Help, "Disk Cleanup" quit working...

[George]

I'm wondering if someone might know how to get this working again...it's
"freezing up."...

I'm using a WinXP-pro PC, and trying to use Start > All Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup...

It used to bring up a window with "Disk Cleanup is calculating how much
space, etc...." and this took about 2-3 minutes, then a new window popped up
with checkboxes on what I'd like to purge...then I hit OK and it executed in
a few seconds.

Now, it's "stuck" on the "Disk Cleanup is
calculating.....Scanning...Compress Old Files" window. I let it run about
10 minutes and gave up, and hit cancel.

Nothing big has changed lately...no new installations, no big files added.
The only thing I "know" is in bad shape is my WinXP has been in bad shape
and very slow for a few months after an attempted "Repair Windows" (never,
never use this, by the way).

Is Disk Cleanup fixable at all? ....so I can keep going, or is this just
more evidence I need to bite the bullet and re-install WinXP (no easy task,
and time consuming too).

Thanks,
George

 

[WTC]

Now, it's "stuck" on the "Disk Cleanup is
calculating.....Scanning...Compress Old Files" window. I let it run about
10 minutes and gave up, and hit cancel.

<...>

Disk Cleanup Tool Stops Responding While Compressing Old Files
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=812248