Cleaning out junk from an old computer

Comment #8

Todd — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:16:44 GMT

@Think: The problem with many of those all-purpose "Windows Washer" programs (or whatever they are called) is that they purposely do lots of different things, to make you feel that the software is valuable. The truth is, as Jim has exemplified, that there are a few key things that control the majority of performance problems. These things are called the "bottlenecks". The things I mentioned are very common problems of regular users' PCs, and when you fix them they have genuine performance ben... [ More ]

Comment #7

Think — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:07:04 GMT

If you are lazy you can get a drive cleaning utility from majorgeeks.com or maybe just buy Windows Washer to clean stuff off.

Comment #6

jim695 — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:50:07 GMT

Thanks for the heads up, LuckyLilly. I could have run the free version over and over again, but given the simplicity and the awesome efficiency of the ustility, I went ahead and bought the full version. Every day I scan the headlines of 27 newspapers from around the world, so my computer picks up a lot of adware and spyware (a lot of it seems to come from the U.K.). Norton won't or can't remove all of the offending strings, but Registry Clean Expert removed everything Norton identified and then ... [ More ]

Comment #5

LuckyLilly — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:03:33 GMT

@jim695, it will fix 10 errors at a time. Keep running it and in 15 or 20 minutes you'll have them all fixed for free. But only for 15 days. ;-)

Comment #4

Todd — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:46:26 GMT

Hey Jim, that's really great! I'm glad you related that story, because it's a terrific example of how the registry can be the source for many problems on a PC. In my opinion, you can tell a good registry cleaner by the fact that it handles 64-bit Vista well. It requires a lot of knowledge and experience to do that. Also, the explanations they use in the software are very clear and concise, meaning that the authors understand the topic very well. I have used registry cleaners written by peop... [ More ]

Comment #3

jim695 — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:55:53 GMT

The free version of Registry Clean Expert will fix ten errors. My 2-year-old Dell had over 250 problems after running RCE, so please, PLEASE believe me when I say it's the best thirty bucks you'll ever spend. Before running this utility, I had to launch Windows Solitaire just so I'd have something to do while I waited for a web page to load. I'd have to wait at least a half-hour after startup before I could actually use my computer. I'd click and click, I'd pound on the F-keys (I'... [ More ]

Comment #2

Todd — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:34:52 GMT

Ah yes, the famous browser toolbars. Everyone who has installed any kind of "freebee" browser toolbar should uninstall it. Almost all involve spyware of some sort. For example, those "smiley central" add-ons, which provide the bigger smiley faces. Really great, except now you have spyware installed on your computer. Is it really worth it? Same goes for weather toolbars, search toolbars, etc., etc. So much junk, so little time....

Comment #1

jarasan — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:09:04 GMT

Great advice, people can't believe I have a 5 year old dell latitude that is faster than the box they purchased a year ago. If everybody practiced what you posted above they would need "new" machines less often. You may also want to add good virus, adware, spyware software, remove stuff from the startup you don't need, and delete unnecessary browser bars etc.. Thanks again.

Original Blog Entry: Cleaning out junk from an old computer

Todd — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:59:52 GMT

I sent a Lottery Post member some tips on cleaning out lots of "junk" installed on their computer over the course of a few years. I thought it maybe useful advice for anyone in the same situation, so I'll post it here too.

It's amazing how much junk accumulates on a PC, especially from someone who downloads a lot of stuff. After a while all that junk clogs up a PC, making it slower and slower.

I hope this can benefit someone in the same boat.

Cleaning out old junk from a PC

First off, if you really want to clean an old PC, format the hard disk and do a fresh install of Windows. (Or format the hard disk and use the CDs that came with your computer to restore it to the way you got it.)

However, that's extreme, and requires you to back up all the files you want to keep. So for the purposes of this discussion, we'll assume you're not going to do a clean install of Windows.

Start by uninstalling programs using the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs. Don't delete programs/applications by deleting the folder in the Program Files folder, because that will leave tons of junk on there, such as registry entries and files the program stores elsewhere on your hard disk.

After you've deleted as much as you can (and you should really try to strip it bare), you can do a few more things:

Run Windows Update to make sure you have downloaded and installed all the Microsoft updates and security patches. Keep running Windows Update until there are no more updates. (After installing a round of updates, run it again, even if all the options were checked. Sometimes there will be additional updates waiting.)
Delete all temporary files using the Windows Disk Cleaner tool (comes with Windows). If it's a regular desktop computer, delete the hibernation file (if prompted) because it's only used if you put the computer to sleep (typically only laptops). Check most of the other options too, especially temporary files and log files. Be careful about stuff you have no idea about.
Get a good registry cleaner tool. I recommend one called "Registry Clean Expert". You can get it from download.com, but if you're going to go with my recommendation, be sure you find that exact name (there are many). I liked it so much I purchased the real thing (something like 30 bucks.) It is easy to use, and seems to have gotten rid of all the junk in the registry.&nbs....

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