5 steps to a clean and efficient Windows machine

Si desea optimizar su PC con Windows para obtener un mejor rendimiento y seguridad, es posible que desee seguir estos cinco pasos para obtener una máquina con Windows limpia y eficiente.

1. Uninstall unnecessary programs. You probably have some programs that you rarely or never use and that are taking up valuable disk space and memory. To uninstall them, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features and select the ones you want to remove. You can also use a third-party tool such as Revo Uninstaller to remove leftover files and registry entries.

2. Clean up your disk. Over time, your disk can accumulate temporary files, cache files, duplicate files and other junk that can slow down your system. To clean up your disk, you can use the built-in disk cleanup tool, which you can find by typing «disk cleanup» in the Start menu. You can also use a third-party tool such as CCleaner to remove more types of files and optimize your registry.

3. Defragment your disk. If your disk is fragmented, it means that your files are stored in different parts of the disk, which can make it difficult to access them and slow down your system. To defragment your disk, you can use the built-in Defragment and Optimize Drives tool, which you can find by typing «defrag» in the Start menu. You can also use a third-party tool such as Defraggler to defragment specific files and folders.

4. Update your drivers and software. Outdated drivers and software can cause compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities and performance problems. To update your drivers and software, you can use the built-in Windows Update tool, which you can find by typing «Windows Update» in the Start menu. You can also use a third-party tool such as Driver Booster to search for and install the latest drivers for your devices.

5. Look for malware and viruses. Malware and viruses can infect your system, steal your data, damage your files and compromise your security. To scan for malware and viruses, you can use the built-in Windows Defender tool, which you can find by typing «windows defender» in the Start menu. You can also use a third-party tool such as Malwarebytes or Avast to detect and remove more types of threats.

By following these five steps, you can make your Windows PC more efficient, cleaner and faster. You should also perform these steps regularly to maintain the health and performance of your system.

If you want to free up some disk space on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC, you have a few options to choose from. Here are some tips on how to use the built-in tools to clean up your system and reclaim some storage.

One of the tools is called Disk Cleanup and allows you to remove various types of files that your system no longer needs or uses. You can access it by typing «disk cleanup» in the search box on the taskbar and selecting the application from the results. Alternatively, you can right-click on any drive in File Explorer and select Properties > General > Disk Cleanup.

When you start Disk Cleanup, it will scan your drive and show you a list of items that you can delete, along with the amount of space they occupy. You can scroll through the list and check the boxes of the items you want to delete. Some of the items include:

– Temporary files: These are files created by applications or system processes and are usually deleted automatically when they are no longer needed. However, they can sometimes be delayed and take up space unnecessarily.

– Previous Windows installations: these are files that remain after you upgrade your version of Windows or install a major update. They allow you to revert back to the previous version if something goes wrong or if you don’t like the new one. However, if you are happy with your current version of Windows and don’t plan to go back, you can delete these files to free up a lot of space.

– Downloads: these are files that you have downloaded from the Internet or other sources and stored in your personal Downloads folder. You may want to keep some of these files if they are important or useful, but you can also delete the ones you no longer need or have already used.

– Recycle Bin: These are files that you have deleted from your system but are still stored in the Recycle Bin in case you want to restore them. You can empty the Recycle Bin to permanently delete these files and free up space.

You can see an example of Disk Cleanup in Figure 1, where it shows a previous installation of Windows 11 taking up 12.7 GB of space. That’s a significant amount of space that you can reclaim if you don’t need it.

disk cleaning fig1Ed Tittel / IDG

Figure 1: Disk Cleanup shows how much space each item occupies and allows you to select what to delete.

Another tool you can use is called Storage Sense and is available in both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It is a feature that automatically deletes temporary files, old downloads, recycle garbage can contents and other unnecessary files when you are low on disk space. It can be run manually or at regular intervals. You can also run it manually whenever you want.

To access Storage Sense, go to Start > Settings > System > Storage and click on Configure Storage Sense or run it now (on Windows 10) or Cleanup Recommendations (on Windows 11). You will see a screen where you can adjust Storage Sense settings, such as how often it runs, what types of files it deletes, and how long it keeps them before deleting them. You can also click Clean up now (on Windows 10) or Advanced Options (on Windows 11) to run Storage Sense immediately and see which files it will delete.

When you run Storage Sense, it will scan your disk and show you a summary of how much space it will free up by deleting various types of files. You can review the details and uncheck any items you do not want to delete. Some of the items include:

– Temporary files: these are the same as in Disk Cleanup, but Storage Sense can also delete some additional temporary files that are not shown in Disk Cleanup, such as delivery optimization files (used to share updates with other PCs on your network) or devices. driver packages (used to install drivers for your hardware).

– Previous Windows installations: these are the same as in Disk Cleanup, but Storage Sense can also remove some additional previous Windows installations that are not shown in Disk Cleanup, such as recovery partitions or backup folders.

– Downloads: these are the same as in Disk Cleanup, but Storage Sense can also remove some additional downloads that are not shown in Disk Cleanup, such as files downloaded by Microsoft Edge or other browsers.

– Recycle Bin: They are the same as in the Disk Cleanup.

You can see an example of Storage Sense in Figure 2 (for Windows 10) and Figure 3 (for Windows 11), which shows how much space you will free up by deleting different types of files.

fig2 win10 senseEd Tittel / IDG storage fig2 win10 Tittel / IDG

Figure 2: In Windows 10, Storage Sense shows you a summary of how much space it will free up and allows you to run it manually.

Storage fig3 win11 win11 senseEd Tittel / IDG

Figure 3: In Windows 11, Storage Sense shows you more details and options for deleting different types of files.

Both Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense are useful tools to keep your system clean and free up disk space. However, you should always be careful and check which files they will delete before confirming the action, as some of them may be important or useful to you. You should also back up your data regularly in case something goes wrong or you need to restore something that was deleted by mistake.

We hope this blog post has helped you understand how to use Disk Cleanup and Storage Sensor in Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you have any questions or comments, let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!