What is Actually Taking Up Space on My Computer?

Have you found yourself saying, “My computer is running low on storage space” lately? Low storage space on your computer will frustrate you and cause problems for your device. To effectively resolve your space problem, you must first source what is taking up most of it. 

In this blog, the team at My Computer Works has shared everything you need to know about maintaining your storage space by helping you identify what is actually taking up space on your computer. We’ve even taken it further by sharing effective tips for freeing up space and what you can use to stop your PC’s storage from becoming too constrained. 

Why Maintaining Free Space on Your Computer Matters

A lack of space on your device can affect its longevity and performance capabilities. When your device performs its daily operations, you may have experienced a slight delay between opening applications, slow boot-up times, and sluggish response. Additionally, your computer needing more free space can lead to other frustrating problems, such as system crashes and errors when saving new data. 

Luckily, effective storage management can easily avoid these issues. By managing your storage, your device will run efficiently, as it will be capable of processing new software and updates and storing important data and files. Not to mention, you will have space for everything you need to store, whether personal or work files. 

Common Signs Your Computer’s Storage Is Running Low

When your hard drive is at capacity, you will usually receive a warning popup that states, “Computer storage full.” You may also receive other frequent error messages mentioning insufficient disk space, telling you you are about to run out of space. 

When receiving these alerts, you must address your storage as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will experience crashes, computer freezing, and other operational problems. These are all signs that your computer’s storage space is running low. 

Understanding Storage Units: From Bytes to Gigabytes

If the terms gigabytes and bytes confuse you, don’t worry; they are not too confusing once you know what they mean. Although some key differences exist, you must understand that digital data uses storage units as crucial building blocks. 

Bytes (B) are your starting point, and then the storage units will scale up to kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and so on. A byte represents only one character, whereas a kilobyte equates to about 1024 bytes. The larger scales, such as gigabytes, have thousands, if not millions, of bytes. 

Now that you have a brief understanding of storage units, you have the first step to effectively managing your storage space. These quantities will help you determine where your storage space is most consumed.

How to Check Your Computer’s Storage on Mac and Windows

As you now know, reviewing your storage can prevent potential problems. Fortunately, checking the storage on your computer is easy. 

For Mac users, start by clicking on the Apple menu button. Then, find and click on “System Settings.” Once open, find and click on the “General” tab. After that, click on “All Volumes.” This tab will show you a clear breakdown of all of your storage that is in use.

For Windows users, open ”Settings,” which you can find by clicking “Start” and clicking on the gear icon. Once the “Settings” menu has opened, click the “System” option and select “Storage.” You will then be presented with all storage drives and their storage capacity.

Identifying Space Hogs: What’s Taking Up Your Storage?

Five main culprits are consuming your PC’s storage space. Below, we break down what they are and how they do so. 

Operating System Files: The Role of System Files in Storage Usage

Operating system files are essential for keeping your computer functioning. However, they consume a large portion of storage space. Your device’s operating system will have crucial files, such as drivers and core system applications, which take up significant space and can sometimes leave limited storage space for your personal data.

As your device installs patches and updates, you will find that these files will inevitably get larger and consume more space each time. To help regulate this, clean up system files or utilize tools that reduce unnecessary space takers on Windows platforms or OS bloat if you use a Mac computer. 

Applications and Software: How Installed Programs Consume Space

Any application installed on your device will take some storage space on your hard drive. Some applications and programs, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, games, and Microsoft Office, consume far more space than others. 

As these apps and programs update, they will consume more space as they generate additional data, such as backups, logs, and caches. To mitigate this and save space, you must regularly review and uninstall any apps or programs that are not in use.

User Data: Managing Documents, Photos, Videos, and Music

Your personal data is often the biggest culprit besides your computer’s operating system files when it comes to excessive data storage. Your photos, music, and videos, especially high-resolution videos or images, all take up a significant portion of your available storage. 

If you are struggling with storage due to this, it may be time to organize your data by deleting duplicate content and moving unneeded files. When deleting duplicate media, you can transfer any old data to your external files. You should also consider using a trusted cloud storage option to free up your local drive as an alternative storage method.

Temporary Files: Understanding Cache, Temp Files, and Transient Data

Your applications and operating system store interim data by using temporary files. These files are often kept long after they are required on your device, which builds up and consumes storage space. 

To mitigate this issue, learn how to free up disk space and clear the cache using the built-in tools to perform a regular disk cleanup routine. Windows has the Disk Cleanup tool; on Mac, you must use third-party applications to help remove unnecessary files.

System Restore Points and Backups: Hidden Storage Consumers

Your computer will have system restore points, which provide its state and allow you to revert to a previous state if an error or crash occurs. These are imperative if you need to recover data you don’t want to lose; however, they can take up a lot of storage space. You can manage how much space these recovery points use by reviewing all your backup and restore files. You can delete whatever restore point you don’t need to save space. 

Effective Tips for Freeing Up Space on Your Computer

Now that you know where and what is consuming your space on your computer, you should consider using these tips to free up space on your device effectively:

• Conduct a computer disk cleanup.
• Learn how to compress files using tools.
• Clear computer storage once a month or quarterly at a minimum.
• Maintain and remove unnecessary files, utilize built-in tools such as Disk Cleanup on Windows or the Storage Management tool on Mac. 
• Utilize a third-party application that will scan through your device and find and remove any junk files and duplicates your built-in tools may have missed.

Using External Drives and Preventative Measures to Maintain Free Space

External computer storage devices and drives are suitable for backing up and offloading large files from your computer. By regularly transferring your data to external hard drives and USBs, you will automatically free up space and have backups if you ever experience a system failure and free up storage space. 

The Wrap-Up On What Is Taking Up Space On Your Computer

Now you know what is taking up space on your PC and the steps you can take to ensure you always have free space so that your computer runs as it should. With the valuable information we’ve provided and helpful tips, you should be able to perform your own troubleshooting and resolution efficiently if you encounter storage issues.

However, we understand that storage woes can be challenging to handle. That’s why we’re prepared to help. Our professional technicians at My Computer Works will patiently help you resolve any storage problems you are struggling with today. Contact us now so that we can address your concerns.