Disk cleanup
Disk cleanup is a term from computer technology and describes a cleaning process on internal data carriers , for example hard disks , which are used by an operating system. The cleanup automatically deletes unnecessary files from the hard drive.
task
The task of cleaning up the disk is to remove superfluous remnants of files that have been created by system applications. This frees up storage capacity for your own purposes and the system gains in speed, as the system paths can be accessed more efficiently.
The following types of unnecessary data on the hard disk are "fought" by special programs that are specialized in cleaning the hard disk:
Temporary data
While working on a PC , running processes ( programs , for example Microsoft Word ) constantly save temporary files (mostly known as * .tmp).
These are used to temporarily save content created in the application programs, but above all to relieve the system and the working memory , save resources and ensure faster work.
These remnants are not automatically eliminated after a crash or an invalid program query and remain permanently and mostly unnoticed on the hard disk.
Temporary internet files
When visiting websites with a web browser , there may also be a lot of storage- costly folders and files on the hard drive. Each time you visit a website, the browser you are currently using copies image files , HTML scripts, CSS information and other data received from the server to the hard drive.
The purpose of this data backup is to build up a site more quickly the next time you visit, because a request does not have to be sent to the web server for the integrated files . In addition, there is no internal download of the required information.
However, there are some risks associated with using this procedure. The requested site may not be up-to-date the next time it is accessed, or information that has already been downloaded may contain viruses . In addition, image files stored by many websites take up a few MBs of hard drive space.
System folder "Temp"
Under Windows , a special TEMP file folder is usually created in the root directory , in which setups in particular unzip files. These are also not necessarily deleted by the installation routine , for example if the setup wizard is canceled before completion.
Function in the operating system
The common operating systems such as Windows , Linux and Mac OS have already integrated an in-house function for disk cleaning. However, this is quite limited in its range of functions, so that temporary files in directories other than Temp and files from other browsers are not deleted.
In addition, one looks in vain for statistics or timers for regular cleaning. This method cannot remove all unnecessary data from the system.
software
Chargeable
There are some paid software out there that promise to improve the performance of your computer by cleaning up disk. These include, for example:
- TreeSize Professional / TreeSize Personal
- BoostSpeed
- WashAndGo (formerly Purgatio Pro)
- TuneUp Utilities
Freeware
There is also freeware for this purpose . These include, for example: