Disk Cleanup - Open and Use

How to Open and Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 7 and Windows 8​

   Information

You can use Disk Cleanup to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your drives, which can help your PC run faster. It can delete temporary files and system files, empty the Recycle Bin, and remove a variety of other items that you might no longer need.

This tutorial will show you how to open and use Disk Cleanup in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

   Note

The Disk Cleanup exe file is located at C:\Windows\System32\cleanmgr.exe.

   Warning

Checking the Hibernation File Cleaner option to be deleted will also disable hibernate.

Here's How:
1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type cleanmgr, and press Enter.

2. Select the drive that you want to use Disk Cleanup on, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You will not see this window unless you have more than one drive or partition on your computer.

3. You will now see this screenshot below for a moment. Afterwards, do step 4, 5, 6, or 7 below for what you would like to delete using Disk Cleanup.

4. To Delete Unnecessary Non-System Files
A) Check the type of files box that you want to delete, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

B) Click/tap on the Delete Files button. (see screenshot below)

C) The files will be deleted and Disk Cleanup will close.
5. To Delete Unnecessary System Files
A) Click/tap on the Clean up system files button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If you just did a upgrade install or repair install recently, then you will also see the Files discarded by Windows upgrade option. This would be for the C:\$INPLACE.~TR and C:\$WINDOWS.~Q folders. If you just did a custom install recently, then you will also see the Previous Windows installations option. This would be for the C:\Windows.old folder.

B) If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

C) Repeat steps 2 to 4.
6. To Open Programs and Features
NOTE: This will open the Programs and Features window where you can uninstall programs. Normally you could also do this by opening Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
A) Click/tap on the Clean up system files button, and repeat steps 2 and 3. (see screenshot below step 5A)

B) If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

C) Click/tap on the More Options tab. (see screenshot below)

D) Click/tap on the Clean up button under the top Programs and Features section. (see screenshot above)

E) Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below step 6C)

F) In Programs and Features, select any program that you want uninstall.

7. To Delete All but the Most Recent System Restore Point
NOTE: In Windows 7, this will also include deleting shadow copies (Previous Versions) that were created with the deleted restore point.
A) Click/tap on the Clean up system files button, and repeat steps 2 and 3. (see screenshot below step 5A)

B) If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

C) Click/tap on the More Options tab. (see screenshot below step 6C)

D) Click/tap on the Clean up button under the bottom System Restore and Shadow Copies section. (see screenshot below step 6C)

E) Click/tap on the Delete button to confirm the deletion. (see screenshot below)

F) Click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below step 6C)

G) Click/tap on the Delete Files button. (see screenshot below)

H) The files will be deleted and Disk Cleanup will close.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Delete System Protection Restore Points in Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove Disk Cleanup from Drive Properties Page
• How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7
• How to Create a System Maintenance Troubleshoot Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Use Extended Disk Cleanup in Windows 7
• How to Add "Disk Cleanup" to Context Menu in Windows
• How to Add "Extended Disk Cleanup" to Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How Use the Windows 7 SP1 Disk Cleanup Tool to Recover Lost Disk Space
• How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space in Windows 7
• How to Use File History Cleanup to Delete Older Versions of Files in Windows 8
• How to Use CCleaner to Clean Out Junk Files in Windows
• How to Remove Outdated Windows Updates in Disk Cleanup in Windows 7
• How to Use Windows Update Cleanup in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to View Disk Space Usage in Windows 8.1 Update

 

[Brink]

Hello Karthik,

It's safe to delete anything listed in Disk Cleanup as long as you do not want it. You will only be able to safely delete what is listed in Disk Cleanup though.

 

[vietdragon2009]

Is it ok to use programs like ccleaner or advanced systemcare without any registry or optimization features since they work faster?

 

[Brink]

Hello Vietdragon,

Sure, CCleaner is a great program to use.

 

[vietdragon2009]

ty

 

[somespirit]

With last Windows Update from October there is new option in Disk Cleanup Utility, new option is called - Windows Update Cleanup (see picture for more description what this option do)


real deleting of old (unused anymore) Windows updates is done when you restart your system .......

 

[7n7]

I'm a tech and workstation administrator at a company with many Windows 7 PCs. I've always liked to use Disk Cleanup before running a Defrag but was never sure if the Temp Internet files were only those found in my profile or in ALL profiles.

Thanks.

 

[Brink]

Hello 7n7, and welcome to Seven Forums.

I agree. I like cleaning up before defragging as well. Disk Cleanup will only delete the temp Internet file from your user account. Even if you click on "Clean up system files" to elevate Disk Cleanup.

 

[7n7]

Desk Cleanup

Thanks, Brink. Thought so.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome.

 

[MrSH4RKYY]

Thanks for this amazing tut man was in college and my teacher was going on about this (never went into depth) but this is what I was looking for saved 69GB thanks to you mate !

 

[Callender]

Advanced Disk Cleanup

The option to clean system files i not in my Disk Cleanup, why? what can i do?

edit:

i added the /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535 and now can see more options to clean, but cannot see the size of each one.

Your question doesn't relate to this tutorial. It relates to the Extended Disk Cleanup tutorial.

 

[blue skies]

Hello Brick,

I ran the built-in Disk Cleanup utility twice, and I still have 96 Files, 7 Folders left in AppData\Local\Temp

Isn't that Temp folder supposed to get cleaned out during Disk Cleanup? (Or does it only clean out the Temp folder that is under Program Files (x86)?

In the AppData\Local\Temp I still have an mp3 file from last year, a bunch of old PDFs, DOCs, CSVs etc. from years ago; and a bunch of files with no extension. Shouldn't those have been deleted when I ran Disk Cleanup?

Is there any problem with just highlighting and right-click-deleting everything in the folder myself?

I'm a little concerned about possibly creating a problem by manually deleting the files that lack extensions, more than anything.

 

[Brink]

Hello blue skies,

Yes, it'll be safe to delete anything in your %temp% folder. If you get a notice about anything "in use" or "open" when deleting, then you can just select to skip that item.

 

[blue skies]

Hello blue skies,

Yes, it'll be safe to delete anything in your %temp% folder. If you get a notice about anything "in use" or "open" when deleting, then you can just select to skip that item.

That's great. Thanks so much for letting me know!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome.

 

[teosmat]

Thanks for your help Brink! Your BAT fixed the endless windows explorer restarting loop!

 

[Brink]

I'm glad it could help teosmat, and welcome to Seven Forums.