clean install on XP pro w/ back up issue

[junkcollector]

Hi, guys! I'm a casual computer user spending most of my time on the internet while on computer. I bought this computer back in 99' and now the computer is FULL. Here are the specs:

Windows XP Professional (build 2600)
550 megahertz Intel Pentium III
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
19.22 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
6.19 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
HP CD-Writer+ 8100 [CD-ROM drive]
PIONEER DVD-ROM DVD-113 [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]
QUANTUM BIGFOOT TS19.2A [Hard drive] (19.26 GB)
c: (on drive 0) 5.45 GB 424 MB free
d: (on drive 0) 13.77 GB 5.77 GB free

I don't know enough even to know what specs are needed for the gurus to help figure my computer out so I'm pasting almost everything I could find. (Thanks for the sticky!)

My hard drive is so full that I'm thinking of clean installing. However as you could see above my C drive only has 424 mb so it is impossible for me to burn anything on CD to salvage what is necessary. I have a drive D that has all my downloads and drive C is mainly used for system stuff. My computer is soooo slow now because of the space issue, I think.

Should I buy a jaz drive to copy everything onto? Would it still require system memory (hard drive space)? What would be the best thing I could do? Thanks for any help in advance.

[snowmonkey]

You are on correct path, backup your file into CDs.
just get a pack of blank CD and backup / burn your files into them. If I were you, after backing up the files I would remove them from hard drive, or better yet, when you are sure that you have backed up everything then format the drive (s) and reinstall the operating system from scratch..that would boost the speed of your computer.


cheers

[junkcollector]

Thank you for your reply, snowmonkey. I'm unable to use the CD ROM which I think is the result of low hard drive space. That is why I was thinking of using jaz drive to back up. I don't know if copying things onto jaz drive requires hard drive space or not. I've noticed that when I try to burn a CD, it starts up fine then I get an error message to the effect of insufficient hard drive space. I'm stuck!
I wonder if I were to clean install (after finding out a way to back up), if I'd lose everthing on my D drive or it would affect only the C drive which has the operating system on it...

[snowmonkey]

you got tone of space of you "D" drive ... the reason you get that error is because your CD burning software need a temporary file which has 700 meg of space and since be default temporary space is set to "C" drive and you don't have that much space there , that's why it fails... you got to change the cd burning software setting to use "D" drive as a temporary location... and then you don't have to buy jazz drive. Just start the software and look carefully at the setting or advance setting.


cheers

[junkcollector]

Hi, again, snowmonkey.
I don't use a specific software to burn CDs. I always drag-n-dropped files straight into the CD Drive (F. When I checked the properties of the CD Drive (F, it says :
"Select a drive where windows can store an "image" of the CD to be written" and it has Local Drive D selected not C.
However when I tried again, it gave me the insufficient space error. What is going on???
Thanks again!

[braindead]

If you're like me you probably have a whole bunch of programs that you never use that you can delete to make the room you need. Also try system clean up to remove all your temp and cookies, and you might try compressing some of those folders since they work just as fast even compressed.
There's also a move command that you can use to move some stuff to the drive with some room on it. I'm not on my XP machine right now but I think it's on a right click.