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UPDATED: July 2010 - Updated items are marked with (NEW)
Step 9 is new and provides an easy way to greatly reduce the size of the bloated C:\Windows\Installer folder without causing any problems. Other than this I cleaned up the post quite a bit and only left items that were useful and safe.
(NEW) After doing a restore on a 901, I installed AutoC2D, a ton of programs including Office 2007, all windows updates, and after following the steps in this guide ended up with about 1.5 GB of free space on my C: drive. So anyone should be able to get XP working comfortably on the 901 without too much work.
Let me know if there are any mistakes, oversights or anything that could be added. I attempted to only list procedures that produce substantial gains in free space. Thanks to everyone whose suggestions have been incorporated.
Here's the main list of procedures for cleaning up space on your C: drive.
If you are using the version of Windows XP that came with your 901 then some of these steps will have already been done for you.
1. Go to add/remove programs in the control panel and remove anything you don't want. Also click on add/remove windows components and remove anything you don't want.
2. Turn off the paging file. Right click on my computer in the start menu, click properties, click the advanced tab, click settings under performance, click the advanced tab, click change under virtual memory, click no paging file and click set.
3. Turn off system restore. Right click on my computer in the start menu, click properties and click the system restore tab.
4. Turn off hibernation. Control panel->Power Options->hibernate tab
5. Delete anything in your profile temp directory (note that it's a hidden folder) and your windows temp directory. If you get an error deleting certain files just skip them.
C:\Documents and Settings\[profile name]\Local Settings\Temp
C:\WINDOWS\Temp
6. Delete anything in the ServicePackFiles folder. These will only exist if you installed a service pack after installing windows. This will prevent you from uninstalling the service pack.
C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles
7. CCleaner. This is a free utility that will help clean up various temp/log/cache files. In CCleaner, tick the box next to hotfix uninstallers under advanced. Then click the "Run Cleaner" button.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/slim
8. Eee PC Shrinker. Run it, tick the boxes for "Windows SP2 and hotfix temp files", "Windows download temp files" and anything else you are comfortable removing.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/EeePC/ … rinker.zip
http://dlsvr04.asus.com/pub/ASUS/EeePC/ … rinker.zip
(NEW) 9. Use the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility to remove orphaned installer files.
Download and install it from here:
http://majorgeeks.com/Windows_Installer … d4459.html
Then copy and paste the following into the run box in the start menu and click ok:
"C:\Program Files\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" G
(note that this includes the quotes and the G)
Check the size of your C:\Windows\Installer folder before and after to see how much space is freed.
10. Clean out the dll cache folder.
Type the following at a command line window:
"sfc /purgecache"
If you're not sure how to open a command line window: start menu->run->type "cmd" and click ok
If you want to understand what clearing the dll cache actually does then read the following first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_file_protection
11. Delete all files used for windows updates. I suggest running Microsoft update first to make sure everything is updated (http://update.microsoft.com). After deleting these folders, if you run Microsoft Update manually it will re-download any deleted files needed to perform the updates (so this is safe).
-In the control panel under automatic updates turn off automatic updates.
-Stop the automatic update service by right clicking on my computer in the start menu, click manage, click services and application, click services, on the right pane right click on automatic updates and click stop.
-Delete the following two folders including all contents:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download
12. Asus released a utility that essentially makes all programs installed to "C:\program files" reside on the D: drive. Some people have reported having problems with the utility, so I suggest reading the short manual for it carefully and only doing it if you've got to this point and still need more space. This should be safe to run if you've just done a full restore of Windows XP and will make installing programs easier, as they will automatically install to D:.
AutoC2D can be downloaded here:
http://dlsvr.asus.com/pub/ASUS/EeePC/Ee … oC2D_3.zip
13. If your "My Documents" folder is expected to get large, or already is, you may want to move your "My Documents" folder to the D: drive. If so, here's how.
Right click on "My Documents" in the start menu, click properties, click on Find Target to find your new folder location and then click Move.
A few other tips:
This is obvious, but If you're not using AutoC2D you should manually install applications on the D: drive, at least the larger ones.
I recommend that you avoid installing any versions of Microsoft .NET. It takes up a lot of space, and any .NET program will usually have a suitable replacement. If you have installed .NET you can uninstall all versions and hide it from Microsoft Update to avoid installing it again in the future.
Run windows CheckDisk. Filesystem errors can sometimes cause free space to be incorrectly calculated.
Go to My Computer, right click on the C: drive, click properties, click tools, click check now, tick "automatically fix filesystem errors", do not tick the second box, and then click start. It should prompt you to reboot the computer.
If you're not using Internet Explorer then you should just leave it at version 6 (the version that comes with XP). Set the cache size of your browser/s to about 20 MB.
When you update your version of Sun Java make sure you uninstall older versions first.
If you want to move any of your other special folders such as the desktop folder to another drive you can do this easily using tweakui, which is a free utility from Microsoft.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ … ySetup.exe
In TweakUI it's under My Computer->Special Folders
There's a free program called WinDirStat which graphically shows how much space different files and folders are taking up. It's probably not very useful for a fresh install, but could be useful later on.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat/
Another option is SpaceMonger which is possibly better but is nagware:
http://www.sixty-five.cc/sm/
Last edited by Jasked (2010-08-10 10:40:52 pm)
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Nice summary! 
I normally would use ntregopt (registry optimizer) to pack the registry after all the tweaks are made.
Last edited by Benny Lo (2008-08-16 3:09:47 pm)
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nice guide, i didn't know about the dll cache folder
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Great help! Many thanks.
Is there much risk when turning the system restore off? This saved me about 1/2 gb.
What is the risk if I purge the dll cache folder?
Cheers!
tett
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tett wrote:
Is there much risk when turning the system restore off? This saved me about 1/2 gb.
What is the risk if I purge the dll cache folder?
There is no significant risk to disabling system restore. By restoring to old restore points, I find that some users tend to cause more problems with it then they are able to fix with it. If you find you're about to do something risky with your system you could re-enable it temporarily, set a restore point, perform the risky operation and then disable it again when everything seems fine; this is the best way to use system restore.
The risk involved in purging the dllcache folder is minor. It's possible that installing a program could overwrite a system file with an older version and cause problems. I've purged dllcache on a few dozen systems and was never aware of it causing any problems. The risk increases if the user is is frequently installing programs, especially old ones.
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Jasked wrote:
There’s a program called SpaceMonger which graphically shows how much space different files and folders are taking up. It’s probably not very useful for a fresh install, but could be useful later on. It’s free to use for 30 days.
http://www.sixty-five.cc/download/
Great list.
By the way, windirstat is free and also shows how much space is being used.
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love the guide. Should I be concerned about the SSD writes to a 12GB model running XP? Is it worth moving Documents and settings to another drive?
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Hi,
you can remove more windows components if you remove the "hide" commands in c:\windows\inf\sysoc.inf
just use search and replace to get rid of the "hide"s and there will be more removal options visible
bye
DT
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Deep Thought wrote:
you can remove more windows components if you remove the "hide" commands in c:\windows\inf\sysoc.inf
just use search and replace to get rid of the "hide"s and there will be more removal options visible
Just a heads up for anyone wanting to try this, make sure you backup sysoc.inf before you play around with it. Removing some HIDEs will add useless blank entries to the add/remove dialogue and some will cause it to crash, but as long as you can restore the original file then you should be fine.
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Very useful information. I wish it were a sticky.
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Moving your profiles for Thunderbird and firefox to d: drive is also a good way to save space. I found that I got a lot of free space especially after moving the thunderbird one, as I have a lot of saved e-mails.
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Hope this is considered on-topic but, as well as slimming down XP, I'm interested in advice on how I can avoid cluttering up the limited C drive space when installing new programs.
I've just got a new 901 XP and before I start re-arranging programs the factory install (rounding off figures) is:
C drive - free 1.73GB; used 1.98Gb with XP SP3 1.4GB; Docs&settings 100MB; Programs 560MB
D drive - free 6.70GB; used 1.36GB with Adobe 200MB; Works 200MB; Staroffice 800MB
So the factory install of 1.4GB for XP including SP3 looks acceptable but I don't want to use up any more of the C drive free space than I have to. I intend to uninstall Adobe, Works and Staroffice and install Office 97, Firefox and Foxit. However, never having worked with split drives before, I'm unsure whether programs such as Office 97, which change registry settings, have to be installed on the same drive as Windows or whether it can be installed on the D drive. (I know that Firefox and Foxit would be OK on the D drive because I could install portable apps). My knowlege is limited so I'm trying to think carefully before I start changing things and mess it up!
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pelican wrote:
Hope this is considered on-topic but, as well as slimming down XP, I'm interested in advice on how I can avoid cluttering up the limited C drive space when installing new programs.
So the factory install of 1.4GB for XP including SP3 looks acceptable but I don't want to use up any more of the C drive free space than I have to. I intend to uninstall Adobe, Works and Staroffice and install Office 97, Firefox and Foxit. However, never having worked with split drives before, I'm unsure whether programs such as Office 97, which change registry settings, have to be installed on the same drive as Windows or whether it can be installed on the D drive. (I know that Firefox and Foxit would be OK on the D drive because I could install portable apps). My knowlege is limited so I'm trying to think carefully before I start changing things and mess it up!
The following might give you some hints on however to move directory "My documents" and "program files" to another drive.
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=41391
Could you clarify whether your mentioned "Office 97" is really "Office 97" or the newest "Office 2007"?
Even if you do all the recommended steps, I am not sure whether any files would be written into system directory "c:\Windows" during installation of Office 2007.
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Benny, this was one of the threads I read after searching but none of them appear very clear on which programs can only be installed on C drive and which programs could be installed on a choice of drives if necessary.
I'm OK with moving the My Documents folder but on my 901 both the C drive and the D drive have folders called "Program files" and I assume it is not possible to move the whole C drive "Program files" folder to the D drive. But I note, for example, that Skype is in the C drive folder and MS Works is in the D drive folder and I was wondering if there are any criteria for determining what type of program gives a choice of install destinations. I can try installing my new programs and see what happens but I'm hoping to avoid the usual mess I've got into on the few occasions I've set up PCs in the past.
I definitely mean Office 97 (not 2007). I find OpenOffice clunky and Office 97 with converters does everything I need.
I'm now searching for a list of programs in the C drive folder that I can safely uninstall without adversely affecting XP. For example I assume I can uninstall the MS Live stuff; unwise to uninstall IE; but not sure about things like MS SQL Server, Movie Maker, Windows Media Player etc.
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If you have read the link in my previous post, you would know that the method of moving the program files directory is not 100% safe. As it depend on the design of specific program on how to handle the installation and uninstallation process.
Even if you reinstall a new nLite XP and set the "Program files" directory in D:, I have seen some old program that program path had been hard coded into drive letter "C:\program files".
You can try to select custom installation of Office 97 and change the program path to other drive letter. I believe MS wouldn't do the above stupid thing.
My eeepc had uninstalled/deleted all the MS Live, MS SQL Server, Movie Maker, and Windows Media Player.
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nice, will try a few of these tonight.
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i followed a wiki post here about installing on SDHC (programs) - it is a clever way and mimics c: drive so more compatible
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Also if you are on XP SP2 the XPLite will allow you to strip out masses of junk. See other threads and here: http://www.litepc.com/xplite.html
Really good but only in beta and paid for if you are on SP3.
I nLited XP with SP2, ran XPlite then upgraded to SP3 and then removed stuff as described here
S
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pelican wrote:
I was wondering if there are any criteria for determining what type of program gives a choice of install destinations.
Almost all programs will give you the option of where you want to install them, with a few exceptions as was mentioned. The criterion Asus has used for what programs to put on the D: drive is how much space the program takes up--programs that take up a lot of space have been placed on the D: drive.
Programs like Firefox and Foxit are so small you might as well put them on the C: drive. Office suites, however, are much larger and should probably be placed on the D: drive. Programs can always be uninstalled and reinstalled if you choose to move it from one drive to another.
Last edited by Jasked (2008-09-01 8:32:17 am)
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Benny Lo wrote:
Even if you reinstall a new nLite XP and set the "Program files" directory in D:, I have seen some old program that program path had been hard coded into drive letter "C:\program files".
That's why I made a junction from "C:\Program Files\" to "D:\Program Files\" and from "C:\Documents and Settings\" to "D:\Documents and Settings\"
That way anything that make an assumption of "C:\Program Files\" will still find its components.
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I take some test with Junction tool and is grate. But i have a question.. How you can copy all document and settings from same profile to another location? As usually some files like NTUSER.dat cant copy because is allready in use.
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Someone please turn the info. herein into a proper wiki entry.
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Great guide, thanks, got me from circa. 200MB free 
to 1.1GB !!
However, my only issue was with :
Jasked wrote:
If you're using Internet Explorer you should set the disk cache to something reasonable like 50 megs, as the default is very large. Tools->Internet Options->Browsing History Settings
as this caused Windows Update to die......when going to the update page, selecting either Express or Custom resulted in the usual initial searching, followed by an error screen......tried all sorts to resolve, but - in the end - it seems I needed to up the cache back up to 150MB. I have since moved this cache to the D: drive....
Figured I would post this in case anyone else falls foul to this, at least it can be fixed easily
Last edited by kevpuk (2008-10-10 8:27:21 am)
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You could install a ramdisk (such as fixed media disk of Gavotte ramdisk) at 256M-512M and put the temporary internet folder pointing to it. Surfing would seems like to fly!
Last edited by Benny Lo (2008-10-10 8:40:16 am)
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I hope this is on topic. I wish I had known about this site before I tried to install Win XP Sp2 to my eeepc 900 with 1gb ram and 20 gb ssd, C: 4gb and D:16 gb Black. I followed all the instructions in the eee PC manual for installing Win XP and removed all the partitions and now only have the 4 gb C: drive which XP Sp2 and EEE PC Drivers disk installed on ok and runs reasonably but is limited as only have about 900 mb available. Was never given the option tol reformat the D: drive. Now cannot find the D: Drive in My Computer but when go to Device manager can get the system to see it but not recognize it. What do I need to do to correct this. Original OS was Linux from eee pc. Any help would be appriciated.
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