Disk Cleanup has unexpected benefits (Microsoft Windows)

Disk Cleanup is something each user should do, and every support tech should insist on. Even giant drives with hundreds of free gigabytes will function more effectively if unnecessary files are removed. Most users know to empty the Recycle Bin, but Windows XP and earlier Windows versions offer a direct way to delete temporary files from a variety of locations.

Double-click on My Computer, right-click on the drive to be cleaned, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. Click Disk Cleanup on the General tab and check off the items you want to remove. In Windows XP, you can choose to remove Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Offline Web Pages, Microsoft Error Reporting Temporary Files, Office Setup Files, Recycle Bin, Temporary Files, Web Client/Publisher Temporary Files, and Catalog Files For The Content Indexer. You can also compress files you rarely use.

Click on each option to display a brief explanation of the files affected. You can decide whether to delete each type of file. Obscure problems can often be cured by cleaning up old files. For example, users may have trouble displaying the source code for web pages in Notepad. Cleaning out the Temporary Internet Files is often the only way to fix this problem. You can add Disk Cleanup to Scheduled Tasks to prevent problems before they appear.