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Thread ID: 49950	2004-10-05 20:48:00	FAQ #15 - Basic computer maintenance	-FAQ- (807)	Press F1

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278517	2004-10-05 20:48:00	FAQ #15 - Basic computer maintenance Originally written by Susan B If you think your computer has begun slowing down a lot recently it may be time for a good cleanout and some basic maintenance . • Firstly go to the forum's FAQ section (link top right of this page), read and carry out the instructions in the following FAQs: FAQ #40 - How do I backup my important files - which files should I back up? FAQ #33 - How do I delete my temp files? Which files can I safely delete? Ensure that you delete your Temporary Internet Files and Cookies as well as Windows temporary files . FAQ #32 - How do I delete my hidden index . dat file? (for Win 95, 98 and ME) After this do the following: • Delete your Recent files: go to Start>Run type recent and delete all . • Empty Recycle Bin . • Go to FAQ #34 - Why does scandisk/defrag stop after only 10%?, read and carry out the instructions to scan and defrag your hard drive, preferably in Safe Mode: For Error Checking open Windows Explorer, right click on the C: drive, choose Properties>Tools>Check now . Ensure that you tick both boxes for fix errors and recovery of bad sectors . Note: instructions are for Win XP, other Windows versions may vary, eg Windows 98 users will need to run Scandisk . For Defrag open Windows Explorer, right click on the C: drive, choose Properties>Tools>Defragment now and defrag each partition one at a time . Note: instructions are for Win XP, other Windows versions may vary . • Go to Start>Run, type in msconfig, go to the Startup tab and check out the applications loading at startup with the help of these sites: Pacs-Portal ( . pacs-portal . co . uk/startup_content . php" target="_blank">www . pacs-portal . co . uk), Startup Problems ( . whidbey . com/djdenham/Uncheck . htm" target="_blank">www2 . whidbey . com) and Tasklist Programs ( . answersthatwork . com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist . htm" target="_blank">www . answersthatwork . com) . If your list contains applications that are listed as unnecessary you can disable them from loading from within the program itself (preferable) or by removing the tick in the Startup tab . • Download and run Ad-aware and SpyBot to get rid of any spy/adware . See FAQ #16 - Spyware, adware and viruses . • Run an up-to-date anti-virus scan or get yourself a free virus check at Symantec ( . symantec . com/ssc/home . asp?j=1&langid=us&venid=sym&plfid=20&pkj=AETYESLHFEPGEVVSDUX" target="_blank">security . symantec . com) or TrendMicro's Housecall ( . trendmicro . com/) . Alternatively get AVG, a free anti-virus available from here (http://www . grisoft . com/us/us_dwnl_free . php" target="_blank">housecall . trendmicro . com/) . Alternatively get AVG, a free anti-virus available from here (http:) . • Download and run CW-SHREDDER ( . spywareinfo . com/~merijn/files/cwshredder . zip" target="_blank">www . spywareinfo . com) . This will get rid of CoolWebSearch which you may have on the computer . See FAQ #16 - Spyware, adware and viruses . • Visit Windows Update and ensure you have the latest updates . For Windows 98SE there is an Unofficial Windows98 Second Edition Service Pack 1 . 5 (Freeware) available from here ( . ms11 . net/98sesp . html" target="_blank">exuberant . ms11 . net) that you can use to update Win 98SE . Unlike the "official" Windows updates it contains only operating system updates, NOT Internet Explorer 6, DirectX 9, Media Player 9 and their updates . Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page . • Download and run a registry cleaner, eg RegCleaner ( . majorgeeks . com/download . php?det=460" target="_blank">www . majorgeeks . com) or Microsoft-Regclean ( . com . com/3000-2094-881470 . html?tag=list" target="_blank">download . com . com) (for Win 95/98 only) or RegSeeker ( . snapfiles . com/get/regseeker . html" target="_blank">www . snapfiles . com) (recommended for experienced users only) to clean up the registry . Please read FAQ #30 - The Registry for more advice on the registry and registry cleaners . • Repair Internet Explorer: go to Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, double click IE, choose Repair . • Make sure you have the correct time, date and time zone set on the computer . • When done reboot and see how the system runs now . • For more Windows 2000 / XP tweaking go to Black Viper's ( . blackviper . com/) website and check out what Service Configurations you can disable . For example the Indexing Service (http://www . blackviper . com/WinXP/service411 . htm#Indexing_Service" target="_blank">www . blackviper . com/) website and check out what Service Configurations you can disable . For example the Indexing Service (http:) of the hard drive(s) in Win 2K and XP is generally considered to be an unnecessary and major resource hog that should be disabled . Please read all the instructions thoroughly before making any changes to your system . • Other programs that can assist in disabling unwanted startup programs are Spybot Search and Destroy ( . safer-networking . org/en/index . html" target="_blank">www . safer-networking . org) and Startup Control Panel ( . net/StartupCPL . shtml" target="_blank">mlin . net) . Please read their Help files for instructions . ADDITIONAL NOTES: Q . "I have just done a defraq and now my PC is running slower than before . " A . Sometimes, especially after deleting the swap file, the swap file gets moved to the end of the data on the disk, so if your disk is fairly full it can be on the end of the hard drive which is a lot slower than the front of the drive . This is more noticeable on low memory PCs with slow hard drives, so the first cure is to upgrade the RAM . Otherwise a defrag application such as Norton's Speed Disk can move the swap file to the fastest part of the drive . Q . "I did a clean out and now several programs/Windows won't run!" A . Be more careful of what you clean out . It's quite common to find people cleaning out stuff that shouldn't be removed . If in doubt ask first and make backups . Original FAQ available from here ( . pcworld . co . nz/thread . jsp?forum=1&thread=41827&message=220301&q=faq+%231b#220301" target="_blank">pressf1 . pcworld . co . nz) .	-FAQ- (807)
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