- Temporary Files: Shut Down Windows, and ask for 'Restart the Computer'. Then open Windows Explorer, and see what is in the 'Temp' folder, usually C:\Windows\Temp or C:\Win98\Temp (unless you have created your own, eg C:\Temp, which used to be common). There should not normally be any files there, or in sub-folders. However, some programs do install a sub-folder and need it to run properly, whilst others also need such a folder but will re-create it if it isn't there. Again, you will find certain files keep appearing in the 'Temp' folder itself (often " .dat" or " .log" files) and will be re-created if you remove them. So use some caution - if unsure copy the whole folder to somewhere and restore files if something says it can't find them when next run.
(eg If you have Pretty Good Privacy installed, it stores encrypted messages in the Temp folder with the extension "msg". Do not delete these until sure they are no longer needed).
If you do find files in the Temp folder(s), they will often have odd-looking names - usually but not always with a " .tmp" ending. Delete them. They are supposed to be simply temporary copies of files which should be deleted automatically when the application working on them is closed; sometimes it doesn't, and the folder can accumulate a lot of rubbish after a while.
Note: Temporary files with a time and date indicating they were created in the same session you are now in should never be deleted, as they may still be in use. Shut down and Restart first.
- Other Leftovers:
- Old data files: Use Explorer to see what's on your hard disk. You may find files and folders you created for some reason months ago, have forgotten were there, and don't need. Delete them.
- Deleted Files: When you delete a file it is not simply erased, but hidden and held in the Rubbish Bin / Trash / Garbage Can / Toilet (or whatever you have called it) for safety. You can see what is being held via the Desktop icon. Open the icon and see if the folder holds any files you sent there in error first. If so, select the file(s) and ask for 'Restore'. To permanently delete the rest ask for 'Empty Recycle Bin' and answer 'Yes' when asked 'Are You Sure?'
- Unwanted Programs: If you still have programs installed that you are sure you no longer use and are not needed by some other program you do use, uninstall them (either via their own Uninstall links on the menu or via Control Panel's 'Add/Remove Programs').
- MS Installation Files: After installing any Microsoft applications, reboot and from the Start menu ask for Find ® Files. Type
mscreate.dir in the box and ensure that "Include subfolders" is checked. Click Search. If it finds any files with this name, they will all be 0 bytes long. They are spewed all over the place by MS installation routines, have no further use and clutter up the disk. Click Edit ® Select All, and delete them.
- Browser Caches: For MS Internet Explorer periodically go into 'Internet' settings (in Control Panel). In Netscape Navigator Edit ® Preferences ® Advanced ® Cache. In both tell them to empty the Disk Cache / Temporary Internet Files folder, unless certain you need to keep the contents. They can easily become filled with stuff you collected by accident - or never asked for, given the amount of dross some 'bleeding-edge' WWW sites spew out. You may also want to clean out the History folders, or maybe limit them to the last two or three days if you use the Internet a lot.
- Purging & Compacting: Whilst at it, open your email program and - if it has such a command - get it to compact the message folders. News programs may have a 'purge' command - use it to delete headers and bodies not marked for keeping which are over x days old. You might occasionally also flick through what you have and manually delete old messages and postings you don't want.
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