Microsoft Windows offers numerous features to manage the operating system and execute various tasks. One of the most beneficial features is Storage Sense, which helps you organize storage space on your computer more efficiently. In this article from MiniTool System Booster, we will provide you with an in-depth introduction to this feature.

What Is Storage Sense?

Running out of storage space on your computer can be very frustrating. When there isn't enough free storage space, it can negatively impact system performance. In this situation, you need to remove unnecessary items from your system. The question arises: what kind of files can you delete without affecting the operating system?

Some of you might turn to Disk Cleanup. However, Microsoft discontinued this utility in 2018 and replaced it with Storage Sense. So, what exactly is Storage Sense? This feature is designed to help you manage disk space more effectively and free up space. With Storage Sense, you can view temporary files, system files, apps and features, and more, and clean up unnecessary content.

To be more specific, Storage Sense can search for and remove the following items:

• Temporary files – includes Device driver packages, Downloads, Delivery Optimization Files, Windows Update Cleanup, Temporary Internet Files, Thumbnails, Windows upgrade log files, files in Recycle Bin, and more.
• Apps & features – uninstalls unwanted or unused programs on your computer.
• System & reserved – allows you to delete surplus restore points.
• OneDrive files – deletes unused cloud-backed files.
• Other types of files – refers to files from Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, and so on.

How to Manage Storage Sense on Your Computer?

Now that you understand what this utility is, it's time to learn how to free up disk space using Storage Sense. Here are three ways to manage it:

Method 1: via Windows Settings

First, you can directly access Settings to customize Storage Sense. To do so:

Step 1. Press Win I to open Windows Settings.

Step 2. In the settings menu, scroll down to find System and click on it.

Step 3. In the Storage tab, you can toggle on Storage Sense. As you can see, this page will display how your storage is used on the C drive. To view storage usage on other drives, scroll down and click on View storage usage on other drives.

Step 4. To customize Storage Sense, you need to: tap on Configure Storage Sense or run it now and select the frequency to run Storage Sense or delete temporary files. Additionally, you can click on Clean now to free up space immediately.

Method 2: via Local Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor contains a collection of settings that control computer and user configurations on the local system. Therefore, you can also manage Storage Sense through it. To do so:

Step 1. Press Win R to open the Run box.

Step 2. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open Local Group Policy Editor.

Step 3. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Storage Sense.

Step 4. In the right pane, double-click on Configure Storage Sense cadence.

Step 5. Select Enabled > click on the drop-down menu under Run Storage Sense > choose a frequency based on your preference.

Step 6. Click on Apply and OK to apply the changes.

Method 3: via Registry Editor

Another way to specify when to run Storage Sense is by modifying related registries. Follow these instructions:

Step 1. Press Win R to open the Run box.

Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter to launch Registry Editor.

Step 3. Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\StorageSense

Step 4. In the right pane, right-click on the empty space > select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value > rename it as ConfigStorageSenseGlobalCadence > set one of the following value data based on your needs > click OK.

• 0 – During low free disk space.
• 1 – Every day.
• 7 – Every week.
• 30 – Every month.

Step 5. Restart your computer.

Another Tool to Clean up Your Computer – MiniTool System Booster

In addition to Storage Sense, you can free up more storage space with another PC tune-up software called MiniTool System Booster. Similar to Storage Sense, this program also allows you to remove temporary files and uninstall unwanted programs.

Moreover, MiniTool System Booster offers more advanced features such as optimizing PC power usage, reducing Windows startup time, finding and removing harmful programs, boosting file transfer and download speed, wiping and defragmenting hard drives, and more.

When you are in need of extra storage space, you can run the Deepclean feature to eliminate unnecessary clutter. Here’s how to perform a deep clean of your computer with it:

Step 1. Launch MiniTool System Booster.

Step 2. Click on Performance Home and select Deepclean from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. After clicking START CLEAN, it will thoroughly clean your computer by initiating the following 7 tasks.

NetBooster – optimizes hidden basic connection settings to enhance network speed.

Internet Cleanup – removes junk files in your browsers such as cached files, cookies, browsing history, saved passwords, and more.

Windows Cleanup – deletes Windows junk files like Windows error reporting files, log files, items copied to Clipboard, files in Recycle Bin, temporary files, and broken shortcuts.

Registry Cleanup – cleans and streamlines the registry by removing invalid and obsolete data references.

Security Optimizer – finds and repairs vulnerable system flaws.

Program Accelerator – re-aligns program data and defragments files on the hard drive to increase file access speed and drive efficiency.

Memory Mechanic – maximizes free memory to boost overall speed and stability of your system.

Final Words

This guide has introduced what Storage Sense is, how it works, and how to manage it on your computer. At the same time, we recommend using MiniTool System Booster to clean your hard drive for more storage space. More importantly, this program is so powerful that it can maximize the system performance of your computer, which is why we suggest you try it.

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