Removing old files after loading XP

[Chuck]

I have a second computer on which I loaded Windows XP
over Windows 98. There seems to be a lot of space
occupied on my hard disk. I think there are a lot of
files from old programs which I'm having a hard time
identifying.

Is there any clean-up option that will identify these old
programs, files/folders so they can be removed from my
computer. Or do I need to wipe everything off and start
over?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Look in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel and uninstall programs no
longer needed.
This will help:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

Otherwise there is little else you can do.
If you see files and you are absolutely sure they are unneeded, delete
them.
Get a display of all files sorted by size and look through the larger
ones deleting files you are sure will not matter.
The smaller files take less space and are not that much an issue.
Besides you probably have to many to look at each and every file.

 

[Chuck]

My problem is that the old programs don't show in
Add/Remove Programs since I installed Windows XP. I know
that a lot of the old information is still there, but I
don't know how to identify what I can safely remove.

Thanks for the helpful information below. If you have
more to add, I'd welcome the info.

If I decide to wipe everything and start over with a
fresh install, what's the best way to do that?