How to Find Large Files on Your Windows 10 System

In today’s digital world, it is easy for our computers to become filled with large files taking up precious storage space. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to identify the largest files in your Windows 10 system, then look no further. This guide will show you how to find the files hogging your storage space so you can delete them or move them to an external drive. 

Ways to Find Large Files on Your Windows 10 System

Let’s dig into the nitty-gritty of how to find those large files hidden in the depths of your Windows 10 system. Several approaches are available for implementation, each possessing its own set of advantages and disadvantages. We’ll discuss the most effective ones here: using File Explorer, Disk Cleanup, and third-party apps. 

Method 1: Using File Explorer

File Explorer, formerly known as Windows Explorer, is the default file management application in Windows 10. It can be used to search for large files. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key + E or clicking on the folder icon from the taskbar.

2. In the File Explorer window, navigate to ‘This PC’.

3. Click on the ‘Search This PC’ box in the top right corner.

4. Type ‘size:gigantic’ and press Enter. 

This will show you all the files over 128MB in size. You can replace ‘gigantic’ with ‘large’, ‘huge’, or ‘medium’ to search for files of different sizes.

Method 2: Using Disk Cleanup

Windows 10 includes a built-in feature called Disk Cleanup, which enables you to reclaim disk space by removing redundant files. Here’s how to use it:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

2. Type ‘cleanmgr’ and press Enter to open the Disk Cleanup tool.

3. Select the drive you want to clean.

4. Click ‘OK’, then ‘Clean up system files’.

5. In the list of files to delete, look for ‘Previous Windows installation(s)’. This often takes up a large amount of storage space and can be safely deleted if you don’t plan on rolling back to a previous version of Windows.

Method 3: Using Third-Party Apps

Numerous third-party applications are accessible to assist you in identifying sizable files within your Windows 10 system. Tools like TreeSize Free, WinDirStat, and SpaceSniffer are popular choices. These applications offer a graphical depiction of your storage, simplifying the process of identifying the files and directories consuming the most disk space. 

Remember, always be cautious about what you delete. When uncertain about a file, it is advisable to refrain from making changes or conduct a brief online search to ascertain its purpose. 

Method 4: Using Command Prompt 

If you’re comfortable using the command-line interface, you can use the command prompt to find large files. Here’s how: 

1. Open the Start Menu 
2. Type ‘cmd’ and press Enter 

3. In the command-line interface, type ‘dir /s /a > [filename].txt’ and press Enter 

4. This will generate a text file containing a list of all the files and folders on your drive, sorted by size 

5. Once the text file is generated, use a text editor to search for the largest files 

Using Command Prompt is a great way to quickly find large files. Nonetheless, it’s crucial to emphasize that this approach exclusively functions with drives that have been formatted as NTFS. Also, since command-line operations are powerful, it’s important to be extra careful when using this method. 

Conclusion

Finding large files on your Windows 10 system is easier than you think. By employing suitable utilities, you can swiftly pinpoint and remove sizable files that consume valuable storage capacity. Whether you prefer to use a file manager like Explorer or a specialized tool like File Cleanup, it’s important to choose the method that works best for you. With a little bit of practice, you can make sure your system runs at peak performance and free up valuable storage space.