Does your PC or laptop have a slightly smaller hard disk or SSD? Then you will see that the storage space is often just too tight at times when you really want to keep files. To prevent this, let Windows 10 clean up its disks from now on.
You probably know the Windows 10 Disk Cleanup tool. Handy, but you should always take the initiative to clean up yourself. Until not so long ago, laptops were often shipped with – for Windows – small SSDs, 128 GB or even less. During use, Windows 10 generates quite a bit of “junk” in the form of temporary files. These arise when using a lot of software. For example your browser, but also the monthly (now even multi-monthly) update round. And where on a hard disk of 500 GB or more you will not be bothered so much by that junk, it becomes a different story on a smaller disk (or system partition!).
The disadvantage of an overfilled disk is that it makes the system slower and possibly unstable. After all, really essential things can no longer be stored if this is absolutely necessary. To avoid that problem, you can turn on Windows 10 automatic disk cleanup. To do this, click on the Start menu Settings(the gear) and then on System. Click on in the column on the left Storage. And then right – before you enthusiastically flip the switch to the paragraph Smart storage turn on the link first Configure smart save or run now.
At full disk or with interval
Turn the switch under Storage Insight On. The default setting with insufficient free disk space is in principle sufficient, but you can also prevent problems (much) earlier by setting a time interval for the automatic clean-up. If you immediately need disk space, click on the button Clean up now and wait a minute. Those minutes are Microsoft minutes, so it remains to be seen how long the action that has now started will really last. Put the option Temporary files then – indeed – the temporary files are also included. And – if desired – files in the folder Downloads. The latter can be useful if you are a forgetful type, but also bring tears if you lose a large and important download.
In short: if you choose this option, make sure to regularly backup your downloads to an external drive or NAS. At least if you want to keep them. Apart from these things, turning Storage Insight on also ensures that your Trash can be emptied fully automatically every now and then. So less suitable for anyone who uses this part as a kind of backup archive.
