Monitor storage usage

  • 3 minutes

Windows simplifies the process of monitoring storage usage. In previous Windows versions, it was not easy to get an overview of what type of files took up space on the hard disks. Windows client gives you that information in the Storage section of System Settings. Storage gives you an easy way to manage all your storage and the files that a particular drive is storing. It presents a straightforward method to clean out the files you no longer need and an easy way to select the drive where you want to store different categories of files.

Storage

In Storage, you get an overview of all the volumes currently attached to your PC. This includes hard disks, USB drives, and other external storage. The drive that contains the Windows installation has the label This PC. You identify the other drives by label and drive letter. When you select a drive, you will get a more detailed view of the categories of files that are taking the most space. The categories are color-coded to make it easier to see how the space is divided.

Storage usage shows the size for the following categories of files:

  • System & reserved
  • Apps & features
  • Documents
  • Pictures
  • Music
  • Videos
  • Mail
  • OneDrive
  • Desktop
  • Maps
  • Other people
  • Temporary files
  • Other

Depending on the drive and category that you select, you will have different management options. If you select one of the file type categories on drives other than This PC, you will see a list of directories containing files from that category. For This PC, you have a choice to open File Explorer with that particular file type’s folder within the user’s profile.

System and Reserved

This category gives you a list of disk space used by Windows system files, virtual memory, hibernation file, and System Restore. You can select Manage System Restore to configure System Restore and decide how much disk space System Restore can use.

Apps and features

You can sort the application list by size, name, and install date. You can also search for an app by name, and when you select the app, you have easy access to uninstall the app.

OneDrive

You will be able to select which folders synchronize to this device to save disk space. This is particularly useful on devices with limited storage space, such as tablets.

Temporary Files

This category gives you a list of disk space used by temporary files, downloads, the recycle bin, and previous versions of Windows. For each item, there is an option to delete the files.

Save Locations

Storage usage also allows you to choose the drive to save new files. You can choose between the drives connected to your computer. If you are signed in with a Microsoft account, you can also choose OneDrive.