Can anyone answer a pretty easy PC question? I have a 5 yr old laptop.

[henslee]

My C drive is almost full and my D drive is almost empty. Let me just say, I am not too PC savvy. Anway, this machine used to have only one hard drive but when I sent it back to IBM, they put in two (or maybe just one that is partitioned as C,D) Anyway, this machine is on its last legs, missing keys and I may not even have the operating discs. How can I intelligently move stuff from one drive to the other to free up space without causing problems? I am using Windows 98 version 2 and IE. My most important file is Word -- don't really care about much else except IE. I dont use Excel, though its probably on here. So is office. Any ideas. anyone?

[DemWitch]

1. Most new comuters come with

programs to take data off your old PC. I beleive it uses a USB port and cable and you plug the two together. Check out Help on your new PC to see if that's available. My laptop just melted down and I bought a cheap ass Compaq from Wally World, and it has the transfer program.

[auburngrad82]

2. Here's a few things you can do...

First, try cleaning up the drive by deleting temporary files. Click Start>Find and search for *.tmp and/or ~*.* Anything that either has a .tmp extension or begins with a tilde (~) are temporary files and can be safely deleted.

You can delete the cookies that are downloaded to your pc also. You do this by clicking Tools>internet options within IE. Be careful here, though. If you let IE save usernames and passwords so you don't have to logon to sites like democraticunderground then you don't want to delete your cookies since that's where your passwords are saved.

Uninstall any applications you don't use. Goto Start>Control Panel and click on Add/Remove programs. If you see any applications in here that you don't use then you can delete them. Be careful, though. Once it is deleted you will need the cd-rom to reinstall the app so only delete what you are sure you will never use.

You can move individual files simply by dragging them to the d drive. Create a folder on the d-drive so you know that whatever you put in that folder was moved from the c-drive (not really necessary but it will make it easier to find files that you move.) and then drag and drop the files you want to move. I would only move word documents, text files, etc that don't have any effect on applications.

[demnan]

3. Just move

your "my documents" folder Don't try to move programs because they are set up a certain way to look for their components in a particular drive.

Go to start, right click and go to Explore to see the drives on your computer. Copy from the C to D first; then go back after you've confirmed that the files are moved and delete them from C. Let me repeat for emphasis - Do not try to move any program files on the computer.

[zbird]

4. I wouldn't move any programs from drive to drive, but

I would move files (like Word documents, anything you may have saved off the internet). You will be able to access the files/documents if they are moved, but if you try moving programs, you run the problem of invalid shortcuts and settings.

Go into "My Computer" and double click on your "d" drive. Create new folders like "Word documents" "Downloaded files", etc. Then you can open up another window that has your "C" files then drag and drop into the "D" folder. That should buy you a little space, especially if you have lots of Word documents or if you download/save a lot from the net.

Also, go into Add/Remove Programs and uninstall anything you no longer need. You can also run "Disk Cleanup" (go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup). That may buy you a little more space. Then, empty your "Recycle Bin".

Good luck.

[henslee]

5. zbird, thanks. Thanks to everyone.... It all looks good.