Disk Cleanup

Through normal use of your computer, unnecessary temporary files build up. They take up space on your hard drive which can lead to poor performance. You can safely and easily delete these files.

To clean up your hard drive:

Older versions of Windows: If your computer is running an older version of Windows, you will need to manually delete the files in the various folders that hold temporary files, such as "Temporary Files", "Temp Files", "Temporary Internet Files". These folders are located in the Windows folder.

To delete temporary files: On your desktop, double-click "My Computer" and then double-click "Windows". You will need to delete the files WITHIN all folders with the word "temporary" in them (but don't delete the actual folders, themselves.) Double-click to open each folder. Then go up to "Edit" on the menu bar and down to "Select All". Then press the delete button on your keyboard.

Newer versions of Windows (XP): Go to "Start", up to "Accessories", over to "System Tools", and over to "Disk Cleanup". Your computer will take a few minutes to determine how much space you'll recover by cleaning up your disk. When the dialogue box pops up telling how much space disk cleanup will recover, click "Ok". Then, click "Yes" when it asks you if you're sure.

(See the Scheduled Tasks page to learn how to have your computer automatically run Disk Cleanup.)