How do I clean out an older PC without too much hassle?

Question

ok i have an older model PC. It's a NEC if that matters any. It was upgraded to Windows XP maybe a couple years ago. It runs quite slow compared to my newer computer. I've tried all of those registry cleaners, spyware removers, antivirus, and the like. None of them seem to make any difference at all. I was thinking of wiping the hard drive(not to hide anything). Would this make any difference, and if it does, what program or method should I use to do it without too much hassle?

Answer 1

It will probably give you a performance boost, but remember that it is an older computer, and XP can really bog down machines without enough RAM. Have you considered adding another 256 or 512?

That being said, depending on how secure you want to be, you can just reinstall windows from the disk, taking advantage of it's option to reformat a partition for itself. If you want to be more secure, do a full format (NOT a quick format) of C: first. If, for some reason, that's also not good enough, download Boot'n'Nuke, and use that to wipe the drive completely.

Answer 2

First save any personal files you want. Use the the install CD that came with the computer to do a total destructive back to factory settings (you will lose all personal files and programs. Or..
You could try the System Restore which takes you back to a time when your computer was working good. Go To:
start
programs
accessories
systems tools
system restore
This process is completely reversable. And does not remove your personal files. Just go back one checkpoint at a time until your puter is working good again.
You may need to reinstall any recent software programs, but it is a quick fix when you dont know what else to do.
E

Answer 3

if you have a long time starting up, then try this:
start>>run>>type "msconfig.exe"
then go to the startup tab and check off all the programs that you don't want to start up automatically. then restart your computer, this should make you're computer boot up faster. Also do you have a lot of shortcuts on your desktop, then get rid of all the ones that you aren't using. They tend to also slow down the computer.

Try also to get rid of some temporary files by going to:
start>>My Computer
right click on Local disk (C:) and go to properties. click on Disc Cleanup and this check off all the things you want to delete. this should free up some space and help speed up your PC.
I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Download the FREE liveCDrom http://pclinuxos.com and burn that image directly to CDrom, then, reboot. Runs in RAM disc. but, you can read/write the hard drive.

When ready, press the Install icon, and in 20 to 40 minutes, it will be installed, along with 5500 FREE games, programs, office suites, grpahics programs, browsers, science apps.

Then, that old NEC will run upto 50X faster. Just did a NEC 700Mhz LCD unit, at our installfest, that used to have Win98SE on it. Screams, now!

Answer 5

Yes, that way you will get rid of all those hard to find junk files which will speed up your computer. Just remember to back up all important files to a USB zip drive so can simply put back those files once you reformat your harddrive.

Answer 6

uhhhhh, FORMAT C:

make sure you have your windows cd ready to reinstall.