I want to completely clean out my PC. But What do i need?

[Alex_is_Axel]

Goodevening everyone,

I want to completely clear out all the junk, old registry files, old drivers, temp files ad-aware, spy-ware, everything that is not needed for my pc. All i am asking is a list of good software which can help me completely clean it as much as possible to help keep my pc sparkly clean . I currently use:

Ad-aware
SpyBot Search and Destroy
RegSupreme
SpySweeper
RegClean
RegCleaner
RegScrubXP

But is there anything else that you would recommend that i could use to clean up my pc?

Thank you for your help and time

Alex

 

[ming]

Yep. Format.

 

[Alex_is_Axel]

lol @ ming

lol how did i guess that would prop up.. lol ..

Ok ok.. anything other than Formatting

Thanx .. lol

Alex

 

[Henyman]

i too would sujest a formatt, it's the best way to go

 

[ming]

i too would sujest a formatt, it's the best way to go

I've got support from Henyman. yyyyeah!!!

 

[ming]

It's best to start from scratch because then you'll be sure that all the junk has gone, and also, you'll be able to select what to put back on.
What I do is (apart from C: drive) have two other partitions with Windows installed on E: and F: respectively. I'm using HyperOS which sits in D: drive.
I use the E: partition as master image so that if sh!t happens to F:, I just need to restore this image and put back the apps that I really need to use on a daily basis.

All those Reg cleaners and stuff will still leave traces of rubbish in the registry no matter how many times you try to clean it out.

 

[Alex_is_Axel]

lol yea, i know that Formatting would be the best option but even in time, all the junk will pile up again. Surely there is some software that you could recommend that in some sense would be helpful to remove some if not all traces of junk?

In time i will format yea, but not yet .. i would prefer a different (i know its not better than a format) solution at the moment so that even when i do re-install, i can keep the junk at a low

I have 3 hard drives installed currently (check out MyPCSpecs)

Alex

 

[LeeJend]

Aside from the format...

Download and install mulitple anti virus (AVG and PANDA are free). A friend had some IRC bots that were not caught by Norton AV. No AV is perfect so use multiple ones to increase the chance of success. Same for spy ware removers.

It's not really possible to clean out 2000/XP without at least a new install (not repair). Windows fights you every step of the way hiding DLL, cookies, and system files in mulitple places. Programs will also do the same thing. Note how uninstalling, deleting the directory and cleaning the registry does not "reset" shareware application trial periods.

If you truly want a clean computer reformat. If you can live with less:

Disconnect physically from the internet (pull da plug).
1). Delete all cookies, off line files etc.
2). Run spybot, adaware, etc. (not just one of them)
3). Run multiple anti virus.
4). Uninstall anything that shows up that you don't want.
----Delete the directory for the program.
----Clean any reference to it out of the registry.
5). Run regcleaner, system mechanic etc. to find the broken links and left over registry entries.
6). Compact the registry.
7). Copy all your program files off of your partition onto another one. Defrag the remaining system files. Copy the program files back. Defrag again.

The non-free programs required to do all this will cost ~$120. The process will take you over 10 hours depending on the size of your partitions and computer speed. The results are not guaranteed.

You might as well reformat.

 

[Mubbers]

BCWipe to wipe the freespace on your HDDs.

http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/bcwipe3.htm

Agreed also with the reformat suggestions. And a much less time consuming operation.

Fresh re-installs of all your favourite games and apps! Something to savour.

 

[LeeJend]

Missed a step:

4a. Go through the Program Files directory and find all of the programs that are not shown in uninstall, delete them and manually clean all references to them out of the memory.

Note there will still be many DLLs in the windows system directory that are unused. System Mechanic may help with these, can't remember.

 

[Bootsy]

I vote reformat...probably take less time heh

 

[Vetrius]

hmmm, its just easier to reformat!

 

[silis]

start off with uninstalling everything you possibly can from every possible place you can. If you don't know what something is, then why is it on your computer? delete it!!! (or google it and find out what it does.) then, run through the registry and delete obvious entries OR what is better, is to get a registry celaner program that cleans the registry of progies that are GONE!


But what I do, which is far better than a format or to delete stuff, is I image my hdd before I install any odd progs that are not extremely useful. (I.E. after i install photoshop/office/etc... i Image, so if there are problems later on, 5 mins flat and I'm back where I used to be.

 

[Unleashed]

Norton Systemworks...

 

[ming]

start off with uninstalling everything you possibly can from every possible place you can. If you don't know what something is, then why is it on your computer? delete it!!! (or google it and find out what it does.) then, run through the registry and delete obvious entries OR what is better, is to get a registry celaner program that cleans the registry of progies that are GONE!


But what I do, which is far better than a format or to delete stuff, is I image my hdd before I install any odd progs that are not extremely useful. (I.E. after i install photoshop/office/etc... i Image, so if there are problems later on, 5 mins flat and I'm back where I used to be.

Even running reg cleaner after this may leave traces behind. I've seen it happen on my older machine. I uninstall something, run reg cleaner and I still find strings hiding in the reg file.

 

[Vetrius]

systemworks isn't all that good...

 

[Alex_is_Axel]

thank you for your help so far guys. Ive been in Add/Remove Programs and deleted un needed things. Im gonna go into the folders and see if theres anything lurking around

Are there any other programs that people would recommend that could help me "clear" junk?

Thank you everyone

Alex

 

[Chase™]

i use window washer 5 to get rid of junk files etc. but not registry..

 

[dreamliner77]

1) Best util for cleaning is the Windows Install disc

2) Barring a format, the only real way to do it is to do it manually

 

[Lee]

don't use clean center if you have norton antivurus 2003, this application seems to cause problems with it.