WinDirStat is a free third-party tool that has been around for a long time, and it’s a hard drive usage statistic viewer that allows you to see exactly what files are taking the most space on your device. It does this by scanning the entire drive and generating an easy-to-visualized report with the size and location of each file, which is helpful information that you can use to clean up space on Windows 10. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to use the WinDirStat app to find out what files are filling out the hard drive on Windows 10.
Analyze what files are taking up space with WinDirStat
To understand what’s taking up space on Windows 10, you first need to download and install WinDirStat, and then run the tool.
Install WinDirStat on Windows 10
To install WinDirStat with the winget command on Windows 10, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, you can use the app to scan the entire drive and get a report of the current hard drive usage.
View files taking up space on Windows 10
To use WinDirStat to determine what files are taking up space on Windows 10, use these steps: After you complete the steps, WinDirStat will scan the drive, showing you a graphical report allowing you to understand what files are taking up the most space on the hard drive.
The report is divided into three main sections. On the top-left side, you’ll see a tree file structure that lets you see which folder takes the most space. You can drill down to find the file using the most space on the hard drive. On the top-right, you can see what file extensions use the most space. Also, at the bottom, you’ll find a graphical view known as a treemap representing each file as a rectangle—the bigger the rectangle, the bigger file on Windows 10. The color of each rectangle represents the file type as shown in the extension list. You can quickly select a rectangle to find the file name and location. If the file using a lot of space is one of your files, then you can use File Explorer to find and delete it. Also, you can right-click the file within WinDirStat to access options to copy the file’s path, open folder location with File Explorer or Command Prompt, and you will even get two options to delete the file. However, sometimes, files growing huge on your device are system files; typically, you can’t just click the delete button to remove them. If it turns out that it’s a system file, then make a note of the file’s name and research online how to remove it or reduce its size to free up space on Windows 10. For instance, it’s known that if you’re indexing the Outlook PST file, Windows 10 will try to index every email, and if you don’t reduce the number of emails the client downloads on your device, you could end up with a huge Windows.edb file taking up all the drive space. If this is the case, the proper way to reclaim the space is to rebuild the index database and not delete the Windows.edb file. All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.
