Windows laptop:
Managing storage
Learn everything you need to know about monitoring and managing the storage on your computer. You’ll learn how to manage the files stored on your computer and delete any unwanted files to free up storage space and keep your computer running smoothly.
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Transcript
Welcome to the Windows laptop Managing storage course. In this course, you'll learn how to maintain your computer's performance to keep it running smoothly. You'll learn about how to make sure you don't run out of space for files. How to delete unwanted files. And how to safely get them back if you make a mistake.
To follow along with this demonstration your computer must have the latest edition of Windows, which is Windows 10. All Windows 10 computers work in a similar way, but because each computer maker does things a little differently, some of the screens in this video might vary from those on your computer. Don't worry though, you should still be able to follow along.
It should take around 18 minutes to complete the video. But you can pause, or rewind, to check any steps you're unsure about.
Before you begin, make sure your Windows computer is installed with Windows 10, plugged into mains power, properly connected to a mouse, switched on and showing the desktop. You should also have a USB stick that hasn't been shared with anyone else. If you don't have a USB stick, don't worry, you'll still be able to follow along.
Your computer stores all your files and information on its hard drive. It can also be called a hard disc, or even a hard disc drive. If your computer's hard drive fills up, you won't be able to save documents, download from the internet, or do anything really.
Fortunately, your Windows computer comes with a feature called Storage Sense, that keeps an eye on how much space the computer has left. Storage Sense can tell which things on the hard drive are yours, and which are files made by applications on your computer that are no longer needed, and can be safely deleted. This frees up space so your computer keeps working at its best.
To turn Storage Sense on, first, click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen. When the panel opens, click on the icon that looks like a cogwheel. This will open Windows Settings. You will see a number of icons, each representing a setting on your computer. Find the icon for System, and click on it to open the System menu. On the left, find the option called Storage, and click on it. The right panel then changes to show the Storage options. Here, you can get a quick overview of how much space your files are using, and how much is still free.
Some of the terms on this screen are a bit technical. But the most useful part is this bar in the middle. This part shows you how much free space your computer has. And, this part tells you how much space your computer has already used.
Back at the top of the panel, find the option Configure Storage Sense or run it now, and click on it. The Storage Sense options panel opens. To turn Storage Sense on, click on the switch so it changes from Off to On. That's all there is to it. Your computer will now monitor things for you to help make sure you don't run out of space. Even better, it does this in the background, so once you've switched it on, you don't need to worry about it.
If your computer does start to run out of space, a notification will appear. You can click on it, and Storage Sense will give you options of what to do. Since this is the first time you've switched on Storage Sense, you should ask it to clean up your files right away. You might need to scroll down until you see the Clean now button. Click it to free up space on your computer. Storage Sense will say it's cleaning up files now. This should only take a few minutes depending on how many files your computer has. When Storage Sense has finished cleaning, it will show you how much space your computer was able to free up.
From now on, Storage Sense will keep an eye on things for you, and make sure your computer doesn't get clogged up with files you don't need.
Don't download any app that offers to clean up or optimise your computer for you. It will almost always contain a scam that makes your computer less safe to use.
Next up, we'll show you how to safely delete an item from your computer. Of course, there are some items you shouldn't remove, but don't worry. Your computer will warn you if you're about to delete important files or applications.
First, click on the X in the top right of the Storage Sense panel to close it. Your computer should now be showing the desktop. For this demonstration, we have a folder on the desktop that we are going to delete. If you don't have anything you want to delete right now, you can just follow along for the next few minutes. To delete an item, first click on it once to select it. You can tell it's selected when it's highlighted. Now press the Delete key on your keyboard, and the item will disappear, which means it is now deleted.
If you accidentally deleted something, don't worry. You can get it back right away using the Recycle Bin. Whenever you delete an item it moves to the Recycle Bin. Find the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and double-click it now. A window opens showing all the items that have been deleted recently. They might be shown in a list, or as icons. Here is the folder we deleted earlier. To get the folder back, right-click on it and some options appear. Click on Restore. The file will disappear from the Recycle Bin and reappear back on the desktop. Crisis averted.
Whenever you restore an item, it returns to the place you deleted it from. That might be the desktop, or from inside a folder.
You can make sure items are deleted permanently by emptying the Recycle Bin. First, click on the X in the top right of the Recycle Bin window to close it. Now, right-click on the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop. Some options appear, and you can see Empty Recycle Bin is second from the top. Before you click it, be very sure there are no items in the Recycle Bin that you actually want. Next, click Empty Recycle Bin. A box asking you to confirm you want to permanently delete all items will appear. Click Yes. You'll see the Recycle Bin's icon has changed to an empty bin.
To finish up this course, let's look at how to move items from your computer onto a USB stick to help you save space on your computer. A USB stick plugs into your computer's USB port, and is a safe and easy way to transfer and store files and folders. To avoid viruses, only use a USB stick that's brand new, or hasn't been shared with anyone else. You can buy one from the news agency or supermarket, and they don't cost much.
For this demonstration, we're going to move the Gardening folder and its files onto the USB stick. We'll then delete the folder from the computer, which will free up storage space. The Gardening files will be safe and sound in a folder on the USB stick. And we can open them there, or copy them back onto the computer later.
First up, go ahead and plug your USB stick into your computer. If you're not sure how to do this, ask a family member or friend to help you. Your computer might ask you what you want to do with the USB stick. For now, ignore the notification, and it will go away by itself. We're going to use the File Explorer to move our Gardening folder from the computer to the USB stick. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner. And use the keyboard to type the word file.
The Start menu will change into a search panel. And you'll see File Explorer at the top. Click on it to continue. This is the File Explorer window. On the left, there's a list of some of the places on your computer where files can be saved.
Look down the list and find This PC. Click it once, and the right side of the File Explorer window will change to show some icons. Look under Devices and drives.
You will see an icon with the Windows logo on it, next to a bar. It may have a name like Local Disc C. This is your computer's hard drive where all your files are stored.
The File Explorer window will also show your USB stick. It will have a different icon and its own name. The icon might be the brand of your USB stick, or it might look like a tiny USB stick. Click on the USB stick's icon, and the File Explorer window on the right will change to show the files that are on your USB stick. If the Window is blank, it means the USB stick has no files on it at all.
Now we're ready to copy our Gardening folder from the computer onto the USB stick. First, click and hold the mouse on the Gardening folder on your desktop. Then use the mouse to drag the folder across to the File Explorer window. When the folder is over the window, release the mouse button to drop the folder onto the USB stick. If it doesn't seem to work, don't worry, just have another go. Now your computer will copy the Gardening folder with all its files onto the USB stick. If you have only a few files, this will finish in a flash. If you have lots of files, you'll see a progress bar. When you see the Gardening folder appear in the File Explorer window, it's finished copying and the files are safely stored on the USB stick. Great work. Now you can click the X in the top right to close the window.
It's important to remember the Gardening folder is still on your desktop. To free up storage space on your computer, we're going to delete the folder from the desktop. Click once on the folder icon to highlight the Gardening folder. Now press the Delete key on your keyboard. The file will move to the Recycle Bin. Repeat the steps from earlier in this video to empty the Recycle Bin and completely remove the file from your computer. All done.
The folder is on the USB stick and the computer has a bit more space now.
When you've finished copying files, it's important not to just unplug the USB stick right away. If you do, your files might become damaged. To make sure that doesn't happen, look in the bottom right of the screen at the row of icons to the left of the clock. There's a little icon of a USB stick. Click on it once, and a menu will pop up. The name of your USB stick appears here, with an icon, and the word Eject. Click it to let your computer know you are going to unplug the USB stick. After a moment, a notification will appear saying it's Safe To Remove Hardware. This means you can unplug your USB stick from your computer, and put it away somewhere safe.
Congratulations, this is the end of the Windows laptop Managing storage course. You should now know some ways to keep your computer from running out of space, How to delete unwanted files and retrieve them if you made a mistake, and how to safely remove a USB stick from your computer. When you're ready, feel free to continue with some of the other courses to learn more about what your Windows computer can do.