PC maintenance is an unglamorous task that most Windows users set aside, but sooner or later, it can come back to bite them. Luckily, cleaning out junk, for example, doesn’t have to be as tedious a task as most make it out to be. Compared to a decade ago, you no longer have to rely on third-party cleaning tools to do the job for you.
Microsoft has made plenty of improvements to Windows itself, with several first-party tools and applications that can help you clear out the accumulated junk on your PC and free the hogged-up system resources.
Storage Sense cleans up junk on autopilot
Recycle Bin, temporary files, and Downloads folder clutter, cleared on a schedule
Part of Windows for nearly eight years, Storage Sense is an automated cleaning tool that clears out junk like Recycle Bin contents, Downloads folder items, temporary files, and OneDrive content, after a specific period of time.
The best part about Storage Sense is that it runs automatically in the background, and you can configure it to run either daily, weekly, or monthly.
Storage Sense is off by default, but Windows may enable it automatically if you’re running low on storage. Nevertheless, you can still check to see if it’s turned on and adjust how the tool works by going into Settings > System > Storage > Storage Sense.
Disk Cleanup fills the gap Storage Sense leaves
Windows Update leftovers and Delivery Optimization files finally cleared
Storage Sense is amazing, but not perfect by any means. For starters, it doesn’t remove leftover data and cache that might be left behind by Windows updates, and usually, that’s the biggest culprit in hogging your storage. Fortunately, Disk Cleanup works remarkably well in this regard.
By opening Disk Cleanup, you can select your drive, remove the temporary files, stuff in the Recycle Bin, Windows Update leftovers, and Delivery Optimization files used to share updates over the internet. They can also throttle your network bandwidth.
The Storage section hides more than Storage Sense and Cleanup
A full breakdown of what’s using the space, plus control over where new files land
Windows 11 may get its fair share of criticism, but there are many ways it’s an improvement. The particular area I’m referring to is storage. Aside from Storage Sense and Disk Cleanup, you’ll find plenty of options to optimize storage in Settings. For starters, you’ll get a visual representation of what’s taking up most of the space, whether it’s installed apps, other users, temporary files, or videos.
You can then expand each section to see what’s taking up space and either remove or move that specific file to free up storage on your main drive.
Then, you can choose where Windows saves new content, and I’ve configured videos and other media to be saved on my secondary drive instead of the C drive, where Windows 11 is installed. Windows also gives you cleanup recommendations to erase temporary files, unused files, files synced to the cloud, or unused apps.
Other tools like backup options, drive optimizations, and Storage Spaces also live in the Storage section under Settings.
This level of storage freedom is new in Windows 11 and wasn’t given in previous versions. However, most people may not be familiar with this revamped storage menu, one that helps me manage my already limited storage.
Disabling startup apps in Task Manager cuts the resource overhead
Fewer background apps running at boot means faster startup and lighter CPU and RAM usage
If you’re anything like me and download a bunch of third-party apps only to abandon them after the first try, then you might run into a serious slowdown. Combined with all the first-party apps from Windows, these third-party apps opening up during startup cause a heavy load on my system resources, so much so that my boot times have drastically increased compared to the first time I installed the OS.
I could fix this issue by removing these apps from the Settings, but I don’t really want that. A third-party startup app manager could also solve this problem, but Windows 11 has made it redundant. Instead, I disable these apps from the Task Manager’s startup tab, which lets me control what launches with Windows and frees up resources for things that actually need them.
Windows Security covers what third-party antivirus programs used to
Microsoft Defender, phishing protection, all built-in
Up until a few years ago, I remember one of the very first things I’d install on a fresh Windows setup was an antivirus program, something like Avast or McAfee. This was when Windows’ own security was lackluster and underwhelming. However, Microsoft has upped its security game with Windows 11, especially because of the Secure Boot requirement that validates the bootloaders and OS boot components.
Other than that, Windows Security incorporates machine learning to detect malicious software, uses cloud intelligence and scans memory for viruses, and adds tamper protection to stop malware from altering its own settings. Windows Security has other features, including phishing protection, network protection, and Smart App Control. The best part is that it’s integrated throughout Windows as a first-party tool that isn’t even heavy on system resources and doesn’t require a premium version for all these features like other antivirus software would.
Storage, performance, and security, all covered without downloading a single third-party app
There was a time when you’d need to install a ton of third-party apps to serve the aforementioned purposes, but thankfully, Microsoft has already covered them in Windows 11 without having to install something new. Managing storage and system resources on Windows has never been easier, and I can reclaim storage, free up system resources, and tighten security without the hassle of paying for these services in the form of another app when I can find them right there inside Windows 11.