Windows 95 -98

I am a bit of a computer dimwit,so to satrt off i purchased a second hand system that used to run on windows 95 an was upgraded at some time to windows 98.
Due to an extremly full c drive i have recently set it to run on Fat32 (freeing up more space).
Thinking i could free up more space on c i went to the find file operation an did a search starting with A(alphabetical start) to see what it would come up with,it proceeded to spit up around 6500 files ,some dated as far back as 1980.
It seems a lot of the stuff on there is the windows 95 stuff back.
Am i able to delete these things in order to regain the areas they are holding.
Or does the windows 98 rely/draw on these files in order to still operate?.
Also - next to these listed files is a last modified colum,are these dates actually dates of when the files were modified or is it only a record as to when the files were last accessed?.
I am thinking that if the system has reaccessed these files in order to run with 98 that all the old ones(95)would have been reinstalled,through activation.
Would this be correct?.
Sytem i am using is a compaq lap.
I have sort of found out by fiddling around with it that some of the things i am dealing with are programs,an in the past when i have tried to get rid of one it has come up with program cant be deleted.
Would there be a way around getting rid of o;d programs that have been updated with the newer 98's?.

Any suggestions appreciated.

PS-If by some stroke of idiocy i am able to completey stuff my system (close both windows operations etc)will my system still start?.

 

Welcome to the boards.
It is very hard to advise which files that can be safely deleted using the file dates as the criteria to decide.
The modified dates are exactly as they are described, the last time they were modified.
Updated windows programs are already gone.
If you cannot delete a program while windows is running, it is in use, or has been used and has not been released by the system.
This system sound like it was 95, then someone did an upgrade install of 98. While most of the 95 OS files were overwritten, there will be numerous files left over. This is the reason most of us would suggest a clean install when upgrading.
For example, the 95 program named Microsoft Exchange, which is called Window Messaging in 98, will leave numerous files, and so will MSBackup.
Note for others reading this post, this Microsoft Exchange I mentioned is not to be confused with Microsoft Exchange Server. This particular 95 Exchange does email and fax services. The 98 Windows Messaging is not to be confused as similiar to XP's Windows Messaging.

 

Download a program called Easy Cleaner by Toni Arts. The program is free, but you have to join their site to get the program directly from Toni Arts. But the program is still free for the downloading from third party sites. Do some Googling to find it for free.

This program is excellent at helping you get rid of all unncessary and dead entries in your computer. It will underclean, rather than over clean. You can safely just dump everything it finds.

The only caveat is do not use the DUPLICATE FILES category. Unless you know what you are doing, you may need the duplicate or you can run the risk of dumping the wrong file. Repeat. Do Not Use the DUPLICATE FILES category. Everything else is just fine.

 

Hi isayner,

Been there a few times!

There may be a few other areas for you to check:
Go to the Printers folder in Control Panel and see if there are any unused printers. Highlight them and right-click, select delete.

Open each one of the programs you have listed in the Start menu. Go to File > Open (or however you find saved files). See if there are any you don't need. If you cannot delete them from within that program, write down the name of the file then use Find to delete them.

As RayH and markp62 suggested, it is not safe (for the Operating System, ie Windows) to just delete files if you are uncertain what they are.

Matt
PS after you are sure all the garbage is gone, do a defrag.