This article will help users to
perform a complete computer cleanup, which will improve the overall performance
of their computers. It's not meant as a substitute for regular computer
maintenance, performed by a professional computer technician.
Almost every computer user knows
that, from time to time, your computer starts to run a little slower or you
notice that you hard drive space is dwindling. So many people shrug this off
and choose not to do anything about it. They think that it's normal to have
these kinds of computer problems and that there isn't anything they can do
about it. Your computer is trying to tell you something...it's time for a
cleaning. It's time to clean up the junk and organize the files on your
computer, just as you would clean and organize your office.
This step-by-step tutorial will put
you on the path toward a cleaner, more efficient computer. You'll learn how to
perform a complete computer cleanup and you just may save yourself some money,
in the future, by maintaining your computer, instead of just taking it to a
repair technician when it breaks.
In this tutorial, we'll only concern
ourselves with Windows XP (I guess I'll have to re-write this article for
Vista), for a couple of reasons.
Microsoft has ended support for
Windows 98, 98SE and Millennium.
If you still have one of those
earlier operating systems, your computer is just too old to become
"efficient" by today's standards.
Follow these cleanup steps and you
just may learn to love your computer, again.
Unused User Accounts If you have any
User Accounts that are no longer active, logon as a computer administrator and
remove them.
1.Click START, then CONTROL PANEL.
2.When the Control Panel opens, click USER ACCOUNTS.
3.Click CHANGE AN ACCOUNT.
4.Click on the name of the account you want to remove.
5.Click REMOVE THIS ACCOUNT.
6.When given the option to "delete files" or "keep files", choose to delete them.
7.After removing all unused User Accounts, restart the computer. Windows Updates Make sure you have all of the latest Windows Updates installed by visiting update.microsoft.com and following the instructions on the website.
2.When the Control Panel opens, click USER ACCOUNTS.
3.Click CHANGE AN ACCOUNT.
4.Click on the name of the account you want to remove.
5.Click REMOVE THIS ACCOUNT.
6.When given the option to "delete files" or "keep files", choose to delete them.
7.After removing all unused User Accounts, restart the computer. Windows Updates Make sure you have all of the latest Windows Updates installed by visiting update.microsoft.com and following the instructions on the website.
It's critical that you keep your
computer up-to-date. Microsoft releases new security updates all the time and
it's easier just to set your computer to automatically download and install
these updates.
Here's how to do that:
1.Right-click on MY COMPUTER.
2.Click PROPERTIES.
3.Click the AUTOMATIC UPDATES tab (reference the illustration, below).
4.Choose "Automatic (recommended)".
5.Click APPLY and OK.
2.Click PROPERTIES.
3.Click the AUTOMATIC UPDATES tab (reference the illustration, below).
4.Choose "Automatic (recommended)".
5.Click APPLY and OK.
Remove Unused Programs This is
pretty basic stuff. Most Windows users have already been through the steps of
adding and removing programs, but we'll list the steps for those who haven't.
1.Click START, then CONTROL PANEL.
2.Double-click ADD OR REMOVE
PROGRAMS.
3.When the window that opens has
fully loaded, scroll through the list of programs and remove any that are
unwanted or no longer used.
4.Just a piece of advice...any
programs listed that mention anything about "bargain",
"cash", "search", "web" or "fun", in
the program name, should probably be removed.
Temporary File Cleanup Temporary
files are one of the biggest wastes of hard drive space, hogs of computer
resources and major causes of recurring spyware and virus infections. They need
to be cleaned on a regular basis. Follow these steps to remove ALL temporary
files from your computer:
1.Double-click MY COMPUTER.
2.Open the root drive (usually C:).
3.Open DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS.
4.Click TOOLS, then FOLDER OPTIONS.
5.Click the VIEW tab (reference the illustration, below).
6.Under "Hidden files and folders", click "SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS".
7.Uncheck "HIDE EXTENSIONS FOR KNOWN FILE TYPES".
8.Uncheck "HIDE PROTECTED OPERATING SYSTEM FILES (RECOMMENDED)".
9.When the warning message pops up, click YES. 10.Click APPLY, then OK.
2.Open the root drive (usually C:).
3.Open DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS.
4.Click TOOLS, then FOLDER OPTIONS.
5.Click the VIEW tab (reference the illustration, below).
6.Under "Hidden files and folders", click "SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS".
7.Uncheck "HIDE EXTENSIONS FOR KNOWN FILE TYPES".
8.Uncheck "HIDE PROTECTED OPERATING SYSTEM FILES (RECOMMENDED)".
9.When the warning message pops up, click YES. 10.Click APPLY, then OK.
***It's recommended that you change
the file folder settings back to their default settings after you fully
complete the computer cleanup.***
1.With the Documents And Settings folder
opened, open a user account folder.
2.Open the LOCAL SETTINGS folder.
3.Open the TEMP folder.
4.Press CTRL+A to select all files.
5.Press SHIFT+DEL to permanently delete all selected files. *Note*: you may be unable to delete ALL of the files and folders because some of them may be "locked" by the operating system or another program. Select smaller groups of folders or files in order to remove as many as possible.
6.Navigate back to the LOCAL SETTINGS folder.
7.Open the TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES folder.
8.Repeat steps 4 and 5. See *Note*.
9.Repeat steps 1 through 8 for all user account folders.
10.Empty the RECYCLE BIN and restart the computer.
2.Open the LOCAL SETTINGS folder.
3.Open the TEMP folder.
4.Press CTRL+A to select all files.
5.Press SHIFT+DEL to permanently delete all selected files. *Note*: you may be unable to delete ALL of the files and folders because some of them may be "locked" by the operating system or another program. Select smaller groups of folders or files in order to remove as many as possible.
6.Navigate back to the LOCAL SETTINGS folder.
7.Open the TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES folder.
8.Repeat steps 4 and 5. See *Note*.
9.Repeat steps 1 through 8 for all user account folders.
10.Empty the RECYCLE BIN and restart the computer.
Virus And Spyware Scans If you don't
already have an antivirus program and two or three antispyware programs
installed and updated on your computer, then you're BEGGING for problems. I use
Webroot Antivirus/Antispyware and Spybot Search & Destroy (free). If you're
relying solely on "free" programs for your computer security, you're
likely making a big mistake. I understand that you don't want to pay for
software. Nobody does. You just have to look at the value in investing a little
bit of money toward preventing the problems that might arise from choosing the
"cheaper route". Ok...enough said on that subject.
The most efficient way for antivirus
and antispyware products to complete their scans successfully is to run them
while the computer is in Safe Mode. To restart Windows in Safe Mode, tap the F8
key about every half-second or so, at computer startup, once you see the
manufacturer's logo. You'll then be brought to a screen where you will use the
arrow keys to choose the boot mode. Use the arrow up or down key to choose SAFE
MODE. Press enter and let Windows do it's thing. When the computer has fully booted,
complete FULL SYSTEM scans with your antivirus and antispyware programs. When
they are completed, reboot the computer, normally.