This is somewhat of a relic from the early days of Windows machines, and even dates back further to its DOS predecessor. In modern Windows PCs, the C drive has the main designation of Local Disk alongside the C lettering. A PC with multiple partitions or drives, may have additional lettered drives, like D, E, F, G, and so on, though these can also be used to designate optical drives, or external storage solutions like thumb drives and portable hard drives.
Why Is It Called the C Drive?
The letter naming scheme for Windows still leans on its DOS legacy, where the A and B letterings were reserved for floppy disk drives since most computers at the time had a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and a 5.25-inch floppy drive (some didn’t have a hard drive at all). The C drive has, since then, been reserved for the main operating system drive and its important system files even though floppy drives have slid into obsolescence.
What Is the Difference Between C and D Drives?
The C drive is the main partition for your Windows computer. In many cases, this will mean the C drive is also the main hard drive/SSD, but if you have a drive with multiple partitions, then it will only represent that particular portion of whatever hard drive or SSD partitioned for that purpose. The D drive will be a secondary hard drive, SSD, or partition of a drive. Depending on how your Windows PC was set up, it may also be used as a small partition on the main drive designated as System Reserved. This is sometimes set up when installing Windows to contain Boot Manager code and some startup files required for BitLocker drive encryption.
How Do I Find the C Drive On My Computer?
You can find the C drive from within the Windows file explorer by navigating to This PC. To do this, either search for This PC in the Windows search bar, or press Windows key+E and select This PC from the left-hand menu. On older versions of Windows, you want to look for My Computer instead. From the This PC window you should be able to see all of your Windows PC’s drives, including the C drive.
What Can I Safely Delete From My C Drive?
Since the C drive is your main boot drive, you need to be a little more careful deleting anything from it, as there’s a greater potential for you to do damage to your system. As long as you don’t remove any Windows specific files, it’s not only safe, but also wise, to deleted old, unwanted files. Focus on removing unnecessary applications and games, clearing up your Downloads folder and Desktop, and see if that gets you the space you need. You can also use disk cleanup applications to automate the process for you.
