what is safe to delete

[Wendy Richards]

Trying to set up XP on a computer with 8GB harddisk and need to conserve
some space. The installation of XP, SP1, and criticals are taking up about
2GB's. The bulk of it is in the Windows folder 1.51 GB. Where can I find a
list of each folder/file and description to quickly see if it will be safe
to delete without going through each file and doing a search to see what it
does. Or any ideas on how I can make some space here.

Thanks

WR

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Wendy,

If you upgraded, consider removing the "undo" file. If you are satisfied
with any updates that you installed, delete the hotfix folders
($NtUninstallQxxxxxx$) from the \Windows folders (these are only necessary
for uninstalling a hotfix). Keep \temp folders clean and set TIF's to use a
minimal amount of space (like 20mb or less). Uninstall any program or
utility that you do not use.

If you have a lot of ram installed, consider setting a pagefile minimum of
an amount less than the amount of ram installed. Doing so with a small
amount may cause loss of performance as the system works to resize the
undersized pagefile continuously. This has other implications as well, so
choose carefully. For one, it will prevent the system from doing a memory
dump if it fails. These are sometimes useful in debugging what caused the
dump. Read more on monkeying with the VM from Alex Nichol here:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

But, honestly, at the price of hard drives these days, it would be a
worthwhile investment to get a bigger one.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Wendy Richards]

Thanks Rick.

WR

 

[Peter Hutchison]

Trying to set up XP on a computer with 8GB harddisk and need to conserve
some space. The installation of XP, SP1, and criticals are taking up about
2GB's. The bulk of it is in the Windows folder 1.51 GB. Where can I find a
list of each folder/file and description to quickly see if it will be safe
to delete without going through each file and doing a search to see what it
does. Or any ideas on how I can make some space here.

You CANNOT delete system files in XP. If you try then Windows will
restore it back to protect itself.
I suggest getting a new Hard disk.

What you can do in the mean time is:
1. Use the Compression feature so you can compress unused folders.
Right click a folder, select Properties, Advanced and tick 'Compress
contents to save space'.
2. You can empty your Temp Internet Files and if necessary make it
smaller in Internet Options.
3. Empty Temp folder(s).
4. Delete any $ntuninstallXXXXXX$ folders in C:\Windows.

Peter Hutchison
Windows FAQ
http://www.pcguru.plus.com/