In message , didee58
writes:
Not new to computers,but seems i am dumb-a-- about stuff never had to do
before.I have XP sp2,Drive C: has only 12% free Drive D:99%free space. So
don't have enough space to even defrag.have done all the remove
cookies,etc.Tells me to remove files i no longer use or are unneeded.What
constitutes unneeded,How do I know,and where are they? I mean I go to all
that and when I bring up the files on the drive it just looks like a bunch of
gobbly-gook to me.
And why is everything on Crive and nothing on Drive. Can I move files
one to another,and which ones are safe to do so? And yes I have read the
books,but just don't seem to be getting it right.Usually when I get answers
from these news groups it always works,and makes it a OH Yeah that's how you
do it moment.
Thanks to all of you,who help all of us who are not tech savvy.

Most software assumes that you only have one partition/drive, so
therefore instals itself on C:, and also defaults to storing all the
data it handles (documents, pictures, sound files, videos, whatever)
there too.

These days, a lot of people (me included) think it is better to keep
programs separate from data.

You can safely move most of the _data_ from C: to D: (note - dragging in
Explorer will _copy_ rather than _move_ when going between partitions
_unless_ you hold down shift when you let go - the opposite of what
happens when you drag within the same drive).

It is worth modifying the settings for as many programs as you can find
how, to use a folder on D: by default. If you _don't_ do this, you may
move most of your data over, but any new data those prog.s create will
still go to the C: drive.

For the operating system: if you right-click on the desktop icon for My
Documents and select properties, under the Target tab you will see a
Move button. (I use "D:\document.s" - no "My"; I've also renamed the
desktop icon itself. YMMV.)

For Office 2003: Open Word; Tools, Options, File Locations; click on
Documents, then Modify. This changes the setting for all of Office
(Word, Excel, etc.). Note that unlike the operating system, changing
this setting will _not_, I think, actually move any existing files, only
change the default location for future ones. You may also wish to change
it for other parts of Office, like Templates. (You can safely put them
in the same place if you want - templates are .dot files, documents are
..doc, so they won't get mixed.)

For Internet Explorer, it's Tools, Internet Options, (General tab,
)Temporary Internet Files, Settings, Move Folder (may vary slightly
between versions).

For other software, it'll _usually_ be something similar.

Note that software which maintains several indexes of files - such as
some photo software that allows you to have the same physical image file
in more than one "album", and some sound-file-handling utilities - need
to be handled carefully to maintain the indexes.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

"`You can run,' shouted Scotland Yard's Inspector Boothroyd in triumph as he
clutched the last remaining bottle of noxious potion and watched Dr. Jekyll leap
to freedom through the shattered window, `but you can't Hyde.'" - R.L. Bryant,
1992 Bulwer-Lytton