Many people face the issue of not having enough storage space on their computers, especially as technology advances and our files get bigger and bigger. One solution that many people try is to delete old files to free up some space.
However, if you find that deleting files is not helping, you can do a few other things. In this blog post, we will discuss some of those things.
Why Doesn’t Deleting Files Free Up Storage Space?
If you’re like most people, you probably have a lot of stuff stored on your computer. Music, photos, videos, documents – it can all add up quickly. And as your storage gets full, your computer can start to slow down. So it stands to reason that if you want to speed up your computer, you should delete some files you don’t need.
Deleting files or folders is relatively easy. If you need a guide, you can look for how to delete folders on Mac or another computer.
But deleting files doesn’t free up any storage space on your hard drive. That’s because when you delete a file, all you’re doing is telling the computer that the space that file was using is now available for new data. The file itself is still there, taking up space.
Potential Fixes if Deleting Files Doesn’t Free up Storage Space
If you’re finding that deleting files isn’t giving you the storage space you need, there are a few other things you can try:
1. Empty Recycle Bin
Deleting files from your computer’s internal hard drive doesn’t free up storage space. The deleted items are just moved to the Recycle Bin and take up room on the original drive, so deleting them won’t remove any extra clutter or make a difference in how much you have left with the storage space.
You must permanently delete your files to free up storage space by emptying the Recycle Bin.
To empty it, go to the desktop and right-click on the Recycle Bin. Then, select Empty Recycle Bin from the menu.
2. Run CHKDSK
You might be unable to free up storage space by deleting the files because there are bad sectors on your hard drive. These areas of the drive are damaged and can’t be used to store data. When Windows tries to write data to a bad sector, it can’t, and the data is lost.
You can use the Check Disk tool to scan your hard drive for bad sectors and repair them.
To do this:
- Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
- Type in chkdsk C: /f /r and press Enter.
- This will scan your C drive for errors and repair them.
3. Run First Aid
If you’re using a Mac and can’t free up storage space by deleting files, you can try running First Aid. This is a built-in utility that can help fix errors on your hard drive.
To use it:
- Open the Disk Utility application.
- Select your hard drive from the list and click on the First Aid tab.
- Click on the Run button to start the scan.
4. Reformat Your Hard Drive
If you’ve tried all the above and still can’t free up enough storage space, your last resort is to reformat your hard drive. This will erase all of the data on the drive and give you a fresh start. Remember that this will delete everything on your hard drive, so you should back up your data first.
To reformat your hard drive:
- Open the Disk Utility application.
- Select your hard drive from the list and click on the Erase tab.
- Click on the Erase button to start the process.
5. Create Partition
You can create a partition if you have a lot of data and want to keep it, but you also need to free up storage space. This will split your hard drive into two separate sections, one for your data and one for your operating system and other files.
To create a partition:
- Open the Disk Utility application.
- Select your hard drive from the list and click on the Partition tab.
- Click on the Add button to create a new partition.
- Give the partition a name and select the space you want to allocate.
6. Transfer Data to External Device
If you have important data that you don’t want to lose but need to free up space on your hard drive, you can transfer it to an external device. This could be a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, or even a cloud storage service.
Connect the device to your computer to transfer files to an external device and copy and paste the files into the appropriate folder.
7. Third-Party Backup and Recovery Software
Another option for backing up your data is to use third-party backup and recovery software. This software can help you create data backups and store them on an external device or in the cloud.
There are many different types of backup and recovery software available, so be sure to research to find the one that best meets your needs.
Final Thoughts
Deleting files is not the only way, nor the best way, to free up storage space on your computer. If you’re finding it’s not working, try one of the other methods listed above. With any luck, one of them will do the trick.