Run the Disk Cleanup Utility.

1. Click on Start
2. All Programs
3. Accessories
4. System Tools
5. Disk Cleanup

First you need to select the drive you wish to clean up and press OK. The Tool will then analyze your hard drive and calculate how much space you could gain by running this tool. This may take a few minutes. You will see a selection of data types and how much you could save by deleting them.

Downloaded Program Files: These are Active X controls and Java applets that you have downloaded / installed from websites. If you delete these files you will have to install them again when you visit the website which uses the applet or control. If there are any big applets or active x controls that you use regularly then maybe you should not delete them. If the space you could save you should consider deleting them.

Temporary Internet Files: When you look at websites some files will be saved on you computer to speed up browsing. This is especially true for images and JavaScript files. There is a big chance that you want to delete them all.

• Offline WebPages: same as above.
• Recycle Bin: Don't think I need to say anything else
• Temporary Files: You can probably delete them all.
• Whenever you start writing a word document without saving the content will be saved there.
• Compress Old Files: If you don't use files for a long time, Windows can compress them and save a little bit more space. Next time you use the file you may find that it will take slightly longer to open it though. Usually you won't save much space by doing it.

Next we will have a look at the More Options Tab

• Remove Window Components: There might be some features of Windows that you never use. Have a look through the list and uninstall them. You can always install them later again.
• Remove Installed Programs: Have a look through the list of software you installed. There might be some that you have forgotten about and that you don't use. Only uninstall those that you are not using.
• Remove System Restore: If you install and uninstall a lot of software then there is a good chance that this can free up a lot of space. Before you do this make sure everything is working fine on your computer

Convert Bitmaps

Many articles don't mention this step. Bitmap images can be very large and you can convert them to jpg and save a lot of space. You can convert a 2.3MB bmp image to about 0.1MB jpg image. It always depends on what is in the image.

1. First find the images.
2. Click on Start -> Search
3. Choose the option Pictures, Music or Videos
4. Select the box "Images and Photos" and enter bmp in the box "All or part of the file name:"

You probably want to change the way you view the images so you can see how big they are. To do this go to the menu and click on "View" and select "Details".

Now when you look through the list of images you need to make sure that you DO NOT convert images that are used by other programs as this my cause them to not work correctly.

If you have found an image open it with paint and click on "Menu - > Save as" and select the JPG image type. Then you can delete the bmp image.

Run Defragmenter Utility.

Click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

Since you have deleted a lot of files you can free up some more space by eliminating some holes on your hard drive. This will also speed up your computer a little.

If you have a large hard drive this might take a while. You can do this overnight but remember to switch all appliances that are not needed (i.e. Printer, Scanner, Speakers, Monitor) off to safe electricity.

Finished.

You should have now plenty more space. But I have to mention that you take the above steps on your own responsibility. I will not take and responsibility if something happens which will result in loss of data or anything else.