Using CCleaner and Defraggler in XP Mode

Hello everyone. I recently integrated XP Mode into VMware Player, but this whole "Virtual" Disk thing leaves me a bit confused. So, what's up with the 127 GB Windows XP claims it has? Is it really there or not? Or is there some sort of Enter the Matrix/Cyberspace phenomena going on? lol

Also, should I use Defraggler to defragment virtual space? Or how about CCleaner to wipe virtual free space?

It all seems a bit trippy to me, but I had to ask

In terms of the 127 GB, the way XP Mode does it is it creates a virtual hard drive that uses space dynamically. That means that XP Mode will see it as 127 GB but in reality, on your hard drive, it will only take up as much space as the XP Mode is actually using. It provides you with a cushion so that you can have space to download and install updates, applications, documents, etc. all without taking the full 127 GB but instead, only the actual space you're taking up.

For example, if in XP Mode you look at your C: Drive usage and it says you're using up 20 GB, in Windows 7, that virtual drive should take up approximately 20 GB. In XP Mode, it will say it has a lot of free space but that's the space it has to build up until 127 GB.

As far as Defragging and CCleaner, you can use them in XP Mode. Treat it as if it were another physical machine. The advantage is you can make more use of your hardware with virtual machines and also have the advantage of running your legacy applications all on the same computer without having to reboot or go to another machine. Additionally, you can use an anti-virus within it and do usual Disk Cleanup and such to free up space and maintain it.

Thanks for the reply! You've cleared things up for me.

When I run Disk Optimization in Norton 360 v4 (in XP Mode) it just hangs/crashes. So I installed and ran Defraggler and that works. BTW - I found out that VMware Player has a Defrag Virtual Disk option (Edit Virtual Machine Settings -> Highlight HD -> Utilities drop-down menu -> Defrag).

However, I decided to wipe the free space using CCleaner and... snafu! When I shut XP down and went back to Windows 7 - a quick look at my hard drive in Win 7 showed that all 127 GB was used. I dunno. Maybe the method in which CCleaner wipes free space caused it?