space saving on my laptop

[toola]

I have recently purchased a Hard Drive, in order to free up space on my pc, Having transferred data to the Hard Drive, what do I do next, in order to free up my pc ? Thank you for any advice, I,m afraid that I am quite a dummy as far as pc,s go.

[VHG]

I assume you mean you have purchased an external hard drive.

And I assume you have copied some files from your laptop to the external hard drive.

You say you are inexperienced with PCs, so the first thing to ensure is that you have DEFINATELY copied the files to your external hard drive. You can do this by comparing the SIZE of the files (or folders) on the laptop with those on the external hard drive.

You can do this by right clicking on the folder or file name and selecting Properties and comparing the size. If the sizes are the same on the laptop and the external hard drive then you have copied the files.

The next thing is to delete the folders or files off your laptop.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you only delete personal files off your laptop (photos, music, videos, office type files etc).

DONT delete any programs or Windows files or system files. ONLY personal files.

You can right click on any file or folder and select Delete.

Note that when you delete a file or folder it goes into the Recylce Bin so is still on your disk so wont free up space.

To free up the space you need to delete it from your recycle bin.

WARNING. If you are inexperienced with PCs there is a danger you could finish up deleting the wrong file or folder, or perhaps deleting a file or folder you have not made a copy of.

It may be worth talking to a friend or relative and ask them to check you have done everything right BEFORE you start deleting files.

After all you dont want to delete all your holiday photo and find you have not backed them up up correctly.

[toola]

Thank you, I can see that I need to be very careful, your advice re asking a friend, well, they always seem to be busy,and I do not like to pester. Since I have my pc, I,m afraid that it is in a bit of a mess,as I have gaily gone along pressing buttons out of curiosity. I will carry on, thank you once again for your advice.