Freeing up disk space on XP

If you're like me and have a laptop with XP you'll know that you don't have a huge hard disk. Thus, keeping that disk space down to the minimum is essential.

Windows XP’s System Restore is a great way to recoverer your system after you’ve made a configuration change or installed new software that your computer doesn’t quite see eye to eye with.

Did you know that every 24 hours, or when you make a change to your system, XP will create a new restore point? Did you also know that these stored restore points can use up to 12% of your hard disk space?

Therefore, should you find that you have a need to free up some of that valuable disk space, what can you do? Well one thing you can do is to delete all but the most recent restore point - providing of course that you are happy with the current setup. To do this you need to use Microsoft's Disk Cleanup utility.

Use the following workflow:

1. From the Start button, navigate to Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Cleanup
   
2. On the Disk Cleanup tab, check or uncheck the files to delete, then click the OK button. I usually allow the system to clear out Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Microsoft Error Reporting Temporary Files, Recycle Bin and Temporary Offline Files
   
3. Click the More Options tab
   
4. In the System Restore area, click the Clean up button
   
5. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete all but the most recent Restore Point. If you are sure you want to do so, click the Yes button