cleaning up a PC, de-frag it???
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Scooby Senior
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: Nottm
cleaning up a PC, de-frag it???
I've an old PC i want my mum to use, all documents and stuff been taken off it, what else do i need to do to 'clear' it so it's not all full of junk thats slowing it down.
Do i de frag it?? how?
software on it is only basic stuff like Office97pro
then main stuff like the BT wireless applications to get on the net, wifi styleee... as it didn't have wireless till the BT guy came out and put the thing in the tower unit.
But, I'm noticing that when i'm surfing the net.. only on page etc, the mouse cusor freezes and i can't do anything other than turn it off then back on again.
what should i do....... buy a laptop for mum/dad?
Do i de frag it?? how?
software on it is only basic stuff like Office97pro
then main stuff like the BT wireless applications to get on the net, wifi styleee... as it didn't have wireless till the BT guy came out and put the thing in the tower unit.
But, I'm noticing that when i'm surfing the net.. only on page etc, the mouse cusor freezes and i can't do anything other than turn it off then back on again.
what should i do....... buy a laptop for mum/dad?
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System tools> Disk Defragmenter.
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Disk Cleanup.
Let those two run. They may take a while
Does sit have any secuity, like AVG, etc? Run nthat too, NOT at the same time.
Does it have Spybot and Adaware? You could do free downloads and run both, again NOT at the same time.
Also, go into Start> control panel> Add and remove programs, and right click, then click remove for any program no longer used.
You can also take some time going through places like documents, folders etc etc deleting crap.
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Disk Cleanup.
Let those two run. They may take a while
Does sit have any secuity, like AVG, etc? Run nthat too, NOT at the same time.
Does it have Spybot and Adaware? You could do free downloads and run both, again NOT at the same time.
Also, go into Start> control panel> Add and remove programs, and right click, then click remove for any program no longer used.
You can also take some time going through places like documents, folders etc etc deleting crap.
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Browsing through a copy of Razzle
im interested in this too, mine freezes alot and i have to re boot it, gets on my ****...
can it be cleaned as above, but i dont want to loose all my stored pics etc
can it be cleaned as above, but i dont want to loose all my stored pics etc
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Scooby Regular
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 581
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From: west London
I also use CCleaner, you can download it here for free CCleaner - Home when used regularly it will clean all sorts of crap off your system and registry.
Thread Starter
Scooby Senior
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 15,078
Likes: 46
From: Nottm
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System tools> Disk Defragmenter.
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Disk Cleanup.
Let those two run. They may take a while
Does sit have any secuity, like AVG, etc? Run nthat too, NOT at the same time.
Does it have Spybot and Adaware? You could do free downloads and run both, again NOT at the same time.
Also, go into Start> control panel> Add and remove programs, and right click, then click remove for any program no longer used.
You can also take some time going through places like documents, folders etc etc deleting crap.
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Disk Cleanup.
Let those two run. They may take a while
Does sit have any secuity, like AVG, etc? Run nthat too, NOT at the same time.
Does it have Spybot and Adaware? You could do free downloads and run both, again NOT at the same time.
Also, go into Start> control panel> Add and remove programs, and right click, then click remove for any program no longer used.
You can also take some time going through places like documents, folders etc etc deleting crap.
I'll start with the above,
security has been removed as the BT Business security was transfered to the new laptop, so this one hasn't got any, was thinking of putting the free AVG for the amount mum/dad would use it.
all files have been removed onto my sisters 'ext hard drive'
not used programmes, can't really see any on, as didn't have much on anyway.
Scooby Regular
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 581
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From: west London
'but will ccleaner remove all my stored pictures and music'
No, it cleans things like cookies, web browser history, temporary files, recycle bin etc.
No, it cleans things like cookies, web browser history, temporary files, recycle bin etc.
Last edited by scoobeenut; Mar 25, 2010 at 06:03 PM.
Scooby Senior
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: West Midlands
Earlier tonight i was helping a friend that had tried to upgrade his free version of AVG from 8.5 to 9.0 and it repeatedly failed. After lots of investigation, you need to install some Microsoft patch thingy (which is not part of their auto-update) to get it to work - with the details hidden deep within their support FAQ.
Thus i removed AVG and installed a copy of Avast in literally minutes (AVG took several-teen times longer to remove) and all seems fluffy bunnies so far
There are lots of free anti-virus products out there (AVG, Avast, Avira etc.) - so give them a try and choose what you think is best (with no financial commitment). If you do like a particular product, consider upgrading to the "full" version.
mb
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Kamloops British Columbia Canada
Piriform the are the company that write ccleaner and they also do a defrag program that's quite good.
Defraggler - File and Disk Defragmentation - Free Download
Don't forget when you install ccleaner to uncheck the "install Yahoo tool bar " option, Unless you want it of course
Defraggler - File and Disk Defragmentation - Free Download
Don't forget when you install ccleaner to uncheck the "install Yahoo tool bar " option, Unless you want it of course
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It's all very well playing with ccleaner and doing defrags left right and centre but doing all the above will take longer than actually doing a clean reinstall of the OS. A defrag alone can take hours on a large drive.
To the OP, when was the computer last reinstalled? What is the Operating System? Do you have all the disks that came with it such as recovery disks? If you do you need to back your files up to a usb drive/memory stick, make a note of any apps you have that you want to put back on and then stick the recovery dvd in and rebuild it and then reinstall the apps you want back on it such as Office.
A rebuild will be far better than defrag + ccleaner + disk clean up etc. You will end up with a clean operating system and none of your personal files left behind.
To the OP, when was the computer last reinstalled? What is the Operating System? Do you have all the disks that came with it such as recovery disks? If you do you need to back your files up to a usb drive/memory stick, make a note of any apps you have that you want to put back on and then stick the recovery dvd in and rebuild it and then reinstall the apps you want back on it such as Office.
A rebuild will be far better than defrag + ccleaner + disk clean up etc. You will end up with a clean operating system and none of your personal files left behind.
I re installed xp on my old athlon 2.8 with 512 meg and to be honest by the time all the updates were complete it was running like a sack of **** a few weeks down the line, the poor old pc was just not up to it, and there was no way I was forking out for more ram.
So I gave ubuntu 9.10 a go and it is like a brand new system
ubuntu has moved on from a few years ago and is much more user friendly. and for any windows programs you simply cannot live without, you can run most of them in wine.
So I gave ubuntu 9.10 a go and it is like a brand new system
ubuntu has moved on from a few years ago and is much more user friendly. and for any windows programs you simply cannot live without, you can run most of them in wine.
Scooby Regular
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Zed Ess Won Hay Tee
Yeah, i use ubuntu on this old 800mhz laptop, works fine, when i do have to go into windows xp to use the odd program, it generally runs sluggish, grinds the hard disc doing gay updates, and generally feels full of bloat.
Thread Starter
Scooby Senior
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 15,078
Likes: 46
From: Nottm
problem sorted.
new Compaq 17" laptop bought from Tesco this morning.
But did the de frag yesterday seemed better, then my sis had it freeze thre times in 35mins. So can't chance it doing it all the time.
tnx everyone
new Compaq 17" laptop bought from Tesco this morning.
But did the de frag yesterday seemed better, then my sis had it freeze thre times in 35mins. So can't chance it doing it all the time.
tnx everyone
Scooby Senior
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 5,763
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From: West Midlands
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