Freeing Up Disk Space

You can recover a lot of drive space by deleting unwanted files.

Delete temporary internet files:

Open Internet Explorer.

Select Internet Options from the Tools menu.

In the General tab, click Settings under Browsing History.

Change Disk Space to use to 12MB.

Click OK.

 In the General Tab, click Delete under Browsing History.

Delete Windows Update Backups

First you have to be able to see system files:

From Windows Explorer, choose Folder Options from the Tools menu.

Click the View tab.

Select the following:

Display the Contents of system folders

Show Hidden Folders

CLEAR OUT the checkboxes on the following:

Hide Extensions for known file types

Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended)

Click Yes to the prompt.

Click Apply.

Click Apply to All Folders.

Click Yes to the prompt.

Click OK.

Navigate to the c:\windows folder.

All the folders beginning and ending with a dollar sign are backed up files from before Windows Updates.  Most people do not need these backups, and if you plan on uninstalling any Windows Updates, stop here and do not delete any of these folders.

If you are comfortable with getting rid of the Windows Update backups:

Highlight all the folders beginning with a dollar sign and ending with a dollar sign.

Delete them.

These folders contain all the backups from doing Windows Updates.

Empty Your Recycle Bin

Now close everything and find your recycle bin.

Right-click it and select Empty Recycle Bin.