Here's my typical maintenance strategy, which I do about once a week:
First, I run Disk Cleanup, checking all of the options. Note that
compressing files will take quite a while if you have a large hard
drive, and you haven't done this in a while. I start with this step
because having a clean hard drive will speed up all of the subsequent steps.
Next I use ToniArts' EasyCleaner from
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm to remove any
unnecessary files from my hard drive. This cleans out some temporary
files, back ups, and so on that don't get touched by Disk Cleanup. I
personally leave cookies and web history around, but I have everything
else cleaned up.
At this point, my hard drive is as clean as it's going to get, and I
move onto the next steps.
I then use EasyCleaner again to scrub my registry. I find EasyCleaner
does a nice job of cleaning out my registry without being so aggressive
that I'm worried about system problems.
Finally I run Disk Defragmenter.
EasyCleaner can do a lot more than I have it do, and there are a lot of
other programs that you can use. This is what I settled on, and I find
it's a nice balance between being effective and being easy and quick.
I also try to keep current back ups of my most important data. I don't
do complete system back ups, but I probably should.
I also use the free versions of AVG 7.5 for my virus scanning and
protection and Super AntiSpyware to scan my hard drive for malware.
I hope some of this information helps.
Jeff Kenyon wrote:
> Do the disc clean up first before defraging so it will get rid of the old
> files and junk. I hate slugish programs especially OUtlook/Outlook
> Express.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, 19 Sep 2008, Ron & the bears wrote:
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> My Outlook Express locked up on me today. It gave me the choice to end
>> program now, or go to windows something to check the status. The latter did
>> nothing, so I ended the program.
>>
>> I then defragged my computer. Then, I wanted to do disc clean-up. When it
>> came to the window confirming my request, I chickened out. What does the
>> clean up feature do? What else should I be doing to maintain my PC?
>>
>> Is there a good free adaware and spybot program out there? I downloaded Noad
>> for free, but now that it found 102 possible threats to my PC, it wants me
>> to register. Should I do it?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Ron & the we-know-a-lot-more-about-bikes-than-computers bears
>> Austin, TX
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
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--
Christopher
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