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Clean up your Windows hard drive (screenshots)

It's much easier to fill up your hard drive than it is to clean it. With so many folders and directories, how do you pinpoint what's taking up space?

Sharon Profis

As the Vice President of CNET Studios, Sharon leads the video, social, editorial design, and branded content teams. Before this role, Sharon led content development and launched new verticals for CNET, including Wellness, Money, and How To. A tech expert herself, she's reviewed and covered countless products, hosted hundreds of videos, and appeared on shows like Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and the Today Show. An industry expert, Sharon is a recurring Best of Beauty Awards judge for Allure. Sharon is an avid chef and hosts the cooking segment 'Farm to Fork' on PBS nationwide. She's developed and published hundreds of recipes.

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Sharon Profis

Sept. 7, 2011 10:45 a.m. PT

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Get started

To get started, download and install WinDirStat. Go with the recommended installation.

Select the drive you want to evaluate, or "all drives" if you have multiple hard disks. Click "OK."

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WinDirStat scans your drives

Depending on how big your hard drive is, WinDirStat will take about 5 to 10 minutes to evaluate your drive.

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Find out what's taking space

When the scan is complete, you'll be presented with the summary screen. The top half lists files and folders sorted by file size. If you click on a folder or file, the corresponding color block will be highlighted below.

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Click the color blocks

Alternatively, click the large blocks of color to find out which files are taking the most space.

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Once you've identified the culprit, right-click the file and choose "Delete (to Recycle Bin)" for later disposal, or "Delete (no way to undelete)" for permanent, irreversible deletion.