cleaning out harddrive

I hope this is an appropriate newsgroup for this question.

I'm running Win2000 and I have been looking for a comprehensive resource
either online or preferrably in a book that discusses how to clean out the
harddrive. I've read lots of different articles and information online, but
nothing fully detailed.

I routinely delete out my temporary internet files, internet history,
cookies, temp files but I continue to see my harddrive space eroding.

Some information that I have read indicates that many of the files aren't
deleted unless the files are deleted in DOS during bootup even though they
show as being deleted from Windows Explorer. I understand that the same
applies to Outlook email messages and newsgroup messages. I also have read
articles that discuss how index.dat files can seriously eat away harddrive
space as they archive all the URL's, website information, search keywords,
etc., that have been accessed. From the information that I've read, it
appears that .dat files are very dificult to find and delete.

Other areas I'm looking to understand and learn to optimize in a PC are the
registry and anything else that can help clear out old information from the
harddrive and optimize the space.

I also read information about different software packages that clean files
from the harddrive like: Wipe, Evidence Eliminator, etc. These types of
software packages might be decent choices, but I'm looking to understand
what to watch out for and what can be deleted before investing in something
that might not achieve what I need.

So, is there a comprehensive book that discusses these topics? I've come
across a few books that just point out some basics that I'm already aware
of, but nothing that details the full gamut of cleaning, optimizing, and
protecting privacy on a harddrive.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Dman100-