1. Use the XP cleanup tool to delete temporary files. In Windows
Explorer, right-click a drive letter, properties, disk cleanup. Check all
boxes relative to temporary type files, unless you have a reason to want
to keep them. For example, I do not choose the recycle bin, since I would
rather empty that manually, a few days after I delete something, just in
case I make a mistake. Avoid using XP's compress option, since it makes
recovering files more difficult, if XP crashes.
2. Control the size of the pagefile and how many drives have page files.
My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Advanced, Performance, Setting,
Advanced, Virtual Memory, Change. Select where to have the pagefile and
its size. Chose the same number for min-size as max-size, so that once
created the pagefile will not become fragmented. Note, if you are tight
on space, set the page files to zero on all partitions except C:, reboot,
defrag one of those partitions, then set the pagefile on C: to zero and
the one on the defragged partition to a the desired size, reboot. If you
have 1Gig of RAM or more, you might even set the pagefile to zero, but
probably leaving a small pagefile would be a good idea, since some
programs expect one. If you have 512 Meg to 1 Gig, you might want a page
file some RAM+pagefile is at least 1 Gig. If you have a lot less than 512
Meg of RAM, think about getting more RAM, as XP and programs built for XP
work better with more RAM.
3. Consider turning off hibernation, reboot. Then delete hiberfil.sys,
if it is still present. Start, settings, control panel, power options,
hibernate, uncheck the box.
4. Get a good disk cleaner to look for files that XP's cleanup tool
misses. I like CCleaner, which is free:
http://www.ccleaner.com/
5. Look for duplicate personal files using a tool like Duplic8 at
http://www.kewlit.com/ (not free, but good and easy to use). Or, look
here for other cleaners and duplicate finders, many free:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads12.html But, avoid cleaners that
promise to remove all data form a hard drive ! Those are for when you
toss the PC and do not want personal information to be left on the hard
drive.
6. Consider going into the Windows directory and deleting older
directories that begin with "$NtUninstallKB". These are useful only for
uninstalling windows updates. If you are happy with the installed
updates, these files are not longer needed. However, I would keep those
for the last month or two, just in case the update had a consequence that
you have not yet discovered. Note that you may need to change the view
settings in Windows Explorer to see these files. Tools, folder options,
view, hidden files and folders, show hidden files and folders. Also, in
the same screen, uncheck hide protected system files.
7. Search the Documents and Settings folder for files ending in "msi".
These are installer files for some programs or updates to some programs.
I have found that some programs leave them around forever. Acrobat Reader
8 seems to do that. Once found, delete them.
8. Check all major programs for "cache" settings. Many programs trade
disk space for download speed. For example Google Earth and NASA's
Worldwind.
9. Look for programs that offered to load large databases on disk to
avoid needed their CD/DVD to run. If you do not run them often, you can
remove their databases form disk. This is often best done via a repair
installation of the program, rather than by a simple delete. Delorme
Street Atlas USA is in this category.
9. Uninstall programs that you do not use anymore, or use infrequently.
But, be sure to have the original CD or installer *.exe or *.msi file, in
case you wish to reinstall.
10. Copy infrequently used personal files to CDs or DVDs, especially if
they are easy re-downloadable from the web. Then, delete the copy on the
hard drive. But, if the files are unique, such as digital photos or
personally made movie clips, have a second copy somewhere (2nd CD/DVD,
with a friend, etc).
11. Possibly use WINZIP or similar to compress older and less used
personal files, or even whole directories of these. Note that zipping
JPGs or AVIs usually does not gain much space. Ditto for MP3 or other
already-compressed formats. Zipping works well on XLS, DOC, TXT, BMP.