Need to get rid of bloat in XP, what can I delete?

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Is there a guide anywhere that shows what junk is safe to delete in XP? I use Ghost to back up my OS partitions and I'd like to chisel away at this 1.5 Gigs of XP bloat. Thanks.

And also, if there is a guide that will show me how to clean up the start menu I'd appreciate being pointed to that as well. It seems the program folders are stored in several start menu folders and last time I tried to go through them all I ended up making a mess.

I'm finally starting to use XP as my main OS, and coming from lean & mean install of 98 these two issues have been rather frustrating.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Black Viper XP Services is a great place for finding out which services you really don't need and can disable.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
Black Viper XP Services is a great place for finding out which services you really don't need and can disable.

Be warned that if you end the Cryptography service you are in trouble. It is used for installing programs, mainly Windows updates and other critical components.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Hi, I've got the services under control, I'm looking for actual files that are safe to get rid of. Surely all that bloat isn't needed. I've diabled system restore, so I shouldn't have any restore points taking up space, is there anything else?

 

[EeyoreX]

Not to mention, disabling services won't cut back on the size of your install. Other than MSN Messenger and the Online folder crap, I don't find "bloat" with my Windows XP. At least in terms of speed and stability. OS size doesn't phase me, not with the availability of monstorous hard drives for less than $1/GB.

\Dan

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

What online folder crap? And are all those hidden folders in the Windows folder safe to trash? I'm assuming they are uninstall folders for the updates.

 

[silverpig]

It's in c:\Program Files\Online something

It's just some crappy setup programs for AOL/MSN Explorer and the like I think. I never keep it around much longer than 2 minutes myself either.

 

[THUGSROOK]

WinXP lite

 

[MedicBob]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
WinXP lite

LOL, that is scary.


Safe link to click at work.