Deleting Temp Files

These files will be left in your \Documents and Settings\your username\Local Settings\Temp folder.

Other files are in c:\windows\temp

Use extreme caution in deleting these files.

You can use Windows Explorer to find and delete these files. To be on the safe site, don't delete files with today's date, these files could still be in use (most probably you'll get an error telling you that a file can't be deleted because it's in use).

Deleting other files
Other files you could delete are files with these extensions:

.tmp
.dmp - Dump file. When Windows (or an application) experiences a crash, a memory dump is performed. If you don't use these files (for trouble shooting), delete them, you can save quite a bit of space!
.bak - Backup file; when a new (data) file is created, some programs will rename the old version with a .bak extension. Be careful when removing these files.
.cnt - Help-related file; ever notice those tables of contents when you launch certain Help files? If you don't need a table to help you navigate through a Help file, delete these. They will not come back.
.fts - Help-related file; when you perform a search with a Help file, this is created to make all future searches be performed quicker. E.G., not worth having around unless you use Help files on a daily basis. They are re-created if you do a search in a Help file, so these should be regularly scanned for and deleted.
.gid - Help-related file; when you run a Help file, it creates a GID to make future accesses to that particular help file a tad quicker. They're a complete waste of space. You'll have to delete these on a regular basis, as they are recreated with every Help file execution.
.old - Old file; see .bak.
.~mp - Temporary file; see .tmp.
.$$$ - Old file; see .bak (usually, not always)
.000 - Old file; see .bak

Disk Cleanup Tool Stops Responding While Compressing Old Files
This article applies to…
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS
When you try to compress old files, the Disk Cleanup tool may stop responding (hang) and you receive the following ...<< MORE >>

Issue:

NTOSKRNL.EXE is missing or corrupt.

Related errors:

    Below is a listing of the full error message that may be related to this error.

    Windows NT could not start because the below file is missing or corrupt:

    C:\Winnt\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe

Cause:

       1. Keyboard issue
       2. Miscellaneous corruption
       3. Corrupt boot.ini file.
       4. Missing boot.ini file.
       5. Missing or corrupt ntoskrnl.exe file.
       6. Windows NT installed on a partition bigger then 7.8GB
       7. Corrupted hard disk drive or severely corrupted Windows.

Solution:

Keyboard issue

    This issue has also been known to be caused by a short in the ground wire in the keyboard cable. Make sure this is not the cause of your error by replacing the keyboard with a different keyboard or simply just disconnecting the keyboard from the computer.

Miscellaneous corruption

    Before trying any of the below recommendations it's recommend that you attempt to load the last known good configuration. Additional information about doing this can be found on document CH000626.

Corrupt boot.ini file

    This issue is often caused when the boot.ini is missing or improperly configured. This issue often arises after a user has recently added or removed an operating system on the computer or added or removed hard disk drives in the computer.

    Make sure the line pointing to the operating system and it's drive and partition is properly configured in the [boot loader] and [operating systems] section. Additional information about boot.ini can be found on document CH000492.

Missing boot.ini file

    Microsoft Windows XP users:

    If the boot.ini is severely corrupted or missing a user running Microsoft Windows XP can rebuild the boot.ini to resolve this issue. Additional information about rebuilding the boot.ini can be found on document CH000648.

    Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000  users:

    To restore the original boot.ini file in Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000 you will need an ERD and follow the below steps. If you do not have an ERD you will be unable to follow these steps.

       1. Boot the computer with your Windows NT three setup diskettes or the Windows 2000 setup disc.
       2. In the setup menu, type R to start the repair.
       3. When prompted for the ERD diskette insert the diskette and inspect the startup environment.

Missing or corrupt ntoskrnl.exe file

    If the ntoskrnl.exe file is corrupt or missing this can also generate the error. To restore this file follow the below steps.

       1. Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD. Note: If you have a recovery CD or a restore CD and not a Microsoft Windows XP CD it is likely the below steps will not resolve your issue.
       2. Reboot the computer, as the computer is starting you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD. When you see this message press any key.
       3. In the Microsoft Windows XP setup menu press the R key to enter the recovery console.
       4. Select the operating system you wish to fix, and then enter the administrator password.
       5. Type expand d:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32
       6. You will then be prompted if you wish to overwrite the file type Y and press enter to overwrite the file.
       7. Type exit to reboot the computer.

Windows NT installed on a partition bigger then 7.8GB

    If you are running Microsoft windows NT 4.0 on a partition larger than 7.8GB this issue can occur if the boot files are located outside this limitation. When this error occurs your computer will have the error message as shown below.

    OS Loader v4.01
    Disk I/O error status=00000001
    Windows NT could not start because the below file is missing or corrupt: winnt\system32\Ntoskrnl.exe
    Please reinstall a copy of the above file.

    If your system partition is larger than 7.8GB you will need to delete the partition and recreate the partition to 7.8GB or less. Additional information about this issue can be found on Microsoft KB Q224526. 

Corrupted hard disk drive or severely corrupted Windows

    Attempt to check the hard disk drive for any errors by running the chkdsk error. To do this follow the below steps.

       1. Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD. Note: If you have a recovery CD or a restore CD and not a Microsoft Windows XP CD it is likely the below steps will not resolve your issue.
       2. Reboot the computer, as the computer is starting you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD. When you see this message press any key.
       3. In the Microsoft Windows XP setup menu press the R key to enter the recovery console.
       4. Select the operating system you wish to fix, and then enter the administrator password.
       5. Once at the recovery console type chkdsk /r
       6. Once completed type exit and see if issue is resolved.

    If after trying all of the above steps you are still encountering the same issue it's likely that Windows is severely corrupted and it is recommended you attempt to reinstall Windows. Additional information about erasing the computer and starting over can be found on document CH000186.

    Finally, if during the Windows installation you encounter errors it's likely that your hard disk drive is bad.

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from Starting
The information in this article applies to:
" Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
" Microsoft Windows XP Professional
This article was previously published under Q307545
SUMMARY
This article describes how to recover a Windows XP system that does not start because of corruption in the registry. This procedure does not guarantee full recovery of the system to a previous state; however, you should be able to recover data when you use this procedure.

You can repair a corrupted registry in Windows XP. Corrupted registry files can cause a variety of ...<< MORE >>

Hide Users on the Welcome Screen
When you add an account for certain users with Windows XP, their user names will appear on the Welcome Screen. Sometimes a user needs to be added to a Windows XP machine, because he needs access (via the network) to resources on the machine, but he will not be physically logging in on the computer. You can remove his name from the Welcome Screen, while still maintaining the user account.

Start the Registry Editor
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList ...<< MORE >>

To completely remove network stack

" Run a repair on Internet Explorer
" Remove all protocols from Network properties
" Remove Networking Devices from Network Properties (not from device Manager)
" Use Add/Remove Windows compenents from Control panel to remove all under communications.
" Regedit - remove keys from Hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset\services\ :
" Winsock
" Winsock2
" Any other Winsocks here
" VXD\Winsock
" VXD\Winsock2
" Any other VXD\Winsocks here
" RemoteAccess\Authentication\SMM_Files
" VXD\DHCP *
" Reset the computer and add all networking back.

How do you use AOL's IMAP/SMTP servers?

The AOL IMAP and SMTP server addresses are:

imap.aol.com (port 143)
smtp.aol.com (port 587)
Log in to the IMAP server using the appropriate AOL screen name (with any spaces removed -- "John Doe" becomes "JohnDoe" or "johndoe" -- this is what we call "normalizing" a Screen Name) and that Screen Name's AOL (not AIM) Password.

The SMTP server requires authentication in order to send mail through it. Just as with the IMAP server, log in using the normalized AOL Screen Name and its AOL Password. You do not need to ...<< MORE >>