What Files Can Safely Be Deleted on Windows XP?

Here's what you can safely delete from Windows XP.

There are many files that can be safely deleted from Windows XP. With few exceptions, however, they should not be deleted by the user directly but should be deleted using Windows-based tools. When you manually delete files instead of deleting using the built-in tools, you may inadvertently delete files that are vital to the healthy operation of your computer. Fortunately, pretty much all of these removals can be done automatically:

Windows Components

Windows comes with lots of added software, which may or may not prove useful to you. A few examples of components that you may want to remove are things like WordPad, the very basic built-in word processor for Windows; the card game Solitaire, and Windows Messenger. If you don't use these applications, there is no reason to keep them. You can remove them with the "Add or Remove Programs" application in the "Control Panel" by selecting "Add/Remove Windows Components."

Recycle Bin Contents

When you delete something on Windows XP, it doesn't actually get deleted. Instead, it gets moved to a special folder called the "Recycle Bin." If you know for certain that the files you intended to delete are no longer necessary, you can simply right click on the "Recycle Bin" and click "Empty Recycle Bin." This can free up quite a bit of space if you are not in the habit of doing this regularly.

Temporary Internet Files, Internet History and Cookies

Under Internet Explorer, you can choose "Tools" and then "Internet Options" to find a list of different things that can be safely deleted from Windows XP. This includes your "Temporary Internet Files," "Cookies" and "History." Each of these can be safely deleted from your computer. "Temporary Internet Files" is exactly what it sounds like. These are files downloaded from various websites that are no longer needed. Internet Explorer stores them in case you visit the sites again, but you can choose to delete them and just download them again as needed. "History" is a list of websites you visited, which can also be safely deleted. "Cookies" can be safely deleted too, but keep in mind that if you have asked a website to "Remember me on this computer," that information will be deleted with the cookie.

References

• Grown Up Geek: How Do I Free Up Disk Space?
• Microsoft: How to Add or Remove a Component in Windows
• Microsoft: How and Why to Clear Your Cache