How to clean out unwanted programs from your PC's hard drive

Learn how to clean out unwanted programs from your PC's hard drive.

Running out of storage space on your PC? Free up some real estate by deleting programs you no longer need on your hard drive.

You Will Need

* Your computer

Step 1. Decide

Decide which programs you don’t need. Remember, if you have the original discs the program came on, you can always reinstall it later.

Step 2. Click

Click the ‘’Start’’ menu, then ‘’All Programs.’’ Scroll your mouse over the program you want to uninstall.

Step 3. Uninstall

Most programs have an added icon to uninstall it. If this is the case, choose that option. A pop-up box will appear—click ‘’Uninstall.’’

Step 4. Restart

Once done, restart your computer, if it says it’s necessary.

Step 5. Go to Control panel

If the program does not have an uninstall option, click the ‘’Start’’ menu, then “Control Panel.’’ Double click on “Add or Remove Program.” A pop-up box will appear with a list of all installed programs in your computer, usually in alphabetical order.

Step 6. Scroll and highlight

Scroll down the list and highlight the program you want to remove by clicking on it.

Step 7. Remove

Click the ‘’Remove’’ tab and the uninstall process will begin.

Step 8. Restart

Restart your computer, if it says it’s necessary.

Step 9. Restore

If you accidentally delete a program you wanted to keep, click the “Start’’ menu, then “All Programs,’’ then ‘’Accessories,’’ and then ‘’System Tools.’’ Click “System Restore” and follow the steps to restore your program.

Fact: Fifty gigabytes of information can store a stack of documents three times the height of the Eiffel Tower!