ok, well, is reformatting a hard-drive good or bad? I have about 5GB of space on my HDD that i dont know where it went and i have alot of lag on my computer

Well, reformatting will definitely "fix" your issue, but it would be overkill without trying other things first. You need to determine where that 5GB is. I'd suggest making sure you can see hidden files and then go from there. Michael J

huh.. well that question really leaves a lot up to interpretation, but in short.. if you are 100% confident that you can retain all needed data, and have all the proper device drivers for re-installing your OS and hardware then doing a format and re-install is fine and will most likely improve the overral speed of your OS. But if you think you have an issue with why you ran out of disk space you may want to resolve that first (before reformatting) so the problem doesn't arise again. If you lost it all pretty recently then you might want to search for recently modified files that are larger than a few megs. This might give you an indication of what is growing rapidly. Let me know!

If you don't find anything looking at recently modified files just start checking properties on various directories. Start with Windows (which should only be about 2 -6 Gigs depending on what you have installed), then User Doc foders, etc. If you find a directory that seems a bit larger than normal drill down to see which one it is specifically. Also in terms of lag you can pop open Task Manager and just review the processes and see if any is consuming a lot of CPU cycles. Also do you have off-line files enabled? I saw an issue with a Client's pc where he had changed the location of his "My Documents" to a path on his server (great idea if your server is backed up), but he pointed it to a directory that was larger than his HD (not a great idea) and upon rebooting when his windows sync'd it ran up all the space on his HD. It was fun to fix! Any other recent changes, or program apps installed since you started epxeriencing the problem? Let us know. Michael

reformatting is neither good or bad. It is starting fresh. Will this address your issues? Maybe and maybe not. Could give you a whole new set of them. Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

System Restore & Temp Internet files, among others, use a lot of space. Lower the amount to suit. http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm System Restore Point Start > My Computer > right click & select Properties. Select System Restore & untick > Turn off System Restore on all drives. Select the drive with the operating system on, click Settings & set it on Min. Any other drive, click Settings & tick > Turn off System Restore on this drive. Auto Delete Temporary Folder http://www.tweakxp.com/display.aspx?id=2021 First go into gpedit.msc ( only available in the Pro version of XP ) Start > Run, copy & paste > gpedit.msc & press Enter Next select -> Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services > Temporary Folder Then right click "Do Not Delete Temp Folder Upon Exit" Go to properties and hit Disabled. Now next time Windows puts a temp file in that folder it will automatically delete it when its done! If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file: Go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box. http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=145&dPage=5 http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBI/tip4200/rh4299.htm Simple File Sharing is enabled by default if your computer is NOT a member of a domain http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBI/tip4400/rh4487.htm NOTE: Simple File Sharing cannot be disabled on Windows XP Home Edition. To disable Simple File Sharing: 1. Start > My Computer > Tools > Folder Options. 2. Select the View tab. 3. Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) box in the Advanced Settings area. 4. Press Apply and OK. Foxie http://www.getfoxie.com/ Now you can surf the web with ease and comfort. Foxie (fox + ie; pronounced /Foxy/) is a collection of free security, privacy and productivity tools developed by the Foxie Team. It was originally designed to bridge the gap between Internet Explorer and Mozilla FireFox (an open source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation) but soon grew in scope and size to offer additional unique features not found on any stand alone browser. Foxie empowers you to browse faster, more safely and more efficiently than with any other browser by blending tabbed browsing, ads & pop-up blocking, Malware cleansing and privacy & security protection with our smart search capabilities to enhance your browsing experience. Foxie is not a web browser and fits seamlessly into your IE browser. Once installed, open IE & up the top you will have a new button ( Swift Sweeper ) Click on it & remove all problems by clicking on > Remove all.

Managing your Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial64.html