# C Drive **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522 "2002-11-29T18:53:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msquestion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@msquestion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msquestion)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/1 "2002-11-29T18:53:30Z")
I have an IBM Aptive. It says the C Drive is full. How do I delete unwanted “stuff” from my C Drive? Thanks again and again for all the help. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/2 "2002-11-29T19:05:50Z")
If you have Windows98 or later try clicking on Start then Run and type **cleanmgr**. That’s the simplest, least-you-need-to-know way to get started. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/3 "2002-11-29T21:18:33Z")
Do a search for your temporary files (\*.tmp). Almost all should be deleted. Also check your temp directory (c:\windows mp ?) for files you don’t need. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/4 "2002-11-29T21:35:26Z")
Also, go to Add/Remove Programs (in your Control Panel, accessible by Start/Settings/Control Panel in Win9x, directly on the Start menu in XP) and look for things you know you don’t use anymore - but do NOT remove things if you don’t know what they are for. Add/Remove Programs is always my first step in getting space on my HDD, but I have a lot of games installed that I hardly ever play. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/5 "2002-11-29T21:39:56Z")
Open the My Documents folder and delete all unwanted files. From a operating system standpoint it is safe to delete all files in this folder, just do not delete any you want. Open IE, under the tools menu select Internet Options and click the delete files. Check the “Delete all offline content” check box You can also uninstall old programs to free up space. Click the add/remove programs icon in control panel to accomplish this. Empy the Recycle Bin. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/6 "2002-11-30T01:07:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\*Do a search for your temporary files (_.tmp). Almost all should be deleted. Also check your temp directory (c:\windows mp ?) for files you don’t need. \*\* Files in the C:\Windows\Temp directory are fair game, but it is not a good idea to indiscriminately delete .tmp files. Some applications use that extension for files whose deletion could cause the loss of data in said application. It won’t hurt your OS, but you might end up regretting it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/7 "2002-11-30T02:23:18Z")
All this is good advice, but the very first thing you should is open the recycle bin and empty it. Double click the trash can icon and click on the empty recycle bin button (or whatever it is) and accept it. This could solve your problem right there. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/8 "2002-11-30T12:42:17Z")
[http://www.thirdring.net/tips/freeingupdiskspace.htm](http://www.thirdring.net/tips/freeingupdiskspace.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-drive/139522/9 "2002-11-30T14:06:56Z")
Another approach: search the hard drive for really BIG files. Think “graphics.” Some years ago, a lady in my life owned a PC I had built for her, with a 2.1 GB hard drive. She called one day just a couple months after receiving the PC to tell me her C: drive was full. (At the time, 2.1 GB was a LARGE hard drive.) Incredulous, I drove to her house and immediately noticed the flatbed scanner sitting there quietly, lurking… Explorer showed my a _single file_ that was nearly 1.6 GB – by several degrees the largest single file I had ever encountered, roughly large enough to completely fill two CD-ROMs. It turned out to be a scanned-in 8"X10" color photograph of her self-enamored but utterly air-headed teenage daughter. (Another scan file in the same folder measured something over 250 MB – same subject, different portrait.)