How to check available storage space on your PC in Windows 11

Using Settings to Check Total and Available Drive Space

You can check storage on pc by opening the Settings ⚙️ app and looking at your drive breakdown. This screen shows your total drive capacity and available free space. It also sorts your files into categories like apps, temporary data, and personal documents so you know exactly what is filling up your hard drive or solid-state drive.

1. Open Settings ⚙️ by pressing the Win+I on your keyboard.

   

2. Select System from the left-hand menu, then click on Storage on the right side of the window.

   

3. Review the primary drive overview at the top to see your total capacity, used space, and free space.
4. Click on Show more categories to expand the list and see exact figures for Installed apps, Temporary files, Documents, and other data types.

   

5. Click on any specific category to drill down and examine individual items contributing to the storage load.

Checking Drive Health and Properties in File Explorer

You can check storage on pc for any individual drive or partition directly through File Explorer 📁. This method lets you view a colored capacity bar for external hard drives, secondary internal drives, and USB thumb drives without digging through the main configuration menus.

1. Open File Explorer 📁 by pressing the Win+E.

   

2. Click on This PC from the left sidebar to display all connected drives.
3. Locate the drive you want to examine. A colored capacity bar directly beneath the drive icon shows used space versus free space at a glance.

   

4. Right-click the drive and select Properties from the context menu 🖱️.
5. View the General tab to see a precise pie chart of Used space and Free space in gigabytes.

Using Storage Sense to Automatically Manage Free Space

You can use Storage Sense to automatically check storage on pc and delete unneeded files like temporary items and content in the Recycle Bin 🗑️. This built-in Windows 11 tool handles routine drive maintenance for you so you do not have to clean up your hard drive by hand every time it gets full.

1. Open Settings ⚙️ and navigate to System, then Storage.
2. Click on Storage Sense to open its configuration options.

   

3. Toggle the switch at the top to Enabled to let Windows manage cleanup routines automatically.
4. Configure your cleanup schedule by choosing how often you want Storage Sense to run using the drop-down menus below.
5. Scroll down and click the Run Storage Sense now button to execute an immediate cleanup pass.

Cleaning Up Temporary Files and System Residuals

You can check storage on pc for hidden temporary files left behind by operating system updates, installer caches, and previous Windows installations. These hidden files often take up gigabytes of space, and targeting them directly through the Settings ⚙️ app helps you quickly reclaim missing capacity.

1. Open Settings, go to System, and click Storage.
2. Click on Temporary files near the top of the category list and wait a few moments for Windows to scan the drive.
3. Check the boxes next to the types of data you want to remove, such as Windows Update Cleanup, Previous Windows installations, and Delivery Optimization Files. Note: Selecting Previous Windows installations prevents you from rolling

   

   back to an older version of the operating system.
4. Click the Remove files button at the top or bottom of the list.
5. Confirm the prompt to permanently delete the selected items.

Using Disk Cleanup for Advanced Drive Sweeps

You can check storage on pc and delete leftover system files using the classic Disk Cleanup tool. This legacy utility reaches deeper into system directories than the standard Settings app, giving you granular control over Windows update caches and old installation files.

1. Type Disk Cleanup into the taskbar search box and select the app from the results.
2. Select your primary drive from the drop-down menu and click OK.
3. Click the Clean up system files button (this step requires administrator privileges) and select your drive again if prompted.
4. Check the boxes next to system caches, old log files, and error reports you wish to clear.
5. Click OK, then click Delete Files to execute the cleanup.

Using Command Prompt to Check Storage and Volume Details

You can check storage on pc using text-based commands in the Command Prompt utility. This method is helpful if you prefer using the command line or need to check your drive partitions and volume details from a Windows recovery environment.

1. Type cmd in the taskbar search box, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator (this step requires administrator privileges).
2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
3. Type list volume and press Enter to see a numbered list of all partitions, their formats, total sizes, and remaining free space.
4. Type exit and press Enter to close the tool.

Finding Large Files with Disk Space Analyzers

You can check storage on pc and hunt down oversized folders using third-party disk space analyzer tools like WinDirStat or WizTree. These applications scan your entire file system and display your files as visual blocks, making giant media files and forgotten game installs easy to find.

1. Download and install a reputable disk analyzer utility.
2. Launch the program and select your primary drive to begin the scan.
3. Review the color-coded visual map where larger blocks represent bigger files and folders.
4. Click on any oversized block to identify the exact file path.
5. Right-click the offending file within the analyzer interface to delete it or move it to external storage.

Monitoring Storage Health and SMART Status

You can check storage on pc for hardware problems by monitoring the SMART status of your solid-state drive or hard drive. This built-in Windows 11 feature reads internal error metrics from your physical drive to help you spot signs of hardware failure before you lose your data.

1. Open Settings and navigate to System, then Storage.
2. Click on Advanced storage settings and select Disks & volumes.

   

3. Click on your primary drive to view its hardware properties.
4. Check the health status readout to ensure the drive reports normal operation. If you see warnings regarding bad sectors or impending failure, back up your important files immediately.

What to do next

You can finish managing your PC storage by moving large personal media libraries to an external hard drive or cloud storage provider if your internal drive remains full. Keeping your drive capacity clear helps maintain system performance and prevents future slowdowns.