The Disk Cleanup Tool is part of Windows® XP; it helps free up valuable space on a Hard Disc Drive, by searching it for files that can be safely deleted, as they are probably no longer necessary.
A user may choose to delete some or all of the files suggested by the tool. Options are provided for cleaning up Windows components and installed programs.
The fastest way to launch Disk Cleanup is to press the Windows® log key + R.
(Alternatively; Click Start > Run; type cleanmgr > OK.)
There are other methods to launch the Disk Cleanup tool, such as:
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.
Open Windows Explorer or My Computer; Right Click the Hard Disc Drive that needs to have space freed up or ‘cleaned’; Click Properties > General Tab > Disk Cleanup.
When there is more than one partition on the Hard Disc Drive in the computer, the following dialog box opens, in order to select the drive that is to have the unnecessary files cleaned:
One of the settings in Disk Cleanup will show how much free space will gained if the option Compress Old Files is selected. (This option will compress files that have not been accessed recently.)
Compressing files will recover Disc space; however, they can still be used at any time in the future without adverse effects to the Drive or Computer.
No files are deleted, as they are “compressed” at different rates, the displayed amount of Disc Space to be gained is only approximate.
An Options button permits the user to specify the number of days to wait before Disk Cleanup compresses an unused file.
Clicking on the Options button (seen in the image above), will display the following dialog box:
This particular option is very useful, especially when running low on available disk space.
It should be noted, in order for Disk Cleanup to calculate the disk space to be freed; a time penalty will apply, as the utility will take time to display the dialog box with the various options (and respective space gains) that may be selected.
Another fact, unfortunately is, Disk Cleanup may occasionally stop responding entirely during this phase; should this occur it will be necessary to terminate the utility using the Task Manager.
To seriously speed things up; simply, ignore the option to “Compress Old Files”, and download the attached zipped file; unzip it; Double-Click, to execute, and install it..
The unzipped batch file, named NoCompressCleanup.bat, exports the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old filesfrom your Registry; saves it under the CompressOldFilesSetting.reg in the Program Drive (usually drive C:).
The batch file then deletes this key from the C: Drive Registry.
Utilising this batch file will produce speedier executions of the Disk Cleanup Tool.
To revert back to the original functionality to include the “Compress Old Files Option”, with this Tool; simply locate the CompressOldFilesSetting.reg file in the C: Drive; Double-click on it.
This action will instantly merge its settings to the Registry; thus, readily restoring the option to Compress Old Files when running Disk Cleanup.
BATCH FILE CONTENTS:
REG EXPORT “HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old files” %HOMEDRIVE%CompressOldFilesSetting.reg
REG DELETE “HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old files” /f
REFERENCES:
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
How to Automate the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
Disk Cleanup Tool Stops Responding While Compressing Old Files
A user may choose to delete some or all of the files suggested by the tool. Options are provided for cleaning up Windows components and installed programs.
The fastest way to launch Disk Cleanup is to press the Windows® log key + R.
(Alternatively; Click Start > Run; type cleanmgr > OK.)
There are other methods to launch the Disk Cleanup tool, such as:
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.
Open Windows Explorer or My Computer; Right Click the Hard Disc Drive that needs to have space freed up or ‘cleaned’; Click Properties > General Tab > Disk Cleanup.
When there is more than one partition on the Hard Disc Drive in the computer, the following dialog box opens, in order to select the drive that is to have the unnecessary files cleaned:
Compressing files will recover Disc space; however, they can still be used at any time in the future without adverse effects to the Drive or Computer.
No files are deleted, as they are “compressed” at different rates, the displayed amount of Disc Space to be gained is only approximate.
Clicking on the Options button (seen in the image above), will display the following dialog box:
It should be noted, in order for Disk Cleanup to calculate the disk space to be freed; a time penalty will apply, as the utility will take time to display the dialog box with the various options (and respective space gains) that may be selected.
Another fact, unfortunately is, Disk Cleanup may occasionally stop responding entirely during this phase; should this occur it will be necessary to terminate the utility using the Task Manager.
The unzipped batch file, named NoCompressCleanup.bat, exports the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old filesfrom your Registry; saves it under the CompressOldFilesSetting.reg in the Program Drive (usually drive C:).
The batch file then deletes this key from the C: Drive Registry.
Utilising this batch file will produce speedier executions of the Disk Cleanup Tool.
To revert back to the original functionality to include the “Compress Old Files Option”, with this Tool; simply locate the CompressOldFilesSetting.reg file in the C: Drive; Double-click on it.
This action will instantly merge its settings to the Registry; thus, readily restoring the option to Compress Old Files when running Disk Cleanup.
Hopefully this advice is useful…Enjoy!
Please Note: The .zip file mentioned in this article is available from the Comments page in the link at the bottom of this article.BATCH FILE CONTENTS:
Code:
@ECHO OFFREG EXPORT “HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old files” %HOMEDRIVE%CompressOldFilesSetting.reg
REG DELETE “HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old files” /f
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
How to Automate the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
Disk Cleanup Tool Stops Responding While Compressing Old Files
Run the Windows®XP Disk Cleanup Tool faster, with this handy advice.
