Progs which speed up your PC

[BattenEye]

Hi everyone. Does anyone have a view on the merits or otherwise of the lots of programs which offer to speed up/repair your PC? I’m running Vista and use a free version of Advanced SystemCare which I run occasionally and it purports to clear up registry errors and remove junk files etc. I’m being invited to upgrade to the pro version for £20 which,it is claimed, will make the ‘puter fly and more reliable.

I would appreciate the views all you experts out there. Thanks

[Train]

A complete waste of time and money! And it will suprise you how many folks have had to do clean installs because of programs like that.

[photolady]

This is what those programs do. They entice you to scan your computer with their software then tell you if you buy the pro package it will help you more. This is a scam. Do not fall for it.

The true way to make your computer run faster is a better and faster processor, more ram, and no junk running in the back ground. Use a good Anti-virus, a good spyware/malware program like SuperAntispyware and/or Malwarebytes.

Don't click on popups, don't download music and videos, and keep an eye on your kids to what they download or what websites they go to.

[SuperSparks]

I completely agree - those programs are dangerous and never achieve anything much. If you really feel you have to use one of those programs, use the freeware CCleaner, which does have a good rep. But the last time I used one of those programs was around 1999, and I haven't missed having one so far

If you want to speed up your PC, make sure you have enough RAM installed. Consider 2 gigs an absolute minimum for Vista.

[BattenEye]

Thanks to all of you. Photolady, do I need the paid version of Malawarebytes? I've d/ld the free version.

[Train]

The FREE version is all that is needed.

[BattenEye]

Thanks, Train. I appreciate your input. This site is brilliant!

[Welshjim]

BattenEye--Speed up your PC?
This was written some time ago so I charge only 5 quid.


1) Have you scanned the PC for viruses, spyware, etc.? (Be sure to use programs with updated reference definition files.) Delete whatever these programs recommend. And if you did find such malware, you should also probably install and run HiJackThis. It may find bits and pieces which were left behind
http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-...-10227353.html
2) Disk Cleanup. There are several ways to reach it. One is Start|All Programs|Accessories|System Tools|DiskCleanUp. That will start a scan of the PC to tell you what files might be deleted or compressed. (The scan takes a while.) I would certainly delete Temporary Internet Files, Temp files, Downloaded Program Files and probably Compress Old Files. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312 for details.
3) Then I would run ErrorChecking. (left click on MyComputer||right click on C:\ drive icon (assuming that is your hard drive)|Tools|Error Checking. Check the box "Automatically fix file system errors". Click Start (within the error checking window). You will be told to reboot. Do so. Error checking will then run as part of the reboot. It can take a while.
4) Start|Run|type MSCONFIG|OK|Startup tab. WinXP actually needs very few thirdparty programs (the ones you see in msconfig) to run at start. Antivirus, Firewall, Antispyware, programs associated with wireless connections such as mouse, network, etc. would be among the few. Uncheck the box to the left of any program you feel you do not need at startup. Click Apply. This site will help you make decisions what you do and do not need http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
5) Run Disk Defragmenter. ((left click on MyComputer||right click on C:\ drive icon (again assuming that is your hard drive)|Tools|Disk Defragmenter|Defrag Now click Analyze) Unless the analysis shows defragmentation is not needed, proceed to run Defragment. That also takes a while.

6) Disabling Services. This could be dangerous unless you know what you are doing. The main reason is that some Services depend on others, and some others may depend on it. Unless you have studied these dependencies, you may delete something needed to run what would seem to be unrelated. (You can check Dependencies by right clicking on the name of a Service|Properties|Dependency tab.) See this reference
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
The Elder Greek used to be very aggressive about disabling services, but you can see from the paragraph in red at the top, he has changed his mind now.

There are many other programs that start at boot, and more info can be provided whether they should or should not be allowed to start. But the ones that usually cause problems have been covered above.

[SuperSparks]

And you can always try your hand at a little overclocking, if you are feeling adventurous (or brave). I usually O/C my PCs a little, and it's rare that I can't jump up a CPU level at least (I've currently got my i7-920 running at i7-950 speeds ).

[BattenEye]

Thanks everyone. The fiver is in the post WelshJim

[Welshjim]

BattenEye--That is good news. You are welcome.
P.S.--Everyone in Albuquerque, NM knows me so you do not need a street address.