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How to Find Large Folders on Windows

This How.com.vn teaches you how to search for large folders on your Windows PC. The easiest way to do this is by using a free program called "TreeSize" to sort your folders from largest to smallest; however, you can also search for large files inside of your computer's File Explorer app if you just want to find your computer's largest files.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using TreeSize

  1. How.com.vn English: Step 1 Open the TreeSize website.
    Go to https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/ in your computer's web browser.
    • TreeSize is a free Windows program that will find folders on your computer and report their individual sizes.
  2. How.com.vn English: Step 2 Click Download.
    This purple button is in the top-left side of the TreeSize page.
  3. How.com.vn English: Step 3 Click Download.
    It's in the lower-right side of the "Download Freeware" section.
  4. Step 4 Double-click the "TreeSizeFreeSetup" file.
    This file should be in your computer's default downloads location, though your browser settings may vary. Double-clicking the file begins the installation process.
  5. How.com.vn English: Step 5 Click through the installation.
    Do the following as needed:
    • Click Yes when prompted.
    • Click OK on the pop-up window.
    • Click Next on each page until TreeSize begins installing.
  6. Step 6 Check the "Launch TreeSize Free now as Administrator" box.
    It's near the top of the "Installation Complete" window.
  7. How.com.vn English: Step 7 Click Finish.
    This is at the bottom of the window.
  8. How.com.vn English: Step 8 Click Yes when prompted.
    Doing so confirms that you want to open TreeSize in administrator mode and opens the TreeSize window.
    • You may not be prompted to click Yes. If so, skip this step.
  9. How.com.vn English: Step 9 Review your folders.
    In the TreeSize window, you'll see a list of folders organized in size from largest to smallest.
    • You can expand a folder to see its subfolders by clicking
      How.com.vn English: Android 7 Expand Right
      to the left of the folder.
    • TreeSize may take a few minutes to generate a complete list of your computer's folders.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Searching for Large Files

  1. How.com.vn English: Step 1 Understand that this method doesn't search for folders.
    While File Explorer can sort your folders by size, it will only show ZIP folders to you; normal folders won't be displayed. If you're just interested in finding large files to either back up or delete, however, you can use this method to find all of the large files on your computer.
  2. How.com.vn English: Step 2 Open File Explorer icon.
    Either click the folder-shaped File Explorer icon in the taskbar, or type file explorer into Start and then click File Explorer in the search results.
    • You can also press Win+E to open File Explorer.
  3. How.com.vn English: Step 3 Click This PC.
    This tab is in the left-hand column of options. Doing so opens your computer's This PC window.
    • If you want to search a more specific folder for large files, navigate to that folder using the folders in the left-hand column.
  4. How.com.vn English: Step 4 Click the search bar.
    It's the text box in the top-right corner of the File Explorer.
  5. Step 5 Type in the "Size" command.
    Type size: into the text box, but don't press Enter yet.
  6. How.com.vn English: Step 6 Add a size parameter.
    Directly after the colon (:), type in one of the following:
    • large — Displays items between 1 MB and 16 MB in size.
    • huge — Displays items between 16 MB and 128 MB in size.
    • gigantic — Displays items larger than 128 MB in size.
  7. How.com.vn English: Step 7 Make sure your command is correct.
    You should have size:large, size:huge, or size:gigantic typed into the search box.
  8. How.com.vn English: Step 8 Press ↵ Enter.
    Doing so will search your computer's hard drive(s) for all items (including folders) matching your search.
  9. How.com.vn English: Step 9 Sort the results.
    If you want to see the largest files you have, click the View tab at the top of the window, click Sort by in the "Current view" section of the toolbar that appears, and click Size. This will display the largest files that fall within your search parameters at the top of the File Explorer window.
    • If you see smaller files displayed at the top of the window, either scroll down to view progressively larger files or click Sort by > Size again to switch the order.
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      Tips

      • TreeSize is free to use, though there is a paid version that can clean up temporary files and the like.
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      Warnings

      • Unfortunately, you can't search for regular folders by size inside of the File Explorer.


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      About this article

      How.com.vn English: Jack Lloyd
      Written by:
      How.com.vn Technology Writer
      This article was co-authored by How.com.vn staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for How.com.vn. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher.
      How helpful is this?
      Co-authors: 3
      Updated: October 21, 2021
      Views: 513
      Article SummaryX

      1.Install TreeSize from https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free.
      2.Open TreeSize.
      3.Click Yes.
      4.Find folders listed from largest to smallest.

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      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 513 times.

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