If you really way to increase the speed of your computer, adding  a solid state drive (SSD) is an advantage. This may cost more thus, with the improvement for your productivity and efficiency –worth the price. However, with the speed you gain, it may have some drawbacks on the storage since the 128 GB or 256 GB capacities of those affordable SSD’s is not enough for storage demands.

To help you with that burden, here are some of the cost effective method to create additional space on your SSD (or even your hard disk drive) to be able to maximize usage:

Cloud Leverage. The cloud storage can give your SSD to increase your storage capacity, so take it! Putting your old files and documents in the cloud can free-space on your SSD, plus you can access them anywhere with the internet connection. Here are few cloud services you can avail:

Ariba Cloud … http://www.ariba.com/

Google Cloud …https://cloud.google.com/products/cloud-storage/

Amazon Cloud …https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/learnmore

Dropbox …https://www.dropbox.com/

 

Adding USB flash drive or SD Card. Enhancing your storage space in a bulk with the USB flash drive or SD card is a smart way to do this. Several laptops today are built with the slot of SD card, so it is capable to get a 64 GB SD flash memory card affordable to you. Keep in mind, the SD cards greater than 32 GB are based on the updated version of SDXC standard, checking your laptop’s card reader and make sure it supports it. Instead, you can use a USB flash drive and plugged into your USB port, this can add 32 GB storage.

 

External Hard Disk Drive for Additional Storage

In case you always need to handle hundred gigabytes of data, getting  portable hard disk will be useful.  The latest model of external drive can be slim and has quick speed. Below are the things you need to consider when buying an external hard disk drive:

• Speed. The speed rotation can be above 10,000 rpm in a desktop hard drive and it can be as low as 4,200 rpm in a portable drive. This can create an impact on the time the work can be done or a large file can be copied. So, those people who are working with big memory programs that need large files, getting an external hard disk drive is a smart move. The people who are always on the go, applicable is the portable one.
• Connectivity. There are some external hard drives powered and connected directly through the use of USB cables; and those  external drives with such power need electrical connection for the main power supply.
• Capacity. When it comes to personal storage such as family videos, photos and music, the 1TB external hard drive will do. Nevertheless, those using it for  businesses and professionals which needs larger files, for the music and games programs, graphics will need bigger capacity of external hard drives.
• Security Features. For secure access, the option to assign a password on external hard drives commonly come, even for the small external hard drives. The regular consumer may just require a password for protection, however, for those with sensitive data in their external hard drive, the security they need to add through optional biometric recognition is a wise move to add.
• Portability. The larger unit generally needs a power supply for connection to be able to function than those with small unit (these usually rely on the USB connection from the computer system). So, if you are just looking to expand storage capacity – you may not require a portable drive after all, hence if you are the type who are into business people or traveler type, a portable drive will serve you better.

 

Reduce the Virtual Memory. It can help you increase your storage space when you reduce or somehow disable your virtual memory. Today, most of the Ultrabooks and laptops can offer between 4 GB and 8 GB RAM, and you may regard to disable your entire virtual memory if you are not the play-game type or love to run apps which need a large amount of memory. Those with small storage space have at least 2 GB of RAM and when you reduce your virtual memory, you can have at least 1 GB to 1.5 GB.

 

Steps how to reduce virtual memory (Windows 7 and 8)

1. Click the Windows Icon (bottom left of the Windows screen), Go to Control Panel and select System and Security and then System.
2. Click the Advanced System Settings (left column), to bring the System Properties dialog.
3. Now, navigate to the Advanced tab, and click Settings (the button under the Performance section). This will bring the Performance Options.
4. Next, click Change (to bring up the Virtual Memory dialog).
5. When you are in the Virtual Dialog, disable the Automatically Manage Paging file size for all drivers (if this is enabled).
6. Select No Paging File (this will disable the Virtual Memory completely) or select Custom Size (this will set a fixed virtual memory amount).
7. For the second, set the same maximum and initial size. When done, click OK.
8. Restart your PC for the new settings.

 

Delete Temporary Files. Compress the Outlook mailbox, this will give usable drive space for you. All laptops will necessarily gather temporary files and other digital junk that consumes space on your SSD.

• To terminate these files, you can use a Disk Cleanup Toisol, all you need to do is type “Disk Cleanup” on the search box on the Start Menu), or you can also use the Ccleaner  (3^rd party tool).
• You can also filter your default browser’s download folder,  this area may have old downloads not useful any longer.
• If you love to use an App-based email client like Outlook, trimming the size of the local mailbox by regularly compacting it, can help you get enough space. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Accounts Settings of Outlook
2. Click the Data Files tab.
3. Choose the appropriate account
4. Click Properties (this will bring up the Properties dialog box).
5. Go to the Advanced tab, then click Compact  Now to Start.

• This process may take time (even for the fast SSD).

 

Uninstall your Apps. To save storage space, uninstalling unwanted apps are very helpful. All you need to do is go to Control Panel and select Programs and Features, then choose the softwares you need to uninstall. This will free enough space.