A program for viewing the contents of a disk. What is my hard drive full of (or where has the free space on the HDD gone). What we don't like

Modern size hard drives is calculated in terabytes, but free place still disappears somewhere on them. And if you are the owner of a high-speed, but much less capacious solid state drive, then the situation could become completely catastrophic.

With these three programs, you can visually assess what and how much space is taking up on your disk, and decide whether to clean it up.

The most popular cleaner for Windows has in its arsenal special tool to search for large files. It is located in the “Service” section and is called “Disk Analysis”.

Disk space usage is illustrated with a pie chart showing the distribution between the main file types - images, documents, videos. Below is a table with detailed information on each type.

After startup and a preliminary assessment of the fullness of the hard drive, WinDirStat displays full map his condition. It consists of various squares, the size of which corresponds to the file size, and the color to its type. Clicking on any element allows you to find out its exact size and location on the disk. Using the buttons on the toolbar, you can delete any file or view it in the file manager.

SpaceSniffer is a great alternative to CCleaner and WinDirStat. This free application can show a disk fullness map in the same way as the previous utility does. However, here you can easily adjust the viewing depth and the amount of detail displayed. This makes it possible to first see the largest catalogs, and then dive deeper into the depths file system until you get to the smallest files.

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 for analyzing a disk and searching 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 drives, a specific drive 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, 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 you can do with this information besides simply 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.

    Another one 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 the whole disk and go ahead:


    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 last modified ( Modified) and how much space certain types of files take up ( 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 volume).


    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:

    • C reads that there must be at least free space on the system partition of the disk 15% from its full volume, so that Windows system could function fully - without freezing or braking. Nowadays new hard drives can rarely be found with a capacity less 500 GB, therefore, when dividing the hard drive into partitions, you should not infringe on the system.

    The system partition can safely be given order 100 GB. This volume is more than enough for the needs of Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, without the need to constantly clean folders "Temp" and limit the system in space to create restore points.

    How to find out which files are taking up a lot of space on your computer's disk?

    But if you store user files on the system disk - huge music collections, HD videos, voluminous software distributions - or install modern resource-intensive games on the system disk, over time even 100 GB may not be enough. If Windows displays a message about not enough space on the system disk, it’s time (following cleaning the folders "Temp", of course) analyze the occupied disk space of the computer.

    Clean up your computer by clearing the disk. unnecessary files, you can use Windows Explorer or file manager. But this effective way under one condition - if it is definitely known where and what kind of heavy files can clutter up the system disk space. Otherwise, it is better to seek help special programs– disk space analyzers. This type of program scans the computer's disks and presents the user with data about all the files he has in a convenient visual and tabular display. Popular disk space analyzers include programs such as: WinDirStat, Scanner, TreeSize Pro. Recently, you can find files on your computer that are wasting disk space using the popular system cleaning program -.

    Many people know free program CCleaner how effective tool for cleaning temporary files, Internet cache, system registry and other system garbage. WITH 5th version of the CCleaner program has changed somewhat in appearance, and now it matches the design Metro (Modern UI) Windows 8/8.1. But the changes in CCleaner affected not only the appearance of the program; the popular cleaner now has functions for analyzing disk space and searching for duplicate files.

    Disk analysis using CCleaner

    The disk analysis functionality in CCleaner, by and large, is in no way inferior to similar capabilities that are implemented in individual programs, in particular in those mentioned above. In CCleaner, you can get a graphical and informational report on the use of computer disk partitions – both system and non-system. CCleaner presents the files on your computer according to their individual categories - video, music, pictures, documents, archives, email, and other files.

    In the program window, select the section "Service" and go to the tab "Disk Analysis". By default, only the main categories of files will be selected for analysis. If necessary, you can add archive files and Email. Select the computer disk - C , D , E etc. - and press "Analysis".

    CCleaner allows you to sort all categories of files or each category separately by size. This will give you an idea of ​​which specific files take up the most space on a particular disk partition.

    By clicking on the appropriate sorting criterion in the table of contents, we can also sort the analysis results by file name, file type (format), and placement path.

    At the top left we can see a pie chart with a visual representation of the analysis of occupied space by individual file categories.

    Heavier files can be deleted from system disk or transfer them to a non-system one. In the results of disk space analysis, select required file, call context menu and press "Open folder".

    A system explorer window will open, where we can remove the file from the system disk or delete it permanently.

    Finding Duplicate Files Using CCleaner

    CCleaner can now search for duplicate files. To run a search for duplicate files in a section "Service" open the tab "Search for duplicates". In order not to be distracted by lightweight files that will not particularly affect the freeing up of disk space, you can include a filter in the duplicate search criteria that sets minimum size the files you are looking for.

    When deleting duplicate files, you must be extremely neat. Don't delete duplicates system files, as well as duplicates of working files of individual programs. CCleaner, as well as similar programs that can search for duplicate files on a computer, look for files with identical names. And working files of the system and programs may have identical technical names, but be located in different folders(folders of their programs) and, accordingly, serve the purposes different programs. Therefore, you should not delete such duplicates. And when deleting a low-weight configuration file, there will be no significant release of disk space. It is better to get rid of duplicates if they are distributions operating systems, videos and other heavy files.

    You can delete duplicate files found by CCleaner in the same way as in the results of disk space analysis.

    Call the context menu on the selected file and select the option to open in folder.

    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 System Volume Information folder, which stores system restore checkpoints, and run a standard 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. I suggest we take a closer look at the programs that meet the specified conditions.

    SpaceSniffer is a portable, free program that helps you understand the folder and file structure of 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 language. 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, appears in the top left corner and sorts files and folders by 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 a Russian-language interface. I didn’t delve too deeply into its settings, but one nuance immediately caught my eye - the System Volume Information folder, according to the program, is empty. 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 a 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 a free, portable utility that 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, collecting information 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 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. It has a large number of 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 a maximum number of files – 500,000, with a maximum hard drive capacity of 2 TB. It supports long file names, 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.

    GetFoldersize is 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 right-clicking on it. Interface is English, a good choice settings.

    RidNacs is a fast disk space analyzer that scans local drives, network drives or individual directories, displaying the results in a tree and percentage histogram. 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 program shows a pie chart with concentric rings to display the space usage of your hard drive, external hard drive, network drive. Moving the mouse over the segments in the diagram allows you to display the full path to 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 the Windows Explorer context menu, and the other to remove it.

    I liked Free Disk Analyzer more than all other programs. During the installation process, you are offered a choice of 5 languages, Russian is present. The free disk analyzer displays your disks on the left side of the window, much like 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.

    The Windows operating system comes with an Explorer tool that allows you to get an idea of ​​what's on your drives. In addition to the list of files, we also see information about their size and the date of creation or modification. This, however, is too little information to find the data that clogs the disk the most.

    The applications in this article can be divided into two categories. The first is programs that specialize in disk visualization. This graphical representation data is perceived better than a list of files. The second group of tools are applications that show statistics on the participation of individual file types among all information stored on selected storage media.

    WinDirStat

    Represents the sizes and number of files on a computer's hard drive in graphically, as well as on removable media selected by us.

    Advantages of WinDirStat

    • An accessible form of graphical visualization
    • Also works in old Windows versions
    • You can define how elements are displayed
    • Tree cards

    Flaws:

    • Lack of ability to detect coloring for more file types

    Distribution type: freeware
    Price: for free

    SpaceSniffer Portable

    SpaceSniffer scans and shows you the contents of selected drives in an easy-to-read hierarchical color scheme.

    Benefits of SpaceSniffer

    • No installation required
    • Wide possibilities for filtering data that is visualized

    Distribution type: freeware
    Price: for free

    TreeSize Free

    TreeSize Free allows you to quickly scan the contents of any media, and the results are displayed in a drop-down tree.

    Benefits of TreeSize Free

    Flaws:

    • Only in English version

    Distribution type: freeware
    Price: for free

    JDiskReport

    JDiskReport - for lovers of statistics in the form of charts reminiscent of Excel charts. Instead of trees, we have histograms and pie charts.

    Benefits of JDiskReport

    • Interesting graphic diagrams
    • Lots of different statistics, including breakdown by size and creation date
    • Java version available that runs on any Java platform

    Flaws:

    • Windows version requires Java installed

    Distribution type: freeware
    Price: for free

    FolderSize

    FolderSize is highlighted by the summary window. It displays charts and a list of files or folders that can be sorted by various criteria.

    Benefits of FolderSize

    • Displays charts and file list in one window
    • Allows you to pause and resume the scanning procedure, quickly takes into account changes in already scanned places

    Flaws:

    • The free version does not allow scanning of matched hard disks and network

    Distribution type: freeware
    Price: for free