Guides · Windows 11 and 10

Windows guides

Plain-language answers to the questions people ask when a drive fills up, memory runs short, a driver misbehaves or a PC runs hot. Every guide uses the tools already in Windows first, and says what never to delete.

• How to free up disk space on Windows 11 (and 10): 12 safe waysTwelve safe ways to get gigabytes back, in the order that frees the most for the least risk.
• What is taking up space on my PC? How to find out on WindowsStorage settings, hidden system files, and how a disk space analyzer shows the answer at a glance.
• How to delete the Windows.old folder safelyWhat Windows.old is, when it is safe to remove, and the two right ways to do it.
• hiberfil.sys explained: what it is and how to shrink or delete itWhy it is so big, when to remove it, and how to shrink it and keep Fast Startup.
• Is it safe to delete temp files in Windows?Where the temp folders are, three ways to clear them, and what to leave alone.
• How to disable startup programs in Windows 11 and 10Speed up sign-in: three places to turn startup apps off, and which ones to keep.
• How big should your page file be on Windows 11?What pagefile.sys does, commit charge, system managed or custom, crash dumps and why not to disable it.
• High memory usage in Windows: what is actually using your RAM?In use, standby, modified and compressed memory, commit, how to find a leak, and what is a myth.
• Non-paged pool memory leak: how to find the driver behind itConfirm a kernel memory leak, read pool tags with PoolMon, match the tag to a driver and fix it.
• Device Manager error codes explained, with the fix for eachWhat Code 10, 43, 28, 31, 52 and the rest mean, with the cause and the fix for each.
• How to remove old drivers from the driver store safelyWhat FileRepository holds, how to find superseded packages, remove them with pnputil and what never to delete.
• What is a normal CPU, GPU and SSD temperature?Typical CPU, GPU, SSD and hard drive temperatures, throttling, missing CPU sensors and cooling advice.
• How to back up all your drivers before reinstalling WindowsExport every third-party driver with pnputil, what is included, and how to restore them after a reinstall.