How to clean out your temp files.
For users of XP
For users of Vista
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup
- This will bring up the Disk Cleanup window.
- Check the following entries.
- Temporary Internet Files.
- Recycle Bin.
- Temporary Files.
- Click OK.
- When prompted whether you're sure you want to do this click Yes.
Get into the habit of doing this about once a month, or more frequently if you use your computer a lot.
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup
- This will open the Disk Cleanup Options window
- Choose:
- My files only
or- Files from all users on this computer
- Click Continue
- Select the drive you want to clean up
- Click OK
- Check the following entries:
- Temporary Internet Files
- Recycle Bin
- Temporary Files
- Click OK
- When asked if you're sure you want to delete these files, click Yes.
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How to DeFrag your hard drive.
For users of XP
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
- Click on the Analyze button.
- Let the analyzer run, it takes 5-10 mins or so, sometimes longer, depending on your disk size.
- When finished it will pop up a window telling you whether you need to defrag or not.
- Microsoft are notoriously conservative about Defragging, so don't take the recommendation you get as gospel. Have a look at the graph produced when analyzing, if there's more than about 10-15% showing red, then Defragging will improve your disk performance.
- If you need to Defrag
- Click the Defragment button.
- The defrag process can take hours, so go do something useful, or if you've followed my advice and done this before bedtime, go have a good sleep and it'll be done when you wake up.
For users of Vista
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
- Click Continue
- A window will open
- To set up a regular schedule to defragment your hard drive
- Check Run on a schedule (recommended)
- Select the time of day and day of the week that works best for you
- Select the volume (drive) to be defragmented
- To defragment right now:
- Click on the Defragment Now button
- Select drives to defragment
- Click OK to begin the defragmentation process
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How to dissable unnecessary programs when start up.
For Inexperienced computer users.
- Download StartupLite by Rubberducky to your Desktop.
- Doubleclick StartupLite.exe to launch the programme.
- Ensure the Disable box is checked.
- Click Continue.
- A pop up message will tell you the unecessary startup items in your list have been disabled and ask you to restart your computer.
- Re-start your computer.
For experienced usersIf you've disabled something you later wish to re-enable, do the following.
- Download and install WinPatrol By Bill Pytlovany.
- Doubleclick the Scottydog icon in your taskbar to launch the programme.
- Click on the Startup Programs tab.
- To stop a programme starting automatically at startup, click on it to highlight it, then click the Disable button.
(It will be up to you to research items first to see whether they should be disabled)- Exit WinPatrol.
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- Launch WinPatrol (as described above).
- Click on the Startup Programs tab.
- Click on entry you wish to re-enable.
- With a disabled entry, the Disable button will turn into an Enable button.
- Click Enable
- Exit WinPatrol
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How to disable the DNS client service.
For users of XP
- Click Start > Run type services.msc into the Open: box, then click OK.
- This will open the Services window.
- Scroll down to DNS Client and double click on it.
- Click the Stop button to stop the service.
- Set Startup type to Manual.
- Click OK
- Exit the Services window.
For users of Vista<a href="http://www.malwareremoval.com/tutorials/runningslowly.php#9" target="_blank"><div align="center">
- From Start, in the Start Search box, type services.msc
- Give permission to continue.
- Scroll down to DNS Client and double click on it.
- Under Service Status, click Stop
- Under Startup Type, choose Disabled.
- Click Apply, OK
- Exit the Services window.
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How to disable the Indexing Service
For users of XP
For users of Vista
- Click Start > Run type services.msc into the Open: box, then click OK.
- This will open the Services window.
- Scroll down to Indexing Service and double click on it.
- Click the Stop button to stop the service.
- Set Startup type to Disabled.
- Click OK
- Exit the Services window.
This service is not installed by default. If it is present it has been deliberately added for reverse compatibility reasons. Leave it alone.
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How to check your free disk space.
For users of XP
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
- Look in the last column (top right) under % Free Space
- Exit Disk Defragmenter
For users of Vista<a href="http://www.malwareremoval.com/tutorials/runningslowly.php#9" target="_blank"><div align="center">
- Click Start > Computer
- A window will open
- Information for your Hard disk drive(s), including the exact amount of free space available, will be displayed in the uppermost portion of the window.
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How to remove unused programs.
For users of XP
- Click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs
- Click on the programme you want to remove to highlight it.
- Click the Change/Remove button and follow any instructions given.
- Repeat for all programmes you wish to remove.
For users of Vista<a href="http://www.malwareremoval.com/tutorials/runningslowly.php#9" target="_blank"><div align="center">
- For Control Panel Home view - Click Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features
- For Classic View - Click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features
- For either option, to uninstall a program, select it from the list and then click Uninstall.
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How to Remove all but your last Restore Points.
For users of XP
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup
- This will bring up the Disk Cleanup window.
- Click the More Options tab.
- In the System Restore field, click Clean up
- You will be prompted if you want to remove all but the most recent Restore Point.
- Click Yes.
- Click OK.
- When prompted whether you're sure you want to do this click Yes.
For users of Vista
- Click Start > All Programs > System Tools > Disk Cleanup
- Select Files from all users on this computer
- Click on Continue
- Select the appropriate drive letter (usually C
- When the Disk Cleanup window opens, select the More Options tab
- Under System Restore and Shadow Copies click on the Clean up button
- All but the latest restore point will be removed
- Note: In some editions of Windows Vista, the disc might include file shadow copies and older Windows Complete PC Backup images as part of restore points. This information will also be deleted.
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