I'd thought I'd share with you some simple, yet effective programs to run to get your PC running faster and free up Hard Drive space and system memory. Most of the programs are FREE and work well to get your computer running top notch.
First thing is to determine what programs are running at startup... quickest way to do that is to use
AutoRuns http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Autoruns.zip
Notes -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysintern...s/Autoruns.mspx
open the program and click the LogOn tab, start unchecking/deleting files under the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run tab.
Now reboot the machine and you should notice less icons showing up in the system tray.
A good idea is to also check your temperatures, I use a program called
SpeedFan SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer
Just make sure everything is under 55C, and if it's over look into more case fans or cooling the ambient temperatures...if anything is over 65, that will probably cause a lot of program crashes/blue screens.
After that, download
Crap Cleaner Download CCleaner 2.08.588 - FileHippo.com
Just make sure to uncheck the yahoo toolbar crap, then install, run and click Run Cleaner. Also, click the issues tab and scan for registry issues. I usually do this 2-3 times in a row as it cleans out old reg. values, new registry issues occur.
Next download
ATF Cleaner http://www.atribune.org/public-beta/ATF-Cleaner.exe
A simple little program, doens't need to be installed and will clean out temp files from all user accounts on your O/S
Now, it's time to scan for spyware and other BS you can get on the internet. Popular ones are of course
Adaware 2007 Ad-Aware 2008 - Free software downloads and reviews - CNET Download.com Spybot Search and Destroy http://http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Both of these should be run, but not at the same time. If you are SLAMMED with spyware, more than likely just these 2 programs won't take care of everything. So, also try
Asquared http://download5.emsisoft.com/a2FreeSetup.exe
This program is particularly good at finding Trojans, I love it
Now, if your still paranoid about having spyware, download
Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus http://www.pctools.com/downloads/sdasetup.exe
I only recommend this program if you've got at LEAST 512MB RAM, as it's pretty RAM hungry. Also, this program costs $, but if you look around on the net, you'll be able to find a way to register it. But, you can at the very least get a free scan, and then decide for yourself whether or not to pursue purchasing, but it's my absolute FAVORITE anti-spyware program.
Free Online Anti-Virus Scan thats really good is
TrendMicro http://prerelease.trendmicro-europe.com/ho...mp;locale=en_US
This works great, and usually cleans up A lot.
If your looking for a good free anti-virus software that runs on your machine all the time (like norton) try
AntiVir http://www.majorgeeks.com/AntiVir_Personal...ion_7_d955.html TuneXP TuneXP - Reviews and free TuneXP downloads at Download.com
This is a pretty cool program, but it requires a bit of understanding what your doing...basically here is what I enable...you can check the help file if you think you want to tweak further. *note-this software is not compatible with GameXP (I no longer recommend using GameXP btw)
Check enable on the following
Disable Paging Executive (if you have 512MB or more)
Faster Shutdown
File Allocation size tweak
optimize prefetch
Increase NTFS performance
IO Page lock limit - set to whatever amount you have
Speed UP Windows IRQ handling
DNS cache increase
Then Clear the Prefetch Folder, press Y for yes
Disk De-fragmenting in windows pretty much sucks, I recommend
IObit SmartDefrag Beta 3 |MG| IObit SmartDefrag Beta 5.01
A free disk defrag program that has a auto defrag mode to keep your disk defragged 24/7
If you really want the BEST .. get
DiskKeeper http://downloads.diskeeper.com/trialware/D...-ProPremier.exe
but it's only a 30 day free trial ... again if you do some internet searching...you can get a serial key.
Now uninstall all the stuff you don't want left on your pc and install
RegVac http://superwin.swmirror.com/regvacz.exe
It's a trial, but it'll clean up your registry pretty damn well. Run this twice, then uninstall.
Wise Registry Cleaner http://www.wisecleaner.com/soft/WRC3Setup.exe
Another good registry cleaner, however this one is freeware
Reboot and you should be free from spyware/malware/greyware and running A LOT better.
Enjoy!