When you start seeing “low disc” alerts on your computer, it can only indicate one thing: you’re running out of disc space. To make space, you must remove something, but you cannot delete any software, files, or folders. In fact, you won’t be able to get rid of anything! You just have one option: extend your present area to accommodate everything. But how can you add more storage to your PC?
Let’s look at some of the options for increasing your computer’s storage capacity.
Extend the Partition on Your Hard Drive
Before you spend money on new hardware and hard drives, have a look at the hard drive and partition you wish to expand to see if you can free up any space.
Let’s start with Windows disc management. Simply search for “disc management” in the Start menu, then choose “Create and format hard-disk partitions.”
Check the “File System” for the hard drive partition you wish to expand in the new window.
You can enlarge your hard drive partition if it’s NTFS and you have a partition with “Unallocated” space. You may also transfer unallocated space from your PC’s various hard drives to your preferred hard disc.
Select the volumes you wish to extend in the next box, “add” them to your chosen partition, then click next and follow the steps.
Right-click the partition you wish to expand and choose “Extend Volume” if you have unallocated space.
USB Stick
Typical Storage Space: 8 – 128GB
USB sticks are one of the most reliable methods for saving data from a computer. Simply connect one to a USB port on your computer, open it, and drag files onto the stick. It’s small and portable, holds a lot of data, and can be connected to almost any computer that has a USB port (which is most!).
SD Card
Typical Storage Space: 2 – 128GB
SD cards are similar to USB sticks, however, they are more conditional in terms of whether or not they may be used with a computer. Unlike USB drives, SD card slots aren’t always present on computers. It’s more likely to be found on a laptop than a PC. As a result, if you just use an SD card on one device, it well enough. However, transferring data to another workstation might be difficult.
USB Hard Drive
Typical Storage Space: 1 – 4TB
Did you know that the USB ports may be used to connect a second hard drive? You will need to utilize a hard drive enclosure, but it is one of the simplest methods to increase your storage capacity significantly. USB hard drives are a great way to store media files and games. Even better, you may take them with you and use them to export data from other computers.
Cloud Storage Services
Typical Storage Space: 2 – 1TB
Everything these days is heading to the cloud, and your data can join in! There are many other cloud storage services available, but Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive are the most popular. pCloud is another great alternative.
To begin utilizing cloud storage, just create an account and upload your data to the online cloud. You may then remove the files from your hard disc to free up space without losing your data. In fact, they’ll be available on any device that can connect to the cloud! If you have sensitive information, there are cloud storage options, such as pCloud, that give additional encryption to prevent unauthorized access.
Secondary Hard Drive/Solid State Drive
Typical Storage Space: 1 – 4TB (HDD), 128 – 512GB (SSD)
If your motherboard has extra capacity, you may skip the data transfer and just acquire a second hard drive to keep your files. A second hard drive may be used as a “mule” drive to store large data like movies and recordings. It’s also possible to use an SSD in conjunction with an HDD: just put all the applications you want to load quickly on the SSD and enjoy speedier loading times.
Wi-Fi Hard Drive / Network-Attached Storage
Typical Storage Space: 1 – 4TB
USB hard drives are convenient, but you may want to keep your USB ports open at times. Wi-Fi hard drives and, in some cases, network-attached storage (NAS) are promoted as “home clouds” because they link to other devices over Wi-Fi. This also has the advantage of being available to everyone who connects to the router, so you can set one up for your family or office. Some even provide a web interface for accessing the hard disc!
Making Space
Don’t panic if you can’t remove your files to free up space. Depending on what you’re attempting to store, there are a variety of techniques to free up space and extend your PC storage.
