WinDirStat Quick Guide

1. www.windirstat.info
WinDirStat
Quick Guide

2. Windows Directory Analysis with WinDirStat
What WindirStat does and why it’s useful
WinDirStat will create a complete visualization of what is stored on your hard drive.
This visualization is called a treemap and it shows absolutely everything on your PC
as well as the relative amount of space those things take up. WinDirStat also allows
you to easliy remove the things on your hard drive that you no longer want or need.
This guide will show you how you can use WinDirStat to analyze and clean up your
hard drive. It is divided into three Sections:
For more information: The WinDirStat Web Page
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Setting up WinDirStat
Analysing your Hard Drive
Cleaning up your Hard Drive
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3. Setting up WinDirStat
Downloading, Installing and Running WinDirStat
Run the Utility

- WinDirStat will run upon closing the installation window.
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- Click here to
download.
- Select the drive(s) you would like to analyze.
- For now select All Local Drives and
click OK.
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Download the Installer

- Click the link to get the installer: WinDirStat Installer
- Save the file to your
computer.
Install WinDirStat
- Open the file from the download location.
- Follow the steps in the setup guide to install.

4. Analyzing your Hard Drive
A walk through of WinDirStat’s Analysis results
WinDirStat will now analyze your selected drive(s). When the analysis is complete the window
will display the results.
There are three sections:
Treemap
Example Folder: +Windows Folder
+System32 Folder
- Visually represents all of your files, from each directory and subdirectory
- Singular colored blocks represent a single file
- Bigger blocks represent larger files
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- Groups of blocks represent a folder for the contained files
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Directory List
- Lists the names and various information of
the directories on your PC
- Similar to the Windows File Explorer
Extension List
- Lists all file types stored on your hard drive - There are 12 colored tiles for the 12 file
types that take up the most room, the rest
of the tiles are grey
- These map the file types to the Treemap

5. Select a file/folder for clean up:
- Select the folder or file that you want to alter and click Clean Up from the menu bar at
the top of the window.

Tip: Alternatively you can right click
on the folder or file.
Cleaning up your Hard Drive
Moving files between directories and deleteing unnecessary files

Moving a file
- Move a file by selecting Explorer Here. This will bring up the directory in Windows File
Explorer. From the Explorer select Move To and choose a folder from your direcory.

Deleting a file
- Delete a file completely by selecting Delete (no way to undelete) or you can delete to
the recycle bin by selecting Delete (to Recycle bin).
*Note: When to delete files
You typically want to delete media such as videos, music, and pictures that you no
longer want or have backed up somewhere else. It is also a good idea to uninstall
and delete programs you are no longer using.
Do not delete sytem files that your
computer needs to run properly
. If you are unsure, google the file/foldername.

Refresh
- Select the Refresh All icon from the menu bar, this re-analyses the hard disk and puts into
effect any changes you’ve made to your directory.
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6. Still have Questions?
Hopefully, after reading this guide you are a little more comfortable with your
Windows Directory, how it’s organized and how you can keep it bloat free.
If you are interested in more information about your windows file system or more
info on WinDirStat, check out these useful links:
- How to Navigate the Windows Directory
- Wikipedia: Directory Structure
- Download WinDirStat Help Documentation
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