If you’re running Windows Vista, here’s a safe way to reclaim some hard drive space.
Before Vista Service Pack 1 is installed, Vista makes an extra copy of all the system files that are updated by the service pack. They’re used to restore the system if you decide to uninstall Vista SP1.
You’ll never uninstall Vista Service Pack 1. If it’s going to cause any problems, you’ll know it right away. Once the system is running with Service Pack 1, you’ll keep it forever as a big improvement over Vista’s original release.
You can remove those archived files with a tool included with Vista SP1.
Click on Start / All Programs / Accessories / Command Prompt.
At the prompt, type vsp1cln.exe
Hit Enter, then type Y to start the cleanup process.
You’ll recover 1-2Gb of space. Not bad! Most of us don’t have issues with hard drive space any more but it’s always nice to know that you’ve freed up a bit more.
