Before you start using disk compression software or head to the store to purchase a larger hard drive, simply try to get rid of the unnecessary files that are filling up your hard drive. You'll be amazed at the number of megabytes of storage that useless files consume. Search your hard drive for unneeded image files (*.BMP) and Zip files (*.ZIP) that you've already extracted. Then delete the ones that you won't be using. To go further, search under the directory C:\Windows\Options\Cabs for the online service setup programs that Windows 95 automatically installs on your hard drive. Deleting the four largest on-line setup tools (cs3kit.exe, setup25i.exe, setup32.exe, and wowkit.exe) will free up more than 30MB of hard disk space.

We tested some early Celeron PCs and found that PII-266s are a better buy.

Want to know how much hard disk space you could regain if you switched to Windows 98 and converted to the FAT32 file system? (In case you haven't heard the scoop on FAT32, it stores files on your hard disk in smaller clusters than the older FAT16 file system, resulting in less wasted space.) Download the FAT32 utility and find out. Point your Web browser to http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/info/fat32.htm and click Download the FAT32 Utility. When the download is complete, extract the contents of Fat32.exe to your location of choice, then double-click the resulting Fat32win.exe file to run the utility. Once inside, just select a drive and click scan

Want to view the contents of two drives in an Explorer window at the same time? Sorry, no can do. (Although you can do it by using the old File Manager [Windows\Winfile.exe].) However, there is a work-around: You can open each drive's contents in a separate Explorer window. You call that a tip? Of course not. Here's the tip: If you find yourself viewing these side-by-side Explorer windows frequently, set up shortcuts that provide quick access to each drive's contents. Then you won't have to go through the steps of opening the separate Explorer windows and then navigating your way through each to get to the drive you want. Just configure each shortcut to open with its focus on a particular drive, set up shortcut-key access to it, and from then on, you can pop open these Explorer windows from anywhere on your system with simple keystrokes. First, create a new Explorer shortcut on your desktop (or in the location of your choice). The easiest way to do this is to right-mouse-click Start, select Open, and double-click Programs; then right-mouse-click and drag the Windows Explorer shortcut from the Programs window to the desktop, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-mouse-click the new shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Change the text on the Target line to C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e, X:\ where "X" is the drive you want to view using this shortcut. Click once inside the box labeled Shortcut Key, type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke the shortcut, and click OK. Finally, change the name of the shortcut to something appropriate, such as Drive D. Repeat these steps for each drive. (You'll save time if you simply copy this shortcut, then change the drive letters and shortcut keys.) Ready to view two drives? Minimize all open windows, press the corresponding shortcut keys, right-mouse-click the Taskbar, select Tile Windows Vertically, and there you have the contents of two drives, side by side. (Note: If your first shortcut key choice doesn't open the window you want, try assigning a new letter to the key combo inside its Properties dialog box.)