I'm helping my younger sister with a Windows 11 laptop that is almost out of storage. She had installed Valorant and the Riot Games launcher, but after uninstalling them through Control Panel, they still seemed to be taking up space. I removed some leftover folders and uninstalled a few other programs, but the available storage barely changed. Disk Cleanup and CCleaner helped only a little, and the storage breakdown in Windows Settings hasn't made it clear what is using the remaining space. What's the best way to find and safely remove the files taking up so much room?
4 Answers
Check each user’s AppData folder, especially Local and Roaming. Game launchers, chat applications, browser caches, and saved media can accumulate there even after the main program is uninstalled. Use a scanner to see what is large, but don’t delete the entire folder or random folders inside it without checking what they belong to.
Use a disk space analyzer such as WizTree. It scans the drive and shows which folders and individual files are consuming the storage, so you can identify the real culprit instead of relying on the Apps category in Settings. Check the paths carefully before deleting anything, and back up important files first. For irreplaceable data, keep multiple backups on different types of storage, including one stored elsewhere.
Also inspect temporary files and downloaded installers. You can open the temporary-files cleanup options in Windows and review the categories before removing them. Avoid blindly deleting everything from system folders, since some files may be in use or needed by an application.
WinDirStat or TreeSize Free can do the same kind of analysis. They display the drive as an expandable folder tree, often with a visual map showing which files are largest. This can reveal old game files, installers, downloads, or application data that Windows incorrectly groups under Apps.
WinDirStat works, but it can be slow on a large drive. WizTree or TreeSize Free is usually quicker.
WizTree is a great choice because it scans much faster than many similar tools and makes unusually large folders easy to spot.