# Free up space from Drime Desktop

Use File management in Drime Desktop's Storage settings to clear rescued files, delete old file versions, empty the Drime trash and remove deleted backups.

Updated: 2026-10-21  
Source: https://drime.cloud/support/desktop/free-up-space

In recent versions of Drime Desktop for Windows, **Preferences** \> **Storage** has a **File management** section: **See what takes room and get it back.** Each row shows how much space it takes and how many items it holds.

> **Important**
>
> Only **Rescued files (local)** are on this computer. **File versions**, **Drime trash** and **Deleted backups** are on Drime: clearing them applies to all your devices and the web, and can't be undone.

## Open File management

1. Open the Drime window from the notification area, then **Preferences** \> **Storage**.

2. Scroll to **File management**.

While Drime works on a row, its button reads **Working...**.

## Rescued files

**Rescued files (local)** are **Files Drime kept on this computer instead of deleting them, because they were not on Drime or no longer matched what is.** For example, when you remove a folder from the Drive folder selection, files not yet uploaded go there instead of being deleted. See [Choose which folders sync to your computer](https://drime.cloud/support/desktop/choose-folders-to-sync).

They are in a folder named **Drime Rescue Folder**, at the root of your Drime folder and of each folder you link on the **Folder sync** page.

- To delete them, click **Clear**, then confirm **Delete the rescued files?**. These files are not on Drime, so this computer is the only place that has them: they go to the Windows Recycle Bin, where you can still get them back.
- To delete old ones automatically, turn on **Delete files older than** and set a number of **days**, from 1 to 365. It is off by default and set to 30 days.

When there is nothing to clear, the row reads **Nothing kept**.

## File versions

**File versions** are the **Previous versions of your files, kept on Drime.**

- The switch turns file versioning on or off for your account. It is the same setting as on the web. See [How file versions work](https://drime.cloud/support/drive/file-versions-explained).
- To delete them, click **Clear**, then confirm **Delete all previous versions?**. Your files keep their current version. Every earlier version is deleted from Drime and can't be restored.

## Drime trash

**Drime trash** holds **Deleted files that still use your Drime space.**

To delete them for good, click **Empty**, then confirm **Empty the Drime trash?**. Everything in the trash is deleted and can't be restored, deleted backups included. To keep something, restore it first: see [Restore deleted files from the Trash](https://drime.cloud/support/drive/restore-deleted-files).

## Deleted backups

**Deleted backups** appears only when the trash holds files from a computer backup. The web keeps them on their own tab, so they don't show up in ordinary listings.

To delete only these, click **Clear**, then confirm **Delete these backup files for good?**. They leave the trash for good and can't be restored. The rest of your trash is untouched.

## If it doesn't work

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **That did not work. Try again.** | Check your internet connection, then click the button again. |
| There is no **File management** section | Update Drime Desktop: the section is in recent versions for Windows. See [Install, update or uninstall Drime Desktop](https://drime.cloud/support/desktop/install-drime-desktop). |
| There is no **Deleted backups** row | The trash holds no backup files. |

## Other ways to save space

- Keep files online-only on this computer, with **Manage hard drive space** on the same page: see [Online-only and offline files](https://drime.cloud/support/desktop/online-only-and-offline-files).
- Keep some Drime folders off this computer: see [Choose which folders sync to your computer](https://drime.cloud/support/desktop/choose-folders-to-sync).
- See and free up your Drime storage on the web: see [Check and free up storage space](https://drime.cloud/support/drive/check-and-free-up-storage).