Disk-Cleanup

Disk-Cleanup - Microsoft has provided a utility that helps you clean out unnecessary files. This is a good starting point for fixing slow computers. If you haven’t done this, then there is probably a lot of space you can free up.

Disk-Cleanup, is also known as hard drive cleanup, or deleting unwanted files. By removing unwanted files, you clean up files, clean out data and save a lot of space on your hard drive. That will give Windows some "breathing room" for better efficiency.

In Windows XP, click on Start  (lower left hand corner of screen)

Then click on                        All Programs

Then  move curser to          Accessories

Then move cursor to           System Tools

Then move cursor to           Disk Cleanup

Then click on                       Disk Cleanup

See picture below for details

You will get the following image, and it may take more than a few minutes!

When Disk-Cleanup finally finishes inventory of everything to be cleaned, it will look like this:

This list is from a frequently cleaned system, and only has 112 Million byte to cleanup. If you system hasn’t been cleaned in awhile, you probably will have much more!

You could check all the boxes, as Microsoft has deemed these ok to delete.

Then click OK

Once cleanup is complete, then system returns to normal, and is ready for the next task.

For additional details, if needed, here is the link to the Microsoft site for disk cleanup:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

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Additional Clean-up Tools:

PC Decrapifier, SlimComputer, WinPatrol, Revo Uninstaller, and CCleaner.

These tools are all free, but they are pretty good. I use CCleaner fairly often. They will clean crapware, and a lot of other junk off your computer.

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Next stop……  Defrag!

After you have done Disk Cleanup, you will need to defragment your hard drive.

For XP, click XP-defragmenter.html

For Vista click Defragment-Vista.html

While you are maintaining your hard drive, why not backing up your data?