What are all these files taking up space on our computer and how do we get rid of them?

Question

"We have an older computer that is running Windows XP - very slowly (i.e., what should take seconds takes many minutes). Diskeeper shows about 80% of the hard-drive taken up by... What? We have no idea what these files are. Windows Explore reveals very few files that we have saved. Where and what could all this stuff be which is taking up so much space and slowing down the computer so much? How do we locate it and get rid of it - and can we do so safely?"

Answer 1

Your hard drive is probably a small one. Windows XP occupies at least 800 MB of data as the operating system.
If your drive is 10 years old, the largest drive back then was around 3 GB. Not to mention your memory and how much you have. The standard 10 years ago was 64MB. Todays standard is around 512MB.

John
A+ Certified

Answer 2

You mention Diskeeper so I assume you have already defraged your hard drive. Do a disk cleanup if you have not. Here are a couple other suggestions..

Update and run your Anti-Virus program. Don't have one? You can run a free online scan from Trendmicro. When I have tested it it takes some time to run it but it may be time well spent if it can fix any problems.

Download and run http://housecall.trendmicro.com/


Download, update and run Spybot---http://www.safer-networking.org/ . Don't forget to use the Immunize feature.

Download, update and run Adaware---http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/products/select_your_product.php
Download SpywareBlaster---http://majorgeeks.com/download2859.html

SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.

It's main features include:
- Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted pests.
- Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
- Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.

Download RegScrubXP--http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2048

Safely cleans junk out of the Windows 2000/XP system registry. All changes made to the registry are fully restorable to it's original condition. You can make an exclusion list of registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems. You can sift through a list of file extensions, company names, run upon startup programs, Internet Explorer history, and uninstall programs to delete what you think is junk.

Download CleanUp---http://www.stevengould.org/software/cleanup/

Free disk space, make your computer run better/faster and protect your privacy - all in one easy solution. All for free!

Answer 3

Many things you can do for yourself to increase speed:

- Are you using a complex screensaver - it runs in the background and eats memory. I had fun with mine, then changed it to blank.
- How many programs do you load at startup? Maybe you should check it out and ensure you are running just what you need.
-To do this: cl Start, cl Settings, cl Taskbar and Start Menu.
-cl Start Menu, cl Customize, cl Remove.
-cl the icon for the program you wish to remove
-then cl Remove.
-This will prevent the program from loading at startup, but will not remove the program from the hard disk.
-Are you in a large file? If so, save frequently to restore full memory access. (Your work remains in memory until you “save” it to disk.

1.Did you run an error check? Open My Computer,
Right-cl on C:, Select Properties, Tools – Run an Error Check ( checkmark “check all and fix); then run a Defrag

2.Are you using Yahoo Toolbar? Run a full Norton Antispy.

3.From IE, click Tools, Internet Options
delete cookies
delete files (offline files)
clear history (set days to save to 0 if you want)
click o.k., and Restart

3.click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools – run Disk Cleanup

4.click Start, Run ipconfig renew (type ipconfig space renew)

All these things should be done regularly. The more frequently they are run, the less time they take.
-Note: Games and videos are mostly graphics. Graphics create large files. If this doesn’t help, you should consider getting more memory.

Answer 4

windows unfortunately is a very messy program. it makes temporary files so that during any session it can access these to aid in operation....but...after it is done in most cases it just leaves them layin around. Internet Explorer is alos a good one for doing this:P you can help reduce the build up by running disk clean up on a regular basis and also disk defrag.. there are also programs out there like Window Washer that will help tremendously. look into this

Answer 5

Click on start then go to Control Panel and click on add or remove programs. Delete all the programs you dont need thats takin up a lot of space.

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