Will my downloaded files take up disc space?

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam. Yes, we deleted temporary files containing webpages, stored on your hard drive for quick viewing.

Unfortunately, the Disk Cleanup method did not include files saved by external apps such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. There may still be gigabytes worth of cookies, internet history and caches stored on your computer.

You can delete this information directly from your browser, or by using a third-party application. Some of these files which we have removed using the above steps may end up being moved to the Recycle Bin. This is a nice safety measure, because if you make a mistake and have removed a file which you now want back, you can easily restore the file from the Recycle Bin. However, the files in the Recycle Bin are still taking up space on your computer.

All previous methods in this list describe how to delete or remove files from your computer which you may not need. However, what of the files which you wish to keep, such as precious photos, video and music? These media types can accumulate to some serious storage space, but if you no longer have space for them on your PC hard drive, you still have options!

A common method for keeping data safe is to transfer it to external storage. There are 2 platforms for storing your data elsewhere from your main computer: physical storage and cloud storage. Physical storage comes in many different shapes and sizes, but can most commonly be seen as USB Drives or external hard drives. Transferring data from your PC hard drive to an external hard drive allows you to delete the original files on your PC, while still keeping them safe in storage.

Needless to say, this can clear a huge chunk of storage space on your PC. Cloud Storage allows you to store your files on remote servers, and access them via the internet. There are many different cloud service providers: Apple iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive are only two examples.

Did I set it up wrong? Any tips or ideas on how to save space on my C drive when I am using OneDrive? View best response. You might want to read up on it a bit. I was able to change the settings so the files are not stored locally, however, once you click on a file in File Explorer, then it downloads locally. Is there a way to stop the downloading when you click on the file or is the only way with the right-click then View Online?

If you simply click it, without opening the file, it should not be downloaded. Yes, the files only download locally if I double-click them. I am just curious as we are going to have several users that will share and edit files out of a Team OneDrive and I don't want a bunch of local copies on each users C drive.

Well that's the "on demand" part - applications need to have access to the entire file to work with it. If you don't want that to happen at all, ditch the sync client and only access OneDrive via the browser. That makes total sense. Thanks for all your help Vasil Michev!!

It can be configured with as many OneDrive accounts and you can use it on any of your computers interchangeably. To your computer, it looks like a simple USB flash drive but it has its own quad-core processor and does all the synchronization between your cloud storage accounts independently and automatically using its own WiFi connection. So you can even switch computers and continue working on any of your laptops at any time. It will also natively work with other cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive allowing you to easily move your content around and organize it the way you want it.

One drive is a cloud storage but when you sync it on your system it will consume local storage but there is option that you mention which files you don't need to sync. Vasil Michev Still confused.

I have a lot of crucial data on my PC D: drive. I tried to put into the OneDrive cloud as a backup and to be able to access it from elsewhere. It ended up putting a lot of it, but not all, on my C: drive, who knows why. I now have two versions of some of the data. This poses a serious dilemma. It doesn't seem to sync but I'm afraid that if I delete the C: drive version, it will also delete the critical D: drive version.

I just don't understand OneDrive at all. It promises so much but delivers a hotchpotch. Can someone please explain it in plain English, not computer jargon? Bobapingu I am in the same boat. I would like OneDrive to mirror my C: drive and serve as a backup, instead I think I also have two or three versions of the same data. If you want to hide a folder on your device, see Choose a folder to hide on your device. No, changing a file to online-only doesn't delete it from your OneDrive. The file no longer takes up space on your device, and you will still be able to see the file from OneDrive mobile apps or on the website.

If you aren't seeing the Files On-Demand options, the latest version of OneDrive hasn't rolled out to you yet. Here's how to get the latest version of OneDrive. Make sure you're running Windows 10 Fall Creators Update version When OneDrive Setup starts, enter your personal account, or your work or school account, and then select Sign in. Follow the instructions to Turn on Files On-Demand. To learn more about notifications when Windows automatically downloads online-only files for your apps, see Automatic file download notifications in Windows OneDrive disk space and file size don't match.

OneDrive storage plan and billing questions. If you still need help, select Contact Support to be routed to the best support option. Files On-Demand might not be compatible with some third-party antivirus solutions. Notes: Files On-Demand settings are unique to each device, so make sure you turn it on for each device where you want to use it. Notes: New files or folders created online or on another device appear as online-only to save maximum space.

Need more help? If the file is necessary to a program you have installed on your computer, removing the downloaded file may cause the program to experience errors or work incorrectly. If you notice your computer running more slowly than usual, it may be due to hard disk fragmentation.

As you download, use, change, save and delete files, the information is stored at different places on the hard drive. This fragmentation can cause your computer to run less efficiently. Large amounts of downloading and file deletion contributes to fragmentation. Since you can use the Disc Defragmenter tool to clean up your hard drive and and rearrange the files so the computer runs smoothly again, downloading and deleting isn't a concern. Basic computer maintenance with this program takes care of any potential problems; you can also set the tool to run when you aren't at the computer.