Remove Unused Programs Freeing up disk space helps increase overall performance of your PC. Therefore, you should remove any programs or software that you don’t use. Note Before removing software from your PC you may want to ensure you have saved any keys or serial numbers that are needed for the software. Therefore, it will be much easier if you want to reinstall the software at a later date. Follow these steps to remove (and to view) installed applications on your PC, in Windows XP: 1. Open the Control Panel, as seen in Figure 6-9. Figure 6-9: Opening the Control Panel If the Start menu is in classic look, the Control Panel is under Settings on the menu. 52 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 52 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 2. Click Add or Remove Programs, as Figure 6-10 shows. Figure 6-10: Accessing Add or Remove Programs 3. The Add or Remove Programs window will appear.You may need to wait a few moments for the programs to load. See Figure 6-11 for an example. Figure 6-11: Add or Remove Programs utility 4. You can scroll up and down to view your installed programs. To remove a program, click the particular item and click the Change/Remove or Remove button, such Figure 6-12 illustrates. Chapter 6: Other Ways to Optimize Your PC 53 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 53 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-12: Removing a program Then the uninstall program for the particular software should appear and may confirm your action, as Figure 6-13 shows. Figure 6-13: Example of uninstall confirmation Clean Up Your Personal Files Organizing personal files and documents that are scattered through- out your PC and deleting old or unused files will help free up disk space. This also helps increase the overall performance of your PC. Here are some tips to keeping your personal files in order: • Create separate personal folders Start with creating folders for each user of your PC. For example, if it’s a family PC you may want to create a sepa- rate folder for each member, such as Figure 6-14 shows, in a convenient place such as the desktop or My Documents. 54 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 54 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-14: Examples of personal folders This way everyone has a place to save and create their documents, which helps keep the files on your computer organized. • Create sub-folders For each of your topics or interests create a folder, such as the following and as shown in Figure 6-15. Figure 6-15: Examples of sub-folders Chapter 6: Other Ways to Optimize Your PC 55 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 55 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. • Work Files • School Files • Church Files • Vacations • Family Pictures • Downloads • Periodically clean up your files Once in awhile you should go through your folders and delete any files you don’t need anymore. Especially look for and remove large files. • Empty the Recycle Bin Typically after deleting files they go to the Recycle Bin rather than being completely destroyed. After deleting files, especially larger files, you should empty the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin icon, as shown in Figure 6-16, is usually located on the desktop. Figure 6-16: The Recycle Bin icon To open it, simply double-click the icon. Then to empty the Recycle Bin, you can click Empty the Recycle Bin on the left task pane, as shown in Figure 6-17, or under the File menu on the top. 56 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 56 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. . confirm your action, as Figure 6-13 shows. Figure 6-13: Example of uninstall confirmation Clean Up Your Personal Files Organizing personal files and documents that are scattered through- out your. everyone has a place to save and create their documents, which helps keep the files on your computer organized. • Create sub-folders For each of your topics or interests create a folder, such. deleting old or unused files will help free up disk space. This also helps increase the overall performance of your PC. Here are some tips to keeping your personal files in order: • Create separate