How to Check Your Hard Disk Space

This wikiHow teaches you how to see how much storage space remains on your computer or smartphone. This process is different than checking memory usage, which typically refers to a computer's RAM (random access memory).

EditSteps

EditOn Windows

1. Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
   
   • You can also press to open Start.
2. Open Settings . Click the gear-shaped icon in the lower-left side of the Start menu.
   
3. Click . It's a computer-shaped icon on the Settings page.
   
   • If Settings opens to a page other than the main Settings page, click the "Back" button in the top-left corner of the window until the "Back" button disappears.
4. Click the tab. This option is in the upper-left side of the Display page.
   
5. Review your hard drive's space usage. Below the "Local storage" heading at the top of the page, you'll see an image of your hard drive with "Number used" and a "Number free" categories below it. The "Number used" section tells you how much of your computer's hard drive is being used, while the "Number free" section tells you how much free space remains.
   
6. Open your hard disk. Click the hard disk icon below the "Local storage" heading. This will open a comprehensive list that shows you how much space specific file types, programs, and so on are taking up, which will help you target areas for clean-up if you want to free up some hard drive space.
   

EditOn Mac

1. Open the Apple menu . Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
   
2. Click . It's at the top of the drop-down menu. Doing so opens a new window.
   
3. Click the tab. This option is at the top of the "About This Mac" window.
   
4. Review your Mac's hard drive space. In the upper-right side of the window, you'll see the amount of storage remaining out of the total available storage on your computer (e.g., "15 GB free of 249 GB").
   
   • You can see a color-coded breakdown of which programs are taking up the most space on this page as well.
   • If you hover over a color-coded section, you can see exactly how much space the section's pertaining files (e.g., "Apps") are taking up.

EditOn iPhone

1. Open your iPhone's Settings. This app is grey with gears on it. You'll likely find it on the Home Screen.
   
2. Tap General. It's near the top of the Settings page.
   
3. Tap . This option is near the bottom of the screen.
   
4. Review your iPhone's used and available storage. In the top-right side of the screen, you'll see "Number GB of Number GB Used" (e.g., "45 GB of 128 GB Used"). The first number pertains to the amount of space on your iPhone that's being used, while the second number pertains to your iPhone hard drive's total space.
   
   • Subtracting the "Used" number from the total number will tell you how much available space your iPhone currently has.
   • You can scroll down to see exactly how much hard drive space each app is currently using.

EditOn Android

1. Open your Android's Settings . This gear-shaped app is typically found in the App Drawer.
   
   • You can also swipe down from the top of the screen and then tap the gear-shaped icon in the drop-down menu.
2. Tap . It's in the "Device" section of the Settings menu.
   
   • On a Samsung, you'll instead tap Apps.
3. Review your Android's storage space. At the top of the screen, you should see "X GB Used of Y GB" (e.g., "8.50 GB Used of 32 GB"). You can also view a breakdown of how much space each item on your Android is using on this page.
   
   • On a Samsung, you must first swipe right to the SD card tab.

EditTips

• Your item's available hard drive space will always be less than was advertised. This is because a portion of the hard drive is used for the operating system and required files.
• If you're trying to clear space on your computer, note that you cannot change your hard disk space simply by dragging files into your trash; you must empty the trash to make more space.

EditWarnings

• If your hard drive is full, you'll need to delete files or programs before you can add more to the hard drive.
• Traditional hard drives will always run slower than optimal speed if they're over halfway full. Solid State Drives don't have this problem.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Check Memory Usage
• Regain Hard Drive Space
• Speed up a Windows XP Computer
• Get Your Computer Running at Full Speed
• Free up Disk Space (Windows 7)
• Add Storage Space to a Macbook Without Changing the Hard Drive