# Knowledge & guides for everyday Windows use

What takes up disk space? Which files does Windows need? And when is something really deleted? Find clear explanations and practical steps to read before you clean up.

## Benchmarks

Drive scans and duplicate searches compared with other tools.

- [Drive scans: DiscReveal compared](https://discreveal.com/benchmarks/drive-scan/): DiscReveal, robocopy, PowerShell and other methods on the same folder. Times including the finished app interface, test setup and raw data.
- [Duplicate search: DiscReveal and Czkawka compared](https://discreveal.com/benchmarks/duplicate-search/): Four targeted comparisons using identical files. Search times, correct matches and the limits of measurements without the interface.

## Understanding Windows

Understand the folders and terms you encounter on your PC.

- [What is Prefetch, and should you delete the folder?](https://discreveal.com/guides/what-is-prefetch/): Learn what Windows keeps in Prefetch, how it helps startup and why routinely clearing the folder is not a useful cleanup strategy.
- [What is AppData, and what can you delete there?](https://discreveal.com/guides/what-is-appdata/): Understand AppData, Local, Roaming and LocalLow. Learn why application data grows and how to review it before cleaning up.
- [What is a cache, and when should you clear it?](https://discreveal.com/guides/what-is-a-cache/): A cache saves repeated work. Learn what lives in memory or on disk, when clearing it helps and which application data is not a cache.

## Organization & disk space

Find space hogs and review extra copies deliberately.

- [What is taking up space on my Windows drive?](https://discreveal.com/guides/what-is-taking-up-disk-space/): Find large folders and files on Windows with DiscReveal. Follow the space usage from your drive down to the files you no longer need.
- [Remove duplicate files while keeping an original](https://discreveal.com/guides/remove-duplicate-files/): Find duplicate files with DiscReveal, review identical copies and keep an original. Learn how filters and Recycle Bin cleanup work on Windows.
- [How do we find duplicate files with different names?](https://discreveal.com/guides/how-we-find-duplicates/): How DiscReveal identifies matching content using size, small samples and a full comparison. Why names are not enough and one original stays.
- [DiscReveal: Check your version with one click](https://discreveal.com/guides/check-discreveal-version/): Check for a DiscReveal update and see whether your app matches the official download. A simple, step-by-step guide.
- [Size vs size on disk: Understand the difference](https://discreveal.com/guides/size-vs-size-on-disk/): Understand file size and occupied space: compression, sparse files and hard links. Choose the right storage measurement in DiscReveal.
- [Windows cleanup: Free up disk space with control](https://discreveal.com/guides/windows-cleanup-free-disk-space/): Review temporary files, browser caches and Windows leftovers. Use DiscReveal to check cleanup areas and decide what you want to keep.

## File safety

Learn what checksums and deletion methods can do, and where their limits lie.

- [What is a file hash, and what does it tell you about safety?](https://discreveal.com/guides/check-file-hash/): Understand SHA-256, check a download, spot changes and learn what a checksum cannot prove. Includes a read-only PowerShell example.
- [Secure deletion: what works on HDDs and SSDs?](https://discreveal.com/guides/secure-deletion-hdd-ssd/): Deleting, overwriting and sanitizing a drive are different. Understand SSD limitations and what DiscReveal’s secure-delete mode does.
- [Files in the Recycle Bin: deleted or still there?](https://discreveal.com/guides/recycle-bin-files-really-deleted/): The Windows Recycle Bin helps with accidental deletion but does not protect confidential contents. Learn when space is freed and what emptying means.

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