What to Do When You Run Out of Disk Space and Can’t Delete Any Files [Complete Guide]

Updated By

Linda 

Written By

Sherly 

Last Updated on April 22, 2024

On this page, you'll learn why the "Low Disk Space but No Files to Delete" issue occurs and discover four methods to help you resolve it.

Do you often get notifications that your local disk space is running out, but don't have many files to delete? It's a common issue for Windows users. This article will provide four solutions to help you with this problem. First, let's figure out why you might be running out of disk space even when you don't have many files to delete.

Why Do I Get "Disk Space Running Out But No Files to Delete"?

When it comes to running out of disk space, the first thing that might come to mind is deleting files saved on your local drive, which usually works when you have too many files on the drive. At this point, you might receive a message like:

But if you don't have a ton of files on your hard drive, you might be wondering, "What's Taking Up Space on My Windows 7/10/11 Hard Drive?" This section will reveal the answer.

Here's why:

• Hidden files
• Virus attacks
• Temporary files
• System backups

These files can take up a lot of space, but they do not appear directly on the disk, so there may not seem to be many files to delete.

But how do we delete them to fix the “disk full, but no files to delete” problem?

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What to Do When You Have No Space on Your Disk But No Files to Delete - 4 Methods

Now that you know the reasons behind having low disk space with no files to delete, it's time to learn how to free up disk space. We've listed four of the most effective solutions for you, with detailed steps for each. These methods are:

Method one: Extend the partition

Method 2: Show Hidden Files to Delete Them

Method 3: Run Disk Clean-Up

Method 4: Delete System Restore Points

We'll start with the recommended one. In Method 1, you'll get a professional disk manager, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Let's see how it can solve the low disk space problem.

Method 1: Extend the Partition

Partition Master Tool makes it easy to extend your partitions, and you can just follow its prompts. This way, you can free up more disk space with it. Its user-friendly interface makes it easier to use, and it's compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/7, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. So, go ahead and download it to expand your partitions to fix the issue of "not enough disk space but no files to delete."

Step 1: Locate the target partition.

Load the partition manager and find the target partition, then choose “Resize/Move”.

Select the target partition to extend.

Step 2: Extend the target partition

Drag the partition to the right or left to add unallocated space to the current partition, and then click “OK” to confirm.

Next up, just translate this into American English:

Additional option: Get space from another drive.

If there isn't enough unallocated space, right-click a large partition with enough free space and select “Allocate Space.”

Then, under “Allocate to,” select the partition you want to expand into.

Get space from another drive

Step 3: Perform the operation to expand the partition

Drag the partition you want to move into the “Unallocated” space, then click “OK”.

Click Run Task, and then click Apply to save all the changes.

After doing that, you'll be able to extend your partition. Plus, Partition Master is more than just a Windows Disk Management tool; it has many other features. Let's dive into more details about it.

Other features of Partition Master Free include:

• Migrate OS to SSD or HDD
• Resize SSD C drive across disks
• Combine/Split/Extend/Shrink partitions
• Move space from D drive to C drive to extend C drive
• Extend partition to fix "C drive is full" error
• Create partitions on USB drive or other external drives

If you're running low on disk space or facing other disk management issues, you can download the Partition Master tool for assistance.

Method 2: Unhide the File to Delete It

Hidden files do take up space on your hard drive, they're just not visible. You can make these hidden files visible and then delete the ones you don't need to free up space on your hard drive.

Step 1: Click on "This PC" on your desktop and then select "View."

Step 2: Click on “View” and select “Show hidden items.”

Step 3: You can now find the hidden items and delete the files you don't need.

If you experience any of the issues below, click the link for assistance:

Method 3: Run Disk Cleanup

Windows comes with several tools to help users keep their computers tidy. One such utility is Disk Cleanup, which allows users to delete temporary files. Follow the steps below to delete your temp files.

Step 1: Click on "This PC" and select the target hard drive.

Step 2: Right-click on the hard drive and select “Properties.” Then click “Disk Cleanup.”

Run Disk Cleanup

Step 3: Select the file you want to delete, then click "OK".

Method 4: Delete System Restore Points

The disk space on the C drive is usually low, but we tend to store many things there, thus running out of space often. Windows creates system restore points periodically to help you back up your system, and these files occupy some disk space. You can delete all but the latest restore point to free up space. That way, in case of any issues with your system, you can revert your computer to the most recent version.

Step 1. Right-click on the C: drive in This PC and select Properties.

Step 2: Click "Disk Cleanup" in the new window.

Step 3: Then click "More options" and under "System Restore and Shadow Copies," select "Clean up."

Conclusions

Day-to-day use generates numerous temporary and hidden files that occupy disk space, leading to the issue of insufficient disk space. This article presents four methods to resolve the problem of insufficient disk space when unable to delete files. Among them, extending the partition is the most effective, immediately providing more disk space.

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By the way, if you have other questions about running out of hard drive space, read on.

"Frequently Asked Questions: 'Insufficient Disk Space, But No Files to Delete'"

Do you know how to fix the issue of 'not enough disk space but no files to delete'? This section outlines some additional questions to help you gather more information on the topic.

**1. How can I free up space when there's nothing left to delete?**

To fix this error, you can remove hidden files, temporary files, and system backups.

There are several reasons for this.

• Hidden files
• Temporary files
• Virus damage
• System file backups

What's taking up all the space on my C drive?

Drive C typically stores the following files:

• Documents, photos, and personal data on your desktop
• Apps, software, and built-in Windows programs
• The Windows operating system, system files, and associated settings