My Lenovo LOQ shows only 144 GB free out of 475 GB, even though I do not have many large games installed. I mainly have Europa Universalis IV, Roblox, and Minecraft, plus Steam, Epic Games, and Ubisoft Connect. My photos and videos use less than 20 GB, although I do have some game recordings. What is the safest way to find what is using the rest of the drive and remove unnecessary files without deleting important photos, videos, or other data?
4 Answers
Start by checking Windows Settings > System > Storage. It breaks the drive usage into apps, temporary files, documents, videos, and other categories. You can safely review temporary files, but inspect Downloads carefully before deleting anything. Windows Disk Cleanup is also useful; just leave Downloads unchecked unless you have confirmed those files are unwanted.
If a game is larger than expected, move its library to another drive if you have one. Steam supports moving installed games through its storage settings, and other launchers may let you change the install location or reinstall the game elsewhere. Also check the folder where your recording software saves clips, since those can grow quickly.
Disk Cleanup and Windows Storage cleanup are fine for SSDs; they do not damage the drive. The main caution is to review what is selected, especially Downloads, previous Windows installations, and personal files. Before deleting anything important, copy it to an external drive or cloud backup.
Use a drive-visualization tool such as WinDirStat or WizTree. It shows which folders are actually taking up space, so you can investigate large recordings, installer files, old backups, launcher caches, or game libraries instead of deleting random files. Delete files through their normal folders, and avoid manually removing anything from Windows or program folders unless you know exactly what it is.
A visual scan is probably the best first step here. It may reveal that recordings, Downloads, restore points, or hidden application data are using much more space than expected.