How to Free Up Disk Space on Your Computer's Hard Drive

This is the first in a series of tips and advice on cleaning your sluggish computer.  Again, these instructions are for Windows XP users and are very simple - basic, in fact. Let's begin:

NOTE: Please read each post in its entirety before performing the steps.  Also, do the steps in order, and as you go through each step, please read through each line of instructions first before you proceed with the task.  There may be a note at the end of that line of instructions that you need to take heed to while you are performing the task.


Other Things To Consider Prior To Following These Instructions:

• Never delete files with the .dll extension.
• Do not delete files that contain the words Windows, HP or Compaq or whatever the name of your system, printer or other hardware is that you do not want to delete.
• Do not delete any system files. If you are not sure about a file call - don't take chances with your computer.  It is better to ask a technical support specialist then to guess.

Disk Cleanup - A component of Microsoft Windows, Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive. The utility first searches and analyzes the hard drive for files that are no longer of any use, and then removes the unnecessary files. There are a number of different file categories that Disk Cleanup targets when performing the initial disk analysis:

• Compression of old files
• Temporary Internet files
• Temporary Windows file
• Downloaded Program files
• Recycle Bin
• Removal of unused applications or optional Windows components
• Setup Log files
• Offline files [Source: Wikipedia]

Here's how to free up disk space on your hard drive - 

How To Clean Your Sluggish Computer

While shopping in the supermarket one evening, I received a phone call from a client who "urgently" needed help cleaning his computer.  He told me it was sluggish, and he was ready to throw it out of the window.  I carried my basket to a quiet aisle and asked him some pertinent questions such as, how old his computer was, what operating system he was using, and asked him to describe what he meant by sluggish.


I found out that his computer was about five to six years old, it was running Windows XP, and by sluggish he meant that it was running super slow - documents and programs were taking too long to open and Microsoft Internet Explorer was loading very slowly.


Since then, I have had to troubleshoot and provide tech support sessions for two other people who were running Windows XP on older computers.  I realized that there are probably more people that choose to hold on to their computers (as long as they can) than I could imagine.  Hey, given our current economy, I can say I don't blame them.  Not everyone needs or is interested in the latest, greatest thing.


So to those of you who are hanging on to your old PC's, I will be posting a series of tips and advice on cleaning your sluggish computers just for you.  These instructions will be very simple.  Even those who feel they are technically challenged should be able to follow them.


This series will include:

1. How to Free Up Disk Space on Your Computer's Hard drive 

2. Speeding Up Your Internet Explorer Browser

3. Cleaning Hard to Find Problems in Windows Explorer

4. How to Stop Programs from Running in Scheduled Tasks 

5. Rearranging and Compressing Files for Increased Speed

Until tomorrow...