Cleaning out your PC

Aside from the shortcomings of software uninstallers there are other files on your PC that are created on a day to day basis. When you use certain applications, files are created that aid specific processes. However, once these are finished the files remain on your PC and are not deleted. For example, Word creates .TMP files or temporary files while you are working on a document. Once your document has been saved and closed, these temporary files still remain but are of no use. Another file type that can usually be deleted is .GID. When you perform a search in a help file these files are generated. They are recreated each time you perform a search so are safe to delete. See below for more details of file types, what they are and whether or not you should delete them.

Most software applications leave their folders behind in your Program Files directory. You’ve probably noticed messages such as ‘unable to remove the following’ when you’ve run an uninstaller. In most cases this is deliberate as the data left behind can retain information about you and your system. Then should you wish to reinstall the program at a later date this folder will personalise the installation accordingly. Browse your Program Files folder using Windows Explorer or My Computer and compare it with the list of applications displayed in the Add/Remove Programs list and you’ll be amazed at just how many folders are still left in the directory. Any that you’re sure you don’t need any longer just right-click on them and choose Delete. While uninstalling a file, you may see a message about a shared file no longer being in use. This is flagged up because the temporary file was used by more than one program, neither of which needs it any longer. You can usually click YES to delete these with impunity, but if this makes you nervous you can always click NO. They tend to be so small that the space saving is pretty much negligible anyway.

When is a deleted file not a deleted file? You’ve emptied the Recycle Bin, you’ve hit the delete key so the file is gone, yes? You would think so but the answer is, no. Although you can’t see it, the file is actually still present on your hard drive. All you have done is freed up the physical space on the drive so that it can be overwritten by another file instead. Until this happens there is still a trace of your original file on the disk. Although this isn’t a problem, there may be times when you want to be certain that sensitive data has been wiped from your PC, for example if you are selling it. A partial solution to this problem is to run the Windows XP defragmenter tool. This will move files around and overwrite certain areas of the drive that were holding ‘copies’ of deleted files. However, this isn’t a total solution so to ensure that everything has been thoroughly deleted you will need to use a specialist data shredder program such as Eraser 2002.

1 FINDING FILES
Using My Computer or Windows Explorer to pick your way through the folders on your hard drive, looking for files to delete, could take an absolute eternity. The easiest method of tracking down unwanted files is to use the search tool in Windows XP. 2 USING SEARCH
Click on Start > Search to launch the Windows XP Search Companion. From the list of options on the left click on ‘All files and folders’. If you wish to find and delete .GID files on your system, you can search by file type using the * symbol as a wildcard.

3 SEARCH AND DESTROY
In the ‘All or part of the file name’ box, searching for *.GID and click on Search. This will display every single file on your system that has this file extension. You can remove any files displayed in the Search Companion by right-clicking on them and choosing Delete.