当我们想要调整Windows的不同方面时，我们更喜欢使用(Windows)操作系统(operating system)提供的内置工具。所有现代版本的Windows，尤其是Windows 10，都提供了一些您可以使用的出色工具。一种这样的工具是被低估的磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)，它允许您释放分区上的空间并安全地删除不再需要的系统文件。让我们看看它是如何工作的，以及为什么它是所有 Windows 版本中清理存储空间的最佳工具之一：(storage space)
磁盘清理在 Windows 中的工作原理
磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)或cleanmgr.exe是用于删除不必要的文件和释放(cleanmgr.exe)存储空间(storage space)的最佳 Windows 程序之一。它不像许多承诺相同事情的第三方工具那样具有侵入性。这些工具可能会删除特定应用程序运行良好所需的文件，并且它们还倾向于深入挖掘Windows 注册表(Windows Registry)并删除可能对操作系统(operating system)有用的条目。相反，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)仅删除 100% 安全删除的文件，并且不会对Windows或任何已安装应用程序的运行产生负面影响。
在分析您的磁盘空间时，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)会查找可以删除的临时文件、已移动到回收站(Recycle Bin)的文件（表明您不再需要它们）、Windows 可以在没有它们的情况下运行的各种系统文件、离线网页、设置日志(setup log)文件等。如果您想减少HDD 或 SSD(HDD or SSD)上不必要文件的数量，我们建议您使用磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)。
关于此工具，您应该记住的一件事是，它在安装Windows的分区上使用时效果最佳。如果您在其他分区上使用它，它只会删除在回收站(Recycle Bin)中找到的文件和文件夹。因此(Therefore)，在“C:”驱动器以外的分区上使用它效率不高。
磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)工具位于磁盘上的以下文件夹中：“ C:WindowsSystem32”。
如何从 Windows 中清理不必要的文件
首先，您必须打开Disk Cleanup。您可以在本教程中找到执行此操作的所有方法：在Windows（所有版本）中启动磁盘清理的 11 种方法。(Disk Cleanup)一种快速的方法(fast method)是使用搜索功能(search feature)。在您的Windows(Windows)版本的相应搜索字段(search field)中，键入单词“磁盘”。然后，单击或点击磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)搜索结果。
如果您的Windows 计算机或设备(Windows computer or device)上只有一个分区，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)会自动扫描您可以删除的文件以释放空间。
如果您的Windows 设备(Windows device)有两个或更多分区，系统会要求您选择要清理的驱动器。单击(Click)或点击驱动器(Drives)下拉框并选择所需的驱动器。然后，按OK。
等待磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)分析选定的驱动器并显示可以清理哪些文件。在此过程中会显示一个进度条，在具有(progress bar)SSD 驱动器(SSD drive)的计算机上执行通常需要不到一分钟，而在具有HDD驱动器的计算机上执行通常需要几分钟。完成后，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)会显示可以释放的内容。在“要删除的文件”("Files to delete")部分，您会看到可以删除的不同类型的文件。这包括下载的程序文件(Downloaded Program Files)、临时 Internet 文件(Temporary Internet Files)、传递优化文件(Delivery Optimization Files)、回收站(Recycle Bin)、系统错误文件(System error files)、临时文件(Temporary files)等。对于每个类别的项目，您会看到它们目前占用了多少空间。选择一个类别以查看其描述及其包含的文件类型。
通过选择适当的类别来决定(Decide)要删除的文件。选择完要删除的所有内容后，单击或点击(click or tap) 确定(OK)。显示一条确认消息(confirmation message)。按“删除文件”("Delete Files,")，清理过程开始。
磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)显示一个类似于下图的进度条。(progress bar)
清理完成后，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)会自动关闭。如果要释放另一个驱动器上的空间（如果可用），则需要再次启动该工具并选择该驱动器进行分析和清理(analysis and cleanup)。
如何从 Windows 中删除不需要的系统文件
磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)提供了一个鲜为人知的选项，它还允许你清理系统文件，如以前的Windows安装、Windows Defender文件、Windows 更新(Windows Update)文件和你可能不再需要的Windows升级日志文件。(Windows)执行标准分析时不会显示这些文件。此外，除非您以管理员身份登录，否则无法清理此类文件，或者您可以在请求时提供管理员密码(administrator password)。
首先，运行Disk Cleanup，选择要清理的驱动器（如果您有多个分区）并执行标准分析，如上一节所示。然后单击或点击(click or tap) “清理系统文件”。("Clean up system files.")
如果您的Windows 计算机或设备(Windows computer or device)上有多个驱动器可用，系统会再次要求您选择要分析的驱动器。选择它并单击或点击OK。如果您只有一个驱动器，分析会自动开始。分析完成后，您会注意到两个不同之处：“要删除的文件”("Files to delete")列表更大，并且您还有一个名为“更多选项”的附加选项卡。("More Options.")我们将在本教程的下一部分中告诉您有关此附加选项卡的信息。现在，让我们坚持“要删除的文件”("Files to delete")列表。该列表现在包括许多可以安全删除的系统文件类型。
例如，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)可以删除相当多的不再需要的Windows Update文件、不再有用的(Windows Update)设备驱动程序(device driver)包、用于升级到最新版本Windows的文件等等。
选择要删除的文件类型，单击或点击(click or tap) 确定(OK)，然后按Delete Files确认您的选择。
清理过程(cleanup process)开始，您会看到一个进度条(progress bar)。清理系统文件比清理临时文件花费的时间要长得多。因此，请用一些耐心武装自己。清理完成后，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)会自动关闭。
如何删除不使用的程序
当您要求Disk Cleanup分析和清理系统文件时，会显示一个名为(Disk Cleanup)More Options的附加选项卡。此选项卡具有其他工具，可用于释放更多空间。首先(First)，如果您单击或点击“程序和功能(Programs and Features)”类别中的“清理”(Clean up)按钮，则会显示“程序和功能(Programs and Features)”窗口，您可以从中手动卸载不再使用的桌面应用程序。
如何删除系统还原(System Restore)快照
在More Options 选项卡中，在名为(More Options)System and Restore and Shadow Copies的部分中有另一个清理(Clean up)按钮。当您单击或点击它时，您可以清理除最近的系统还原点之外的所有系统还原点。(System Restore)系统会要求您确认是否要删除除最近的还原点之外的所有还原点(restore point)。单击(Click)或点击删除(Delete)，然后在下次系统重新启动(system reboot)期间，在您登录之前清理这些文件。
如果您想在手动重新启动Windows之前做一些工作，请关闭“磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)”窗口。清理计划在您按下Delete的那一刻进行。
如何使用磁盘清理查看您将要删除的文件(Disk Cleanup)
对于某些可以删除的文件类别，磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)允许您查看可以删除的文件。单击(Click)或点击查看文件(View files)按钮（如果显示），Windows会直接在找到所选文件的文件夹中打开文件资源管理器(File Explorer)或Windows 资源管理器(Windows Explorer)，具体取决于您使用的Windows版本。(Windows)
浏览(Browse)这些文件，然后决定是否要“磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)”删除它们。
结论
磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)是一款出色但被低估的Windows 工具(Windows tool)，用于释放磁盘空间。您不需要任何可能会搞砸的第三方解决方案。磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)运行良好，功能强大，并且不会破坏您的Windows 安装(Windows installation)。不要犹豫，更频繁地使用它。你会喜欢使用它的。
How to free up wasted space with Disk Cleanup, in Windows
When we want tо tweak different aspects of Windows, we prefer to use the built-in tools prоvіded by the operatіng system. All modern νersions of Windows and especially Windows 10, provide some great tools you can use. One such tool is the underrated Disk Cleanup, which allows you to free up space on your partitions and safely remove system files that you no longer need. Let's see how it works and why it is one of the best tools for cleaning up storage space, in all versions of Windows:
How Disk Cleanup works in Windows
Disk Cleanup or cleanmgr.exe is one of the best Windows programs for removing unnecessary files and freeing up storage space. It is not as invasive as many third-party tools that promise the same thing. Those tools may remove files that are required by specific apps to run well, and they also tend to dig deep into the Windows Registry and remove entries that may be useful to the operating system. Instead, Disk Cleanup only removes files that are 100% safe to remove, and do not negatively affect the functioning of Windows, or any of your installed apps.
When analyzing your disk space, Disk Cleanup looks for temporary files that can be removed, for the files that you have already moved to the Recycle Bin (signaling that you do not need them anymore), a variety of system files that Windows can run without, offline web pages, setup log files and so on. If you want to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your HDD or SSD, we recommend that you use Disk Cleanup.
One thing that you should remember about this tool is that it works best when used on the partition where Windows is installed. If you use it on other partitions, it only removes the files and folders that are found in the Recycle Bin. Therefore, using it on partitions other than the "C:" drive is not efficient.
The Disk Cleanup tool is located on the disk, in the following folder: "C:WindowsSystem32".
How to clean up unnecessary files from Windows
First, you have to open Disk Cleanup. You can find all the methods for doing that, in this tutorial: 11 ways to start Disk Cleanup, in Windows (all versions). One fast method to do it is to use the search feature. In the appropriate search field for your version of Windows, type the word "disk." Then, click or tap the Disk Cleanup search result.
If you have only one partition on your Windows computer or device, Disk Cleanup starts by automatically scanning for files that you can delete to free up space.
If your Windows device has two or more partitions, you are asked to select the drive that you want to clean up. Click or tap the Drives drop-down box and select the desired drive. Then, press OK.
Wait for Disk Cleanup to analyze the selected drive and display what files can be cleaned up. A progress bar is shown during this process which generally takes less than a minute to perform, on a computer with an SSD drive, and a few minutes on one with an HDD. When done, Disk Cleanup shows what can be freed up. In the "Files to delete" section, you see different types of files that can be deleted. This includes items such as Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Delivery Optimization Files, Recycle Bin, System error files, Temporary files and others. For each category of items, you see how much space they occupy at the moment. Select a category to see its description and what kind of files it includes.
Decide which files to delete by selecting the appropriate categories. When you are done selecting everything you want to be deleted, click or tap OK. A confirmation message is shown. Press "Delete Files," and the cleanup process starts.
Disk Cleanup shows a progress bar similar to the one below.
When the cleanup is done, Disk Cleanup closes itself automatically. If you want to free space on another drive (if available), you need to start the tool again and select that drive for analysis and cleanup.
How to delete unneeded system files from Windows
Disk Cleanup provides a lesser-known option that also allows you to clean system files like previous Windows installations, Windows Defender files, Windows Update files, and Windows upgrade log files that you might no longer need. These files are not shown when performing a standard analysis. Also, such files cannot be cleaned up unless you log in as an administrator or you can provide the administrator password when requested.
First, run Disk Cleanup, select the drive that you want to clean up (if you have more than one partition) and perform a standard analysis, as shown in the previous section. Then click or tap "Clean up system files."
You are asked again to select the drive you want to analyze if more than one drive is available on your Windows computer or device. Select it and click or tap OK. If you have only one drive, the analysis is started automatically. When the analysis is done, you will notice two differences: the "Files to delete" list is larger, and you also have an additional tab called "More Options." We will tell you about this additional tab in the next section of this tutorial. For now, let's stick to the "Files to delete" list. This list now includes many types of system files that can be safely deleted.
For example, Disk Cleanup can delete quite a few Windows Update files that are no longer needed, device driver packages that are no longer useful, files that were used to upgrade to the latest version of Windows, and so on.
Select the types of files you want to delete, click or tap OK and confirm your choice by pressing Delete Files.
The cleanup process starts, and you are shown a progress bar. The cleanup of system files takes a lot longer than the cleanup of temporary files. Therefore, arm yourself with some patience. When the cleanup is done, Disk Cleanup closes itself automatically.
How to remove programs that you do not use
When you ask Disk Cleanup to analyze and clean system files, an additional tab is displayed, named More Options. This tab has additional tools that can be used to free up even more space. First, if you click or tap the Clean up button from the Programs and Features category, the Programs and Features window is shown, from which you can manually uninstall desktop apps you no longer use.
How to remove System Restore snapshots
In the More Options tab, there is another Clean up button found in the section named System and Restore and Shadow Copies. When you click or tap on it, you can clean up all System Restore points except the most recent. You are asked to confirm that you want to delete all but the most recent restore point. Click or tap Delete and, during the next system reboot, those files are cleaned up, before your login.
If you want to do some work before manually restarting Windows, close the Disk Cleanup window. The cleanup was scheduled the moment you pressed Delete.
How to view the files that you are about to delete with Disk Cleanup
For some of the categories of files that can be deleted, Disk Cleanup allows you to view the files that can be deleted. Click or tap the View files button if it shows up and Windows opens File Explorer or Windows Explorer, depending on the version of Windows that you are using, straight at the folder where the selected files are found.
Browse those files and then decide if you want Disk Cleanup to delete them.
Conclusion
Disk Cleanup is an excellent yet underrated Windows tool for freeing up space on your disk. You do not need any third party solutions that are likely to screw something up. Disk Cleanup works well, it is powerful, and it does not ruin your Windows installation. Do not hesitate to use it more often. You will love it using it.
