Often I get questions related to the occupied space on the hard disk: users are interested in what occupies the hard disk space, what can be deleted to clean the disk, why free space all the time decreases.
In this article - short review free software for analysis hard drive (or rather, the space on it), allowing in a clear form to get information about which folders and files occupy extra gigabytes, to figure out where, what and how much is stored on your disk and based on this information, clean it. In all programs declared windows support 8.1 and 7, and I tested them myself in Windows 10 - work without complaints. You can also use materials:,.
I note that most often, the "leaky" space on the disk is explained by the automatic upload of files windows Updates, the creation of recovery points, as well as the emergency shutdown of programs, as a result of which the system may have temporary files that occupy several gigabytes each.
At the end of this article I will provide additional materials on the site that will help you to free up space on your hard disk if you need it.
Disk space analyzer WinDirStat
WinDirStat is one of two free programs in this review, which has an interface in Russian, which can be relevant for our user.
After running WinDirStat, the program automatically starts the analysis of either all local disks, or, if you wish, scans the occupied space on the selected disks. You can also analyze what a particular folder is on the computer.
As a result, a tree structure of folders on the disk is displayed in the program window, indicating the size and percentage of the total location.
The lower part displays a graphical representation of the folders and their contents, which is also associated with the filter in the upper right part, allowing you to quickly determine the location occupied by individual file types (for example, in my screenshot, you can quickly find a large temporary file with the extension .tmp) .
You can download WinDirStat from the official site https://windirstat.info/download.html
WizTree
WizTree - very simple free program to analyze the occupied space on the hard disk or external storage in Windows 10, 8 or Windows 7, the distinguishing feature of which is a very high speed and ease of use for a novice user.
Details about the program, how to check and find, what is the place on the computer with it, and where to download the program in a separate instruction:.
Free Disk Analyzer
Free Disk Analyzer by Extensoft is another utility for analyzing hard disk usage in Russian, which allows you to check what space is occupied, find the largest folders and files and, based on the analysis, weighedly decide to clear the space on the HDD.
After starting the program, you will see the tree structure of disks and folders on them in the left part of the window, in the right - the contents of the currently selected folder, indicating the sizes, percent of the occupied space, and a diagram with a graphical representation of the space occupied by the folder.
In addition, Free Disk Analyzer has tabs "The most large files"And" Biggest folders "for quick search of those, as well as buttons for quick access to the Windows utilities" Disk Cleanup "and" Add or Remove Programs ".
The official website of the program: http://www.extensoft.com/?p=free_disk_analyzer (On the site at the moment it is called Free Disk Usage Analyzer).
Disk Savvy
The free version of the disk space analyzer Disk Savvy (there is also a paid Pro version) though does not support the Russian language, but, perhaps, is the most functional of all the tools listed here.
Among the available features is not only a visual display of the occupied space on the disk and its distribution by folders, but also flexible capabilities to classify files by types, to study hidden files, analyze network drives, and also view, save or print diagrams different types, representing information about the use of disk space.
You can download the free version of Disk Savvy from the official website http://disksavvy.com
TreeSize Free
TreeSize Free utility, on the contrary, is the simplest of the presented programs: it does not draw beautiful diagrams, but it works without installing it on a computer and for some it may seem even more informative than previous versions.
After startup, the program analyzes the occupied disk space or the folder selected by you and presents it in a hierarchical structure, where all the necessary information on the occupied space on the disk is displayed.
Additionally, it is possible to launch the program in the interface for touch screen devices (in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1). Official TreeSize Free website: https://jam-software.com/treesize_free/
SpaceSniffer
SpaceSniffer is a free portable program that allows you to understand the structure of folders on your hard disk in much the same way that WinDirStat does.
The interface allows you to visually determine which folders on the disk occupy the largest amount of space, navigate through this structure (with a double mouse click), and also filter the displayed data by type, date or file name.
You can download free SpaceSniffer here (official website): www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer (note: it is better to run the program on behalf of the Administrator, otherwise it will inform you about the denial of access to certain folders).
That's all. I would be happy if the article was useful to you.
One of the most common questions that arises in the process of working with the operating room the Windows system, is the question "how to free up disk space C". Much more often this problem occurs on obsolete PCs, in which the drive is small and constantly filled with important, necessary information. Up to a certain point, you can not pay attention to this. But after the computer in the process of work begins to "inhibit", it is necessary to solve it urgently. Now there are two ways to get out of this situation: using the utilities of the operating system itself and specialized service programs. Each version of how to free up space on drive C has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's consider them separately.
Means of OS
Each Microsoft Windows operating system has built-in tools for cleaning each logical drive. This utility is called "Disk Cleanup". The easiest way to do this is through the Start menu, then click All Programs. Here we find "Standard", then - "Official". When you run it, a window appears with the logical partition of the hard disk selected. After the selection is made from the drop-down list, you need to click the "OK" button. Before you free up space on drive C, the utility will analyze the contents of this part of the media 
and displays a list of what you can delete. In the window that appears, this list will be on the "Disk Cleanup" tab. By checking the box next to the corresponding item, you can either delete or leave the content. In this case, the amount of memory that is released will be indicated opposite it. Having selected the necessary parameters and clicking "OK", you will automatically clean your PC. In the interface of this utility there is another tab - "Advanced". If there is not enough space after the first queue of manipulations, then you can delete programs or restore points here. As in the first case, and in the second - just click "Clear". A window will appear in which you can perform further manipulations and necessarily achieve the desired result. This is the simplest and most accessible way of how to free up space on the C drive.
Specialized utilities
The most popular software tool of this class is the CCleaner from Piriform. With its help, you can not only free up space on drive C, but also eliminate 
errors in the OS registry, and optimize the work of the PC. For cleaning, the "Cleaning" and "Service" tabs are used here. The first one allows you to delete temporary files of most programs. In this case, you can selectively delete a strictly defined group of files by setting the checkbox next to it for the corresponding application. The second item - "Service" - allows you to remove the program completely with cleaning the registry. The large functionality of such software greatly simplifies the user's work and it is these programs that are preferable to use for this operation.
conclusions
To free up space on the disk is not difficult. This process is fully automated and requires minimal user intervention. All work in this case is assigned to the shoulders of programmers, who are engaged in solving this problem. In most cases, the standard utility is sufficient for this operation. Although specialized software tools have more functionality. It is on them and it is recommended to stop their choice, because with their help you can solve much more problems, while these programs are free to date and are able to optimize the operation of the OS.
When the disk space "C" ends, the computer inevitably begins to slow down. This is due to the fact that all programs and the operating system itself are actively working with this disk. And when the disk space C ends, they can not save their settings or work results. In order to avoid this, you need to free up space on the C drive.
Disk cleaning. operating system has a built-in tool to free up disk space. To do this, call context menu Right-click on the C icon and select Properties. In the window that opens, you can see the information about the disk. To free up space on the C drive, click on the "" button. In the window that opens, select the data to be deleted and click OK.
Clean the desktop. All data placed on the desktop takes up space on the C drive. To free up space on the C drive, transfer these files to a different drive.
Remove programs. Go to the path: Start - Control Panel - Programs - Programs and Features. Here you can see a list of all installed applications. In order to free up space on the C drive, delete the programs that you no longer need. To remove a program, right-click on it and select "Delete".
Check drive C. Carefully check the C drive. Perhaps this disk contains files that can be transferred to another disk. For example, many download managers download all files to the C: \\ Downloads folder by default.
System Restore. The function uses the space on the C drive to store its data. To free up space on the C drive, you can disable this feature or reduce the amount disk space, which is used by the System Restore function. In order to access the settings of this function, you need to go to the path: Start - Control Panel - System and Security - System - Extra options system - the System Protection tab.
Reduce the amount of paging file. If you have a large number random access memory and you need to free up space on the C drive, you can reduce the amount of paging file that is stored on the C drive. To access the paging file settings, go to Start - Control Panel - System and Security - System - Advanced Options system - Advanced tab - Performance - Advanced tab - Virtual memory, "Edit" button.
Disabling Hibernation. The function uses the space on the C drive. If you do not use this function, you can turn it off. To do this, start the console with administrator rights and execute the command powercfg.exe -h off.
