Just like in all previous versions, the Windows 11 C: drive is running out of space. Many users report that the C drive is full after a Windows 11 update, and some even find that the C drive is getting full for no apparent reason. This issue is annoying because users try various methods, yet the C drive runs out of space again in a short time. It can cause many problems if the C drive is full on a Windows 11 laptop, desktop, or tablet. For example, the computer may become slower, get stuck, reboot unexpectedly, or even crash. Therefore, you had better fix this issue as fast as possible. This article introduces how to fix the Windows 11 C drive full issue quickly and easily.
Why Is C Drive Running Out of Space in Windows 11 Computer
On most Windows 11 laptops, desktops, and tablets, the main reason is simply that the C drive is filling up. All programs are installed to the C: drive by default, and many people leave this setting unchanged. The more programs you install, the less free space is left. In addition, games and some heavy applications are very large and output massive files.
Besides program installations and their output files, Windows itself continuously generates many types and a large amount of system files, such as cache, temporary files, downloads, and Recycle Bin data. The longer you run the computer, the more junk files are saved in the C: drive.
If you have enabled system protection, hibernation, and other services, very large files will also be saved on the C drive.
What to Do When C Drive Runs Out of Space in Windows 11
When the C drive is running out of space on a Windows 11 computer, the first thing you should do is clean up the C drive to remove junk and unnecessary files. Like previous versions, Windows 11 has a native Disk Cleanup tool to help free up disk space on the C drive. This native tool is easy to use, fast, and safe to use when deleting junk files.
How to clean up the disk when the C drive is full in a Windows 11 laptop/desktop/tablet:
- Press the Windows and R keys together, type cleanmgr, and press Enter. Select the C: drive in the next window.
- Check the boxes in front of the files that you want to delete.
- Confirm the deletion in the next window.
- Repeat step 1 and click Clean up system files in step 2.
Additional steps to fix the Windows 11 C drive out of space issue:
- Move installed apps and games out of the C drive.
- Change the output path of applications to another large partition.
- Set the Paging file to another partition instead of the C drive.
- Decrease the space usage allowed for the Recycle Bin and System Protection.
The steps above are usually enough to help reclaim disk space on the C drive. Of course, there are other methods, such as searching for duplicate files and deleting some of them, but running these types of third-party tools is not recommended. If you created the C drive too small initially, or if you cannot get over 20GB of free space on the C drive after cleaning up, the best solution is to move free space to the C drive from another partition.
Vital Solution to Fix Windows 11 C Drive Full Issue Completely
Whether you use an SSD or a mechanical HDD for the system disk, you had better expand the C drive to be as large as possible. With a reliable partition tool, you can move free space from another volume on the same disk and add it to the C drive quickly and safely. After doing this, the operating system, programs, and everything else remain exactly the same as before.
Compared to other tools, NIUBI Partition Editor has powerful 1-Second Rollback, Virtual Mode, Cancel-at-will and Hot-Clone technologies to protect your system and data. It provides a free edition for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP home computer users.
Download this tool and watch the video to see how to add more free space to the C drive from other partitions:
If your system disk is small or all partitions are getting full, you can copy this disk to a larger one and extend the C drive (and other partitions) with the extra disk space. Besides shrinking/extending volumes and copying disk partitions, NIUBI Partition Editor helps you perform many other operations.
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