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Cleaning Up Computer

A

avoId3

n00b
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Messages
5
I've had my computer for about 1 year and 4 months I think and I haven't really cleaned it up and I want to make my computer run at its best. I always kept off the virus's and such, but can anyone tell me what else i should do? right now in virus scanning in McAfee and using ad-aware and also disk defragment. is there anything else i should do to keep my computer running good? thanks.
 
Open it up and clean out the dust. Clean the fans, power supply and vents, use compressed air to blow dust from between the drives, unplug the machine first and don't use a vacuum.

I'm ashamed to say it but I had a hard drive overheat and go bad because the vent holes in the front of the case became plugged with dust.
 
ImLazZzy said:
reinstall OS
Click to expand...
Unnecessary unless you regulary install and uninstall junk on your computer.

You can also search out temp files and delete them. Windows gets most of them but there are always a few lingering. Look for files with a .tmp extension and check your temp directories.
 
ImLazZzy said:
reinstall OS
Click to expand...

Reinstalling my OS revitalized my system. Had some pretty bad slowage problems (bad stuff in registry, im guessing) from 2 years of use and nothing seemed to bring it back up to speed again. Reinstalled OS, then winxp booted up within seconds instead of 30 seconds like before.
 
Don't forget to update drivers for video, audio, motherboard, etc.

BIOS update flashes can help a lot too.
 
Delete temporary internet files, and if you've got a large HDD, reduce the space that IE is allowed to use for caching web pages as they contribute to fragmentation. I have mine set to 100Mb.
 
Ultimately the best way to get back your resources would be to reformat and reinstall your OS. Remember to backup everything prior to doing so, keep your headaches down. At that point you can install all the latest drivers for your hardware. After all your software is installed I like to defrag the system and then run norton windoctor. Even with a clean install it finds several errors. No telling how many it will find if you ran it without a clean install. Might be worth the trouble. I know I reformat probably every month if not every two. Of course that is just because of my obsessive compulsive disorder / obsession with all things electronic. :D Have fun!
 
Fireplay5 said:
Ultimately the best way to get back your resources would be to reformat and reinstall your OS.
Click to expand...
Reinstalling had a bigger impact on the Win9x series than it does for 2000/XP. I have had many machines running for years without reinstalling the OS (95,98,2K,XP) and they are just as quick and have as many resources as when they were new. If you are installing and uninstalling lots of garbage (or just stuff) on your system then I believe you will benefit from an occasional reformat/reinstall; otherwise it is completely unnecessary and a waste of time.
 
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