Reinstalled Windows XP; Hard Disk Drive(C:) Still Has 251 GB of Used Space

Due to a missing or corrupt System\32 file, I had to reinstall Windows XP with my manufacturer's Recovery disk.

I knew this would wipe out my access to all my files and computer programs, and it did.

Starting fresh again with Windows XP, I decided to defragment the disk drives, perform an Error Check, and scan for any viruses or spyware.



To my amazement, all the old files and programs I had before reinstalling Windows are somewhere still on the computer's C: Drive!!!



So I did a Disk Cleanup and compressed some of the old files.


However, these files and programs are still taking up 251 GB of space, over half the space of my computer's capacity of 451GB.


I only have 214GB of free space left.


I was not able to uninstall or remove or delete the old files and programs before I reinstalled Windows XP; my operating system was not working at all.



Questions:

So, my questions are:

1) Is there anyway to access the old files and programs after reinstalling Windows XP???

(My understanding is it is basically impossible to do so).


2) If I cannot access the old files and programs, how do I get rid of them and free up the 251 GB of Disk Space on my C: Drive???



Here's my computer information:

OS: Windows Home Edition XP Version 2002, Service Pack 3, 32 bit

Processor: Intel ® Core ™ 2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz (2 CPUs)

Memory: 2046 MB RAM

DirectX 9.0c

Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

8800GT NIVIDIA Geforce card, 1,024.0 MB memory

DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC

Speakers: Logitech

 

Have a look for a folder called windows.old or program files.old to see if your old programs are there. If they are not, have a look in the program files folder to see if there are still programs there that should not be.

 

Yes, I can see all the old files now!

Excellent advice; thanks!



Now, I have an additional question.

I am planning to install Windows 7 in a few weeks over my current OS Windows XP.

I am going to copy all my Documents, Photos, and Music to CD-Roms.


But I also have a lot of video games and video game mods (Battlefield 1942; Silent Hunter; Battlefield 2) on the computer, and also a lot of video games installed with Valve Inc.'s STEAM system via the internet.

I cannot currently play any of these video games since I reinstalled Windows XP, but all their folders and files are still on the C Drive.


Reinstalling Windows XP has erased any of my saved progress on games like Half-Life 2 and Far Cry 2, so I will have to start playing the games at the beginning again.



Questions:

What should I do with the video games, including the STEAM games, if I install Windows 7???


I still have 240 GB of Used Space on the C Drive, and I know these games take up much of the Disk Space on the C Drive.

Should I go into My Computer > C Drive> Program Files> and delete all the various games' folders, and then reinstall the games after installing Windows 7???



When you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, it is supposed to wipe everything out from Windows XP.