All Windows XP installations create many temporary files that aren't automatically removed. Application programs also leave behind extra files after installation or updates that are never deleted. In as little as six months, a typical Windows XP computer can accumulate 300 MB of junk files. Sometimes these files are described as cruft. Hard drives have room these days for lots of files, but cruft is by definition useless. Getting rid of it is helpful if you use Symantec Ghost to image computers, because cruft increases the image size.

Locations of 'cruft' that can be deleted

You must login as Adminstrator to access these files. "ProfileName" means the user's login. Each login will have its own locally stored profile in C:\Documents and Settings. In all cases, delete the files, but do not delete the folders themselves.

• C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec \LiveUpdate\Downloads - delete all files in the Downloads folder.
• C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp
• C:\Documents and Settings\ProfileName\Local Settings\Temp
• C:\Documents and Settings\ProfileName\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxxx to delete XUL.MFL and XPC.MFL
• C:\Documents and Settings\ProfileName\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxxx to delete Urlclassifier2.sqlite (This is an anti-phishing database that will be recreated the next time Firefox is started. The file will probably be smaller).
• C:\WINDOWS\Temp
• C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch
• C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download
• C:\WINDOWS\ie7updates
• C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Setup Files