Hi Joyce,
It looks like you're trying to make a duck out of a duckling.
It may quack like a duck and sometimes even walk like a duck ,but it's still not a duck and
will collapse under its own weight ,since it still has duckling legs .
If it's a "mini" , treat it like a mini.
To start with ,while with a 15 GB drive you can certainly install a full copy of XP (SP2 in your case)
you may be better off to install a "mini" XP.
There's a lot of extra "fluff" in XP and removing it will give you a smaller footprint.
Here's an interesting forum thread
http://superuser.com/questions/37528/bare-minimum-hard-drive-space-to-install-windows-xp-sp3-professional
One way of doing it is to prepare a "shrunk' version is by using nLite.
There's enough info in the next links to do this.
nLite http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html
http://abz89.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/how-to-make-your-own-windows-xp-lite-cd-installer-with-nlite/
http://computermess.blogspot.ca/2011/05/how-to-use-nlite-to-slim-down-and.html
Another source is Bold-Fortune's "Slimming Down XP"
It uses a number of batch files to remove files from selected areas in Windows.
While in this case the files stay on the drive as backup, there's no reason why you couldn't
save the folders and files outside on a DVD or USB flash drive or other storage medium.
Here's a sample of how this evolved
http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/index.php?showtopic=9399
Complete list at that time. http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/index.php?showforum=68
However for all the work that went into this ,I think the guy deserves a donation.
http://boldfortune.blogspot.ca/
This takes me back to the time I started doing this. (actually even way before this)
I've used ISOs as small as 90 MB - about 250 MB as compared to the 600 MB of XP w.SP2
Installed size just about 1 GB or less. More like closer to 2GB for a basic full XP install.
Have used smaller ,like 50 MB ,but that doesn't offer much usability.
If you're not up to this ,start taking inventory of what's taking up the space.
A good utility is TreeSize Free http://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/
It'll give you a good idea where the "hogs" are.
You can delete most if not all of the $NTUninstall files in the \WINDOWS folder.
If the KB update is ok ,there's no need to keep those files.
http://technical-issues-tips.blogspot.ca/2007/08/tips-reduce-size-of-windows-folder.html
Do a disk cleanup http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
Turn off System Restore or if not turned off, reduce the amount of space used.
Turn off Hybernate
Those 2 alone take up a lot of space on the drive.
A lot of Updates can be uninstalled ,especially many of the security updates, since most of them are only POC
(Proof Of Concept) and have never been exploited.
Notice: This is NOT general advice, it's strictly directed to the recipient.
Uninstall duplicate programs:
Having both , Office 2007 and Microsoft Works would be duplication.
Works is a subset of Office ,which means that all its components are not as elaborate as in the Office Suite.
Decide which one you want to keep, based on what you use in each one, but don't keep both.
You uninstalled Java ,but Java is not that large (30 MB download and (installed) folder is about 75 MB)
Is used a lot on websites ,but see how you fare without it.
Don't re-install Adobe X , instead try Foxit Reader ,much smaller. http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/
As for a browser, your space can certainly accommodate that.
Firefox is ok (download 17 MB) ,but Opera is lighter both in size (download 11 MB) and operation.
It's certainly not as much of a memory hog like Firefox.
For email use Outlook Express (somebody is ready to kill me for that)
but OE is a very capable email client on XP. Never mind the overblown security concerns.
Don't overload the Inbox or other folders and keep those folders compacted.
Just run it sandboxed if one is so worried. See below, or
Use webmail in a protected (sandboxed) browser
One program I'd definitely recommend is Sandboxie. Not only does it allow you to surf safely,
all surfing residue can be wiped out with a few clicks. Very important since browsers collect an awful lot of redundant temp files.
No fear of infection of malware or virus etc
You can still install an AV and anti-malware program like MSE or run AV programs off a USB drive.
Lean towards portable programs wherever you can.
Try to keep a minimum of at least 2 GB free space, actually more like closer to 3 GB if you want to run a full DVD.
Granted ,some is taken up by RAM ,but temp used space is borne by the hard drive.
Getting too close to having no free space will lock up the system ,so it won't even boot anymore.
There's probably a lot more, but this should get you started.
Peter E.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Joyce A" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:38 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [PCSOFT] Overwhelmed notebook
"Baby" is a HP Mini with a 15.1 gig HD, running Windows XP SP 2. 10.2
gig of the little HD is taken up with Windows software and Windows
updates! There's only 4.95 gig free space after I took out a _bunch_ of
software including (reluctantly) Firefox and Thunderbird,Java, Adobe X,
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9, Roxio, and a couple of other things I did not
really want to remove. (I had to take a lot of pictures and WMVs off of
it one at a time; it didn't have enough memory left to create a CD!)
The rest is necessary -- or is it? I know MSSE is essential if I want
to use "Baby" at the library (and of course, I want to). So is MS
Office 2007, and I use it and MS Works a lot. Mostly "Baby" is my
diary, date book, and logbook computer.
I have turned off Windows updates, but there are still a bunch of these
updates in the Control Panel. They include a 63.7-meg "Compatibility
Pack for the 2007 Office System" including several security updates
dated August and September 2012; an unidentified, undated and unsized
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Security Update; a 185-meg Microsoft .NET
Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 update installed in March, May, June and
July of 2010; a 169-meg Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2 also
installed in 2010; and a 28-meg Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1.
Security updates for Windows XP and Windows Media Player include very
much older ones from as far back as February 2009 up to the present
date, and there is a countless gang of them! I'm sure they're taking up
yet more critical space on the little HD. Can I take out the ones dated
2011 and backward without any harm?
Later today, I need to install Adobe Reader and possibly "mobi" or
another reader on "Baby," so I can use it to read some books that are
only available to me online. I hope doing that won't take me back to
the point where I had only about 35 meg of memory left!
Thanks in advance! As always, I greatly appreciate your help!
Joyce
SE Ohio
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