Did I clean out too much?

What you can do is create a new folder on your desktop, open recycle bin, click Edit, click Select All, and right drag everything to the folder you created. Choose MOVE HERE since that will be your only choice other than CANCEL.

Once the files are all moved, you can reboot the computer to see if things are all working correctly, including any graphics or sound programs you have that might have been using some of those types of files you deleted. If all is well after a day or two of checking, you can delete the whole folder completely and empty the recycle bin.

Most of what you mentioned as having removed are normally bloated waste on the harddrive. I haven't used a screensaver in eight years now, and I have dumped every windows .avi file and .bmp that represent either a tutorial or a wallpaper that I wouldn't be caught dead using anyhow....and I've had no ill effects, even using XP now.

I also have checked alot of the .txt files and .hlp and other help type files (like for solitaire, hearts, etc) that go with programs that I've installed separately to see if I need the information in them (such as games) and deleted them as well.

Back when there were only 540MB harddrives, every little bit of space saved was essential...now with 250GB drives, I tend to leave those types of files alone even if I don't use them ever.

TONI

go to Outlook Express and go to Tools/Options and look for check marks in 'save a copy of sent files' and uncheck it. If you want to save a copy of an email that you plan to send, put your own email addy in the BCC header line and send yourself a copy of it instead.

On the Maintenance Tab, put a check mark in 'empty deleted items on exit'. This will automatically delete all deleted emails from your harddrive as you close OE. If you don't do this, your Deleted Items folder will appear to be empty, but every email you have ever deleted will still be on the harddrive and that file all by itself (along with the Saved Sent Items) will eat up harddrive space quickly.

TONI

Grandpaw,

You can't expect this forums members to be clairvoyant and knowing what files you put in the recycle bin, which really would be necessary for a well-informed opinion.

So just a few general remarks:
1. Original Windows files are located in the Windows folder (but never in the windows\temp subfolder or in Temporary Internet files) and some subfolders of Programs Files. If none of your deleted files came from there, the risk is very small, if not zero.
2. There's no harm at all in leaving files you suspect being necessary for a few days, or weeks or even months in the recycle bin (except for taking some disk space), until you're content that everything works.
3. Original Windows 98 files can be restored from the Windows 98 CD with SFC. Try running this program to search for 'missing files' (and missing files only). If none are found, that's a big step towards knowing you didn't delete too much.

Hope this helps,


Kees

...I frequently clean out the junk on my computers but always try to keep track of which "junk" I'm deleting. Take it slow, make sure to leave the deleted files in the "Recycle Bin" for as long as you feel it's necessary, run through all your programs to make sure they work correctly (restart the computer a couple of times to make sure no error messages pop up), then, when you're ready, delete the files from the Recycle Bin.

Hope this helps.

Grif

is that it's got a specified default amount of your harddrive to use for space. As you delete more things that enter the recycle bin, if that drive space gets used up, it will automatically remove permanently the oldest stuff first in order to make room for the newest deletions. You can do one of two things to get around this issue:

1. move the files you deleted from the recycle bin to a new folder on your harddrive for a while until you realize everything is working and they can be deleted permanently then

2. right click the recycle bin, choose Properties, and give it more harddrive space to reserve for itself

TONI

...Mine's always empty, except when doing cleanups such as those mentioned in this thread.

Good point Toni.

Grif

I'm having a myriad of problems with the way things are displayed, the size, color and such, but I'll try to work those out before I ask for help.

What I would like to know is how to restore the color settings other than 16 color, which is now the only color setting available to me. My CallWave program, which alerts me to calls when I am online, says it can't work without 256 or more colors. How can I get the other color settings back on my computer?

Though I guess the info is now obsolete, I deleted to Recycle Bin mostly jpg and tex tiles, but also bmp, aol and some other ones. I decided that the txt files were safe to get rid of so I deleted them from Recycle Bin, along with the aol and some other files that pertained to programs I no longer have or use. I restored the 700 or so jpg and 20 or so bmp files. I have Windows 98. I also did the SFC thing with my Windows 98 SE disk. It did not come up with any delted files and only one altered file.

Right now, I'm worn out, but I do appreciate all of the help; I just wish I had asked for it earlier and followed it better. grandpaw

Grandpaw,

Great info. I don't think Windows needs any jpg-files; the only ones I find in my windows folder are in Temporary Internet files, which - of course - should be cleaned from Internet Explorer>Tools>Options to get rid of them.

Please tell a little bit on the remaining jpg-files (which folders are they in, what's their name) and I think that somebody will be able to give a good and safe advice on what to do with them.

The color settings are a quite different problem. The recipe is: right click on your desktop, choose properties, go to the settings-tab and choose from the available options (I've got16, 256, high and true). If there's nothing higher then 16 available, that can have two causes. Only YOU can tell which one is the correct one, because you're the only one knowing the machine and its history.
#1: very old videocard supporting only 16 colors
#2: not the appropiate driver installed for your videocard (which makes Windows install a very limited default one)

Hope this helps.


Kees

If you already know the video display driver manufacturer, you can visit that site, download a current driver, then install it. That should allow you to get all the "colors" back.

If you don't know the manufacturer for the video card, try RIGHT clicking on "My Computer", choose "Properties", then click on the "Device Manager" tab. When that loads, click the + sign next to "Display Adapter", then click once on the specific video device that is listed. Now click on the "Properties" button, and click on the "Driver" tab. That should give you the manufacturer, plus the driver version, etc.

You now should be able to visit the manufacturer's site and download the most recent driver for that video device. Install it per the manufacturer's instructions.

Hope this helps.

Grif

from the Start\Programs\MSDOS Prompt icon

Sometimes if the video driver in Display shows up as an SVGA video instead of naming the mgr and model number, you can do the following from the MSDOS Prompt window without having to leave the Windows environment at all:

ID VIDEO CARD:

An easy way to discover what the actual video card is is by using good old DEBUG as follows:

Open a command prompt (DOS window)

Type DEBUG and Press the Enter/Return key

You will get a little hyphen prompt ( - )

Type DC000:35 and Press the Enter/Return key

You will get several lines of numbers with readable text in a column on the right edge of the screen.

Depending on the card you will probably have another hyphen prompt at the bottom. Type D and press the Enter/Return key (you may need to do this a couple times until you have seen enough in the text column to identify the card.

When done and ready to quit type Q and Press the Enter/Return key to return to the normal DOS Prompt.

This is what it will look like:


C:\>debug
-DC000:35
C000:0030 08 00 00-30 33 2F 32 37 2F 30 30 ...03/27/00
C000:0040 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00-00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
C000:0050 E9 AD 08 00 02 11 46 10-E9 37 19 E9 3F 19 50 4D ......F..7..?.PM
C000:0060 49 44 58 00 5B 00 00 00-00 A0 00 B0 00 B8 00 C0 IDX.[...........
C000:0070 00 5B FF 7F 4E 56 00 05-01 D8 1A 80 03 17 05 02 .[..NV..........
C000:0080 00 00 00 00 E4 01 E0 02-60 01 F8 04 00 00 00 00 ........`.......
C000:0090 B5 00 50 00 3A 11 71 28-45 88 9F 88 2D 89 E2 88 ..P.:.q(E...-...
C000:00A0 F6 88 71 03 94 03 6D 89-00 01 01 00 3F 3E 37 36 ..q...m.....?>76
C000:00B0 00 00 00 00 00 .....
-D
C000:00B0 4E 56 49-44 49 41 20 54 4E 54 32 NVIDIA TNT2
C000:00C0 20 4D 6F 64 65 6C 20 36-34 20 56 47 41 20 42 49 Model 64 VGA BI
C000:00D0 4F 53 0D 0A 00 00 00 00-00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 OS..............
C000:00E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00-00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
C000:00F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00-00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
C000:0100 00 00 00 00 00 00 56 65-72 73 69 6F 6E 20 32 2E ......Version 2.
C000:0110 30 35 2E 34 2E 31 37 2E-30 33 0D 0A 00 43 6F 70 05.4.17.03...Cop
C000:0120 79 72 69 67 68 74 20 28-43 29 20 31 39 39 36 2D yright (C) 1996-
C000:0130 31 39 39 39 20 1999


********In this case you can see that the video card is by Nvidia and is a TNT type. This will help you get the correct drivers for what you truly have installed but needs to be re-installed to get the thing working right again.

TONI

I wonder what I did to undo the video drivers I had. As I recall, I had four available settings, 256, two that had the number 16 in them, and some other one. And,in keeping with a major flaw of mine, I can't locate the driver disk that came with my computer.

I did the debug thing but couldn't make use of it. The info had a couple of company names and "PCIR#". I couldn't find anything on the video driver lists for those companies that I could identify as what I need.

For a number of reasons, I've decided to just get a new computer and put this one in the hands of someone in need of one who has the necessary moxy to fix the problems my misadventures have put in place, which include not only the video card problem but some others of somewhat less significance. I can get one with better credentials than my present one for under $500 (inclucing the CD or DVD rewrite I want). The cost of installing a new driver, and the cost of putting in a CD-R or DVD-R which I want would together be probably half or more of that, particularly considering that I do deletes but not installations. Plus, with my lack of speed and talent at this sort of thing, I'm spending time on my computer that I should be spending on the kids I work with and who are what feeds my soul. Not to mention doing the laundry, cleaning my bedroom, paying the bills, brushing my teeth, etc.

Thanks very much for your efforts; I just wish you were giving the advice to someone more talented than I. I never cease to admire folks like you. grandpaw

Tell us the information about the video driver and maybe we can find one for you. There normally is no cost for the simple download and install of a video driver. So....RIGHT click on "My Computer", choose "Properties", then click on the "Device Manager" tab. When that loads, click on the + sign next to "Display Adapters", then click on the specific device once to highlight it, then click on the "Properties" button. Please give us the "Manufacturer's" name, then click on the "Driver" tab and give us the Driver provider, driver date and driver version that is listed, IF it's all there.

Of course you could purchase a newer, faster computer, and you certainly deserve it, but sometimes getting the old "clunker" back in working condition is worth the effort, if nothing more than to say: "I did it".

It's up to you.

Grif

In need of seeing if I could do something right, I went to a website called Driver Headquarters and downloaded Driver Detective. It found my driver and updated it so that I now have all the color settings. Signing up cost thirty dollars but it was an inexpensive way of overcoming "computer depression".

Coincidentally with CursorCowboy's post, this morning I checked around for someone to do my computer fixing. It's something I've thought about doing for some time but cheapskateness and procrastination conspired against me till now. Also, I've grown hesitant about hiring folks for things because it's a little like throwing darts, something I'm not very good at.

I thank Grif for his comments--fact is, I prefer to keep this "old clunker"; we've been through too much together; I figure we ought to walk into the sunset together.

Thanks to all. I have some questions I would like to pose but I'll do so in separate threads since I've about used this one up. grandpaw