best way to clean-up a pc hard drive?

Question

i have an idea of the options i have for doing it myself,but im lookin for the easiest way to get my hard drive to run a little faster without loosing important files or downloaded music ect. Im lokin for an expert type opinion or answer.

Answer 1

Contrary to what the person above said, you don't need to reinstall the OS with any regularity if you maintain it correctly.

Defrag often (I do it every day, and have it set to defrag while the screen saver runs as well). Use a program like RegClean to keep the registry in nice shape. Make sure you delete all the temporary files that Windows decides you'll need (Internet files, swap dumps from programs, etc)

Doing simple things like this can keep the computer running like new for a long, long time.

Answer 2

You can download ccleaner for free here: http://bit.ly/1Bk5V5C

First open CCleaner
Go to the Cleaner tab and you will be confronted by a very confusing lineup of checkboxes.
To make this brief, below is my recommended setup:
Under internet explorer check temporary internet files, cookies, and last download location. Most users don't really need this stuff. keep history and bookmarks unchecked, history is a maybe, but you don't want to lose bookmarked sites. You can normally leave Windows Explorer, System, and Advanced alone.
Run CCleaner and it will start deleting files.
afterward it will present you with a list of the files deleted, you really don't need to go through it as it will be several pages long.
The registry cleaner is recommended for slightly more advanced users. Use it after uninstalling programs as they will often leave behind incorrect registry entries.
If you decide to run Registry cleaner then review the items detected and always back up the registry (I keep a folder aside for this)
The Tools tab lets you uninstall programs and set startup programs. Why do you need this if Windows has all of these features? Especially with Vista Home Ed. The windows defender software explorer( startup programs) doesn't pick up some entries (however software explorer is easier to use).
Using CCleaner to uninstall programs and then check for leftover registry entries takes less time.
Under Options you can determine how CCleaner cleans your files. I leave this alone.

Answer 3

The best way to do this is to run a virus scan first to delete anything that has come in online that you don't want. Then, delete your browser's cache of cookies, history, etc. These items also slow performance. Next, go to Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disc Cleanup. Run this program to condense old files that you haven't used in a while. It still saves them. It will delete some extra internet temporary files to help give you more room. The last step is to go to Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Defragmenter. Defragment your hard drive. This makes your computer programs and files continuous instead of making the computer jump between memory locations. If you haven't done this before, this process may take a while. I'd recommend doing the last two items at least once a week. It really helps me get the most of my PC and internet experience.

Answer 4

I would run a Defrag and also watch how much space you actually have on your hard drive. Another thing that slows down your hard drive is not enough R.A.M. or you have too many processes running at once. To stop unnecessary Processes from running Click Start, Run, and type in msconfig then click processes then shut the ones down you do not need to start when you turn on your computer. Then do a ctrl+alt+del and stop any process that does not need to be running. Please note do not shut down System or Network processes.

Answer 5

Why? If the point is to sparkling virus infections and so on. you may nonetheless have them interior the boot sector. a very thorough virus experiment with 2 or 3 anti-virus courses will do the trick. The corrupted OS may be repaired utilizing the unique OS CD. courses like wise Disk purifier 4 loose and wise Registry purifier would remove the fluff from the difficult disk. in case you want to bypass ahead nonetheless, you may study off the teachings from the OS CD which provides you particular guidance.

Answer 6

Disk clean up will speed up your computer only in case you have less than 15% of free space available. As for cleanup itself you can remove restore points (usually they take up to 12% of the disk space). Also you can remove internet temporary files in tools >>options>>delete cookies (delete temporary internet files). In case you have some unwanted programs you can also remove them in add remove programs. Also you can run disk clean up just right click on the partition in "my computer" then properties and disk cleanup.

Answer 7

disk cleanup cleans up your system of things that havent been used in a long time or that it doesn't need anymore if you have upgraded. but if files are needed then it will compress them.

start > run > type in cleanmgr > select the drive you want to clean out (usually refered as C:) > select what you want it to do with the check boxes

Answer 8

Ways to speed up your computer:
Please have the patience to read ALL of these:

1.Download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/ and run it once daily before shutting down your computer. It removes all the trash files that are created while surfing through the net. Use its Issues section once every 2 weeks to delete all the unused registry keys. If you have a lot of Auto Start entries, then you can remove them from its Tools>Startup. But keep the important ones like firewall and the real-time protection shields of your anti-virus and anti-spyware.

2.Keep a decent anti-virus, a strong firewall and two anti-spywares in your computer. Always keep the real time protection shield (or resident shield) of the anti-virus and one of the anti-spyware active. Update them and scan your computer once every week with both the anti-spyware and once every 2 weeks with anti-virus. I have given the links to some free and good anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall; get them all:
AVG: http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10596553.html?tag=lst-0-1
AdAware SE: http://www.download.com/ad-aware-se-pers...
SpyBot Search and Destroy: http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/spy...
Comodo Personal Firewall: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/d...

Never keep two anti-virus or firewall on a single system. If you are already using a good anti-virus or firewall, then you need not download the corresponding one. You can, however, use as many anti-spywares as you want.

3.Keep a virtual memory booster as an auto-start entry. It frees the clogged RAM. I use RAM Booster, which is very effective. Here is the link to download it:
http://www.download.com/rambooster/3000-...
After downloading it, follow the steps:
*. Click on Edit>Options and tick the follow options:
(a) Set auto optimisation on
(b) Show CPU usage
(c) Start minimised
(d) Launch automatically at start up
Also, increase the auto optimisation level and 'Mb of RAM to free at auto level' as per your requirement.

4.Keep at least 35% of your C: free. Transfer all the music, image and video files to other drives.

5.Defragment your hard drives (especially C:) once every month. To defrag, go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Defragment. It takes a lot of time (50 minutes or over) so don’t become impatient. It’s for your computer’s good.

6.Get the free Google Web Accelerator to boost up your Internet speed.
http://webaccelerator.google.com/

7.Keep your Recycle Bin empty.

8.Use minimum possible shortcut icons on your desktop.

9.If you have genuine Windows, keep it updated every month.

10.Trim down the number of games if you have way too many.

11.You will hate this suggestion, but believe me; blank wallpaper helps a faster startup.

If nothing works, you should reformat your computer.

Answer 9

Cleaning up will not generally speed anything up. Windows should be reinstalled once a year to get a fresh start. If you want to speed up your computer after a fresh install try upgrading hardware.

Answer 10

1)Run disk defragmenter.
2)Download CCleaner from download.com and with it clean all whatever that is unwanted.
3)Most important scan your system for spyware regularly.