luckily, there are quite a few options afoot to get rid of this clutter. This is because all programs on your PC create some form of “temporary files” - files that the programs need in order to operate, but forget to delete once they’re done using them. #2 - Go through some basic disk cleaningĪs I mentioned, your PC’s programs, browsers, and games leave behind a plethora of digital waste every day. (Keep a vacuum handy.) While you’re at it, why not make your keyboard and screen shine, too? You’ll find plenty of cleaners specifically designed to do just that. This is why I frequently open up my PC case and laptops (at least the ones I can still open) to use a gas duster which catapults dust bunnies out of the system. These slow down or even stop your fans, which traps heat and leads to poor performance and frequent crashes. With your PC or laptop fans blowing air in and out of the system for years, chances are there’s a whole family of dust bunnies thriving inside your device. Our advice: Just get rid of the digital clutter. Third, temporary files can occasionally cause issues when running, working, or installing applications. From a privacy perspective, it’s a good idea to get rid of those regularly. Second, some of these files contain logs of everything you do, such as temporary browsing data, tracking cookies, and Windows event logs. Once that number drops below a certain point, things get extremely slow and Windows applications become unstable.
I travel with a Surface Book, and its 256 GB SSD has about 15 GB of free space. First, depending on how many applications you have installed, and how much data you have stored (photos, videos, music, games), you’re going to hit that limit eventually, at which point every GB lost to “digital junk” counts. But I have a 500 GB hard disk - why should I clean my PC?