Learn how to delete the junk files on your Windows 10 PC hard drive, including temp files, cookies, download history, and more.
What Are Junk Files, and Why Do They Appear on Your Computer?
A computer's operating system often creates junk files. They are also created by the installation of some programs and by web browsing.
Junk files can take up a lot of space on your computer, leading to lag and slowdowns in your computer's performance.
There are many reasons why junk files appear on your computer. For example, you might have downloaded a program and then deleted it. Still, the program left behind some temporary files or an installation file. You might also have downloaded a photo or video that was too large for your computer to handle, creating a bunch of junk files in the process.
Delete Junk Files with MWSoft Disk Cleanup Tool for Free!
MWSoft is free software that can be downloaded and installed on your computer.
It will scan your computer directories for junk files and delete them. MWSoft will scan through your operating system to find all these type of files:
- System
- Temporary
- Internet
- And more...
to find any unnecessary files you can delete to free up space (even gigabytes of junk files!).
The program has multiple tabs, but you need to click the Cleaner tab. From the Cleaner tab, you can perform scans that will analyze your operating system. Then you can select which types of junk files you want to delete from your system.
On the main page, additional features allow you to optimize your computer even more.
The Types of Junk File
Here's a list of some of the junk files:
- Web browser cache files, which are also classified as temporary internet files.
- System junk files.
- Temporary system files.
- Temporary software files.
- Thumbnail files.
- Installer files.
- Recycle Bin files.
- Files from improperly removed software.
- Download files.
Can Junk Files Be Deleted?
Junk files are created by the system and various software that is on your PC.
You can delete unnecessary files manually, but you will not know what is safe to delete. You would spend much time navigating to each directory from the file explorer every time, so we recommend using a disk cleanup tool like MWSoft.
Should I Remove Junk Files?
It is recommended to remove junk files to keep your system running smoothly.
How Do I Delete Junk Files from My Computer Using Command Prompt?
You can use the command prompt to delete temporary unwanted junk that accumulate on your computer. This is a great way to free up disk space and improve your computer’s performance.
To delete temporary junk files on your computer, follow these steps:
- Open up a command prompt window. To do this, search for “CMD” in the Start menu and right-click on it to open it up. When you open the Command Prompt window, type in "cd" and hit enter. This will take you back to your main directory. Type in "dir" without quotes and then press hit again to see what folders are on the current directory.
- Type in "attrib –r -h -s /s /d" without quotes and then hit enter.
- Type in "del *.tmp*" without quotes and then press enter to delete all the files named *.tmp*, freeing up your storage space.
How to Empty the Recycle Bin
The recycle bin is a temporary storage space for any file you want to delete. If you want to clean a file permanently, you need to empty the recycle bin. Here are the steps to follow:
- Open the recycle bin by clicking on it from your Desktop.
- Click on the "Empty Recycle Bin" option at the top of your screen. This will permanently clean up unnecessary junk from your PC. Remember that the deleted files won't be easily recoverable once you do that.
Are Junk Files Safe to Delete?
There are two ways to remove junk files from Windows: manually and automatically.
- Manual removal is not recommended because it may take a long time to delete all unnecessary files, and it is easy to miss some of them. The only advantage of manual removal is that you can delete specific files or folders.
- The automatic method usually runs in the background with a disk cleanup tool, so you don't have to worry about your system slowing down. It also has a higher success rate in removing unnecessary files and a low risk of deletion of important files.
