Alakazam
05-14-2002, 01:09 AM
Cleaning up files from your Hard Drive
Before you defrag your Hard Disk Drive (hdd) there is a chance that you might have a few programs, files, etc. that you no longer use or want and would like to get rid of. Now is the perfect time to take a few moments and tackle those chores. What follows are some basic steps to help you get a handle on those tasks and clean up your hdd
Deleting Programs Add/Remove Feature in Windows
Most all programs written today will add an entry into your installed software list which is accessed through the Control Panel. Click: Start/Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs. You should arrive at a screen similar to this one which happens to be from Win XP, Win 98 behaves in the same way.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/addrem.jpg
All you need to do is left click on the program you wish to remove and it will be highlighted, a button with the option to change/remove the software now appears. Now click on that button and this screen will pop up.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/remove.gif
If you are sure this is the program you want to delete, go ahead and click yes. After just a bit, your computer will let you know that the uninstall was successful and you can continue on deleting other programs if you wish. Application Uninstall Feature
If for some reason the program you need to uninstall does not show up in the Control Panel, it will take a little more work to get the program deleted. First, you will need to know exactly where the program is located on your hdd. To accomplish this, right click on the program and chose properties, not delete, and you will have an image similar to this one.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/prop.gif
Click on the shortcut tab, then the 'find target' button and you will end up with an explorer view like this
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/eview.gif
If the program comes with an uninstaller program, it will usually be labeled "uninstal.exe" such as in the photo. All that is necessary is to double click that file and the program should uninstall properly.
*Note If for some reason there is no uninstall feature or .exe program to uninstall, you should never delete a program by right clicking on it and choosing the delete option. Many programs will make entries into your registry along with their applications and need to be removed in a much different manner which will not be covered here.
Using the Disk Cleanup Utility
The Disk Cleanup utility has been around since the days of Win95. It's a good idea to run this utility on a regular basis to remove clutter that gets left behind from different uses on your PC. You need to click on Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup and you will have a screen like this.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/dskcl.gif
When the utility opens, select a drive from the drop-down menu (the check mark) and click OK. You should now have this screen up.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/dskcl2.gif
Click the checkbox for each type of file you want to delete. If you are unsure if you want to delete the files for a given category, click the category to select it, click View Files, and an explorer window will open showing you a list of files that will be deleted. When you are sure you want to delete the files in the chosen categories, click OK and Windows deletes the files. If you need to use the Disk Cleanup feature on another drive, you will need to run the utility again. You'll also notice a 'More Options' tab on this screen but we are not covering this at the moment.
Other Items
Now is a good time to delete some other items that might be lingering around in your system and taking up valuable space. Do you have any of these items that should be cleaned out before defragmenting? Pictures Word or text documents Downloaded files (including zipped) Video or MP3 files no longer used
You can simply right click on the files and select the delete option which will send them to the recycle bin. The good thing about doing it this way is if you happen to make a mistake and change your mind about a particular file, picture, etc, you can still get it back. If you use the Shift/Delete key combination to remove something, it's gone forever as that combo of keys by-passes the recycle bin.
E-Mail
It's also good practice to clean up your e-mail at this time. If you are anything like me, it doesn't take long for the inbox, outbox, etc, to accumulate a lot of unneeded old mail. Take the time to go through your different folders and get rid of those mails you no longer deem necessary to keep, and don't forget to empty your deleted folder also.
Internet Explorer
Not everyone will want to clean out Internet Explorer (IE) files like I do every time I log off the internet. I make it a habit to delete my cookies, clean out my temporary internet files, and purge my history folder. The following example is from IE 6, with your browser open click on Tools/Internet Options and this screen should appear.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/ie1.gif
You will be working with 3 buttons labeled: Delete Cookies, Delete Files, and Clear History. The example below is the pop-up screen that appears when the 'Delete Files' button is clicked on.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/ie2.gif
If you click on the OK button, all your temporary internet files from your browsing sessions will be deleted, clearing up disk space. Repeat the procedure with the Cookies button and the Clear History button and you will have completed a basic cleanup of your hdd before defragmenting.
Happy cleaning, Alakazam
Before you defrag your Hard Disk Drive (hdd) there is a chance that you might have a few programs, files, etc. that you no longer use or want and would like to get rid of. Now is the perfect time to take a few moments and tackle those chores. What follows are some basic steps to help you get a handle on those tasks and clean up your hdd
Deleting Programs Add/Remove Feature in Windows
Most all programs written today will add an entry into your installed software list which is accessed through the Control Panel. Click: Start/Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs. You should arrive at a screen similar to this one which happens to be from Win XP, Win 98 behaves in the same way.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/addrem.jpg
All you need to do is left click on the program you wish to remove and it will be highlighted, a button with the option to change/remove the software now appears. Now click on that button and this screen will pop up.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/remove.gif
If you are sure this is the program you want to delete, go ahead and click yes. After just a bit, your computer will let you know that the uninstall was successful and you can continue on deleting other programs if you wish. Application Uninstall Feature
If for some reason the program you need to uninstall does not show up in the Control Panel, it will take a little more work to get the program deleted. First, you will need to know exactly where the program is located on your hdd. To accomplish this, right click on the program and chose properties, not delete, and you will have an image similar to this one.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/prop.gif
Click on the shortcut tab, then the 'find target' button and you will end up with an explorer view like this
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/eview.gif
If the program comes with an uninstaller program, it will usually be labeled "uninstal.exe" such as in the photo. All that is necessary is to double click that file and the program should uninstall properly.
*Note If for some reason there is no uninstall feature or .exe program to uninstall, you should never delete a program by right clicking on it and choosing the delete option. Many programs will make entries into your registry along with their applications and need to be removed in a much different manner which will not be covered here.
Using the Disk Cleanup Utility
The Disk Cleanup utility has been around since the days of Win95. It's a good idea to run this utility on a regular basis to remove clutter that gets left behind from different uses on your PC. You need to click on Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup and you will have a screen like this.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/dskcl.gif
When the utility opens, select a drive from the drop-down menu (the check mark) and click OK. You should now have this screen up.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/dskcl2.gif
Click the checkbox for each type of file you want to delete. If you are unsure if you want to delete the files for a given category, click the category to select it, click View Files, and an explorer window will open showing you a list of files that will be deleted. When you are sure you want to delete the files in the chosen categories, click OK and Windows deletes the files. If you need to use the Disk Cleanup feature on another drive, you will need to run the utility again. You'll also notice a 'More Options' tab on this screen but we are not covering this at the moment.
Other Items
Now is a good time to delete some other items that might be lingering around in your system and taking up valuable space. Do you have any of these items that should be cleaned out before defragmenting? Pictures Word or text documents Downloaded files (including zipped) Video or MP3 files no longer used
You can simply right click on the files and select the delete option which will send them to the recycle bin. The good thing about doing it this way is if you happen to make a mistake and change your mind about a particular file, picture, etc, you can still get it back. If you use the Shift/Delete key combination to remove something, it's gone forever as that combo of keys by-passes the recycle bin.
It's also good practice to clean up your e-mail at this time. If you are anything like me, it doesn't take long for the inbox, outbox, etc, to accumulate a lot of unneeded old mail. Take the time to go through your different folders and get rid of those mails you no longer deem necessary to keep, and don't forget to empty your deleted folder also.
Internet Explorer
Not everyone will want to clean out Internet Explorer (IE) files like I do every time I log off the internet. I make it a habit to delete my cookies, clean out my temporary internet files, and purge my history folder. The following example is from IE 6, with your browser open click on Tools/Internet Options and this screen should appear.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/ie1.gif
You will be working with 3 buttons labeled: Delete Cookies, Delete Files, and Clear History. The example below is the pop-up screen that appears when the 'Delete Files' button is clicked on.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/alakazam/clndskpics/ie2.gif
If you click on the OK button, all your temporary internet files from your browsing sessions will be deleted, clearing up disk space. Repeat the procedure with the Cookies button and the Clear History button and you will have completed a basic cleanup of your hdd before defragmenting.
Happy cleaning, Alakazam