Nowadays, laptops are not only used to watch movies or browse the Internet. They have become an essential part of our lives. From completing school assignments to doing research, writing blogs, and editing videos, we can do almost everything on our laptops. We keep a lot of files on our laptops so that we can access them at any time and from any place. However, as time passes, our laptops get filled with data and it becomes difficult to store new content or find something old in the chaos. You might be wondering how to increase storage on the laptop. Well, read on to know how you can increase storage space and get more out of your computer without spending a fortune on external hard drives or an upgraded model.
How To Increase Storage Space On Your Laptop
Use the System File Folder
The system file folder is the main storage space of your laptop. This folder is created automatically when you install any third-party software or update the operating system, and it takes up a lot of space in your hard drive. This folder is created by default but if you don’t want to keep it there, then you can delete it and free up some space on your hard drive.
Use a Flash Drive
You can use flash drives to store files in the computer or external hard drive. You can copy the files from your laptop and put them on a flash drive, which works like an external hard drive and gives you more storage space in your laptop. When connected, flash drives are treated as external hard drives so they are also capable of storing files inside them as well as on their own storage media.
Remove Unwanted Apps from Laptop Storage Space
Most of us have installed dozens of apps on our laptops and we keep using them for various purposes. While some of us use them for the purpose they were created for, others use them for something else. So, if you want to get rid of unnecessary apps, you can do so by removing them from your laptop storage space.
Use a Cloud Storage Service
The cloud storage service is one of the most famous ways to increase your storage space on your laptop. You can save files to the cloud and access them from any device connected to the Internet – be it a PC, tablet, or smartphone. You can also access files stored in the cloud on other devices that are connected to the Internet as well. Some popular cloud storage services include Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box.
Clean Up Your Laptop Storage Space Using an App
If you are tired of cleaning out your laptop storage space every now and then, then you can use an app that will help you do that automatically and create a schedule Turn Off Unwanted Apps To get rid of unwanted apps, you can turn them off. You can do so by going to the app settings and uninstalling them. However, you should make sure that you are not closing an app while it is in the process of saving files or is working on updating itself. This might cause a problem and result in data loss. So, if you want to remove an app from your laptop without causing any kind of damage, then close the app before uninstalling it.
4 Ways To Check For Unused Files And Clear The Space
- If you have a lot of documents, photos, or videos stored on your laptop, it might be a good idea to check all the files and delete those which are not required. The unused space on your hard drive will help you save more space for new content.
- There might be a lot of games or other programs installed on your laptop that you never use and don’t even know about it. Uninstall the unwanted software from your computer and free up some space for new content.
- If you are using an external hard drive to store data, remove all files from the external hard drive and use your internal hard drive to store all the data you need. This way, you will save a lot of storage space on your computer without having an external one.
- If you have an old model of laptop with less storage space, consider upgrading it with an additional memory card slot or USB port so that you can add more storage capacity in the future if necessary.
Other Steps To Install A More Efficient Operating System And Ram
- Installing an efficient operating system will help you save more storage space on your laptop. Windows 10, for example, has a feature that allows you to reduce the size of the installation files and therefore, reduce storage space on your computer. It also has an option to uninstall unnecessary programs.
- Installing more RAM will increase the overall performance of your laptop and allow it to run faster. You can do this by opening the control panel and searching for BIOS or UEFI settings or by downloading a free program like HD Tune which allows you to easily access BIOS or UEFI settings from within Windows 10 itself. Follow the instructions given in the program to get started with upgrading the RAM on your computer.
- Consider purchasing an external hard drive if you have too much data on your computer which cannot be stored in other ways such as moving it to another computer or external hard drive, removing unwanted files, etc., is an option to install the operating system on a smaller hard drive.
- Installing efficient RAM will help you save more space on your hard drive as well. If you are using a laptop with 2GB RAM and still experiencing storage issues, consider upgrading your RAM or buying a new model with more memory.
- If you have an old laptop that has less storage space and is not running on Windows 10, consider buying a new model which runs on Windows 10 and has more storage capacity. Alternatively, you can also buy external hard drives to store data for easy access and reduce the chances of losing important files when you don’t have enough storage space on your laptop.
How To Use An External Storage Device
- External hard drives have become a necessity. You can use them to store all the documents and files that you have on your laptop. They are very useful in case of a hard drive crash or if you want to back up all the data on your laptop.
- These devices are also very useful if you want to move your files from one computer to another or transfer them between different operating systems. You can use them for backing up all the data that you have on your computer, even if it is not backed up in the internal storage of your laptop.
- If you have a lot of data, then an external hard drive might be necessary for storing all these files in one place and accessing them from any device connected to it.
- There are two types of external hard drives available in the market – USB and FireWire, depending on the type of connection used by the device. The USB drives don’t require any special setup when connecting with laptops whereas, with FireWire, you need to use an adapter.
- You can use external hard drives for storing all your personal and professional files – photos, videos, music, and documents.
How Do Check For Duplicate And Unnecessary Files?
- The first step to increasing storage is to find duplicate files. Duplicate files are those that have a similar name, location, or size. For example, you might have two photos with the same name and location. These duplicate files take up space in your laptop and can be deleted.
- The next step is to find unnecessary files. Unnecessary files are those that can be deleted without any loss in data or performance. They include videos that you don’t watch anymore, old messages, caches, etc. The best way to find these unnecessary files is by clearing the cache of your browser as this will help you to delete all the temporary data stored on your laptop hard drive instead of deleting the entire file itself, which takes time and effort.
- Lastly, you should check whether the file has been backed up in case it has been deleted accidentally or any other reason that might have led to its deletion. If not backed up, then it must be restored from a backup.
Conclusion
There are many ways to increase storage space on your laptop. You can check for unused files and clear space, use an external storage device, and check for duplicate and unnecessary files. You can also use these methods to get more out of your computer without spending a fortune on upgrades.
