Use The Windows XP Disk Cleanup
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The disk cleanup utility is a Windows XP tool that automatically helps you to identify files that can be "cleaned up" to free up disk space.
Basically, when you start it up, this utility does a scan of your computer. The scan considers a large variety of different ways that disk space can be saved. Some of the standard ways are as follows:
- Remove Temporary Internet Files
- Debug Dump Files
- Remove Office Setup Files
- Empty Recycle Bin
- Delete Temporary Files
- Compress Old Files
Below you can see the disk cleanup utility window and the checkboxes where you select which actions you want to run. Note that it is suggesting I can clean up 2.1 Gigabytes of disk space. Wow!!!
This will remove files that are saved automatically when you are browsing the internet.
Debug Dump Files
These are files that are setup automatically by Windows when your system crashes. They can be safely deleted.
Remove Office Setup Files
These are installation files that are left on your computer when you install MS Office. You can remove them but if you do then you may be prompted for your MS Office CD when you try to install additional MS Office software.
Empty Recycle Bin
I think this is pretty much easy to understand. If there are files in your Recycle Bin, they will be removed.
Delete Temporary Files
Temporary files (.tmp) are created when software is running and usually they are deleted. However, some software doesn't delete the temp files so this part of the disk cleanup tool will do it.
Compress Old Files
This will compress old files that you seldom access. Compressing the files doesn't mean you cannot access them. Even after compression you will still be able to access them in the normal manner.
More Options
Disk Cleanup has some additional options you can use to free up further disk space. These include :- Removing optional windows components
- Removing (uninstalling) programs you don't need
- Removing all but the most recent restore points
To do this you need to click on the More Options tab that you can see in the picture above and you will be taken to the window in the picture below:
This option enables you to remove windows components that you may not need on your system such as calculators, MSN Exlorer etc.
Remove Programs You Don't Need
This will bring up the standard Add Or Remove Programs window where you can see which programs you access the least and remove them. For more on this you can review
uninstall programs and applications.
Remove All But The Most Recent Restore Points
Restore points are records of your system that you can revert back to if you have a devastating system crash.
Starting Up And Using This Tool
To use this tool, you first need to start it up. Starting it up can be achieved in any of three ways :- Click on the Start Menu / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Cleanup
- Click Start / Run and in the box type cleanmgr and click OK
- In Windows Explorer, right click the disk that you want to free up disk space, then click Properties, click the General Tab, then click Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup is a very handy system tool that will benefit you greatly if your hard drive is getting full. I recommend that you explore it and use it to your benefit.
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