cleaning out harddrive

[-Dman100-]

I hope this is the correct forum for the following information. If not, please let me know what would be a better forum.

I have been looking for a comprehensive resource either online or preferrably in a book that discusses how to clean out the harddrive. I've read lots of different articles and information online, but nothing fully detailed.

I routinely delete out my temporary internet files, internet history, cookies, temp files but I continue to see my harddrive space eroding at a faster pace than I would have expected.

Some information that I have read indicates that many of the files aren't deleted unless the files are deleted in DOS during bootup even though they show as being deleted from Windows Explorer. I understand that the same applies to Outlook email messages and newsgroup messages. I also have read articles that discuss how index.dat files can seriously eat away harddrive space as they archive all the URL's, website information, search keywords, etc., that you have visited. From the information that I've read, it appears that .dat files are very dificult to find and delete.

Other areas I'm looking to understand and learn to optimize in a PC are the registry and anything else that can help clear out old information from the harddrive and optimize the space.

I also read information about different software packages that clean files
from the harddrive like: Wipe, Evidence Eliminator, etc. These types of
software packages might be decent choices, but I'm looking to understand
what to watch out for and what can be deleted before investing in something
that might not achieve what I need.


So, is there a comprehensive book that discusses these topics? I've come across a few books that just point out some basics that I'm already aware of, but nothing that details the full gamut of cleaning, optimizing, and protecting privacy on a harddrive.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Dman100-

[SARGE]

First, get the below (free) v 1.16 version and run it to see how many leftover files you have. I've used it a long time and it works.

http://www.fsm.nl/ward/

Then get the below (free) to safely scan the Registry and clean it up.

http://www.toniarts.com/ecleane.htm

[-Dman100-]

Thanks for the information and help. I'll give these two packages a try. By chance, do you know of any books that discuss in depth these methods to clean your hard drive and protecting hard drive privacy? Thanks again.
-Dman100-

[Panama Red]

Don't know of any books, but if you are running XP, your hdd space may be eroding due to the system restore points filling it up. If you are running XP, try this. start/programs/accessories/system tools/disk cleanup/select your os drive/ok/more options tab/click clean up under the system restore area and follow the directions to delete all but the last restore point. Might want to check your data space before and after. HTH

[QuickSilver]

Just a fast search on www.google.com should turn up some programs that will aid you with this. I have had a couple of registry cleanup programs in the past that also included utilities for removing remnants of old programs.

Run Scandisk in thorough mode every now and then too. It helps keep your drive space from being reported incorrectly from files being written and deleted all the time. It's not the best util in the world, but it helps.