Windows System Tools

[Edify]

ok i'm currently running Windows ME on my computer. anyways, my computer is a piece of crap and i really hope i get a new computer for college soon. specs are:
533 mhz speed
128 RAM
16X cd-rom
3.15 GB (TOTAL hdd space)

anyways, today i turned on the computer and that "WARNING: Low Disk Space" thing popped up next to my system tray. so i clicked it and found out i had only 38.8 MB of free space!!!

i'm just wondering what, if any of the system tools provided by windows will help me to free up more space. i think maybe disk defragmenter does something, but what? theres also this thing called Drive Space, but it says disk-compression driver not installed or something.

[Mr. Peanuts]

Well maybe this is just for XP but you need at least 200Mb of system memory free to operate efficiently. I'd suggest going on add or remove programs and prioritizing your list of programs and delete the unused ones.

[Volny]

I think that windows cache is already counted into occupied space
How to free your space? Most functional (if u have emptied your recycle bin) is magic key - Delete
U can also delete some lvz in SS - my Continuum folder has currently 300 MB

[Ewan]

IN Internet Explorer:
Tools -> Internet Explorer -> Clear Temporary Internet files (ticking clear offline content too).
NOTE: This will take a while and it may appear to have frozen, but it hasn't, be patient with it.

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -. System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
This can help you delete temporary files (Which if never done before, is likely a huge amount). Again, like above, it may have appeared to have frozen, but will just be taking ages (When I say ages, I mean AGES, do it last.)

[Edify]

what does disk degragmenter do? is my main question because i already do that stuff u suggested daily.

[Mr. Peanuts]

It reorganises stuff on your hard drive to run more efficiently. Bits of old programs that no longer serve a purpose are deleted from your hard drive.

[Arikel]

what does disk degragmenter do? is my main question because i already do that stuff u suggested daily.

It reorganises stuff on your hard drive to run more efficiently. Bits of old programs that no longer serve a purpose are deleted from your hard drive.

I suppose you are talking about the defragmenter... well it doesnt "erase" nothing but it makes your computer run faster... ill see if i can explain...

Your Hard disk contains memory blocks that come one after another. When you install a program or your program needs to write something windows allow him to use the next free block it has in hard disk for example

[s][s][s][r][t][r][t][s][a][b][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

when your computer needs memory again for swaping or other operation it will use the slot next to [b].
when your computer decides to use the program on the blocks labelled [r]
it will have to jump between the 4th and 6th block so the needle on our hard drive will have to wait a bit more to do the reads... having a disk fragmented like this makes ur computer running slower because it increases disk acces time... when you erase a block in the middle you will have an empty block that will be filled by the next write operation and thus you will have a fragmented disk if you defragment your disk it will end up like this

[s][s][s][s][r][r][t][t][a][b][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Wich makes it running much more faster...
Well this is a basic explanation of what happens in fact you have to mess up with lots of stuff and the sectors and tracks of your disc are also taken into account but thats a big big problem that takes lots of time to explain...

When you defrag your hard drive be sure to disable all programs and external processess or it will stop after the slightiest piece of information is written...
Also be prepared because it will take you LOTS OF TIME and i do mean LOTS OF TIME.

[Edify]

oh wow thanks a lot.
i guess it doesnt really erase anything then, so it won't really help my disk space condition.

[Ewan]

It doesn't erase, but it will free up quite a bit of free space and make it faster. If I were you, I'd start defrag just before you go to bed. I'm guessing you've never done it and therefore it will take AGES. It's definitly worth it though. (As someone said, just make sure, all non-critical processes are terminated, as if something writes to the harddrive, it will start again).

[Mr. Peanuts]

So, what is the program that erases bits of old, unused programs?

[Richard Creager]

Your problem is that you're running ME, put on linux if you can't put on 98. XP is probably too much for that system, but if you can find a cracked key, you could probably make it less demanding (and much more stable) than ME.

[Mr. Peanuts]

I reckon that system would benefit from using Windows 2000.

[Sufficient]

search for CCleaner on google

[Richard Creager]

I reckon that system would benefit from using Windows 2000.

I've never tried it.

[50% Packetloss]

Go buy a new hard drive, they are cheap and it seems to me that you dont need anything fancy for typing essays. A 20gig hard drive will probably hold you over for the rest of your life, as long as you are just using that computer for school related stuff. Defraging your 3gig drive would be a waste of your time, your computer is going to be slow as fuck no matter what you do. So here are some other options:

1. Uninstall crap, start->settings->control panel then click on add/remove programs and uninstall anything you dont need.
2. Virus scan, www.antivirus.com has a free online scan.
3. Disk Cleanup is a good idea, follow Ewan's directions above.
4. Ad-aware might be a nice program to have, it might clean up your comp but spyware files arnt usually that large.
5. Trash your computer and buy something new, the lowest price Ive seen for a nice computer has been $400 at Fry's Electronics. Use your old computer as a paper weight. If all you need is a computer for school, then get something from a garage sale or over ebay for less than $200.