Junk and duplicate file removal

[olopbob]

I have duplicate files all over my C drive, video, music, photos, etc., alot which were copied into photo and player apps.
My hard drive is 90% full (60 gig) and I can't even defrag. First I tried running a program to eliminate duplicates but it
destroyed needed files and didn't recognize duplicates that had a 1 or 2 at end of file name, indicating they were copies.
After reinstalling lost system components, I tried to organize and delete duplicates but after several hours I haven't
scratched the surface and finding files and moving them to the correct folders (my music, my pictures, etc.) has
proven almost impossible. I know procrastination has put me in this mess, I'm just hoping someone can suggest a wayout
or program that will help without removing or disturbing system files.

Thanks, Bob

 

[Shakie]

In addition to MB's list, you can get System Mechanic, which I use along with a couple other members, from www.iolo.com. It's a very handy tool.

 

[olopbob]

I went to http://www.newfreeware.com as Microbell suggested and downloaded EF Duplicate Files Manager 0.92. Looks great but it found over 12,000 duplicate files. Now I'm trying to decide how to manage removal. I just don't think I should delete all and lose important or system files. Any idea on a simple way to clean up this mess. I am honestly not going to go through them all especially since there will be many I wouldn't recognize anyway.
Any suggestions?

Thanks to Mcrobell and Guy (Iolo was a bit expensive since I have software that covers much of what thier's does)

Thanks for any more help you can give, Bob

 

[daveppeters]

Another suggestion - I don't know what OS you are using, but if you run the disk cleanup wizard (Programs > Accessories > System Tools) first to get rid of temp files, etc, it should get you some space. I bet some of those duplicates are just junk. If you need more hard disk space, you can also adjust the size of your Recycle Bin and the amount of space used for Temp Internet Files. Finally, you can shrink the amount of space for System Restore (if you use it).

Hope this helps!

 

[olopbob]

Does anyone know where I can find a list of file extensions that should never be deleted on XP ? I use Window Washer for temps and most trash but am looking for fragments of many old programs. Any other advice would also be appreciated on this massive cleanup.

Thanks, Bob

 

[mrdinkel]

Another thing to do is do an all-out search for *.tmp. Those are generated, yet never deleted, by windows. It will help that, and system performance if its lacking...