How Do I Run Disk Cleanup on Windows?

From time to time, you may need to run Disk Cleanup to reclaim disk space if you’re running dangerously low. Windows systems typically will run normally, but when the primary hard drive (C:\ drive) gets below 20% free disk space, the system will be affected and not run optimally.

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Note: You must have admin rights on the machine with the issue in order to perform the second fix method below.

Method #1 (Level 1 Disk Cleaning)

1. Close the “Windows protected your PC” dialog box.
2. Check on the computer to see if you have a folder on the root of the C:\ (Hard Drive), called “My Fixes”
3. If the folder exists, skip to the next step, if the folder doesn’t exist you will need to obtain the file (Disable Smartscreen.zip) from here:
4. In the folder “C:\My Fixes”, you should see a file named: Disable Smartscreen.reg This file is a registry that will be used to disable Windows Defender SmartScreen temporarily.
5. Double click on Disable Smartscreen file in this folder to open it, which will give you the Registry Editor prompt below

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Method #2 (Level 2 Disk Cleaning)