Windows comes with its own Storage Sense. We can access it from the “Settings” menu, in the “System” and “Storage” section. With this tool we can see a summary of the occupied space of the hard disk of our team. By clicking on any of the elements we can see what type of files and folders take up the most space. With it we can customize the way we want to save space. We can automatically delete the content of the recycle bin, the temporary files of the downloads or make adjustments for the frequency of deletion. It’s not that it’s a visually attractive application or the most practical, but it comes installed by default, so if you don’t want to install any additional software, it’s a good option to try.
The problem with this tool is that the information generally leaves a bit to be desired. It is true that Windows catalogs the data more or less well and allows us to get an idea of what the space is being used for, but when it comes down to it, we don’t really know exactly where this data is. This forces us to access the Applications section within the Windows configuration options and establish a filter in the list of applications that is displayed so that, first of all, the applications that more space they are taking up So, take it into account and consider the possibility of removing it from our PC, especially when it comes to games since they usually occupy a large amount of GB on our hard drive or SSD.
WizTree
This is a program whose objective is focused on showing us, in a more effective and visual way, the contents of our disk drives, to see first-hand which files take up more space. This tool takes care of assign a color code to each element so that we can identify them more quickly. It also offers us different occupancy percentages for each of the detected file extensions, so that we can know how much storage we have occupied in photos, videos, etc. In addition, the program will take care of always placing it at the top of the listings the folders that take up the most space.
WizTree is a program that has both an installation and a portable version and that we can access from its website.
Among its problems we can indicate that it is something extremely elaborate. We like that it is able to catalog all types of data to show the space we dedicate to videos, music, photos, etc. But the concept map at the bottom can drive more than one crazy.
For and against
It offers us the distribution of disk space in a graphic and visual way. It has a multitude of functions for these control tasks. The information shows more or less occupied space, which allows us to quickly identify the origin of the low space in our storage unit. Sometimes its user interface can be a bit confusing. The space control map can be difficult to interpret. The best we can do is forget about the graphical system that represents the space that each application occupies and rely on the data that is shown.
TreeSize
Another application with which to analyze the occupancy status of the hard drive is TreeSize, which is characterized by being completely free for personal use. With it we can decide how we want to see the data saved on the hard drive, giving us to choose different options for it. For example, we can see the elements based on the space they occupy, their size or the number of files, having a large number of filters that we can configure to our liking. It has both an installable version and portable, so we can analyze any hard drive anywhere without having to have an Internet connection. Its operation can be a bit slow, but everything will depend on the number of files we have to analyze.
If we want to use TreeSize to analyze which folders are filling up our hard drive, we can download it for free from A very simple program, but in practice we may miss some additional options and functions that other programs do have, such as knowing how much space is dedicated to each file type.
Good and bad
We have several methods to see the distribution of contents on the disk. It is one of the most complete and widely used solutions for these control tasks. Sometimes all the exposed data can be confusing. We miss some additional features available in the competition.
DiskSavvy
This space analyzer is capable of analyzing disks, network shares, NAS devices and enterprise storage systems. It has the ability to classify files and perform multi-disk usage analysis. In this way we get a generalized analysis of how we are using disk storage, being able to save reports and perform file management operations (move, copy, compress and delete files and folders). If I design with several panels in which different elements are located, it will allow us to see all the information in a single window and instantly.
This powerful application has the ability to analyze disk space usage, analyze network servers, categorize and filter files, display statistics and pie charts, list a built-in file classification, and perform disk space usage reports. In addition, it integrates an SQL database, a command line utility, and a DiskSavvy server.
DiskSavvy is a free program for personal use, compatible with all versions of Windows and with a good update policy from its developers. We can download it from your .
Contrary to TreeSize, the strong point of this program is data classification. But it lacks a directory tree to know which are the ones that occupy the most.
Pros and cons
Its user interface focuses on displaying data graphically. We will be able to analyze and control a multitude of disks and units. The program offers us a multitude of additional functions. Sometimes it seems simpler than other similar applications.
WinDirStat
Another free program that we can use is WinDirStat. This program offers us a very colorful interface with a mixture of a directory tree and a density box, where each color represents an extension of each file. In this way, we can see in a much more graphic way, in which our space is being used and filled. It has the possibility of quickly finding how much space we are occupying based on the type of file in question In this way, we can almost instantly find all the space dedicated to music, video or photo files.
This disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool takes care of reading the entire directory tree once started and then displaying it on the screen in three view modes. We can use its directory listing, similar to the Windows Explorer tree view, but it’s sorted by file size. It also features a tree diagram, which shows all the contents of the directory tree at once. Finally, it has an extensions list, which serves as a legend and shows statistics about the file types.
WinDirStat is a completely free application that we can download directly from your .
Its main drawback is that it looks too much like WizTree. Something that is not bad, but that does not bring anything new to the market either.
Advantages and disadvantages
The file extensions are clearly differentiated. The application offers us several ways to visualize the occupied space. The user interface will take some getting used to.
space sniffer
This is a well-known application to analyze the space occupied on our hard drive. On this occasion, we are not dealing with a program that bets on the directory tree mode, but rather use a checkered scheme with which to see graphically how the occupied space is distributed. It has the functionality to make drag&drop in files to move them easily, as well as make a customizable scheme to see and understand the data more easily and drill down between directories to check which files are taking up the most space. Also, it’s an app. portableso we can take it on a flash drive and run it on any computer without the need for installation.
This application will allow us to understand how the folders and files on our disks are structured, to help us understand how they are structured. We simply have to start the scanning process and visualize the general situation, being able to select any element to see all its content. In the event that we want to keep track of the files examined, we can label them with four available colors (red, yellow, green and blue). In addition, it can perform scans of alternate NTFS data streams and can refine an enlarged area using a sub-scan process, even with the primary scan enabled.
We can download SpaceSniffer for free from the .
Its interface is too focused on displaying the table layout, which is fine, but in practice, again, it leaves a bit to be desired as it’s not as useful as, say, TreeSize.
I like
It offers us some very interesting functions related to hard drives for most users. It is also important to know that it has the ability to drag and drop files directly.
I don’t like
It doesn’t offer us the most striking interface to show disk usage, so for many this is a section that needs to be updated by its developers.
RidNacs
This is a tool to analyze disk space, whose main characteristic is the simplicity. It is capable of scanning hard drives, network drives or virtual folders. Its interface is similar to that of a file manager and is tree shaped sign where to see the folders and files together with their size and the percentage they occupy over the total storage. Despite its simplicity, there will be some Advanced Options that will allow us, for example, to delete any program to free up space. All scan results can be export in different formats (XML, HTML, CSV, TXT). Also, it consumes very little system resources.
RidNacs is a free program that is compatible with Windows from XP to Windows 10, which we can download from its
For those users who are looking for simplicity, this is a great program. Of course, we do not expect to see many additional options and functions included as we do find in other similar programs.
Advantages
This is a simpler solution than some of the competition for disk control. It has a useful data export function that will be of…
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