When using any version of Windows your computer will gradually build up a lot of junk files. These junk files have a purpose when they are created but if they are not cleaned up occasionally they can start to take up a lot of space on your hard drive, which is your main storage area. The sort of files that accumulate at a great rate are:
And lots of other files that are less important. Please note that a full cleanup may lose some stored passwords in cookies. All temporary and temporary internet files will be removed. Some software uses .tmp files. Check your system first. It will also delete any files in the Recycle Bin. If you've been using the Recycle Bin to store files, remove them first and store them in a safer place, like My Documents or make a new folder.
There are several options for Cleaning up.
Cleaning up Internet Related Files Only
Go to Control Panel > Internet Options. You can also use the Tools menu on Internet Explorer and go to Internet Options. It's more efficient if Internet Explorer is closed while you do this so the Control Panel method is better.
On the General tab, click on “Delete Cookies”, “Delete Files” then OK and the window will close.
Using Windows Disk Cleanup
All versions are similar - but this procedure is for Windows XP Double Click the My Computer icon or the My Computer entry on the start menu Right Click the drive that needs a clean up - usually c: but you might have more partitions or more than one hard drive. They will all be listed - but DON'T try to clean up a CD or DVD drive.
Go to Properties on the Right Click Menu and click on the “Disk Clean Up” button The Disk cleanup Window will open and do a disk search and then open a screen that offers several options of “Files to Delete” and displays how much space is being used. Click the check box for the files you'd like to cleanup and click on OK. There is an option to view the files.
The following third party programs do a much better job as they are more efficient that the Windows Disk Cleaner method and recover far more space. ATF is the best to use, if you've never tried a clean-up program before. The Windows Disk Clean up utility doesn't do as good a job as the following programs do.
Using ATF
You can download ATF Cleaner from here: ATF Cleaner
This program is for Windows 2000, XP and Vista and is one of the safest cleaners available. If you aren't confident with CleanUp! or Ccleaner as listed below use this one. To use the program just double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe.
Under Main check “Select All” Then click the “Empty Selected” button. If you only use Internet Explorer, this is all you need to do. For users of Firefox and/or Opera check the selections for each, or both as described here:
For Firefox browser Click Firefox at the top and check “Select All” Click the “Empty Selected” button Please note If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
For Opera browser Click Opera at the top and check “Select All” Click the Empty Selected button. Please Note If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt. Click “Exit” on the Main menu to close the program.
This will remove all files from the items that are checked so if you have some cookies you'd like to save, please move them to a different directory first.
Using CleanUp!
You can download and install Cleanup! from here - this is a second option if ATF Cleaner or ccleaner aren't available. CleanUp!
Open the program, it will be listed in the Start > Run > All Programs list
Click on the “Options” button:
Check only the following items until you are more familiar with the way cleanup programs work.
- Empty Recycle Bins
- Delete Cookies
- Delete Prefetch Files
- Scan local drives for temporary files
- Cleanup All Users
Click OK and you go back to the main window. Click on CleanUp!
When the Cleanup is completed, close the program.
Ocassionally Cleanup! cleans a little too enthusiastically and you may need some help if you find you may have been too ruthless. You can't recover the removed files, but lots of files can be replaced by various methods.
Using ccleaner - Crap Cleaner
If you are working on Malware removal this is the one to use
CrapCleaner can be downloaded from here: ccleaner
These instructions are for use with the current version. If you are using an earlier version please update to the most recent. Do not use an older version on a 64-bit version of XP or Vista. This is a much more thorough cleanup. It covers more parts of Windows and all the cleanable items in several other applications. Check the items listed for the applications that you have. It also has some additional options and tools that should be used only with great care, probably only with advice from an expert for a specific reason. Don't use the “Issues” (older versions) or “Registry” (newer versions) utility without some expert advice. It makes changes to the Windows registry. It does keep a backup, but it's not necessary to clean the registry on a regular basis. It can be required as part of removing stubborn software and some malware.
During the installation uncheck the option for the extra toolbar when it appears.
Before the first use of ccleaner, select Options > Advanced and uncheck “Only delete files in Windows Temp folder older than 48 hours”
Open the program and a screen will come up with several options that are already checked. Some items may be greyed out. This means that option isn't available or not normally used. Unless you are also cleaning up to protect your privacy, then uncheck the following on the Windows Tab.
- Recently Typed URLS
- Last Download Location
- Recent Documents
- Search Assistant Autocomplete
- Other Explorer MRUs (Most Recently Used)
Uncheck the following on the Applications Tab, unless you are cleaning up to protect your privacy
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
- Ahead Nero Burning ROM
- Google Earth
- Office XP
Uncheck all the items under Utilities
Uncheck all the items under Windows (on the applications tab)
Click on the “Analyze” button. It will scan your computer and the items planned for removal will be listed in the window on the right hand side. If you are happy that listing after checking through, then Click “Run Cleaner”
Do not use the Clean Registry Option or Issues Options unless you are an experienced technical user. The damage can be irreversible and leave your computer unbootable and in a state that requires a reinstallation of Windows or even professional repair assistance
Clean your Java Cache
These instructions apply to the current version of JRE only. All previous versions should be uninstalled and the most recent version installed as per this item in the wiki.
How to Install the most recent version of the Java runtime environment JRE
Open Control Panel and double click on the Java entry. A console window will open.
At the bottom of the General Tab is a “Delete Files” button. Just click on that, select the three items on the next window that comes up and click on OK.
As always, ask on the forum if you are uncertain about any item or which program is the best to use in your situation. If you are a new user, use Windows Disk Cleanup. It rarely causes any problems. If you have a lot of accumulated rubbish then Crap Cleaner is probably the best option and gives you more options to protect your privacy.
If you use Youtube a lot you may quite a few of these as well as those placed by Flash based ads on websites. Clearing temporary internet files and cookies will not delete these. They are not plain text files like cookies.
For Windows Users Adobe have an interactive web based system that displays your LSOs and lets you remove them
On line Flash Cookie Removal
Tutorial here:
Flash Cookie Tutorial
For linux users these LSOs are generally located here (to find in a file explorer you will need to enable hidden files) ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/
Interestingly, even after the LSOs are cleared you still have a folder list of all the sites visited and all saved .swf files are not gone. You will need to delete these manually. Cleanup programs don't remove them.
Objection Extension for Firefox - works for Windows and Linux
Firefox Objection Extension for Control of Local Shared Objects
For linux you will need to tell it where the files are as above - copy and paste