Some pointers as to why you may not be getting the results you are
seeking.
Disk CleanUp needs to be run in all User Profiles. You may have cleaned
only one i.e. the one you ran Disk CleanUp from.
Running chkdsk is helpful if you suspect a disk problem but otherwise it
need not be part of routine maintenance.
Registry cleaners can cause more problems than they solve. cCleaner
falls into this category but it is better than most and can be safely
used if you take care. It does a better job than Disk CleanUp cleaning
all User Profiles in one operation. It does not deal with Restore Points
(more later).
I would suggest you try cCleaner.
http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp
http://www.ccleaner.com/
With any cleaner you need to proceed with caution. To be safe you
should create a restore point before using cCleaner. cCleaner also
offers backup before removal.
When using cCleaner think twice before checking Autocomplete Form
History under Internet Explorer. You do get a warning but this one has
irritating consequences. You may need to restore your system's
recollection of passwords after use so keep a record off computer so
that they can easily be re-entered.
Leave the Scan for Issues option alone.
When you have limited free disk space i.e. less than 20% of the capacity
of the drive / partition fragmentation becomes more problematic as free
space becomes fragmented. If a large file is rewritten it becomes
fragmented because there may not be a sufficiently large enough space to
place the whole file. The more limited the free space the more less
large files fragment. If you buy a new hard drive check to see if you
can add it as a second hard drive rather than replace the original.
To increase you free space on your XP partition select Start, All
Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp, More Options,
System Restore and remove all but the latest System Restore points?
Restore points can be quite large.
It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700 mb.
Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time
find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit.
When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.
Another default setting which could be wasteful is that for temporary
internet files especially if you do not store offline copies on disk.
The default allocation is 3% of drive. Depending on your attitude to
offline copies you could reduce this to 1% or 2%. In Internet Explorer
select Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files,
Settings to make the change. At the same time look at the number of
days history is held.
The default allocation for the Recycle Bin is 10 % of drive. Change to
5%, which should be sufficient. In Windows Explorer place the cursor
on your Recycle Bin, right click and select Properties, Global and
move the slider from 10% to 5%. However, try to avoid letting it get
too full as if it is full and you delete a file by mistake it will
bypass the Recycle Bin and be gone for ever.
If your drive is formatted as NTFS another potential gain arises with
your operating system on your C drive. In the Windows Directory of your
C partition you will have some Uninstall folders in your Windows folder
typically: $NtServicePackUninstall$ and $NtUninstallKB282010$ etc. These
files may be compressed or not compressed. If compressed the text of the
folder name appears in blue characters. If not compressed you can
compress them. Right click on each folder and select Properties,
General, Advanced and check the box before Compress contents to save
Disk Space. On the General Tab you can see the amount gained by
deducting the size on disk from the size. Folder compression is only an
option on a NTFS formatted drive / partition. Don't compress other
folders as it slows access to and from files. It doesn't matter with
Uninstall folders as they are only kept for an eventuality which may
never arise.
--
Hope this helps.
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
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