I’m not going to read all of the replies, but this is what I usually do to free up space.
Note this is from memory for Windows 10 and earlier. Windows 11 will follow:
1) Open the file explorer
2) scroll down and right click on the c: drive
3) select Properties
4) Select the Tools Tab
5) Select Disk Cleanup
6) Clean up system Files
7 Select all the available files to clean up and select the more options tab
8) clean up programs and features (this one is all the downloads for updates and restore points, most bang for the buck)
9) follow prompts as desired
Windows 11:
1) Press the windows key
2) Type Disk Cleanup
3) Select Disk Cleanup
4) Follow instructions 6-9 above.
Yes, I have “disc cleanup” on my taskbar and have used it regularly. thnx