Troubleshooting Windows 11 Disk Cleanup Tool: A Practical Guide to Recovering Disk Space

Although more modern disk cleaning tools are available in the Settings app for Windows 11, the classic disk cleaning utility is still available and can effectively help users clear unnecessary system files and temporary data and free up valuable disk space. However, sometimes you may experience Windows 11 disk cleaning not working properly. This article will guide you on how to resolve this issue.

What is disk cleaning?

Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance tool developed by Microsoft to help Windows users easily free up hard disk space. Over time, various unnecessary temporary files (for example, temporary Internet files) will gradually accumulate, affecting system performance. Running disk cleaning regularly can clear these useless data, improving computer speed and operation efficiency.

What to do if Windows 11 disk cleaning is missing or not working?

Some Windows 11 users found the disk cleanup tool missing, but it actually still exists. Here are the ways to access and use it:

1. Press the Windows S key to open Windows Search.
2. Enter Disk Cleanup.
3. Press Enter and the disk cleaning window will appear.
4. Select the drive (C:) or other drive to clean.
5. Click the OK button and wait.
6. Select the file you want to delete and click OK .

You can also click "Clean System Files" to delete more data.

If disk cleaning stops working or files cannot be deleted, try the following:

• Manually delete temporary files:
  1. Press Windows R to open the run window.
  2. Enter %temp% and press Enter .
  3. Select all files in the "Temp" folder that is opened.
  4. Press the Delete key.

• Using storage awareness:
  1. Press the Windows I key to open the settings.
  2. Select System- > Storage .
  3. Click on the temporary file .
  4. Click the Delete File button and wait.

You can also try using third-party cleaning tools.

• Run SFC or DISM:

How to run SFC:

1. Press the Windows S key.
2. Enter cmd .
3. Right-click the command prompt .
4. Select Run as administrator .
5. Enter sfc /scannow and press Enter .
6. Wait for completion.

How to run DISM:

1. Run command prompt as administrator.
2. Enter DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter .
3. Wait for completion.

Format the disk to free up space

If all files on the disk are no longer needed, you can choose to format the disk to free up more space.

What is disk formatting?

Disk formatting is the process of preparing storage devices (such as hard disks, USB drives, SD cards, and SSDs) for initial use. Disk formatting can be divided into two types: low-level formatting and advanced formatting.

• Low-level formatting: also known as physical formatting, is used to initialize and prepare disks for data storage. It creates sectors, tracks, etc.
• Advanced formatting: also known as logical formatting, refers to setting up an empty file system on disk/partition. It writes specific data to a specific area of ??the disk based on the file system selected by the user.

What does reformatting mean?

Reformatting means formatting the drive again. Reformatting mainly does two things: provide a new file system for the drive and delete all the data stored on that drive.

Both formatting and reformatting effectively prepare disks for use and clear disk data.

Tip: If you find that the required data has also been deleted after performing disk cleaning, please use the data recovery tool to retrieve the lost data immediately. MiniTool Solution provides a good choice.

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