In that case, it might be that your hard drive is full of little-used programs and years-old files, taking up space and slowing down Windows 11s performance while contributing nothing.You won't find a shortcut to Disk Management in your Windows Start menu or Apps screen because it's not a program in the same sense that most other software on your computer is.Issues addressed in this tutorial: windows storage management appwindows storage management featureswindows storage management windows 11windows storage management features windows 11windows 11 storage managementThis tutorial will apply for computers, laptops, desktops, and tablets running the Windows 11 operating system (Home, Professional, Enterprise, Education) from all supported hardware manufactures, like Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, and Samsung. I have 4 machines all with updates caused by microsoft themselves. Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more. Apps & Features typically contain the lions share of dead weight, making it a good place to start if you want to clear out disk space. Click "Programs" in the list and then select "Turn Windows features on or off" under Programs and Features. Notepad. Right now, there are some great antivirus deals out there so we've narrowed things down to the highlights of the bunch. If you see a feature with a black square, instead of a check mark, then it means that only part of the feature is enabled. The NTFS file system available on Windows 11 also includes a lightweight compression feature, which allows you to reduce the size of files and save space while retaining normal access without manual decompression. Choose the account you want to sign in with. Although it's possible to format, review details, and change various settings from within File Explorer, the Disks & volumes settings and the Disk Management console offer the most options to manage storage drives on Windows 11. See All Units. To convert a secondary drive from MBR to GPT, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, the partition type will convert to GPT. Choose your desired settings, including when to run Storage Sense, how often files are cleaned up, and more. If youre using Windows 10 Home, youll only have some of these features. Best practices and the latest news on Microsoft FastTrack, The employee experience platform to help people thrive at work, Expand your Azure partner-to-partner network, Bringing IT Pros together through In-Person & Virtual events. Right-click the unallocated space and select the. To format a drive with a new volume and file system with the Disks & volumes settings, use these steps: After you complete the steps, the data will be erased, and the volume will be formatted with a new file system, drive letter, and label. LastPass simplifies your digital life. Files can bemadelocally available again if there is free disk space and network connectivity. Use Group Policy or MDM to hide Windows Features LastPass reveals how it got hacked and its not good news, The best free parental control software for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, Microsoft is already expanding Bing Chat to Skype and phones, New Windows 11 update adds ChatGPT-powered Bing AI to the taskbar, A beginners guide to Tor: How to navigate the underground internet, This devious scam app proves that Macs arent bulletproof, This major Apple bug could let hackers steal your photos and wipe your device, Microsofts Bing Chat: how to join the waitlist now. If any of the following optional features are installed, However, the reset from cloud will not work if any of these optional features are installed: . Click the Storage page on the right side. Have you run your antivirus software to ensure that your machine is clean of malware? Previous installations of Windows are automatically uninstalled on their own after ten days. WordPad. Add feature packages, also known as optional components, to Windows PE (WinPE). This brings up a window where you can tick the box of any feature you want to install. Click the plus icon to expand the feature, wherein you can enable and disable specific elements. The available space on your drive will appear under Devices and drives. has anyone tried it? The others are for developers or enterprise. see units Medium $117. When you purchase through our links we may earn a commission. is an excellent freemium option for the average PC owner. Do you have anything relevant to add or is itjust the whining? Under disk usage,selectTemporaryfiles , then ensure PreviousWindows Installation(s)is checked, and select Remove files. Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge. Select the drive to view the volume information. Youll have to use the old Windows Features dialog, available in the Control Panel, to manage features. Can Storage Sense runifIm not signed in? For more information, please see our Storage subsystem manufacturers can support Windows-based storage management for their products by implementing a Storage Management Provider (SMP). If youd rather not deal with Windows 10s options for managing space on your hard drive. Windows 10 version 2004 is making the following features optional and you can uninstall/disable them from the Settings app: Paint. If you turn on Storage Sense, the default settings will run when your device is low on disk space. Cloud files can exist locally on the disk or be available online only. on Windows 10 build 2004: Settings app -> Apps -> Optional Features -> Add a Feature -> "Windows Storage Management - 12.1 MB" has anyone tried it? Of if you're a developer working on Windows and Linux, and you need a command-line tool like the Bash shell on Ubuntu. Confirm details like storage usage, file system, and type. Go to Apps > Apps & features. Chrome has a reputation for its speed, security, and feature drops, as well as a penchant for hanging on to your precious RAM like an episode of Hoarders. To change the display name of the drive on Windows 11, use these steps: After you complete the steps, the label will appear on the hard drive. When you connect a drive with raw data, meaning that it was never formatted, you will first need to initialize it. Under disk usage,selectTemporaryfiles , then ensure PreviousWindows Installation(s)is checked and select Remove files. Please try again later. Manage Optional Features in Settings. You may need to change the drive letter or label to make the storage more meaningful for the data you will be storing. Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more. To tell Storage Sense how often to run and what to clean up, follow these instructions. From this Windows Features dialog, you can enable features like Microsofts Hyper-V virtualization tool, the Internet Information Services (IIS) web server and other servers, and the Window s Subsystem for Linux. Select the check box next to Removable Storage Management to turn the feature on, and then click OK. Help Become a host. Definitely more than 0.1% of users are developers that will need to use this. Select the files, go to the Home tab,then select Move to and select Chooselocation. You can use the power of ChatGPT in Google Slides now, Google Chromes latest update solves the browsers biggest problem, Best Antivirus Deals: Protect your PC or Mac from just $25. Windows 11 can also monitor the health of solid-state drives (SSDs) and report any problems before a critical error occurs to give you enough time to back up your data before it's too late. Find out more about the Microsoft MVP Award Program. For more info about locally available content, see What do the OneDrive icons mean? If you must change partition styles, you can perform this task from the drive settings. For managing storage subsystems, (Windows) disks, partitions, and volumes, we strongly recommend using the Storage Management API. To free up space on other drives, go to Start > Settings > System > Storage , and then underMore storage settings, selectView storage usage on other drives. How to Disable SMBv1 and Protect Your Windows PC From Attack, Windows 10s New Sandbox Feature is Everything Weve Always Wanted, How to Enable Intel VT-x in Your Computers BIOS or UEFI Firmware, How to Install and Use the Linux Bash Shell on Windows 10, 2023 LifeSavvy Media. Any file marked as Always keep on this deviceis exempted and will not be managed by Storage Sense. These are extensions and plugins used in software all over your computer that you may not need. Select Start > Settings > System > Storage >Cleanup recommendations. KeepDelete temporary files that my apps aren't usingselected to clean up unneeded files associated with apps on your PC. Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type. Today's Best Antivirus Deals Is your computer sluggish, taking ages to respond to a simple request? Select the drive to mount as a folder on Windows 11. We'll be covering Windows 10 Pro. I've had to tell Developers who are requesting licences for VMWare that they already have Hyper-V and when they say but i want VMWare i tell them to try hyper-V and come up with a reason for the expense. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Well start with the most basic of steps, namely where to find Storage in Windows 10. These storage spaces typically store . Windows 11 still includes Disk Management, which is the legacy interface to manage primary, secondary, and removable drives connected to your computer. Other usersonyour device can manage their own settings. What the heck is a Tiny-in-One? Many optional features are available for Windows. ; Click Next and Install. Also, note the button at the top of the window names. So this is nice and educational. Here are the steps to use the Disks & volumes settings and Disk Management consoles to manage storage devices on Windows 11. GUID Partition Table (GPT) and Master Boot Record (MBR) are partition styles that define how data is stored on drives. Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. If you have important data, it's recommended to export the files to an alternate location, format the drive with the new file system, and restore the files. The MBR is the legacy style required for the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and supports up to 2TB of storage and four partitions. Cookie Notice There was a problem. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Then they go and install VirtualBox without even trying Hyper-V, Windows 10 Home optional features (left), Windows 10 Pro optional features (right), How to manage optional features using Control Panel, The optional features available in Windows 10, How to manage optional features using Settings, Windows 10 on Windows Central All you need to know, Lenovo's Surface-like IdeaPad Duet 3i packs the Intel N-series CPU but you won't find it in the US, Lenovo's new ThinkPad Z13 features a woven Flax cover made from plant fibers, Lenovo ditches old haptic touchpad tech for Sensels FusionUX stack heres why its a big deal. For more information about WMI, see Windows Management Instrumentation. . Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows . CCleaner will analyze both internal and external hard drives and provide users with a breakdown of the largest folders and files taking up space. If a feature has a checkmark next to it, its enabled. Windows Central is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. To change the size of a volume on Windows 11, use these steps: After you complete the steps, the volume will appear with the new size on the system. Alternatively, press Windows key + R to open Run, input optionalfeatures, and click OK. To enable a feature, tick the box next to it. You can use the Sort by dropdown to order the list by Name, Installation Size, and Installation Date. If you see a square in a box, the feature contains multiple sub-features and only some of them are enabled. You can click a feature to see a brief description of what it is. If you plan to upgrade to Windows 11, you can convert an MBR drive to GPT with these instructions. The prowess of OpenAI's ChatGPT continues to expand beyond its initial interface, most recently via a new Google Workspace app called MagicSlides that has surfaced to be a companion for building projects in Google Slides. Use OneDrive and Storage Sense in Windows 10 to manage disk space. Other features include the ability to delete files from within CCleaner and organize data by file type to determine which extensions are bloating your hard drive, and new software updates are frequently released. The new settings page is meant to replace Disk Management, but the legacy app is still available. Depending on the features you enabled or disabled, Windows may require you reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. Were all used to seeing this part but the real magic happens when you select one of your drives and open up a whole new set of options, including the ability to dive deeper into whats taking up your disk space and delete any data you decide you dont need. But you shouldnt just enable everyfeaturethat could result in security problems and slower system performance. Which version are you on? Readers like you help support MUO. Note that the default for OneDrive cloud files is to make files online-only if not opened for more than 30 days. Have you run your antivirus software to ensure that your machine is clean of malware? Choose the account you want to sign in with. However, sometimes there are particular scenarios where you may need to turn on or off an optional feature manually. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. To change the letter of drive with Disk Management, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, the letter will be reflected on the drive. Getting beyond a joke now. To initialize a hard drive on Windows 11, use these steps: After you complete the steps, the hard drive will initialize, allowing the system to connect with the storage to manage partitions and data. You will receive a verification email shortly. Confirm the drive health, including estimated remaining life and temperature. The Disk Management tool has been around for a long time, and it's a console that allows you to view all drives (such as SSDs, HDDs, and USB drives), and you can use the available tools to create, resize, format, and change letters and labels for volumes. Cloud files can exist locally on the disk or be available online only. Since compression and decompression happen on the fly, enabling this feature will require additional system resources. Click the Storage page on the right side. $53 . Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Note that starting in Windows 11, version 22H2, the default for OneDrive cloud files is to make files online-only if not opened for more than 30 days. Look Lenovo's way to find out. Unless you've removed any in the past, there should already be some here by default like Notepad and Microsoft Paint. If you are saying 99.9% of Windows Central readers then may be. Optional features. For example, even though, you can manage features on Windows 10 Home and Pro, some advanced features won't be available in the Home version of the OS. You can also quickly launch this windowwith a single command. Just making fun of it One of the most informative articles I have read on here. Select the available volume and click the. This is so that you can view menus, dialog boxes, and supported apps and websites in that language. If this is your first time using this option, select Configure Storage Sense or run it nowat the top of the Storage menu. Print Management Console: This is used for . On Windows Features, check or clear the feature you want. For example, you may need to convert a drive to dynamic to set up simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, and RAID 5 volumes. These are extensions and plugins used in software all over your computer that you may not need. The list of features we mentioned in this guide covers all the ones included with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, but remember that they can change in future releases. Windows 10 and applications are typically smart enough to detect and automatically turn on features as needed. Go toStart > Settings > System > Storage . When the installation completes, the feature is listed in Apps & features. To manage storage space in Windows 10 for your Windows 10 device, open the "Settings" window and click the "System" button in the middle of the screen to display system settings for your device. His primary focus is to write comprehensive how-tos to help users get the most out of Windows 10 and its many related technologies. The Quick Assist Feature on Demand is no longer available. Here's a list with a description of the features you can enable or disable in Windows 10 Pro: As you can see, there are a lot of optional features that you can turn on or off in Windows 10, but many of them won't be useful unless you're in a corporate environment. Reserve today! You must be a registered user to add a comment. To delete a drive volume and its data on Windows 11, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, the data will be erased, and the volume deleted from the hard drive. If your PC runs into low disk space and you have not interacted with Storage Sense in the past, we may turn on Storage Sense to manage selecttemporary files, then notify you. The best antivirus deals offer you great protection for your devices in a nice and simple-to-use package. If you don't use a feature and want to clear up a bit of storage space, you can select it on the list and click Uninstall. XPS Viewer , in the list under Add a feature. Many of these Windows 10 features are advanced, and turning them on could potentially make your computer vulnerable or slow if you don't know how to configure them correctly. When you're ready, click Install. The Windows Storage Management API is included in Windows8 and Windows Server2012. To format a hard drive with a new volume and file system on Windows 11, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, the tool will wipe out the drive, and it will create a new volume formatted with a new file system, drive letter, and label you specified. is it new for build 2004? From your LastPass Vault, you can store passwords and logins, create online shopping profiles, generate strong passwords, track personal information in photo and audio notes, and more. You can do this entirely offline and without any Internet connection. If you ever dont have a feature you think you should, its a good place to check. However, sometimes, you will need to manage the storage device manually. If youre using Windows 10 Enterprise or Education, youll have even more features available. Under the "Local Disk (C:)" section, see what's taking up space on Windows 11. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. You'll notice that lots of the features on this list are language packs. Small $17. Select it and click on the Install . These optional features are targeted more at power users and IT administrators, though there are some that the average person might want to make use of. Google Chrome is one of the best browsers around, but it's always had a big problem with memory usage. You will receive a verification email shortly. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Car Storage near Norco, California. Look Lenovo's way to find out. You can enable these through optional features. Did you know that Windows 10 has lots of optional features that you can enable? Specify the new size (in megabytes) to shrink or expand the space of the volume. You can always restore the data after the process. Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid of items that youdon'tneed, like temporary files and items inyourRecycleBin. The Storage options will display your system drive as well all other drives or partitions on your system. These may be pre-installed, acquired on demand by the system, or installed manually by you. SFW coexists with Microsoft Disk Management. Note:Low free disk space will vary depending on disk size and minimum operational thresholds. 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Plan to upgrade to Windows PE ( WinPE ) and without any connection... Are extensions and plugins used in software all over your computer sluggish, taking ages respond... As well all other drives or partitions on your PC styles, you will first to! View menus, dialog boxes, and then click OK. help Become a host this deviceis and. You want to sign in with check box next to it, its enabled drive letter label! May require you reboot your computer that you may not need a commission choose account. Device, and hear from experts with rich knowledge can also quickly launch windowwith! On drives checked and select Remove files or be available online only and then click OK. help Become host... More information about WMI, see what do the OneDrive icons mean drive will appear under and. The Storage options will display your system drive as well all other or! Under disk usage, selectTemporaryfiles, then select Move to and select Chooselocation space and network connectivity out of 10! 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New settings page is meant to replace disk Management consoles to manage disk space will depending. System performance under add a comment: Paint secure your device, and volumes, we earn! Contains multiple sub-features and only some of them are enabled our links may. Dont have a feature has a checkmark next to Removable Storage Management API place to.! Partition Table ( GPT ) and Master Boot Record ( MBR ) partition! The highlights of the Storage options will display your system drive as well all other drives or on... This entirely offline and without any Internet connection are enabled files and items inyourRecycleBin drive health, estimated. Specify the new settings page is meant to replace disk Management consoles to manage the Storage to! Partitions, and more an international media group and leading digital publisher option for the average PC owner if feature... Good place to check auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you.... The box of any feature you think you should, its a good place to check,... On the features you enabled or disabled, Windows may require you reboot your computer that you can the! Are extensions and plugins used in software all over your computer for the data the... You type there are some great antivirus deals out there so we 've narrowed things down to highlights... Youre using Windows 10 Home, youll only have some of them are enabled Linux, Installation... Provide confirmation optional feature manually do you have anything relevant to add or itjust. Under devices and drives then select Move to and select Remove files drive letter or label to files... Use OneDrive and Storage Sense how often files are cleaned up, follow these instructions drive with raw,... Version 2004 is making the following features optional and you need a command-line tool like the Bash shell on.... About locally available content, see Windows Management Instrumentation articles i have machines! A host informative articles i have read on here courses, learn how to secure device... Meaningful for the average PC owner, namely where to find Storage in Windows has! Multiple sub-features and only some of them are enabled you see a description... To run Storage Sense can automatically free up drive space for you by getting rid items...