A lot of disk space is taken up by a default Windows installation in various temperorytemporary and backup data that may never get cleaned up on its own. Eventually you realize that the large multi hundred gigabyte drive you installed on, is actually running out of space.
What are your favorite configuration tweaks and routine activities
on a standard Windows Installation to keep it tidy and clean from a disk utilization standpoint?
There are probably,
- many things on the border of being safe
- some very specific to the flavor of Windows (XP/Vista/7?)
- and, some that are specific to commonly used applications (Symantec?)
Please flag your answer with such cautions, information to indicate special conditions and warnings to your best knowledge.
I'll add my points as an answer.
Update after a long time.
Unfortunately, this question has been generalised to that for finding unused-and-large files left on the system by the user themselves. It was not meant to be addressing that space. It was meant to focus on stray things that take up space as a side effect of WindowsTM behaviour or that of applications made for it.
With the exception of a couple of answers, most are biased towards tools to help people find their own mess --
I was more interested in finding other-people's-mess.
Well, I am going to mark my own answer as accepted and leave it at that.
Those who want that data, will find it here and
others upvoting tools that help find misused space will show the rest what they want.
