Simple? computer question

[BobT]

When running Windows Disk Cleanup, is it safe to select everything and execute or are there some things one should leave unchecked.

For example, in XP is it safe to select these for cleaning?

"Setup log files"

"Temporary files"

Windows indicates it is safe to clean out those older than 5 days. Will Disk Cleanup use discretion if I select this item?

What about "compress old files?" Are there issues to be aware of or is this a good item to select?

Thanks,

Bob

[lotsofish]

Setup files yes

Temporary files yes

I would not really suggest compressing old files. If you are really hurting for space maybe. The problem is once you compress, every time it has to access the compressed files it's going to take a lot longer because it has to uncompress them.

Are you running low on space? Hard drives are pretty inexpensive compared to what they used to be. A 80GB will run around $40 online, 160GB about $55.

If you are running low on space and don't want to upgrade just yet, I would copy any pictures, music or other media files that you don't use all the time onto a CD-R or DVD-R and delete from the hard drive. (Make 2 copies of the disc just in case.)

[Sandmannd]

You can also get an external hard drive fairly cheap these days and connect via USB and back up all your stuff on there. I agree, I don't like compressing. Get rid of your Temp and setup files though. They can take a lot of room up and aren't needed.

[lotsofish]

An external hard drive is a great idea, but just make sure that your computer is capable of USB 2.0 in case it is a little older. The USB 2.0 standard came out in 2000, but it wasn't widely adopted until 2004. There are USB 2.0 expansion cards that can be added to older computers. If you were to use USB 1.1 for an external hard drive, you'd be very unhappy with the results. (Like taking several minutes to copy a few megabytes.)

Keep in mind though that even at optimal speeds, an external USB hard drive will still be about half as fast as an internal hard drive, but it should be sufficient for media storage.

[BobT]

Thanks. I was particularly hesitant about temporary files when I saw the statement in the help about temporary files should be safe to remove if over 5 days old. From what you're saying, I suspect the disk cleanup program won't delete any temporary files that would create a risk?

It's not a space issue yet, just considering routine maintenance and my options.

Bob

[lotsofish]

Nope, I don't really see how it could cause a problem. Temporary files are just that, temporary. If you have some program running that is making use of some temporary files, it's either 1) not going to delete them because access to the file is locked 2) delete the file and the program just automatically creates a new one or 3) you might see an error message and/or have to restart the program (pretty unlikely).

Temporary files and Temporary Internet files are two things that can add up after a while and there's no harm in deleting them.

[Whoaru99]

Which brings up a good point.

One should check their size allocation for temporary internet files. Often, this cache is set very large by default. One can easily reduce it to 50-100MB and not build up as much junk.