You can get a lot of space back if you delete all of the files in:
C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch

Sometimes you have a lot of these if your computer crashes frequently
C:\WINDOWS\Minidump

How to protect against Spyware:

Use programs like Ad-aware
and Spybot Search and Destroy
Don't download activeX controls from the internet.

Spyware can make your system slowdown

Thanks! You deserve a hands up ! But I strongly advise against deleting ALL files in the prefetch folder, because some of those files are linked to the registry and can mess up your computer if you don't know what your doing....And thanks for the Minidump folder thing! It had loads of files!!!

You can delete the files in WINDOWS/Temp to. And a good thing to make your pc faster at the startup is to have a light destop, with few icones. That can make your computer faster at the startup.

It is also usefull to check your system-configuration on a regular base, to see what programs are launched during startup.

start>execute> type msconfig>startup

You can use this website: http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php to find out what files are needed by your operating system.

Files in the startuplist, that launch programs you don't need, can be deselected by clicking the checkbox.

My computer crashes frequently ... one of these days it will likely burn too LOL. I've had a lot of problems with spyware and adware in the past but I run SpyHunter nightly now and as far as I know, it's keeping things clean.
I have never heard of prefetch or minidump before. Where do go to clean these out - and how can I be certain I won't be deleting something I will need?
(Sorry if these seem like stupid questions but I really hadn't heard these terms before)

Jodi H.

I reckon it's a wee bit safer to use a trusted cleaning utility to clean up useless stuff.

I use WashAndGo to do that.

Here's how I make some space on my hard drive:

Im am using a registered version of TuneUp Utilities 2004 from http://www.tune-up.com - works good on getting rid of junks and temporary files, also fixes and optimizes your system.

Using the basic disk cleanup utility on the Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools

Using the defrag data utility on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools(only when the drive needs defragging)

I also clean up some folders that contains some unimportant files, some are as follows:

x:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Temp
x:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\<application that uses temporary file storage> - kinda useful(since some applications like Adobe Photoshop uses a lot of temporary memory[its scratch disk])

x=Disk Drive Letter

I always clear out my internet cache, cookies including all offline files that I get from the net. Internet Explorer Tabs -> Tools -> Internet Options... -> General Tab -> Delete Cookies/Delete Files(including offline files)

Check your download directory, especially if you have a fast internet connection.

I often download large packages into temp. Sometimes you end up with a .zip file which creates a directory with the same name and all of the unzipped files underneath.

I currently have 12.5G wasted in temp. One big one is the trial version of Dreamweaver.

js

I just save my files to my desktop and delete them once I'm finished. Windows has many processes that are unnecessary. Goto http://www.blackviper.com/ and find the ones you can disable. This will increase speed for Windows by not running those programs you don't use.

Don't forget to delete the stuff in your temporary internet files folder. This folder gets filled up when you visit websites. Its the same place where it stores cookies and images to make pages load faster.