Home-Word-Find the largest files on disk. How to Find Large Files on Disk Using PowerShell

Find the largest files on disk. How to Find Large Files on Disk Using PowerShell

Do you know which one is the best? frequently asked question friends ask me - “How to find the most large files on the computer? I cleaned everything, but there was no more free disk space. What else can I delete and how can I find these huge files taking up disk space?”

Let’s tackle these issues now. I have already described to you on the pages of this site, how to find and remove duplicate files, and today I’ll tell you how to find large files on your computer in just a couple of mouse clicks.

How seriously I take the cleanliness of my beloved computer and constantly monitor it, and today I found more than 3 GB extra files only on the system disk. I was wildly surprised.

And a small, free and Russian-language program will help us in searching for the largest files on the computer. Ainvo Disk Explorer .

I warn you right away that this program only searches for the largest files on your computer, but you will have to delete them, as well as determine their degree of need yourself.

But don't be afraid, there's nothing wrong with that - I'll show you everything. personal example, As always.

The main principle: if you don’t know what the file is, don’t touch it.

So, let's go, as Gagarin said...

Download Ainvo Disk Explorer: 3.45 MB

Installation and use Ainvo Disk Explorer

The top checkbox can be removed. We have established it, and congratulations to you. We got a program shortcut on the desktop...

The program has started and you can immediately press “Start”...

...or go to “Settings” and select the drive that will be analyzed for the largest files.

The program will think and think, and will give you the result of its analysis, which you can view by clicking...

And this is where the fun begins...

It turns out that after the “complete” removal of the program recently described on the website, I was left with a “tail” of 85 MB in size on the system disk.

By clicking on “Open directory with file” I was taken to the folder with this harmful file and successfully deleted it.

And this 50 MB “tail” has been hanging on the computer for about a year...

Once upon a time I installed “live wallpaper”.

And I also found backup copy my smartphone, which I said goodbye to 8 months ago. Do you know what size this file was? 2.5 GB!!! On the system disk!!!

I agree that you need to know and remember which programs have long been removed from your computer, but strain your brains - no program will do this for you.

But I don’t know the origin and purpose of these files, so I don’t touch them.

I also strongly advise against touching files whose address begins with...

This is the one that over time there is little space. On the one hand, we bought ourselves 1 TB and it seems good, now everything will work. But over time, it turns out that it gets “clogged” and you don’t want to remove the old one (in case it comes in handy), but there is no place for a new one.
Then there comes a moment during which something can be freed. But sometimes this is not enough.
Then a reasonable question arises in my head: But what is taking up so much space on my disk?".

First of all, they “go” to the folders with films, then games and programs. And you have to remove them by grinding your teeth.

So, I won’t bore you, but I’ll write about several programs whose purpose is to show how many and which files (folders) take up the most space on your disk. Of course, all of them (like all the programs provided on my website) are free.

Looking ahead, I’ll tell you that the meaning is the same for everyone - to analyze the system and show in a visual form what and how it takes up space, while showing some additional capabilities. As a result, you can see and delete (if desired) unnecessary large files.

The first program to analyze a disk and search for large files and folders is WinDirStat.

After installation and launch, the main program window will look like this:

In it you can specify what exactly needs to be scanned: all disks, a specific disk or a separate folder.
After selection (I selected one system drive), the scanning process will begin:


Which will produce the result. The program window is divided into 3 parts:
1 - result by folder
2 - result for files (types/) indicating their legend
3 - general diagram. The meaning is simple - the more space it takes up, the larger the display.
For convenience, the results are shown in descending order, i.e. The "largest" files are displayed at the top.


This way you can clearly see which files and folders take up how much space on the disk.

Now let's look at what we can do with this information besides easy viewing, namely, pay attention to the top menu with buttons:

Since the program is in Russian and the buttons contain tooltips, I can only list what you can do with a folder or file directly from this program:
  • open in explorer;
  • copy path;
  • delete permanently (use this carefully);
  • remove to trash;
  • open element properties;
  • run file (or open folder):
  • Enlarge/reduce the diagram window for a more detailed view.

    As you can see, all the most necessary functions.

    By the way, using this program you can also check external and network drives.

    One more similar program- This JDiskReport.

    It differs from the previous one primarily in the absence of the Russian language.
    After launch, you will be prompted to select a directory to scan and open the saved analysis file.


    You can specify whole disk and forward:


    The window is divided into two parts: the left one indicates the location, and the right one generates a diagram.

    Let's deal with the left part.
    It displays a list of directories sorted by "majority", i.e. The more space a folder takes up, the higher it is. It's the same story in the subfolders.

    The right side is much more interesting.
    At the bottom you can change the type of diagram (out of four provided) and enable the display of files (check Show files).
    At the top you can switch to the 50 “best” files ( top 50), see how many files in size occupy certain spaces ( Size Dist), when and how many files were changed in last time (Modified) and what volume they occupy certain types files ( Types).
    IN top menu The program itself is interested in only two switches: the first, for sorting alphabetically (and not by “majority”), the second to display the number of files (and not the size).


    But you can only view this information. To delete files, you will have to open Explorer and look for this folder or file there. But you can also right-click on the folder and select Open Explorer... to open.

    The following program for analyzing and searching large files is Scanner.

    The program differs from the previous ones in that it does not require installation (portable).

    After launch, it immediately scans all disks and shows summary information:


    You can select a specific drive, the scan result will show the volume of folders:

    • Question “What is taking up so much space on my hard drive?” sometimes it can confuse you. It would seem that all the weighty folders with documents, music, films, and also installed programs we know, but... When we click on “Properties” hard drive and look at the ratio of full and occupied volume, we understand that there is an obvious discrepancy here - several (or maybe a dozen or two) gigabytes of our precious disk space have disappeared somewhere.

    In such cases, you can audit the contents of user profiles, check hidden system files and folders, the size of the paging file (Pagefile.sys), the hibernation file (hiberfil.sys), the folder System Volume Information that is stored control points system recovery, start the standard one Windows utility– “Disk Cleanup” and so on. But these manipulations are not always able to shed light on the truth.

    This entry lists several programs whose function is to analyze the structure and volume of information that is stored on the computer's hard drive. For me personally, it is important that these programs are free, easy to use, and most importantly, provide reliable information. With programs that meet specified conditions I suggest we get to know each other better.

    SpaceSniffer is a portable, free program, which will help you understand the structure of folders and files on your hard drive. SpaceSniffer's visualization diagram will clearly show you where large folders and files are located on your devices. The area of ​​each rectangle is proportional to the size of that file. You can double click on any sector to get more detailed information about him. If you are looking for specific file types such as JPG files, or files older than a year, use the “Filter” option to select the conditions you specify.

    The program has many settings, but its interface is English. The information it produces seemed to me not very convenient for visual perception and, as a consequence, for evaluating it. But in principle, it works quickly and efficiently. In any case, once you get used to it and delve into the settings, it’s quite possible to use it.

    WinDirStat collects information from the selected disk and presents it in three views. List of directories that resembles a tree structure Windows Explorer, displayed on the left top corner and sorts files and folders by their size. The extended list that appears in the upper right corner shows statistics about different types files. The file map is located at the bottom of the WinDirStat window. Each colored rectangle represents a file or directory. The area of ​​each rectangle is proportional to the size of the files or subtrees.

    The program is not portable, but it has Russian-language interface. I didn’t go deep into its settings, but one nuance immediately caught my eye - the System folder Volume Information, according to the program, I have an empty one. In fact, this is not the case, System Restore is enabled and a little over 3 GB is currently used for it. So the program lied.

    TreeSize Free

    Not portable, choice of two languages: German and English. Microsoft certified. Allows you to run a program in the usual way or from the context menu of a folder or drive. This is very convenient opportunity, In my opinion. The program shows you the size of the selected folder, including subfolders. The results are presented in a Windows Explorer tree view, so you can expand the selected folder or drive and navigate to the file at each level. To analyze hidden system folders the program asked to restart the PC.

    Disktective is free, portable utility, which reports actual size directories and the distribution of subdirectories and files in them. The selected folder or drive is analyzed and the result is displayed in the form of a tree and chart. The interface is English, information collection is fast.

    The interface is English, not portable. DiskSavvy is a fast and easy-to-use disk space analyzer that allows you to monitor disk space usage on your computer. hard drives, network drives and NAS servers. The main window shows the percentage of disk space used by each directory and file. You can also easily view pie charts showing the results in graphic format. Has large number settings.

    DiskSavvy is available as a free version, as well as a full, Pro version that provides additional features and technical support. Free version allows you to scan maximum quantity files – 500,000, at maximum hard capacity 2 TB disk. He supports long names files, unicode file names and allows you to copy, move and delete files directly within the program. Cool program, I liked it.

    For each selected folder or drive, GetFoldersize displays the total size of all files in that folder or drive, as well as the number of files and their attachments. You can use GetFoldersize to scan an unlimited number of files and folders on internal and external hard discs, DVDs, and discs network resources. This program supports long file and folder names and unicode characters and has the ability to display file sizes in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes. GetFoldersize allows you to print a folder tree and save the information in text file.

    Versions of GetFoldersize are available in both portable and installable versions, so you can carry it with you on a flash drive or external USB drive. However, if you install GetFoldersize, it will add to all its features the option to launch from the context menu in Windows Explorer, which will allow you to start scanning the volume of a folder or disk by clicking right click on them. Interface is English, good choice settings.

    RidNacs is a fast disk space analyzer that scans local disks, network drives or individual directories, displaying the results in the form of a tree and a histogram in percentages. You can save scan results in several formats (.TXT, .CSV, .HTML, or .XML). Files can be opened and deleted directly in RidNacs. During installation, you can add the option to run the program in the Windows Explorer context menu. When you scan a folder, it is added to the list of favorite drives. You can also change appearance histograms by installing special skins (skins). The program is not portable; it has 2 interface languages ​​- English and German. She could not analyze some folders, as can be seen in the screenshot.

    Portable Scanner shows pie chart with concentric rings to display space usage on hard drive, external hard drive, network drive. Moving the mouse over the segments on the diagram allows you to display full path in the object at the top of the window, as well as the size of the directories and the number of files in the directory. Right-clicking on a segment provides additional options. It is possible to delete selected directories to the Trash directly from the program. The archive with the program contains 2 reg files, one of which is used to add the scanner to context menu Windows Explorer, and another to remove it.

    Free Disk Analyzer I liked it more than all other programs. During the installation process, you are offered a choice of 5 languages, Russian is present. Free analyzer Disk Drive displays drives on the left side of the window, similar to Windows Explorer, allowing you to quickly navigate to the desired folder or file. The right side of the window displays all subfolders and files in the selected folder or disk, the size and percentage of disk space that the folder or file uses. Tabs at the bottom of the window allow you to quickly select and view your largest files or folders. You can manage your files directly within the program, just like in Windows Explorer. From additional features It is worth noting the launch of the program uninstaller, as well as the settings menu, which allows you to filter only certain files:

    If you have previously had problems with “losing” disk space, tell us how and with the help of what programs (or actions) you solved them.

    Remember the old 1994 movie “Johnny Mnemonic”, starring Keanu Reeves? Everyone who watched this film in those days was impressed by the fact that the brain of the main character, with a memory expansion module, could hold as much as 160 gigabytes. Yes, we have reached that milestone in the development of society when broadband Internet and hard drives Just a huge capacity, compared to 94 and 3 terabytes, no longer surprises anyone.


    All this is wonderful, but difficulties also appeared - heaps of files piled up and became cluttered. And we begin to ask ourselves the question “where is everything free space on your hard drive?” Sometimes finding files that were copied or downloaded “for later” becomes very difficult. Why is this so? The difficulty is often hidden in the fact that sometimes the files are downloaded by a browser, sometimes by a torrent application, sometimes they are simply copied from a USB drive, and where we copy it all is forgotten. Yes, you can use the proven method in Totall Commander, but it takes a long time and sometimes can take quite a lot of time. How can I speed up the search process for large files? The answer is simple - free applicationηSearcher. You can download it from the link http://www.n-group.info/nsearcher/download.html
    • Supported by all modern, and not so modern, operating systems Windows systems(XP/Vista/7/8/10)
    • Easily integrates into the Windows Explorer environment
    • Has the most simple and easy to understand interface
    • Occupies only a few megabytes on your hard drive
    • Can search the Internet for information about file types unknown to you
    • It is possible to set complex search filters

    Let's complete the initial setup steps

    First, let's install the application.
    After installing the application, we see the main window of the program

    For greater convenience, it is recommended to integrate into the operating system. This is easy to do from the ηSearcher menu item - settings

    How to use this program

    Now, we must decide what size files we will search for.
    Let's focus on files larger than 4.5 gigabytes per system partition“C”, please note that the search parameter is specified in megabytes. That is, to search for files over 4.5 gigabytes in size, you need to enter the number 4500.
    If in the list of files you see files with yellow exclamation marks, this is system files operating system. Removing them can negatively affect the operation of the operating system!
    Now we decide on the files that we want to delete. It is recommended to delete using the key combination “SHIFT+DEL” - permanent deletion or “Ctrl+Del” - delete files to the trash. If deletion is performed using the “Del” key, then this file will only be removed from the list. Physically, on the hard drive, it will remain.
    If the list contains files with an extension or purpose unknown to you, then when you click on the icons at the end of the file name, you will see a context menu for the file properties and help from Wikipedia, respectively. Which is very convenient.

    For ease of search and identification, you can sort by types such as: size, type, creation date, etc.

    It is also possible to export a list of files to text format. This function, at first glance, useless. But with the right approach, it is irreplaceable. For example, you can catalog your audio/video/library. There are many possible uses, use your imagination.

    Good afternoon.

    Very often users ask me the same question, but in different interpretations: “what is the hard drive?”, “Why has the space on the hard drive decreased, since I didn’t download anything?”, “How to find files that are taking up space on the HDD?” etc.

    For evaluation and analysis occupied space exist on the hard drive special programs, thanks to which you can quickly find everything unnecessary and delete it. Actually, this is what this article will be about.

    Analysis of occupied hard disk space in charts

    1. Scanner

    Official website: http://www.steffengerlach.de/freeware/

    Very interesting utility. Its advantages are obvious: it supports the Russian language, no installation required, high speed work (she analyzed a 500 GB hard drive in a minute!), takes up very little space on the hard drive.

    The program presents the results of its work in small window with a diagram (see Fig. 1). If you hover your mouse over the desired piece of the diagram, you can immediately understand what takes up the most space on the HDD.

    For example, on my hard drive (see Fig. 1), about a fifth of the busy space is occupied by movies (33 GB, 62 files). By the way, there is quick buttons to go to the trash can and “add or remove programs”.

    2. SpaceSniffer

    Official website: http://www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/index.html

    Another utility that does not require installation. When starting, the first thing you will do is ask you to select a drive (specify a letter) to scan. For example, my Windows system disk has 35 GB of space, of which almost 10 GB is occupied by the virtual machine.

    In general, the analysis tool is very visual, it helps you immediately understand what is full of your hard drive, where the files are “hidden”, in which folders and on what topic... I recommend it for use!

    Rice. 2. SpaceSniffer - analysis system disk with Windows

    3.WinDirStat

    Official website: http://windirstat.info/

    Another utility of this kind. It is interesting primarily because in addition to simple analysis and drawing up a diagram, it also shows file extensions, shading the diagram in desired color(see Fig. 3).

    In general, it is quite convenient to use: the interface is in Russian, there is quick links(for example, emptying the recycle bin, editing directories, etc.), works in all popular Windows operating systems: XP, 7, 8.

    Rice. 3. WinDirStat analyzes the “C:\” drive

    4. Free Disk Usage Analyzer

    Official website: http://www.extensoft.com/?p=free_disk_analyzer

    This program is the easiest tool for quick search large files and disk space optimization.

    Free Disk Usage Analyzer helps you organize and manage your free disk space. HDD space by searching for the largest files on the disk. You can quickly find where the most large files, such as videos, photos and archives, and move them to another location (or delete them altogether).

    By the way, the program supports Russian. There are also quick links that will help you clean your HDD from junk and temporary files, delete unused programs, find the largest folders or files, etc.

    5.TreeSize

    Official website: http://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/

    This program cannot build charts, but it conveniently sorts folders depending on the space occupied on the hard drive. It is also very convenient, if you find a folder that takes up a lot of space, click on it and open it in Explorer (see arrows in Fig. 5).

    Despite the fact that the program is in English, understanding it is quite simple and quick. Recommended for both beginners and experienced users.

    Rice. 5. TreeSize Free - results of analysis of the system drive “C:\”

    By the way, significant space on your hard drive can be taken up by so-called “junk” and temporary files (by the way, they reduce the free space on your hard drive, even when you don’t copy or download anything to it!). It is necessary to clean your hard drive periodically special utilities: CCleaner, FreeSpacer, Glary Utilites, etc. More details about such programs.

    That's all for me. I would be grateful for additions on the topic of the article.

    Good luck with your PC.



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