Windows XP and 2000 add a lot of optional utilities, services, and other baggage to your hard drive when you install each operating system. You can remove some of these nonessentials via Control Panel, but getting rid of others requires a little tinkering with one of your system files.

First, the Control Panel method: In Windows 2000, log on as an administrator, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click or double-click Add/Remove Programs. In XP, click Start, Control Panel and double-click Add or Remove Programs (or choose it from your Control Panel menu). Now click the Add/Remove Windows Components icon on the left to open the Windows Components Wizard. Check or uncheck items to install or remove them, respectively. In some cases, you can fine-tune your choices by selecting an item, such as Accessories and Utilities, and clicking Details. To tune even finer, select a component in the resulting dialog box and click Details again (if the button is available). When you've selected or deselected all the components you would like to add or remove, click OK until you return to the Windows Components Wizard. Click Next and follow the remaining prompts to finish the process. (See "Step-By-Step: Reclaim Hard-Drive Space" to read about other ways to clean up your hard disk.)

Unfortunately, Windows XP and 2000 install a number of components that are not listed in these dialog boxes. For example, in XP you see no options for removing Windows Media Player and other multimedia components, Hyperterminal and other communications utilities, or even some games, such as Pinball. Windows 2000 is even worse, providing no options for removing any games at all or for uninstalling accessories such as Calculator and Character Map.

The good news is that reader Eric Roth of West Hurley, New York, has figured out how to force Windows to give up its secrets. Launch Windows Explorer, choose Tools, Folder Options, and then click the View tab. In the Advanced Settings list, make sure that Show hidden files and folders is checked, and click OK. Now navigate to the Inf subfolder in your Windows or Winnt folder (usually it's in the C: root directory). Inside Inf, look for a file called sysoc.inf, which may appear simply as 'sysoc' if you have file extensions hidden. Save a copy of this file to your desktop or to some other easy-to-find location in case you want to return things to the way they are now.

Double-click sysoc.inf to open it in Notepad. You'll see several lines under the '[Components]' heading that include the word 'hide'. To make all possible components visible, choose Edit, Replace, type hide in the 'Find what' box, and leave the 'Replace with' box empty. Click Replace All and then the Cancel button to close the dialog box. Choose File, Exit and click Yes when prompted to save the file.

Once the file is saved, return to Control Panel, click or double-click Add or Remove Programs (Add/Remove Programs in Windows 2000), and select Add/Remove Windows Components. This list and the nested lists within some items, such as 'Accessories and Utilities', should have more items than they had before (see FIGURE 1). Happy housekeeping!

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