can i delete messenger?

here are my basics..i live in japan, don`t know much about computers, recently was given a sony vaio that is about 4 yrs old and has windows me on it but a japanese language version, i believe i have a 254 mb RAM (i read major attitude`s advice but i don`t know what a cpu is so can`t tell you that) and i have broadband connection. if somebody could help me with afew q`s i would be very grateful\:

1. my computer has alot of stuff on it that i might not need...the person who gave me the computer was japanese and he gave me no info...i don`t know which files/programmes are necessary or ones i can delete to free up memory...for example, my messenger is all in japanese and i wonder if i can delete it or is it part of the windows essential package?

2.what is the difference between delete and uninstall?

3. i checked my hard (C)drive which seems to be saying i have 9.31gb total and 1.41 free at the moment...is that much? do i sorely need to free some up?
i also seem to have a d-drive that has 9.27gb and i think all of this might be free but i don`t know what my d-drive is...?

4. is there a limit to "my documents" memory capacity that is different to the c-drive total.....and if i download stuff does it matter where i put it? (my documents seems a convenient place but i don`t know if it is limited)

5. finally. this site has been a big help so thanks for helping out a novice...i read major attitudes basic advice and i have been able to do my updates and install some protection...but i wanted to know if what i have is o.k or if in some way they coud compromise each other...i have zone alarm AND spy blaster (is it ok to have both?) and i have spybot, ad\aware and avg....does this sound ok?

again..any help appreciated and initial thanks to major attitude.

 

You can delete windows messenger, it is unimportant, and if you want to use a messenger, you probably want to download msn messenger instead.
I have never used win ME, so I'm not sure on how to uninstall it, but I think it can be removed in the add remove windows components in your control panel.

If you just take the files in the programs folder and remove them from the computer, then you haven't uninstalled it, you've just removed the visible files, things in registry etc remains, that is why it is so important to uninstall.

I would say you have very LITTLE space on your C-drive. And it seems to be packed with a lot of things you might not need. Do you have any files on it, like games installed, music or pictures that take up space? If not, I would say it is a bit too much. The problem with filling a drive to that extent is that the computer reads things slower. When your drive is that full, files tend to get fragmented a lot easier, (fragmentation is files are stored, not in one chunk, they get spread out wherever there is room for them) and defragging takes a long time if the drive is that full.

Has your friend removed everything personal he had on it? If he has, I would say you might have a lot of things installed that you might not want to use. If it were me, I would consider reinstalling the OS, in other words format and reinstall everything on the computer. But that is a bit tricky, especially if you aren't so experienced. Did you get cd's and floppies with driver and win ME with the computer?

The D-drive functions like a folder where you store everything you want to keep on the computer, such as your documents and other files. The good thing about it is, that IF you reinstall the computer, everything that is stored on the D-drive is left intact. Make sure you save everything on the D-drive, especially since you have limited space on the other drive.

Your folder "My Documents" is located on your C-drive. It is better for you to put things on your D-drive instead. You can make folders in the D-drive for different things, like music, documents, pictures etc. The limit of "My Documents" is the limit of your C-drive (I think... lol).

Remember, everything you put on your desktop is stored on your C-drive.

Your protection seems fine, you have the important stuff! Make sure you update regularly, and you should be fine!

If you want to know your CPU, right click "My computer" and select "Properties". It should be listed there.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask again if something is unclear!

 

thanks alot for that advice...really helpful. i will have to read it over and see what i can do but for now thankyou very much solange.