Windows clutter cleanup

[quset]

I have a 7 year old Compaq Presario 1800-XL190 laptop / 700 MHz P3 / 6G HD /
128 of RAM / OS: XP with service pack 3 installed.

I wish improve its performance. Part of my plan is to at least put in extra
RAM. I would consider increasing the hard drive although I don’t tend to
store much on the laptop – I copy things to my home computer and then burn
CDs.

One specific issue I would appreciate advice on is whether I can (and how to
do so) delete some of the files in the Windows folder.

At present the hard drive cites 5.58 GB total size with 1.08 GB free.
At the C:\ level, the Windows folder properties cite a size of 4.25 GB
(24,100 files in 1,300 folders); the seven other folders (Cache, Programs
files, etc.) take up 1.16 GB (4,450 files in 1,660 folders).

Inside the Windows folder the properties cite the size as 4.25 GB, and size
on disk as 2.85 GB. I assume the latter # is smaller due to compression, no?
I think the original operating system may have been Windows 2000; would that
have been totally deleted when I installed XP?

Is there a way to safely get rid of some of the extra junk in the Windows
folder? I realize that I could get into big trouble in a hurry!

Any suggestions / comments on doing this?

TIA for your help!

 

[DL]

For an immediate improvement up grade ram to 512mb, assuming your Presario
supports this. Only use ram from a quality source that is guaranteed to work
on your specific sys, e.g. Corsair, Kingston etc, their sites have a memory
configuration tool
Presumably you have run Disk Cleanup, and used the compress files option
In internet options amend temp file setings to 50mb

 

[Gerry]

There are many other options for increasing free disk space on a Windows
partition if you have another partition / drive.

The default allocation to System Restore is 12% 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.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System
Information, Tools, Dr Watson and verify that the box before "Append to
existing log" is NOT checked. This means the next time the log is
written it will overwrite rather than add to the existing file.

The default maximum size setting for Event Viewer logs is too large.
Reset the maximum for each log from 512 kb to 128 kb and set it to
overwrite.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

When you have made changes select Start, All Programs, Accessories,
System Tools, Disk CleanUp to Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove
Temporary Internet Files. Also select Start, All Programs, accessories,
System Tools, Disk CleanUp, More Options, System Restore and remove all
but the latest System Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter. When this
has completed restart your computer.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a 7 year old Compaq Presario 1800-XL190 laptop / 700 MHz P3 / 6G HD /
128 of RAM / OS: XP with service pack 3 installed.

I wish improve its performance. Part of my plan is to at least put in extra
RAM.

Good. 128GB of RAM is way too little for everybody. You should upgrade
to 512MB, and possible even more if you run particularly memory hungry
apps, doing things like a lot of editing of photographic images.

I would consider increasing the hard drive although I don’t tend to
store much on the laptop – I copy things to my home computer and then burn
CDs.

6GB is tiny, but whether it's enough for you depends on your
particular use of the computer. If you don't store much there, and
you're not having a problem with the amount of disk space, I would
leave it alone.

One specific issue I would appreciate advice on is whether I can (and how to
do so) delete some of the files in the Windows folder.

At present the hard drive cites 5.58 GB total size with 1.08 GB free.
At the C:\ level, the Windows folder properties cite a size of 4.25 GB
(24,100 files in 1,300 folders); the seven other folders (Cache, Programs
files, etc.) take up 1.16 GB (4,450 files in 1,660 folders).

Inside the Windows folder the properties cite the size as 4.25 GB, and size
on disk as 2.85 GB. I assume the latter # is smaller due to compression, no?

No. Files are stored in increments of disk space called clusters. If
your drive is NTFS, the default cluster size is 4096 bytes. So, for
example, if you have a file that's 4097 bytes, it takes up two
clusters, or 8192 bytes of disk space.

I think the original operating system may have been Windows 2000; would that
have been totally deleted when I installed XP?

That depends entirely how you installed it, and nobody can answer that
question correctly without knowing the details.

Is there a way to safely get rid of some of the extra junk in the Windows
folder? I realize that I could get into big trouble in a hurry!

There is very little that's junk, but there is some stuff can be
deleted or made smaller. But unless you are very comfortable in your
Windows knowledge, yes, you could get into big trouble in a hurry.

Moreover the amount you could save that way would be tiny and would
likely be just a stopgap measure. If you really have a disk space
problem (and again, from what you said earlier, you apparently don't),
I would advise buying a larger drive.

 

[JS]

First use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

If you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 3:
Look for an odd folder name which is located here
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\cf8ec753e88561d..........\
Note: the apparent random set of letter and number may vary from my
example above but whatever the name is, it will be more than
600MB in size and can be safely deleted.
You may also see a number of other folders or files located in the:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ directory
They also can be deleted.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C,
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...sys-hibernation-file-in-windows-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/hibernate.mspx
and: http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html

If you are using IE7 and then installed SP3 read the info below.
IE7 users will find the folders listed below on their hard drive:
$NtServicePackUninstallIDNMitigationAPIs$
$NtServicePackUninstallNLSDownlevelMapping$
They are needed to uninstall IE7. However, if you installed IE7 and
then installed XP SP3 you can no longer uninstall IE7 and these
folders can also be deleted.

Note: The recommended procedure before installing XP SP3 is to
uninstall IE7, then install XP SP3. Now you still have the ability to
install and uninstall IE7.

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www.pagestart.com/ntuninstall.html
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

If you upgraded your PC from Windows 98 to Windows XP.
The $Win98UpdateUninstall$ can be deleted.

You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx
Just follow the instructions but instead of increasing the size
(as stated in the article) decrease it.

Finally: Check the Recycle Bin one more time and empty it
if necessary as some of those files you deleted in the steps
mentioned above may find there way into the recycle bin.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307971/en-us

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308666

 

[Ron Badour]

I assume you will find a bunch of update files in the Windows folder that
start with: $NtUninstall
If so, these are updates that you have installed and if there is no need to
remove them (i.e., the computer is working OK), they can be deleted. You
can get rid of the files and the associated registry entries by going to MVP
Doug Knox' web site: click on WinXP Util in the left pane and in the right
pane, click Remove Hotfix Backup
--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP
Windows Desktop Experience

 

[Gerry]

DL

The CPU capacity could be the bottleneck and not just RAM.


--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have a 7 year old Compaq Presario 1800-XL190 laptop / 700 MHz P3 / 6G HD
/
128 of RAM / OS: XP with service pack 3 installed.

I wish improve its performance. Part of my plan is to at least put in
extra
RAM. I would consider increasing the hard drive although I don't tend to
store much on the laptop - I copy things to my home computer and then burn
CDs.

One specific issue I would appreciate advice on is whether I can (and how
to
do so) delete some of the files in the Windows folder.

At present the hard drive cites 5.58 GB total size with 1.08 GB free.
At the C:\ level, the Windows folder properties cite a size of 4.25 GB
(24,100 files in 1,300 folders); the seven other folders (Cache, Programs
files, etc.) take up 1.16 GB (4,450 files in 1,660 folders).

Inside the Windows folder the properties cite the size as 4.25 GB, and
size
on disk as 2.85 GB. I assume the latter # is smaller due to compression,
no?
I think the original operating system may have been Windows 2000; would
that
have been totally deleted when I installed XP?

Is there a way to safely get rid of some of the extra junk in the Windows
folder? I realize that I could get into big trouble in a hurry!

Any suggestions / comments on doing this?

TIA for your help!

If this system is 7 years old, frankly, I'd have to say that spending money
on it is just not a good idea. This is partly because not only is the
RAM that that system can take probably rather limited, that RAM is also
likely to be rather expensive since it's no longer made in quantity.

It's likely to be so expensive, in fact, that it's probably a better idea to
get a newer, used system. You may pay more for the memory than for a newer
system!

Plus, a 7 year old drive is on its way to mechanical failure and should be
retired.

For example, I've recently been buying 3-4 year old HP d7100 PC's, which are
3gHz Pentium 4 systems, with 40 gig SATA drives, DVD drive, an XP Pro
license, and at least 512 meg RAM (some have had 2 gig). All have cost
around $200, some as low as $160, without monitor. There are lots of
these kinds of systems around.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have a 7 year old Compaq Presario 1800-XL190 laptop / 700 MHz P3 / 6G HD
/
128 of RAM / OS: XP with service pack 3 installed.

I wish improve its performance. Part of my plan is to at least put in
extra
RAM. I would consider increasing the hard drive although I don't tend to
store much on the laptop - I copy things to my home computer and then burn
CDs.

One specific issue I would appreciate advice on is whether I can (and how
to
do so) delete some of the files in the Windows folder.

At present the hard drive cites 5.58 GB total size with 1.08 GB free.
At the C:\ level, the Windows folder properties cite a size of 4.25 GB
(24,100 files in 1,300 folders); the seven other folders (Cache, Programs
files, etc.) take up 1.16 GB (4,450 files in 1,660 folders).

Inside the Windows folder the properties cite the size as 4.25 GB, and
size
on disk as 2.85 GB. I assume the latter # is smaller due to compression,
no?
I think the original operating system may have been Windows 2000; would
that
have been totally deleted when I installed XP?

Is there a way to safely get rid of some of the extra junk in the Windows
folder? I realize that I could get into big trouble in a hurry!

Any suggestions / comments on doing this?

TIA for your help!

And as far as laptops are concerned, since the year your system was built,
displays have plummeted in cost, and that is one of the largest components
of a laptop's price.

Get a new or newer system, you won't be able to get much of a performance
gain from this one no matter what you do.

And any money you put into this system is going to just stay there.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If this system is 7 years old, frankly, I'd have to say that spending money
on it is just not a good idea. This is partly because not only is the
RAM that that system can take probably rather limited, that RAM is also
likely to be rather expensive since it's no longer made in quantity.

It's likely to be so expensive, in fact, that it's probably a better idea to
get a newer, used system. You may pay more for the memory than for a newer
system!

I didn't say this in my reply to quset's post, but let me add that I
agree with you. Buying a new laptop may very well be a much better
choice than upgrading the old one.

 

[Gerry]

Patrick

The CPU capacity could be the bottleneck and not just RAM

--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Patrick

The CPU capacity could be the bottleneck and not just RAM

All the more reason to replace the system as a whole.

-pk

 

[Bill in Co.]

But with only 128M of RAM, I'd think it's mostly with the RAM. Admitedly
a 700 MHZ CPU is a bit on the light side, but nothing like that RAM figure!

 

[Gerry]

Btll

Adding RAM just moves the goal posts on a still slow computer!


--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Phisherman]

I have a 7 year old Compaq Presario 1800-XL190 laptop / 700 MHz P3 / 6G HD /
128 of RAM / OS: XP with service pack 3 installed.

I wish improve its performance. Part of my plan is to at least put in extra
RAM. I would consider increasing the hard drive although I don’t tend to
store much on the laptop – I copy things to my home computer and then burn
CDs.

One specific issue I would appreciate advice on is whether I can (and how to
do so) delete some of the files in the Windows folder.

At present the hard drive cites 5.58 GB total size with 1.08 GB free.
At the C:\ level, the Windows folder properties cite a size of 4.25 GB
(24,100 files in 1,300 folders); the seven other folders (Cache, Programs
files, etc.) take up 1.16 GB (4,450 files in 1,660 folders).

Inside the Windows folder the properties cite the size as 4.25 GB, and size
on disk as 2.85 GB. I assume the latter # is smaller due to compression, no?
I think the original operating system may have been Windows 2000; would that
have been totally deleted when I installed XP?

Is there a way to safely get rid of some of the extra junk in the Windows
folder? I realize that I could get into big trouble in a hurry!

Any suggestions / comments on doing this?

TIA for your help!

Dealing with an obsolete machine can be a challenge, which is why most
would replace it. However, you can clean up the PC and delay buying a
new PC for awhile. At this point, modern software can bog down
performance. Find out the requirements of all your applications. You
can delete all the temporary folders/files, wallpapers, log files,
etc., uninstall unused applications, picture files, sound files, etc.
Find the large files on your drive and determine which ones are
absolutely safe to remove. With a small system like this I'd
consider a fresh bare-bones O/S install which is better than any
registry cleanup program. Of course, doubling your RAM will improve
your performance, but still, throwing money at a slow machine is not a
good value. Another option is to wipe out your drive and load Windows
2000, less bloated than XP.