I'm trying to free up space on my SSD, but I'm a bit worried about accidentally deleting important stuff. I've deleted temporary files, but I've seen suggestions to clear out everything in the AppData folder, which makes me nervous. I also moved the Program Files (x86) folder from my SSD to my HDD and cleared the previous files, but I regained the 40 GB I just freed up. Can anyone provide some safe recommendations for making more space?
4 Answers
Make sure to back up anything important before doing anything drastic. You could use free services like Google Drive to store important files. If you ever mess things up, reinstalling Windows and downloading your software and games again isn’t that bad if your files are backed up. It might just take a few hours to get everything back in place, and you won't lose anything vital!
Are you serious about moving the whole Program Files folder? That can cause a lot of issues. Usually, it’s better to just remove personal files or uninstall apps you don’t use. It’s safer and less risky than deleting system files.
Moving your Program Files folder like that can be tricky. Did you properly uninstall the programs before moving them? If not, some of your apps might not work now. About deleting AppData, I wouldn’t recommend it because it can wipe out many installed app settings and save files. How large is your SSD anyway? Have you tried using WinDirStat to check where most of your space is being used? It could help you figure out what to delete safely.
I've never used WinDirStat before.
I moved the folder, deleted the old one, and most apps seem fine now. My SSD is about 220 GB, but it keeps filling up like I just freed 10 GB and now it's dropped to 8 GB!
If it helps, I use Revo Uninstaller for programs and clean up the associated files to keep my SSD tidy. It's really effective at freeing up space without taking risks with system files.
My SSD is filling up fast! It went from 10 GB free to 8 GB in just a few minutes. What do I do?