Appendix A: Installing or Upgrading to Windows XP
How Much Disk Space Does Windows Require? The Windows Setup Wizard tells you how much disk space it will need. The amount of space required depends on the following:
- What operating system, if any, is already installed.
- Whether you choose to save the previous operating system (if any) to enable you to uninstall Windows XP later. This optional uninstall file can be up to 100MB. You can delete this backup later.
- How many optional programs you install along with Windows. Windows comes with dozens of utilities and applications that aren't needed to run Windows, but may come in handy.
Depending on these factors, Windows can require anywhere from 850MB to 1.5GB during installation. It refuses to install if it doesn't find enough space.
If you don't have enough space to install Windows, try emptying your Recycle Bin, deleting your Web browser's cache (or the temporary file caches of other application programs), and deleting all .tmp and .bak files. Exit all programs and delete all the files in C:\Windows\Temp (or other temporary file folders) except those dated within the past few days. If you still don't have enough space, you can uninstall programs and reinstall them later when Windows XP is running. However, Windows XP requires a lot of elbow room; if your disk space is tight, consider buying a larger hard disk.
If your system has more than one hard disk, the free space Windows requires must be on the drive that contains your Windows program folder (usually C:\Windows).
