How do I clean up my hard drive?

Question

I have windows XP home edition. I have the Dell demension 3,000

Answer 1

To 'clean' it up, click start, all programs, accessories, system tools, run disk clean up after that run disk defrag. (Note: when running disk defrag, don't use the computer, also if you have never ran this before it could take a few hours to complete)

One other thing you can do is go into control panel, into add/remove and remove any programs you no longer use.

Answer 2

So have I - lucky you.

To keep your PC clean:

Many users are not aware of how much RAM is used by wallpaper and/or a screensaver full of graphics. They run in the background and consume memory. (I have only 512mb RAM, run multiple programs simultaneously, and have set my wallpaper and screensaver to blank.)

I don’t do games, but I do know they are primarily graphics which need and use a lot of memory.

- 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.
- There is also a “Disable All” button.
- This will prevent the program from loading at startup, but will not remove the program from the hard disk.

- When you are working in a large file, 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.
- A good web site to visit: http://www.theonlinefamily.net/organize/spring_clean_computer/index.html

Answer 3

Go to Start, Programs, Accessories,System Tools and run Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter for a start.

Answer 4

Very carefully. You must be careful not to delete anything important. I am an old-timer who still opens every file and looks at it before deciding whether I want to get rid of it. If I can not open a file, I do not delete it for fear it might corrupt something important.

Answer 5

The best free program that I have seen and have been using for over a year now is "Clean Disk Security". You find it http://www.download.com

Answer 6

dowload a program called CCleaner. yes with two C's. you can find it at www.download.com it works great to get rid of any files you dont need. after you do that defrag your hard drive.