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How to clean up your Windows PC
Undo the damage caused by everyday computing
Loyd Case, PC World US
Diagnostic tools: tracking down the junk
You'll need some tools to help you unearth the excess files and other detritus clogging up your system. Here are a few.
Benchmarks
Benchmarks help you determine your system performance.
Useful widgets
Windows comes with tiny applets known as gadgets that you can keep on your desktop. However, if you have too many gadgets running, they may slow down the system
Windows Resource Monitor
Gadgets are fun, but you'll probably find the Windows Resource monitor more practical for diagnosing potential issues. It's a substantial step up from the CPU-meter gadget and superior to the more commonly used Task Manager.
Check your PC memory usage
For monitoring system slowdown issues, there's always the actual system-performance monitor.
Windows Reliability Monitor
All those memory-hogging and performance-sapping modules can make your system less stable, so check the Windows Reliability Monitor, too. You may think your system is less stable than it once was, but the Reliability Monitor will give you the data to confirm that suspicion
Do a reliability check
You can use the Action Center to check your PC's reliability history. Launch the Reliability Monitor from the Windows Control Panel. Click on the System and Security link, then select Action Center.
System boot diagnostics
It's amazing how many applications, tools and utilities attempt to preload something or another during the boot-up process.
Disk Cleanup
The past few versions of Windows have shipped with the Disk Cleanup utility, which you can launch by clicking Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup.
Defrag your drive
Defragmenting your hard drive is useful after you've performed a sweep with Disk Cleanup.
System Configuration Utility
This tool is more commonly referred to as Msconfig. You launch it by typing msconfig in the Start, Run bar. You can selectively enable and disable background services in Msconfig. Using Msconfig lets you manually specify services to run, as well as startup applications.
Registry Editor
Use the Windows Registry Editor, aka 'regedit', with caution. You could easily delete keys from the Registry permanently and thereby render your system unusable.
Useful third-party choices
Soluto
Soluto's main claim to fame is that it can shorten the time Windows takes to boot, sometimes by a substantial amount. You can download Soluto for free from soluto's website.
Revo Uninstaller Pro
This handy utility is a little more complex than Soluto. Revo Uninstaller tries to be a more complete uninstaller. It generally works pretty well for that purpose.
Maintaining a clean system
* If a window pops up in your browser asking you to install something, make sure you know what it is. It may just be a simple tool to help your browsing, or it may install something that runs at startup and saps your system resources. (Weatherbug, anyone?) In the worst-case scenario, it will install malware.
* Use tools such as Soluto and Msconfig frequently to make sure useless junk isn't running at startup.
* Clean your drive frequently, particularly temporary internet and temporary installation files.
It takes only a few minutes a week to keep your system relatively clean, and if you do that, you should be able to postpone the dreaded reformat and reinstall for a very long time.
Undo the damage caused by everyday computing
Loyd Case, PC World US
Diagnostic tools: tracking down the junk
You'll need some tools to help you unearth the excess files and other detritus clogging up your system. Here are a few.
Benchmarks
Benchmarks help you determine your system performance.
Useful widgets
Windows comes with tiny applets known as gadgets that you can keep on your desktop. However, if you have too many gadgets running, they may slow down the system
Windows Resource Monitor
Gadgets are fun, but you'll probably find the Windows Resource monitor more practical for diagnosing potential issues. It's a substantial step up from the CPU-meter gadget and superior to the more commonly used Task Manager.
Check your PC memory usage
For monitoring system slowdown issues, there's always the actual system-performance monitor.
Windows Reliability Monitor
All those memory-hogging and performance-sapping modules can make your system less stable, so check the Windows Reliability Monitor, too. You may think your system is less stable than it once was, but the Reliability Monitor will give you the data to confirm that suspicion
Do a reliability check
You can use the Action Center to check your PC's reliability history. Launch the Reliability Monitor from the Windows Control Panel. Click on the System and Security link, then select Action Center.
System boot diagnostics
It's amazing how many applications, tools and utilities attempt to preload something or another during the boot-up process.
Disk Cleanup
The past few versions of Windows have shipped with the Disk Cleanup utility, which you can launch by clicking Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup.
Defrag your drive
Defragmenting your hard drive is useful after you've performed a sweep with Disk Cleanup.
System Configuration Utility
This tool is more commonly referred to as Msconfig. You launch it by typing msconfig in the Start, Run bar. You can selectively enable and disable background services in Msconfig. Using Msconfig lets you manually specify services to run, as well as startup applications.
Registry Editor
Use the Windows Registry Editor, aka 'regedit', with caution. You could easily delete keys from the Registry permanently and thereby render your system unusable.
Useful third-party choices
Soluto
Soluto's main claim to fame is that it can shorten the time Windows takes to boot, sometimes by a substantial amount. You can download Soluto for free from soluto's website.
Revo Uninstaller Pro
This handy utility is a little more complex than Soluto. Revo Uninstaller tries to be a more complete uninstaller. It generally works pretty well for that purpose.
Maintaining a clean system
* If a window pops up in your browser asking you to install something, make sure you know what it is. It may just be a simple tool to help your browsing, or it may install something that runs at startup and saps your system resources. (Weatherbug, anyone?) In the worst-case scenario, it will install malware.
* Use tools such as Soluto and Msconfig frequently to make sure useless junk isn't running at startup.
* Clean your drive frequently, particularly temporary internet and temporary installation files.
It takes only a few minutes a week to keep your system relatively clean, and if you do that, you should be able to postpone the dreaded reformat and reinstall for a very long time.
Source of info. from subscription to PCAdvisor - for full details & screenshots - http://www.pcadvisor...id=3244058&pn=1
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