Did you know that approximately two-thirds of the information in the world is unorganized and stored on hard drives that are bursting at the seams? If you’re like most people, you’ve probably accumulated a ton of digital crap over the years without realizing it. And while it’s tempting to just push through the occasional data frustration, it’s important to take steps to keep your hard drive space healthy.
That’s where data recovery comes in. Instead of deleting that old document or image that’s taking up space, why not learn how to free up space on your hard drive instead?
Here are six tips for freeing up space on your hard drive, and how data recovery service can help.
Create System Snapshots Regularly
One of the easiest ways to free up space on your hard drive is by taking a system snapshot. A system snapshot allows you to effectively create a copy of your original system, while also saving space. Once you’ve taken a snapshot, you can archive or delete snapshots that are no longer needed, which can free up tons of space on your hard drive.
Archive Your Data
One of the simplest ways to free up space on your hard drive is to archive your data. When you’re done with an old document or file, instead of deleting it from your computer, save it in a folder called “Archive.” This will make it easy for you to find the file when you need it again later.
Ditch the Old
The first step to freeing up space on your hard drive is to ditch the old. If you’ve been holding onto that document or image since your freshman year in high school, it might be time to delete it. If you’re using a PC, you can use Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) to delete those unused files. On a Mac, the equivalent is called “Activity Monitor.” You can also use programs like CCleaner and Cyber-Defender for PCs and Macs respectively.
While deleting unused files is an easy way to free up space on your hard drive, it doesn’t always work as well as expected. For example, if you delete an old Word document and then save another one with the same name, the old one will still be on your hard drive and taking up space even though you deleted it from view. Data recovery can help with this problem by allowing you to restore deleted files that were never entirely deleted from your hard drive.
Shred Your Documents
The first step to freeing up space on your hard drive is to shred any documents you want to get rid of. This will protect your privacy and keep sensitive information out of the wrong hands. Simply put, if you delete a document, anyone can find it and read it using data recovery software. When you shred a document, it’s unreadable in any form – even data recovery software can’t bring them back.
Repurpose Obsolete Media
The first thing you should do to free up space on your hard drive is to figure out what media you no longer need and are not worth keeping. You may have files from a computer that you’ve replaced, old pictures from your phone, or original music that is available for purchase now. Whatever it is, take the time to delete it (or at least move it into an archive folder) so that you can make room for new data.
Don’t keep Installing New Stuff
It’s important to keep your hard drive clean and clear of old, unused files. However, sometimes installing new stuff can cause problems with your current hard drive.
The best way to avoid this is by doing a little bit of maintenance on your computer before you install any new software. This will help free up space so that you can install the software without error messages popping up or freezing. If you find that there are too many files taking up space, then it might be time for data recovery.
Final Thoughts
Recovering data from a corrupted hard drive could be complicated or time-consuming. It’s always best to take steps to prevent the need for data recovery in the first place.
The key is taking the time to go through your hard drives and figure out what doesn’t need to live there anymore. If you have a document you no longer need, then delete it. If you have an image that’s not important, then delete it. Don’t let your hard drive consume all of its space with useless items that just take up space and make it more difficult to find the important stuff later on when you really need it. Take a few minutes every week – or even daily – to figure out what files can be safely deleted from your hard drive so that your data isn’t lost forever.