> If you're using Outlook Express 6, go into the program, tap the Escape key (ESC) a couple of times (in case a menu or something else has the focus, tapping ESC ensures that the following key combo will work).  Then tap the ALT key (don't hold it down, just tap it and let go), and press the letter F three (3) times.  This compacts all your mailboxes and will really make a difference in disk space if you've never done such a thing before.  It might even solve other OE problems you've been having. like sluggish performance.  Anyway, remember ALT  F F F and you can't go wrong.

<Off topic, if you want to get rid of Outlook Express 6's splash screen, there is a path in the Registry that looks something like this, at least on this system which has WinXP SP2:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{C1CBBCC3-62D8-4DD4-96E1-D5D617E58CD7}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0

    - Start Menu / Run... / type regedit / press ENTER or click OK
    - find the key above (or whatever variation it might be on your machine).  The part that can vary is the one between brackets { }.
    - with "5.0" highlighted on the left, right-click an empty space in the right pane and create a new DWORD value called "NoSplash" (without the quotes)
    - double click it and change its value to 1 (hex or decimal, doesn't matter in this case)
    - press ENTER or click OK and close the Registry Editor to see how it works>

> Clearing out XP's Prefetch folder once in a while will free up disk space and improve system performance. Windows XP Prefetch Clean And Control (free utility) cleans out the Prefetch folder and lets you change its behavior.

> When you install security fixes, updates, patches etc in Windows XP, several folders with odd looking names are placed in the Windows directory (usually  C:\Windows).  The folder names will look something like this: $NtUninstall.  These are backup folders containing the files needed to uninstall updates, should they cause problems.  After a month or less of using XP with the new updates, I delete the folders and remove their entries from Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs.  The following links provide more info, along with a free tool to help out.
    - HOW TO: Remove the Service Pack Restore Files and Folders in Windows (Microsoft)
    - (MVPs.org) What are the $Uninstall folders? Can they be deleted?
    - XP Remove Hotfix Backup - a free utility by Doug Knox

> If you're using System Restore, you can get back disk space by doing this:
    - Start Menu / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Cleanup
    - from the Select Drive dialog, click OK or press ENTER
    - click the More Options tab and click Clean up... under System Restore
    - click OK or press ENTER at the next dialog  which asks if you want to clean up all but the most recent restore points

More on Disk Cleanup at this section.