How to open Disk Cleanup in Windows 11 PC – Guide

The operating system can now give you recommended information about what to clean and how much space you can recover. We have a dedicated guide that describes how to use cleanup recommendations in Windows 11. Unfortunately, like many “modern versions” of classic Windows utilities, not everyone likes how Microsoft Tools migrated from Control Panel to Windows Settings. Users can clean drives in Windows 11 with classic Disk Cleanup utility before Microsoft released Windows 11 Build 22449. Windows 11 users can launch it by typing Disk Cleanup in Start. Windows 11 shows the tool as the first result and it can be opened like that. There is a chance that Microsoft will manually change the result so that the Storage Settings page opens. Disk Cleanup will be removed from Windows. Windows now redirects users to the Settings app when trying to open the old cleanup tool. Despite Microsoft’s desperate attempts to push users into the Windows Settings app, you can still open the classic Disk Cleanup tool in Windows 11. File cleanup options are not displayed on the page. You must open the main storage page in settings to get this option (or select Start > Settings > System > Storage). Select cleaning recommendations and Windows will display cleaning options on the next page.

Open Disk Cleanup in Windows 11

There are several methods to access the classic cleanmgr.exe tool. On Windows 11 Stable, Build 22000.x, it remains available in the drive properties. Newer builds require some more efforts from you. Here it is.

Using unit properties

Done. Now you can free up some space by deleting old Windows installations, Temporary Internet files, Recycle Bin, Thumbnails, etc. On Windows 11 PC 22449, however, this method does not work. First, Microsoft replaced “Disk Cleanup” button with “Storage Usage” button. It in turn redirects users to the Windows Settings app. This does not mean that you cannot use the Disk Cleanup tool. Here it is how to circumvent Microsoft’s limitations.

Open Disk Cleanup in Windows 11 with one command

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