Running Disk Cleanup on a Windows computer

The Disk Cleanup utility comes installed on Windows computers. It removes unnecessary files to free up space on a disk drive on your computer. To run Disk Cleanup on a Windows computer, follow the steps for the type of computer you use.

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista
• Windows XP

Windows 7

1. Click Start.
2. Click All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. You should see the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection dialog box that looks similar to the following:
   
   
    
3. From the pull-down menu, choose the drive you want to clean.
4. Click OK.
5. Disk Cleanup will calculate the free space on your computer, which may take a few minutes.
6. After the calculation is complete, you should see a dialog box that looks similar to the following:
   
   
    
7. Confirm that only the following check boxes are checked:
   • Downloaded Program Files
   • Temporary Internet Files
   • Recycle Bin
   • Temporary Files
8. Click OK.
9. You should see a dialog box that asks Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?
   
   
    
10. Click Delete Files.
11. Disk Cleanup will delete the files and close automatically.

Windows Vista

1. Click Start.
2. Click All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. You should see the Disk Cleanup Options dialog box that looks similar to the following:

3. Click the Files from all users on this computer option.
4. Click Continue when prompted that Windows needs your permission to continue.
5. Click Drive C.
6. Click OK.
7. Disk Cleanup will calculate the free space on your computer, which may take a few minutes.
8. After the calculation is complete, you should see a dialog box that looks similar to the following:

9. Confirm that only the following check boxes are checked:
   • Downloaded Program Files
   • Temporary Internet Files
   • Recycle Bin
   • Temporary Files
10. Click OK.
11. You should see a dialog box that asks Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?
12. Click Delete Files.
13. Disk Cleanup will delete the files and close automatically.

Windows XP

1. Click Start.
2. Click All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.
3. Disk Cleanup will calculate the free space on your computer, which may take a few minutes.
4. After the calculation is complete, confirm that only the following check boxes are checked:
   • Downloaded Program Files
   • Temporary Internet Files
   • Recycle Bin
   • Temporary Files
5. Click OK and Yes when prompted to delete files.
6. Disk Cleanup will delete the files and close automatically.