23. Removing Unnecessary Files and Programs

Having Windows 7 your way also means that you get to decide which files and programs you store on your computer’s hard disk drive. That’s important, because bad things can happen if your hard disk gets too full. Not only do you run out of space to store new stuff, but it also affects your computer’s performance; a too-full hard drive slows down your PC.

So it’s important that you learn how to remove the stuff you don’t use or need from your hard drive. That’s what this chapter is about.

Hard Disk Capacity—Enough Is Never Enough

It always seems like you have more than enough space on your hard disk—when you first get it. Back in the mid-1980s, we marveled at the huge 10MB (that’s megabytes—not gigabytes ...

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