Cleaning up your computer's hard drive is a maintenance task that should be performed on a regular basis (about once a month). It will not only increase free disk space, but also keep your system running more efficiently.
This article outlines a thorough cleaning procedure to rid your hard drive of waste and optimize its file storage. You don't need to do all of these steps every time you clean your hard drive, but if you haven't cleaned it in a while, take the time to go through this list. The steps listed here are for Windows XP, but other versions of Windows should be similar.
1. Scandisk
The first thing you want to do is scan your hard drive for bad sectors, and (if any are discovered) try to repair them. Plan to run Scandisk at a time when your computer can be idle for a couple of hours.
Scandisk is an old DOS program that has been adapted into Windows' Error-checking tool. Most PC technicians still refer to it as Scandisk. To run Scandisk or Error-checking in Windows XP, double-click on My Computer (either on the Desktop or Start Menu) and right-click your hard drive. (This will usually be the C: drive.) Choose Properties from the menu that appears, and under the Tools tab, click "Check Now..." in the Error-checking box.
Select both options (one scans for bad sectors, the other tries to fix them) and click Start. Windows will ask you if you want to schedule Scandisk to run the next time you boot up your computer. Choose Yes, and when you are done using the computer, restart it. During the boot-up process a light blue screen will appear and Windows will run through its error-checking procedures. If you have an old hard drive and haven't run Error-checking in a while, it can easily take over an hour to finish.
2. Disk Cleanup
Once you've scanned your hard drive for bad sectors and hopefully repaired them, it's time to start deleting files you don't need. First, run a cleanup utility. Windows XP comes with a built-in tool called (appropriately enough) Disk Cleanup, which can delete temporary files, old setup files, and other unnecessary files. Disk Cleanup does a passable job, but for a more thorough gutting of deletable files, try a third-party cleaner, such as CC Cleaner. This program is free to download, and it will give you the option of deleting many more files, including temporary Internet Explorer and Firefox files, as well as temporary data for programs such as Word, Excel, or Quicktime. Whichever program you use, you'll be able to choose which files are deleted and which aren't, and most programs, after they run, will tell you how much disk space they freed up.
3. Remove old programs
Next it's time to delete old programs that you don't use any more. On the Start Menu, click on the Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs. You will see a list of all the programs that are loaded in Windows. Look through this list and uninstall anything you don't need or want, such as old print drivers or games you're tired of playing.
4. Delete unnecessary miscellaneous files
Now that you've deleted some old programs, look through your hard drive and see if there are other files you can live without. Music files and image files especially take up a lot of precious disk space. If you find files you don't want to get rid of but don't want to delete, consider moving them onto a CD-ROM or DVD.
5. Defragment
The last step to cleaning up your hard drive is to defragment it. Hopefully you've made a lot of room on the disk; running the Disk Defragmenter will help Windows organize all that free and used space to better advantage. Go to My Computer and right-click on your hard drive. Select Properties from the menu, and under the Tools tab, click the "Defragment Now" box. When the Disk Defragmenter program opens, click Defragment. Like Scandisk, this process can take a while too - usually most of an hour. Run the Defragmenter when you can afford to be away from the computer for a few minutes.
After completing all of these steps, your hard drive should have more free space and your computer should generally run a little faster. Running a disk cleanup utility and the Disk Defragmenter once a month will keep your hard drive streamlined and better able to handle all the demands you place on it, as well as (hopefully) keeping it healthy longer.