Canary

I want to tidy up my desktop, but when I try to delete the Microsoft Outlook icon on the desktop, I get a warning that says it provides "special functionality", and I am advised to leave it where it is. This isn't a major issue, obviously, but I wondered whether this is just Microsoft trying to get you to leave their stuff on your desktop or if it really is advisable to leave the link there. (I don't use Outlook, by the the way.)

What's the best (and, importantly, the most user-friendly) file-sharing program?

A friend wants to download CCleaner, but got a message saying that his computer didn't have VB6. (He's got an old computer and is still on dial-up.) Does anyone know what this means, and how can he resolve this issue?

What's the easiest and safest way to completely wipe the hard drive of a computer that is about to be got rid of? And I mean COMPLETELY wipe it?

I've been sent a file that has the extension .RAR. Is there any way of downloading what I need to open it, without paying for the privilege?

Is there any way to add Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album to CCleaner so that it kills entries in the Recent Images list? I've been told that one way is to look in the registry, but: 1 I'm loathe to fiddle with the regsitry; 2 I couldn't find it in there anyway; 3 It would be easier if CCleaner did it!

www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm I think option 36 is such a program.

Why is it that even after using CCleaner, the data I have deleted can still be recovered? Is there a way of deleting data once and for all?

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with regedit.

Does anyone know how to clear the Recent Images and Recent Albums lists which are on the File drop-down menu? CCleaner doesn't seem to do this, and I can't work out how to do it manually.

Windows XP

I've got problems running both Google Earth and Limewire. I've downloaded both of the programs successfully, but I can only run them when I disable my Norton Antivirus. I've tried changing the Program Rules on Norton, but the system then freezes and I have to reboot. Is there any way of accessing these two programs without disabbling Norton each time?

What is explorer.exe? And if I select "Tray Notifications Cache" on CCleaner, what will that do?

Yeah, it lists all the files. A lot of seem to be cookies and logos etc from web pages I've visited. I know this is a big question, but do you think I can delete all those files?

I run CCleaner regularly, the latest time being this morning. But I've just visited www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm and selected option 36. Once I ran that program, it said it found 6134 deleted files on my computer. How come CCleaner hasn't got rid of them for good? And how do I now get rid of them once and for all?

Thanks for all your help guys. Just one more question, though: Before posting here, I had started to compress the files in C-drive before thinking better and hitting Cancel. Since getting answers to my original question, I have been back into the C-drive and tried uncompressing them. But it said it would take 10 hours (!), so I'm guessing that that process uncompresses far more than just the few I initially compressed. Anyone know how I can get it back to where it was before? In other words, compress the files that should be compressed and uncompress those that shouldn't be compressed?

If I open My Computer, then right-click on the C-drive icon and scroll down to Properties, an option comes up that says "Compress drive to save disk space". What does this actually mean, and is it worth doing it?

Thanks!

If I needed it, would it be easy to install?

Thanks a lot. That worked too!

Brilliant - it worked. And thanks for the quick response, too.

Is there any way I can uninstall Windows Messenger from my computer? The icon appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, but I can't find any way of uninstalling it - even using CCleaner.

Erm . . . yes I did pay that. But I've learnt my lesson! (Don't laugh at me too much!)

Hi - I'm new here. I've just installed CCleaner and found it amazing. I used to use Window Washer. Can I get rid of that now? Or is there anything that Window Washer can do that CCleaner can't do? Thanks.