We have already seen all the ways to free up disk space on Windows, but if you use a computer with a not too large hard disk, maybe an SSD solid state disk, to have the maximum physical memory space available you have to necessarily cancel system files. Not all of these suggestions are actually recommended to everyone, some, and we will notice it, can cause malfunctions and should be followed only in urgent cases, when there is really no alternative.
6 types of system files can still be deleted from Windows without affecting the functioning of the computer, streamlining and minimizing the space of the operating system .
1) Delete the Windows Update uninstallation files
Windows allows you to uninstall the patches installed by Windows Update, which is useful only if a specific update provokes problems.
For 99% of cases, this does not happen so it is worthwhile to delete all the uninstall files that will never be used.
We have already talked about this possibility in the recent guide on how to clean Windows Update to free up 4 GB of disk space .
In this regard, in Windows 10 and 8.1 it is also possible to control how much space can be recovered from the WinSxS folder
2) Delete the recovery partition
Windows computers, those bought already assembled and especially laptops, are often delivered to the user with a recovery partition included.
This allows you to restore your computer to its factory state in the event of errors, problems, viruses and more.
The recovery partition is a part of the disc reserved and not usable for documents and other files, which allows you to reinstall Windows or reset the functions of the PC.
If you consider yourself good enough to be able to reinstall Windows from scratch at any time or if you use a different backup program, this recovery partition can also be deleted.
These partitions take up a lot of space, even up to 10 GB or more.
Instead of this preconfigured partition, you can also create a USB recovery disk on Windows 8 and 7 easily.
To use it, however, you also need to have the installation DVD of Windows 7 or Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 aside.
To delete the recovery partition you can use the Easus Partition Master program, delete the disk part reserved for recovery (or recovery) and unify it with the main one.
3) Disable the hibernation file
Windows creates a suspension file hidden in C: \ hiberfil.sys, a file protected by the system and not visible.
Whenever the computer hibernates, Windows saves the contents of the RAM to the hibernation file and shuts down the computer.
As written in more detail in another article on when hibernation or hibernation is used in Windows, the rebooted PC after hibernation reads the contents of the saved file and restores the computer to the state it was in before it was shut down.
This file must contain a large part of the contents of the RAM, about 75%, which can be 3GB or even more.
If hibernation is worth using hibernation on a laptop, then on a desktop PC you cannot delete the file by disabling hibernation in the power saving options of the Control Panel.
4) Delete the paging file .
The Windows paging file is a file that Windows uses when RAM fills up.
Windows uses a part of the ahrd disk as if it were RAM in order to always guarantee memory available for applications.
The paging file is located in C: \ pagefile.sys, also hidden and not erasable.
You can reduce it or deactivate it in case you need space as explained in the post on the paging file and virtual memory settings.
If disabling it is not recommended, however, it may be useful to reduce it if you have a lot of RAM or move it to another disk.
5) Delete the System Restore files
Windows System Restore uses hard disk space to write files that are used to recover the state of the computer a few days earlier.
In practice, if after a wrong installation or any error, the computer no longer works as before, you can restore the configuration as before.
Windows seems to use around 10 GB of space by default.
If you need to free this space, you can delete the files by disabling the system restore or by minimizing the space to be allocated for this purpose.
The option is found in the advanced system settings, from Control Panel -> System -> System Protection -> Configure button .
6) Delete orphaned and unnecessary file installers.
This is explained in the guide on how to clean up the Windows Installer folder to recover Giga on PC
7) Reinstall Windows using a reduced and customized version
If you really want to reduce the space occupied by Windows, you can install it in a lite version by choosing what to include and what not.
You can use tools to modify Windows installation discs, such as WinReducer for Windows 8 or RT Se7en Lite for Windows 7, which allow you to create a customized installation disc, with updates already included and with a default configuration.
To find out more, see:
- Custom installation of Windows 7, XP and Vista
- Create an automatic and reduced installation CD of Windows 8 (Lite)
