But what about large files? If you try to use the traditional methods to get rid of a folder or a large file, you will notice that the deletion process takes a long time and may fail, especially if the hard drive is old. Although there are free programs designed to speed up file deletion, regardless of size, such as Fast Folder Eraser, recent versions of Windows already include a hidden function that does the same thing. Let's go through the following how to use it to delete any file of any size with amazing speed and in a few seconds.
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| The fastest way to delete large files in Windows without software |
As we mentioned, deleting a large volume (eg 10 GB or more) from the hard drive using normal deletion methods or using File Explorer takes a long period of time to complete, up to 15 minutes or even more if the volume speed is slow. However, if you try to delete the same large folder using the Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows you will notice that the process completes at lightning speed, in a split second the process completes and then the file disappears from the hard drive! This is because Windows performs several preliminary actions before deleting the file using the Del button or the Delete command in File Explorer. This includes calculating the size of the entire folder and the files it contains, which in itself takes a very long time to complete.
The fastest way to delete large files in Windows without software
When using the delete command at the command prompt, Windows does not perform any additional actions other than removing the folder directly from the storage unit, so the process is completed quickly compared to the traditional method. The problem here is that using CMD commands every time to get rid of large files quickly may seem complicated to some, so based on the following lines we will explain how to include the delete command in an executable file once the folder is directed to it, and therefore you do not need to type commands whenever you want to delete a file / folder in less than a second. Note that this method is also useful for those who have stubborn files that will be deleted through the same executable file. |
| The fastest way to delete large files in Windows without software |
All you have to do at the beginning is to open the Notepad tool or notepad, which is pre-installed on all versions of Windows, through the Start menu or the search, just press the Win + S keys together on the keyboard to display the search bar, then type “ notepad in the search field, and then click Open. Now copy and paste the following command into the tool window:
del /f/s/q %1 > nul
rmdir /s/q %1
After pasting the command into the tool, click on the File section of the toolbar at the top, then choose the Save As option from the drop-down list. We specify the location to save the executable file, and then assign a name to the file through the File Name field. Here, the file name must end in (.bat) format, for example . " DeleteFile .ba t " Then from the Save as type menu, we select the All Files option, and then we press the Save button below to save the file in the specified location.
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| The fastest way to delete large files in Windows without software |
From now on, whenever you want to delete a large file or folder, all you have to do is drag and drop that file/folder over the executable we just created, and instantly, you will find that the file/folder has been completely deleted from the hard drive. As shown in the image attached above, we have tried deleting the ISO file for the 4 GB copy of Windows. Once it is transferred to the executable file, the command prompt window appears and disappears, then the file is deleted, and this happens in less than a second. To make it easier, you can save this file to your desktop for easy access, or create another file and put it in folders that you need to delete files from often.