How to optimize hard drive storage in Windows 11 by deleting files you don't use and without third-party tools

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You may have encountered storage problems on your computer at some point. In the least opportune situation you have had to do cleaning. A process that you can automate in Windows 11 using an option such as Storage Sensor and its various functions."

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Also available on Windows 10, Storage Sense (Windows Storage Sense), is a tool that works with local storage and that allows you to automatically free up space by eliminating the files that we don&39;t use after a certain time.A tool that can be configured by following these steps."

Automate Disk Cleanup

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The first thing we have to do to configure the Storage sensor is to enter Configuration and on the left side of the screen select System among the options we find."

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Once in System we have to look for Storage in the central window, an option that appears in the final area of ​​the list and click on it."

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We will then see different options.First of all, a series of sections with the storage used in our equipment with different capacity bars and under the same several options in Storage Administration of which we only Interested Storage Sensor"

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In Storage sensor the first thing we will do is activate the Cleaning of temporary files box , a feature that makes Windows do your dirty work by removing temporary files that are stored with daily use and are slowly taking up more space."

We will then see a series of options, each of them individually configurable:

• "Run Storage Sense"
• "Delete files from the recycle bin if they have been in the recycle bin for more than:"
• "Delete files from the Downloads folder if they have not been opened for more than:"
• "OneDrive"

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Each of these options can be set individually. In the case of the Storage sensor it can be configured to clean for days, weeks, months or only if there is little storage capacity. "

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The Files in the Recycle Bin can be set to be emptied automatically after 1, 14, 30, or 60 days. The term that is already set is 30 days."

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Automation can also reach the files in the folder Downloads, with the same deadlines that we have previously set in the Recycle Bin (1, 14, 30, or 60 days)."

Finally we can also make Windows automatically manage the storage used on the computer and that is already stored in the cloud in OneDrive to free up space that we already have occupied.

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With all these steps, the Storage sensor is responsible for ensuring that there is no space on our PC occupied by files that we do not use on a regular basis without us having to intervene in the process."