Graphic display of used disk space. HDD Scanner - how to find out the size of folders and files

The post contains a list of the 20 best free tools for partitioning, diagnostics, encryption, recovery, cloning, and formatting disks. In general, almost everything you need for basic work with them.

1.TestDisk

TestDisk allows you to recover boot partitions, deleted partitions, fix damaged partition tables and restore data, as well as create copies of files from deleted/inaccessible partitions.

Note: PhotoRec is a related application to TestDisk. With its help, it is possible to recover data from digital camera memory on hard drives and CDs. In addition, you can restore basic image formats, audio files, text documents, HTML files and various archives.

When you run TestDisk, you are presented with a list of hard drive partitions that you can work with. The selection of available actions carried out in sections includes: analysis to adjust the structure (and subsequent recovery, if a problem is detected); changing disk geometry; deleting all data in the partition table; boot partition recovery; listing and copying files; recovering deleted files; creating a snapshot of the section.

2. EaseUS Partition Master

EaseUS Partition Master is a tool for working with hard drive partitions. It allows you to create, move, merge, split, format, change their size and location without losing data. It also helps to recover deleted or lost data, check partitions, move the OS to another HDD/SSD, etc.

On the left is a list of operations that can be performed with the selected section.

3.WinDirStat

The free program WinDirStat analyzes the used disk space. Shows how data is distributed and which ones take up more space.

Clicking on a field in the diagram will display the file in question in a structural form.

After loading WinDirStat and selecting disks for analysis, the program scans the directory tree and provides statistics in the following options: list of directories; directory map; list of extensions.

4. Clonezilla

Clonezilla creates a disk image of the cloning tool, which is also packaged with Parted Magic and is initially available as a standalone tool. Available in two versions: Clonezilla Live and Clonezilla SE (Server Edition).

Clonezilla Live is a bootable Linux distribution that allows you to clone individual devices.
Clonezilla SE is a package that is installed on a Linux distribution. It is used to simultaneously clone multiple computers over a network.

5. OSFMount

Using this utility makes it possible to mount previously made disk images and present them as virtual drives, directly viewing the data itself. OSFMount supports image files such as: DD, ISO, BIN, IMG, DD, 00n, NRG, SDI, AFF, AFM, AFD and VMDK.

An additional function of OSFMount is the creation of RAM disks located in the computer's RAM, which significantly speeds up working with them. To start the process, go to File > Mount new virtual disk.

6. Defraggler

Defraggler is a free program for defragmenting your hard drive, which helps increase its speed and lifespan. A special feature of the program is the ability to defragment individual files.

Defraggler analyzes the contents on the disk and displays a list of all fragmented files. During the defragmentation process, the movement of data on the disk is displayed. Those highlighted in yellow are data that is being read, and those highlighted in green are those that are being written. Upon completion, Defraggler displays a corresponding message.

Supports NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT file systems.

7. SSD Life

SSDLife - diagnoses a solid-state drive, displays information about its condition and estimates its expected service life. Supports remote monitoring, manages performance levels on some hard drive models.

By monitoring SSD wear, you can increase the level of data security and identify problems in a timely manner. Based on the analysis, the program concludes how often the solid-state drive is used.

8. Darik's Boot And Nuke (DBAN)

A fairly popular free utility, DBAN, is used to clean up hard drives.

DBAN has two main modes: interactive mode and automatic mode. Interactive mode allows you to prepare the disk for data removal and select the necessary erasing options. Automatic mode cleans all detected drives.

9.HD Tune

The HD Tune utility is designed to work with hard drives and SSDs. Measures the HDD/SSD read-write level, scans for errors, checks the disk status and displays information about it.

When launching the application, you need to select a drive from the drop-down list and go to the appropriate tab to view the information.

10.VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a free and open source encryption application. On-the-fly encryption is used.

The VeraCrypt project was created on the basis of TrueCrypt with the goal of strengthening methods for protecting encryption keys.

11. CrystalDiskInfo

CrystalDiskInfo displays the status of hard drives that support S.M.A.R.T technology. The utility monitors, evaluates the general condition and displays detailed information about hard drives (firmware version, serial number, standard, interface, total operating time, etc.). CrystalDiskInfo has support for external hard drives.

The top panel on the screen displays all active hard drives. Clicking on each one reveals the information. The Health Status and Temperature icons change color depending on the value.

12. Recuva

The Recuva utility is used to recover accidentally deleted or lost files. It scans the desired storage medium and then displays a list of deleted files. Each file has its own parameters (name, type, path, recovery probability, state).

The required files are identified using the preview function and marked with checkboxes. You can sort the search result by type (graphics, music, documents, videos, archives) and immediately view the contents.

13.TreeSize

The TreeSize program shows a tree of directories located on the hard drive, providing information about their sizes, and also analyzes the use of disk space.

Folder sizes are displayed from largest to smallest. This way it becomes clear which folders take up the most space.

Note: With Defraggler, Recuva and TreeSize, you can initiate Defraggler and Recuva functions for a specific folder directly from TreeSize - all three applications integrate seamlessly.

14. HDDScan

HDDScan is a hard drive diagnostic utility used to test storage devices (HDD, RAID, Flash) to identify errors. Views S.M.A.R.T. attributes, displays hard drive temperature sensor readings in the taskbar and performs a read-write comparison test.

HDDScan is designed for testing SATA, IDE, SCSI, USB, FifeWire (IEEE 1394) drives.

15.Disk2vhd

The free Disk2vhd utility converts a live physical disk into a virtual Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) for the Microsoft Hyper-V platform. Moreover, a VHD image can be created directly from a running operating system.

Disk2vhd creates one VHD file for each disk with selected volumes, preserving information about disk partitions and copying only the data that belongs to the selected volume.

16. NTFSWalker

The portable utility NTFSWalker allows you to analyze all records (including deleted data) in the main file table MFT of an NTFS disk.

The presence of its own NTFS drivers makes it possible to view the file structure without the help of Windows on any computer reading media. Deleted files, regular files, as well as detailed attributes for each file are available for viewing.

17.GParted

- open source disk partition editor. Performs efficient and secure partition management (creation, deletion, resizing, moving, copying, checking) without data loss.

GParted allows you to create partition tables (MS-DOS or GPT), enable, disable and change attributes, align partitions, recover data from damaged partitions and much more.

18. SpeedFan

The SpeedFan computer program monitors the performance of sensors on the motherboard, video card and hard drives, with the ability to regulate the rotation speed of installed fans. It is possible to carry out automatic and manual adjustment.

SpeedFan works with hard drives with SATA, EIDE and SCSI interfaces.

19. MyDefrag

MyDefrag is a free disk defragmenter that is used to organize data located on hard drives, floppy disks, USB drives and memory cards.

The program has a convenient function of working in screensaver mode, as a result of which defragmentation will be performed at the time designated for launching the screen saver. MyDefrag also allows you to create or customize your own scripts.

20. DiskCryptor

Using the open source encryption program DiskCryptor, you can completely encrypt a disk (all disk partitions, including the system one).

DiskCryptor has quite high performance - it is one of the fastest disk volume encryption drivers. The program supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and exFAT file systems, allowing you to encrypt internal or external drives.

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 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 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 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 similar program is 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 the top menu of the program itself, only two switches are interesting: the first, for sorting alphabetically (and not by “most”), 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:

Modern hard drives have quite a large capacity. If you have several hundred gigabytes, why even think about cleaning? But it’s surprising how quickly photos, videos, music and other files begin to use up free space on the hard drive and there are many cases where unnecessary files lead to various malfunctions in the operating system, and over time, improper use of the hard drive leads to failure and subsequent repair of the HDD , so it is necessary to regularly remove them and optimize the hard drive. For example, if there are too many temporary files in a directory, the system may become unstable and slow, causing problems even with many of the programs originally installed in it. How to put things in order? How to understand what takes up the most space? Windows OS has its own disk checking utility. It can be launched from the GUI or from the command line. But there are also alternative programs.
We've rounded up 10 free tools to help you do just that.

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 it. 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 criteria you specify.

The program has many settings, but its interface is in English. The information it produces does not seem very convenient for visual perception. But in principle, it works quickly and efficiently.

WinDirStat collects information from the selected disk and presents it in three versions. A directory list, which resembles the Windows Explorer tree structure, 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 file types. 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. The program will have to be installed, but it has a Russian-language interface.

Disktective is a free, portable utility that reports the actual size of directories and the distribution of subdirectories and files within 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.

English interface, installation required. In operation, it is a fast and easy-to-use disk space analyzer that monitors 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 that show results in graphical format. Has a large number of settings.

DiskSavvy is available in a free version as well as a Pro version that provides additional features and technical support. The free version allows you to scan a maximum of 500,000 files, with a maximum hard drive capacity of 2 TB.

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 nested within them. You can use GetFoldersize to scan an unlimited number of files and folders on internal and external hard drives, DVDs, and network drives. This program supports long file and folder names, 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 to a text file. If you install GetFoldersize, all its features will be added to the option to launch from the context menu in Windows Explorer, which will allow you to start scanning the volume of a folder or drive by right-clicking on it. The interface is English, a large selection of 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 the appearance of the histogram by installing special skins. The program also requires installation and has two interface languages ​​– English and German.

The portable Scanner program shows a pie chart with concentric rings to show the space usage on 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.

In our opinion, Free Disk Analyzer is better than all other programs. During the installation process, you are offered a choice of 5 languages, including Russian. The free disk analyzer 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. Among the 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.

Lack of free space on your hard drive is a constant problem. With the purchase of a more capacious medium, this problem is not solved, but only worsened: the more information accumulates, the more difficult it is to control it and at the same time maintain a certain conventional order.

There are many utilities for searching for duplicates, outdated and other unnecessary files, but disk servicing does not eliminate the need to independently “sort out the rubble.” These files, as often happens, are stored in folders of various nesting levels. Using file manager tools for searches is one option. By the way, even standard Explorer has a filter and search. However, there are more efficient, comprehensive solutions for analyzing disk space. Typically they include features such as:

• Scan disks and directories
• Data visualization: display file structure as a chart, graph or map
• Advanced statistics and their export
• Search for duplicates, temporary files
• Filters and advanced search
• Additional tools

Today's guide participants are predominantly free programs. The exceptions are FolderSizes and TreeSize, although the latter also offers a free version in the Free edition. The resulting list of participants looks like this:

• TreeSize
• Scanner
• WinDirStat
• Space Sniffer
• JDiskReport
• Xinorbis
• FolderSizes

TreeSize Pro

TreeSize is a utility for finding files that waste disk space. Includes both information functions (visualization, statistics, export) and service functions: search for duplicates, outdated files, etc.

In the left panel of the TreeSize window there is a disk selection menu and a directory tree where navigation and selection of the scan source is carried out.

The results are displayed on the right side of the window, consisting of tabs. In the Chart section, a diagram is available from which you can find out the percentage of directories within the selected source. It is also easy to change the display of data in the form of graphs or maps. Detailed information about the directory (amount of data, space occupied, etc.) is available in the Details tab. Extensions - distribution of data according to their content: video, graphics, text and others. In Age of files - information about the age of files. In addition, it will be useful to analyze the chronology of disk filling (History). All data is available for export in XLS, CSV, HTML, TXT and other formats.

Top 100 contains a list of the largest files on the disk. The accompanying information in the columns of the table allows you to find out the date of the last access or creation of the file - this will help you decide whether to delete or leave the file.

No less interesting in TreeSize are the search (File Search menu). You can use all data types (All Search Types): this, in particular, includes searching for outdated, temporary files, and duplicates. The advantage of searching through TreeSize is undeniable: the program is multi-threaded, works over the network, and supports templates.

Alas, the free (essentially trial) version of TreeSize is significantly inferior to the paid version: multithreading, advanced search, visualization and many other important functions are not supported.

Summary. TreeSize Pro perfectly complements the capabilities of any file manager, allowing you to thoroughly analyze the occupied disk space and directories. A well-customizable interface and search, visualization, export - a standard set included.

[+] Functionality
[+] Advanced file search
[+] Fast multi-threaded scanning
[+] Additional tools

Scanner

Scanner is a free utility for analyzing the contents of your hard drive. No settings, a minimum of options - nevertheless, Scanner is a completely functional solution.

In the left part of the window, you can select a disk for analysis; you can also get information in existing files on all disks using the “Total” button in the lower left corner.

In the center is a pie chart that displays the file structure in segments. Segments, as is easy to note, have several levels of nesting and different colors. When you hover the cursor over a certain area of ​​the diagram, information about the number, size of files, and their location is available. You can move to the directory by clicking on it, or perform operations with the file through the context menu.

Summary. The program will be useful for a quick visual analysis of occupied disk space. As for the available operations with files and directories, they are only sufficient to delete and open files. In other words, you won’t be able to use Scanner as a file manager (with search, display modes, statistics).

[+] Ease of use, intuitiveness
[−] Minimum number of file operations

WinDirStat

WinDirStat is a free utility for analyzing and cleaning your hard drive from unnecessary files.

The program scans the specified sources (directories or local drives) and provides information for analysis in an easy-to-read form. The directory structure is displayed in the form of multi-colored segments of different sizes, depending on the space occupied, at the bottom of the WinDirStat window. The table of color correspondence to the file type is in the upper right corner.

This structure representation has its drawbacks: for example, you cannot find out the file size when hovering, there are no marks. Therefore, in the case of WinDirStat, there is a lack of alternative visualization methods such as graph and chart.

By clicking on a segment, you can get detailed information about the corresponding file and its location. Standard commands are available for files, such as deleting (to the Recycle Bin or permanently), viewing properties, copying the path, and others. In the “Cleaning” section of the program settings, you can create custom actions that allow you to add up to 10 operations from the command line: deleting files, archiving, recursive deleting, and others.

In general, almost all WinDirStat settings come down to design, display of the structure and list of directories. There are no additional utilities, tools for reporting, statistics, or search provided here.

Summary. WinDirStat provides good customization options, but the lack of additional tools and display modes significantly limits the program's use.

[+] Selective scanning
[+] Command line support
[−] One file display mode
[−] Lack of detailed statistics and reporting

SpaceSniffer

SpaceSniffer is a free utility with a fully customizable interface and data display mode in the form of a map. Compared to similar solutions, notable features include multi-threading, search (including network search), and NTFS support.

For processing, you can select not only a disk from the list, but also a directory by specifying the path in the Path line. As a result of scanning, a map is formed in the form of blocks. The level of nesting can be adjusted using the Less/More Detail buttons - accordingly, the detail is reduced or increased. By clicking on a block, you can view its contents without going to the catalog. Navigating deeper through catalogs is no less convenient. There are no additional display modes in SpaceSniffer, but you can customize the design to your liking through the main settings (Edit - Configure).

Statistics functions are presented modestly. If desired, you can export to a text file: summary information, a list of files, as well as files grouped into folders. Interestingly, reports can be created using templates.

Additional features include tags and a filter. Filtering is carried out using the specified mask; the syntax is described in the Filtering help section. You can search by size, folder name, tags, attributes and other data. Tags allow you to make selections from data for subsequent filtering and batch operations. They can be thought of as temporary bookmarks within a session.

Summary. SpaceSniffer does not stand out for its wide functionality, but it attracts with its speed of operation, quite convenient display of data in the form of a map and additional tools, such as a filter and tags.

[+] Multi-window interface
[+] Integration with Explorer
[+] Filters and tags
[−] No search

JDiskReport

The free cross-platform utility JdiskReport analyzes which files take up the most disk space. In addition, the program provides statistics on the distribution of data, which can be viewed in the form of graphs and charts.

By selecting a directory or drive to scan, the user can view the collected information or save the result as a snapshot for later opening. This is relevant when constantly working with large volumes of data.

Statistics are divided into tabs: Size, Top 50, Size Dist, Modified and Types. The Size section shows the ratio of files in the selected source. There are several display modes to choose from: 2 types of charts, graph and table. Top 50 contains a list of the largest, oldest and newest files - potential “candidates” for deletion. The Size Dist, Modified and Types sections allow you to view the distribution of files by their size, modification date and type, respectively.

On the one hand, the statistics really give food for thought, on the other hand, navigation through files and sample directories is not thought out in JdiskReport. That is, any file operations are not available, there is only the “Open Explorer...” item in the context menu. There is no export, except that the file table and related information can be copied to the clipboard.

The program settings are mainly responsible for the interface. There are plenty of design themes, but, say, there are no options for displaying columns or a directory tree.

Summary. JdiskReport outperforms Scanner and WinDirStat due to file distribution statistics. But there are also weaknesses - first of all, there are no operations with files and directories.

[+] Statistics
[−] No export
[−] Non-functional context menu

Xinorbis

Xinorbis is a data analyzer on your hard drive with the ability to view statistics in the form of tables, charts and graphs. The program supports scanning on various sources: hard drives, removable media, local network, FireWire, etc.

When selecting a scan source, you can specify multiple paths, include and exclude items, and add favorites. The scan results are displayed in the form of a summary: this information will help you quickly determine the largest file or directory, familiarize yourself with the distribution of data by type, etc.

Detailed information is collected in the Folder properties section of the Tasks section. Data can be viewed in the form of custom graphs, charts, and structured by data type or file extension. Information about the age of data (Dates), chronology (History), and occupied size (Folders) is available. The Top 101 section contains a list of not only the largest and smallest files. The file table displays properties such as creation, modification, and last access dates.

The navigator context menu in Xinorbis is more than functional: it not only contains standard Explorer commands, but also provides for export, archiving, Hex editing, and checksum generation.

The Advanced section contains tools such as searching for duplicates by name and size. Other teams are also expanding their search capabilities. The most interesting section is Folder Detail, which is a filter based on a number of parameters: text, size, file attributes, owner, category.

An important advantage of Xinorbis is customizable reports in HTML, CSV, XML and other formats. As a result, it takes just one click to create a file.

Summary. In Xinorbis, it is most difficult to find shortcomings, since all the standard capabilities of a file analyzer are taken into account: from creating diagrams to exporting reports.

[+] Reporting
[+] Filter and search
[+] Flexible configuration and functionality

FolderSizes

FolderSizes is a program for scanning and analyzing disk space with the ability to export results as a report. Includes tools for searching files by multiple criteria: size, owner, age, etc.

The FolderSizes interface consists of several panels (navigator, drive list, graphs, address bar), as well as a ribbon divided into tabs. The main section is Home, where basic tools for analysis, export and other operations are available.

In the address bar you can specify not only the standard path, but also a server or NAS devices, network and removable media (Analyze path(s) option). The file panel is flexibly customizable, columns are easy to hide or add additional ones. Scan results can be viewed as graphs, charts, or a map in the Bar Graph area. Additional options related to displaying information in panels are available in the Graph tab.

To create reports, use the File Reports tool, which searches based on specified criteria and displays detailed information in a human-readable format. Report export is available in HTML, PDF, XML, CSV, TXT and other formats, including graphic ones. FolderSizes can be easily linked to a scheduler to automatically generate scheduled reports.

In addition to standard reporting functions, FolderSizes offers trend analysis. The Trend Analyzer tool is designed for this purpose; it allows you to familiarize yourself with changes in size, number of files, and other criteria.

Filter and search with rule support, built-in archiver, command line - the capabilities of FolderSizes can be listed further. The functionality of the program is unrivaled.

Summary. FolderSizes pleases with the presence of all the tools necessary for analysis, a user-friendly interface, and additional features that are not available in other programs (for example, trend analysis and archiver). As a result, it will be interesting for study by a wide audience.

[+] Fully customizable interface
[+] Trend analysis tool
[+] Convenient navigation through files and directories
[+] Filter and search

Pivot table

Program	TreeSize Pro	Scanner	WinDirStat	SpaceSniffer	JDiskReport	Xinorbis	FolderSizes
Developer	JAM Software	Steffen Gerlach	Bernhard Seifert, Oliver Schneider	Uderzo Umberto	Jgoodies	Maximum Octopus	Key Metric Software, LLC.
License	Shareware ($52.95)	Freeware	Freeware	Freeware	Freeware	Freeware	Shareware ($55)
Localization in Russian	−	+	+	−	−	−	−
Visualization	Diagram, graph, map	Diagram	Map	Map	Diagram, graph	Diagram, graph	Diagram, graph, map
Export	XML, XLS, TXT, CSV, etc.	−	−	TXT	−	HTML, CSV, TXT, Tree, XML	HTML, XML, CSV, TXT, PDF
Search	+	−	−	−	−	+	+
Search for duplicates, temporary files	+	−	−	−	−	+	+
File distribution statistics	+	−	−	−	+	+	+
Scheduler	+	−	−	−	−	−	+
NTFS functions	+	−	−	+	−	−	+
Network support	+	−	−	−	−	+	+
Multi-threaded scanning	+	−	−	+	−	−	+

Absent in earlier versions of Windows and only introduced in Windows 10 standard tool for analyzing computer disk space, alas, did not adopt the capabilities of numerous third-party software for these purposes. How many good ideas could be borrowed from third-party disk space analyzers such as WinDirStat, SequoiaView, or Xinorbis. But Microsoft apparently decided that the best example to follow would be a mini-roundup of memory card storage in mobile devices. How the standard disk space analyzer in Windows 10 works, and whether it can be considered as a full-fledged tool for periodically clearing space on a computer’s disk – we will discuss these issues below.

The main task of programs for analyzing computer disk space is to provide the user with a summary of the files stored on the computer in a convenient format. Ideally, such a summary should include a selection of data by disk partitions, folders, categories and types of files, the chronology of the appearance of files and their weight. Sorting files according to all these criteria will provide the opportunity to periodically conduct a thorough analysis of the contents of the computer and get rid of unnecessary data. Sampling according to the weight of files on a particular disk partition will allow you to quickly free up disk space if necessary. By sorting files by their weight, you can get rid of the heaviest ones, thereby freeing up disk space for other, more important data.

The disk space analysis function is located in the standard Metro configuration application "Options».

In chapter "System"

The lower part of the Windows 10 “Storage” window is reserved for assigning the default storage location for individual categories of files, and the upper part is the standard computer disk space analyzer. By selecting one of the disk partitions or a connected external storage device, we will see a summary similar to that presented according to memory card data in mobile devices. At the top of the window there will be a visual scale of the fullness of disk partitions and drives, along with data on the total and actually used disk space in gigabytes. Below we will find the space occupied by individual categories of data, such as: system files, installed applications and games, documents, images, videos, music, mail, temporary and other files.

But, unfortunately, this is where the convenience of a standard disk space analyzer ends. With its help, we will not receive detailed information on the space occupied by individual folders and files; we will not build a list, in particular, according to the criterion of file size. Windows 10 sends you to system explorer to deal with such subtleties. Folder paths displayed in the standard analyzer can be clicked to open in Windows Explorer, where files in individual folders can be sorted by size by selecting to display them in table form.

But if there are many subfolders in a folder, it will not be possible to quickly organize data by their size, because the size of the folders is not displayed in the system explorer. You will have to open each subfolder manually, organize a list of files by size, and only then view the files that are eligible for deletion.

With the data category on the system partition of drive C "System and reserved" the situation is even more complicated.

Here we will simply see information about how much space individual system data takes up, but we will not even get links to their opening path in the system explorer. So, apparently, the system is protected from beginners. The only button here is “Manage system recovery”, which leads to the system properties section, where, as part of working with restore points, you can delete them (except the last one) in order to free up some small volume.

Of the sensible features of the standard Windows 10 disk space analyzer, we can note, in principle, only two - a convenient way to clean up temporary files and remove applications. The first option is available when you select the “Temporary Files” data category. By pressing the button "Deleting temporary files", we’ll quickly get rid of them, in particular those stored in the Temp folders on the system drive, where sometimes impressive amounts of unnecessary data accumulate.

Another remarkable opportunity to free up disk space will open to us when selecting a category "Applications and Games". Here, in a single summary, we will find the ability to sort all desktop programs, games, and Metro applications installed on the system by their size. Plus, this category of data is equipped with an uninstaller for quickly removing unused programs, games and applications. Third-party Metro applications installed from the Windows Store do not need to be deleted; they can simply be moved to another location on the computer if the goal is to clear only the system partition of the disk.

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Thanks to the simplicity and intuitiveness of the organization and interface, the standard Windows 10 disk space analyzer could be a good tool for beginners, if it were just a little more thoughtful. It is suitable for clearing the system disk partition if we are dealing with the classic situation of a cluttered user profile (“Downloads”, “Video”, “Music”, “Images”, etc.). But for general cleaning of your computer—thorough clearing of all disk space—third-party programs designed specifically for these purposes are more suitable. These are, in particular, those programs that are mentioned at the beginning of the article, as well as individual functions as part of software assemblies for comprehensive computer care (such as, for example) or for working with a hard drive (such as, HDTune).