wav files that Vista puts in your C:\Windows\Media folder to
be excessive, while others may scoff at the notion of worrying about such a
piddly quantity. (To put things in perspective, this is about the same size as
three photos from a 10-megapixel digital camera. It??™s also slightly more than
the total capacity of my first hard disk back in 1983.)
Naturally, it makes sense to be cautious when removing any files from your system.
The removal of certain files can cause some applications, or even Windows
itself, to stop functioning. It??™s always good practice to move any
questionable files to a metaphorical purgatory folder before committing to their
disposal. And I don??™t have to tell you that backing up your entire hard disk
(Chapter 6) before you clean house is very important and not all that difficult.
The easiest way to delete the stuff Windows considers expendable is to run
the Disk Cleanup tool (cleanmgr.exe), discussed in the ???Disable Disk
Cleanup??? sidebar.
If in doubt
Before you delete any questionable file, there are several things you can do
to get a better idea of what the file contains:
Why not open it? Start by double-clicking a suspicious file to open it in its
default application. If you then see the Open With dialog box, it means
the specific filename extension has not yet been registered. In that case,
your best bet is to drag-drop the file into an open Notepad window.
Investigate. Right-click the file, and select Properties.
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