Best software for removing all crud/tmp files and zeroing free space?

[DanielSB]

Hi all!

My first post here, thank you for reading it

I just set up Windows 7 installed onto an iSCSI target served by my Ubuntu box using ZFS with compression and SCST to deliver the iSCSI target. Works marvellously!

Now, I'm interested in snapshotting this installation at crucial points in time (already have a snapshot of "just installed, first boot pending", and "initial configuration completed"). Anyone unfamiliar with ZFS snapshosts, it's basically like VMware snapshots — and here I have server-side compression in effect, too.

So, as I'd like to snapshot as much as possible, yet waste as little space as possible, I'm looking for programs that'll remove "non-essential" data from my drive, that I'd run before powering down and then snapshotting with ZFS. Non-essential data would be \Windows\temp, local temp, Chrome/IE temp, superfluous MSI "rollback system update" data like \Windows\$... (as I'd already have a snapshot of before whichever update I'd installed). Basically anything that is removable and still keep the system running fine. Including, if possible, an option to zero out any unused blocks (as that'd make the snapshot smaller server-side, given that it'd already compressing blocks there).

So what are your experiences? Do you know of any programs like that that would fit my needs?

Thanks in advance for any help

Daniel

 

[kado897]

I've been using CCleaner for some time. The link is in my sig.

 

[DanielSB]

Thanks, CCleaner looks pretty cool! I'll check it out Doesn't do zero-fill of unused space though, does it?

 

[edee]

TFC or Temp File Cleaner, is a small utility that will clean out all the folders on your computer that house temporary files. The temp folders that TFC will clean are the Java, Windows Temp Folder, and the Internet Explorer, Opera, Chrome, and Safari caches. This tool will clean the folders for all accounts on the computer including the Administrator, NetworkService, and LocalService accounts. It is a handy little utility to have to compliment CCleaner because it cleans a lot of the stuff that CCleaner misses.

Get TFC here : TFC Download

 

[Dsprague]

Yes ccleaner does wipe the empty space on a drive:

 

[kado897]

You beat me to it.

 

[Layback Bear]

You can also do it this way.

 

[bassfisher6522]

You can also do it this way.

View attachment 267909

That's the way I do it Layback Bear....

 

[Layback Bear]

I seldom use wipe free space but it does come in handy after removing a infection. You never know if the little bad guy is in free space just waiting to be activated again before getting wrote over.

 

[logicearth]

If you use CCleaner, add CCEnhancer to the mix as well. It adds a lot more entries for CCleaner to well clean. All the program does it download is a "winapp2.ini" file for CCleaner.

CCEnhancer - SingularLabs

 

[DanielSB]

Thanks for all the posts! I will definitely give CCleaner a go (and also check out TFC while I'm at it).

You've been most helpful Thank you so much!

 

[kado897]

You are welcome Daniel.

 

[DanielSB]

Thanks for the CCEnhancer tip!

I have my initial cleaned snapshot set up with an SP1 installation at 8.3 GB. Very nice IMHO

FTR, CCleaner clearly wipes free space using zeros — I use ZFS compression serverside, and can directly see the positive impact doing a wipe has.