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# How to find and delete large files with eclean

Large Files helps you find files that are taking up meaningful storage space so you can decide what to keep, move, or delete. Unlike Junk Cleaner, this tool is about review: the files may be personal, important, or part of an app you still use.

||| Do not delete files from system, driver, or app folders only because they are large. If you do not recognize the path, research it first.

### How to find and delete large files

1. **Open Find large files:** Go to **Cleaner > Find large files**.
2. **Choose the drives:** Select the drive or drives you want eclean to scan.
3. **Start the scan:** Click **Find large files** and stay on the page while scanning. eclean blocks navigation during the scan.
4. **Cancel only if needed:** Use the cancel confirmation if you started the wrong scan or need to stop.
5. **Review the results:** Sort by name, type, size, or last modified date, and use search or category filters to narrow the list.
6. **Open the folder if unsure:** Use **Open location** or **Open in Explorer** to inspect a file in Windows before selecting it.
7. **Select files to delete:** Choose only the files you are sure you no longer need.
8. **Delete the files:** Click **Delete files**, choose the deletion option, and confirm the warning.

### What to check before deleting large files

* Large files are not automatically junk. Videos, archives, installers, backups, and game files can be large but still useful.
* Some files may require administrator permission to delete.
* If deletion fails, close any app that might be using the file, then retry or delete it from Windows after confirming it is safe.

### Technical deep dive

Large Files scans selected drives with a minimum file-size threshold of 99 MB by default. The scanner walks the drive, skips known protected or noisy directories such as `System Volume Information`, `$RECYCLE.BIN`, `WindowsApps`, and `WinSxS`, and ignores shortcuts plus core Windows paging files such as `pagefile.sys`, `hiberfil.sys`, and `swapfile.sys`.

For each candidate file, eclean reads metadata, confirms it is a file, checks the size threshold, records the last modified time, derives a file type from the extension, and maps that extension into a broad file category such as Documents, Images, Videos, Compressed, Disk Images, Game Files, Backups, or Other.

The `requires_admin` field is a real backend check against the path. It tells the UI that Windows may require elevated permissions to modify the file. It is not a judgment about whether the file is safe to delete.