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How to find large files on Windows 11

By Iikka Isosaari · Windows 11 · Updated September 26, 2026

Start in Settings → System → Storage to see which categories use your drive. Then inspect your largest personal files before deleting anything. A large file is not automatically an unnecessary file.

Find large files with Windows

1. Open File Explorer → This PC and note how much space remains on the affected drive.
2. Open Settings → System → Storage → Cleanup recommendations. Review the large or unused files category and the space Windows estimates you could recover.
3. For your own files, inspect Downloads, Videos and other folders where you save large projects. Use Details view and sort the Size column with the largest first. This sorts files in the current view; it does not calculate the total size of every nested folder.
4. Open unfamiliar files or inspect their properties before deciding whether they can go. For installed software, use its uninstaller instead of deleting its program folder.

Microsoft’s storage cleanup guide explains the built-in categories and cleanup options.

Decide what to keep

Make three groups: files you still use, files you want to archive, and files you can replace or no longer need. Old video exports and duplicate downloads are useful places to review, but only you can decide whether a particular file matters.

Before removing your only local copy, check that your backup actually opens. Treat cloud-synced folders separately: a deletion can propagate to other devices. Do not manually remove Windows, Program Files, recovery files or pagefile.sys to chase a larger free-space number.

Use Hanki Maintain for a broader view

In Hanki, open Maintain → Files & storage, choose a folder or drive, and use Largest 100 to list the biggest files. The summary groups space by file type, and you can filter by name or minimum size to narrow your selection. The Duplicates tab can help identify matching content, but identical files may still serve different applications or projects.

If you are not sure where to start, the guided check I’m running out of disk space in Diagnose walks through the biggest files, duplicates and large installed apps in order.

For supported local personal files, preview Hanki’s cleanup selection first. Its reviewed recycling workflow sends supported files to the Recycle Bin rather than falling back to permanent deletion. Some locations are deliberately refused. Use Windows Recycle Bin to restore a recycled item.

Check the result

Return to This PC and compare free space. Files retained in the Recycle Bin still occupy disk space; emptying it removes that recovery route. Only do so after checking that you kept what you need.

If space disappears again, record which folder grows and when. A repeating growth problem needs investigation, not an endless cycle of deleting the largest file.