Options
This is the options dialog:
In the upper part you can select what extensions allow the program to recognize files to be deletable. Just check or uncheck the extensions you want to have.
In the middle of the screen you can activate the scheduler. If you do so, a small program will be added to your Windows startup folder which checks if it would be time to scan your system again. If it is you get a question at Windows startup if you want to do this now, if not the program closes automatically. Just enter the number of days between two scanning procedures to the field on the right.
In the "More Options" box you find additional possibilities to configure the program:
If the first check box is set, besides the files with extension checked above 1-abc.net Hard Drive Washer also looks for files with any extension that are saved to temporary folders like C:\Windows\Temp. "Break down long file names" means that you won't see the whole path in the main screen's listbox when files were found or deleted. Sometimes it's better to read it this way because you don't have to scroll all the time from the left to the right to see the complete file data. The next checkbox allows you do undo your deleting so it is recommended to use this option with caution. The last one can be checked if you want to look for unnecessary files only in default temp folders.
A very nice feature is to edit the exceptions list manually in Notepad. Exceptions are files that should not be found for deleting. For example, some versions of Microsoft Office save important data to a file called "OPA11.bak", which would be deletable after the convention, but if you do, you would be asked to insert your Office installation CD again the next time you start the program. When you click on the button, Notepad opens this list and you can customize it the way you want. It is suggested only to add new entries, you should only delete existing entries if you are really sure what you do. When your changes are done, you only have to save the file again, then the program takes this new version. Completely expected folders start with "\", all other entries are excepted files.
The last button in the "More Options" area lets you determine on which drive the program should look for unnecessary data. Most of the time this will be C:\, but you can also scan other hard drives, USB sticks, floppy disks or whatever you want.
Please note: If you made any changes here after you already searched it is suggested to start a new file search from the "File" menu.