BENRI / GUIDES
Plan cleanup and extra storage when a disk is full
Measure free space and the capacity you need, then compare deleting, moving, adding drives and cloud storage. Use HDD price examples and allocation plans to see what fits on your existing drives.
Measure the data as well as the free space
List the free space on each drive and the sizes of major groups such as video material, photos, games and finished projects. Then estimate what you will need to add next.
If you have 20 GB free and expect 80 GB of new footage, you need at least another 60 GB, plus room for ongoing work. A concrete shortfall makes the options easier to compare.
Choose cleanup, movement or expansion
Delete unneeded downloads if they account for much of the space. Move data if another drive has room. Add storage if the total will not fit. Cloud storage can help with access across locations, but include recurring costs and the amount you will transfer in the comparison.
Scroll horizontally to compare →
Delete unused data: review what you remove
- Review large, unused files in Downloads or the system storage settings.
- Delete only the files you no longer need and review the recycle bin or trash.
- Empty it after checking its contents, then check the free space.
Creates space without buying storage. Review contents so you do not remove needed files.
Use another drive: move infrequently used data
- Compare free space on the destination with the folder size.
- Copy the folder and check that the destination files open.
- Switch your workflow to that location, then remove the redundant source copy to free space.
Uses capacity you already have. These steps concern data such as photos and videos; installed applications may require their own move process.
Add a drive: expand total capacity
- Estimate the current shortfall and expected growth.
- Choose a drive compatible with the computer’s connections; an external drive is an option when internal installation is impractical.
- Check that the connected drive is recognized and place the planned data on it.
Increases total capacity. Compare the capacity, speed and connection you need as well as the price.
Cloud storage: upload and reduce local occupancy
- Check the cloud plan’s capacity and support for online-only files.
- Upload the files and confirm they open on the web.
- Use the sync app’s free-up-space or online-only control if supported.
Convenient across devices, with transfer time and ongoing cost to consider. Ordinary deletion from a synced folder can remove the cloud copy too; use its online-only feature instead.
Microsoft: save local space with OneDrive
Compare HDD prices per GB
For a capacity comparison, divide the price by the advertised capacity. These Japanese external 4 TB HDD listings were checked on 13 September 2026, including tax. Treating 4 TB as 4,000 GB gives about ¥4.25/GB at ¥17,000 and ¥7.98/GB at ¥31,900.
The first is a sold-out campaign listing; the second is the manufacturer’s listed price. These examples describe one product rather than the whole market. Check availability, shipping and connection requirements when buying.
Scroll horizontally to compare →
Plan the allocation before acting
Decide what to delete, move or add using the numbers before starting a copy. Repeating a move of hundreds of gigabytes can cost hours.
Use BENRI to try assignments quickly on screen, or a spreadsheet when you want custom columns and calculations.
Scroll horizontally to compare →
Try data assignments with BENRI Storage Organization Planner
- Register each SSD or HDD with its name and capacity.
- Enter the size of each group of files you plan to place.
- Assign destinations and compare used and free capacity.
- Change assignments where needed, including backups and future growth.
Used and free capacity update whenever you change an assignment. Check whether a group of data will fit on a drive without actually copying it.
Compare the capacities of the SSDs and HDDs with the total data assigned to each in this sample plan. (Japanese interface.)BENRI Storage Organization Planner: plan a layout that fits your drives ↗
Spreadsheet: total each destination
- Create columns for name, size in GB and destination.
- Total each destination with a formula such as SUMIF and subtract it from capacity.
- Compare alternative destinations and check the remaining space.
Flexible for custom fields, but you build the formulas and grouping yourself.
Work through a capacity example
- Add the storage devices: a 500 GB working SSD and a 2,000 GB archive HDD.
- Assign 240 GB of video and 80 GB of illustration work to the SSD: 320 GB used and 180 GB remaining.
- Assign 650 GB of finished videos and an 80 GB backup to the HDD: 730 GB used and 1,270 GB remaining.
Add the expected growth from the next project. If it still fits, no extra drive is needed for this plan. If it overflows, the shortfall shows how much additional capacity to consider.
Reach a concrete storage decision
Review each drive’s assignments and remaining space together. The plan should identify what to move and, if necessary, how much additional capacity to buy.
