How often do you run out of storage space on your computer? Hopefully, never. If you notice your computer’s hard drive is filling up but you aren’t adding a lot of files to the drive, it might be temporary files such as cookies and browser cache files taking up space.

Before we dive in, we need to say that you should only proceed if you are confident with deleting files that are unnecessary. You don’t want to delete something that is of paramount importance to the functionality of your device. If you have any doubt at all—and we mean any doubt at all—you should consult your IT resource for guidance on how to move forward. Plus, if they find that your computer could benefit from some additional storage space, you might get an upgrade to your internal storage so that the problem doesn’t pop up again in the future.

Delete Temporary Files Using Settings

You can use the Settings application to delete your temporary files. To open this up, click on the gear icon in the Start menu. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut, Windows Key + I. Follow these instructions to delete your temporary files:

  • From the Settings window, click on the System option.
  • Select Storage in the left-hand panel
  • Under the Windows group, select Temporary Files
  • This option will show you temporary files on your computer.
  • Check the boxes for the types of files you want to delete.
  • Once you are ready, click the Remove Files button.

Again, we need to drive this point home: certain files might be needed by certain applications, so be careful about what you delete from your computer. Certain other files, like the ones in temporary Internet files, are generally safe to delete.

We know that navigating technology can be tricky at times, which is why we like to cover certain tips and tricks in this fashion. You never know when just a little trick like this will come in handy. Make sure that you never miss a blog article by subscribing to Reciprocal Technologies. We are always putting out articles about how you can master your technology solutions.