System Optimization

You guys Rock with all the support stuff like Malware removal etc.

I was wondering if you had some kind of system optimization routine that you routinely use to "clean up" a computer.

A list of utilities etc. Registry cleaners & Backups, Defrag, Swap File settings, Uninstallers.

Just looking for some reccommendations.

Thanks,

Disciple

 

Plenty around for sure but my mainstays are crapcleaner and Regseeker of the freebys - emptemp is OK also. Use Regseeker with care if in doubt don't erase even though it does do a backup.
ERUNT is a wonderful lifesaver for backing up your registry for restoral should it all turn to custard.
HTH
Robert

 

>> I was wondering if you had some kind of system optimization routine that you routinely use to "clean up" a computer. A list of utilities etc. Registry cleaners & Backups, Defrag, Swap File settings, Uninstallers. Just looking for some recommendations. Thanks, Disciple <<

These are some of my favorites. All are available as freeware (at least they were last time I checked!)

Registry Cleaners:

CCleaner Slim comes with a comprehensive registry scanner that will scans for and clean out invalid references.
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner 1.0 will scan for, clean and make a backup of the repaired entries. Users can restore any changes made using the software by choosing Restore registry backup.

Important Note: Both of these two utilities will do a great job cleaning out dead or invalid registry entries. However these types of comprehensive Windows registry cleaners are generally geared toward more "advanced users." Running any "registry cleaner" without knowing exactly how the program works, as well as being familiar with the different options available; and especially how to undo any changes made can lead to disastrous results. Therefore I'd strongly suggest a thorough reading of the included help files in order to get the most out of using them, especially if you have never used any "registry cleaning" types of programs.

Backups:

Cobian Backup 8.0.0.146 Beta is simply the best freeware backup tool that I know of. Users can set the program to automatically make a backup within regular intervals of time, for example daily, weekly etc.
Easy File Backup also allows users to back up their data at a specified interval, and/or on a routinely basis. Easy File Backup is a bit easier to use than Cobian Backup; especially for those who have never used any backup utility before.

Defragmentation Utilities:

Diskeeper Lite 7.0 is faster/better than the standard Diskeeper defrag utility that comes with Windows XP.
O&O Defrag 2000 Freeware Edition 3.5.562 does a very thorough job although I've found that it can sometimes take a bit longer to defrag than Diskeeper Lite.

Uninstaller Utilities:

Uninstall Tool is a great tool and IMO generally works better than Windows Add/Remove (in most cases).
Brute Force Uninstaller (BFU) This BFU utility is a great tool for uninstalling programs that are either very hard to remove or seem to uninstall improperly when using either Add/Remove or the uninstall tool that came with the program that you're trying to remove.

Note:
Also be sure to check out this list incredible and comprehensive list...
Major Geeks Must Have Free Downloads

Good Luck!

 

Thanks Guys!

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I am a Windows netadmin by profession and I have a BUSY side job fixing a lot of computers at night and on the weekends. (yes, I have no life )

I have finally made the time to sit down and amass a "toolkit" of utilities and a basic routine for cleaning up/optimizing client's systems when I begin working on them.

I also have several businesses that I maintain computers, servers and networks for so it will make it much easier if I have a structured approach rather than scrambling to think of all of the settings, tweaks, utils I need/want to be running on each machine.

I have a few favs that I use;

• Ccleaner slim - I am so glad there is a version that doesn't have the yahoo thing - I kept forgetting to uncheck it and had to go back and uninstall it
  
• Regseeker - (found out about not letting it fix stuff )
  
• Diskeeper
  
• Hiren's Boot CD - awesome set of utils
  
• Winternal's Admin PAK - ditto
  
• Ultimte Ghost CD - great for imaging
  
• GWScan - because it is really the WD tools that work on all drives
  
• WipeDrivePro
  
• Partition Magic
  
• Hyena - Mainstay for network managing
  
• Passware - because people forget
  
• Aida32 - Classic
  
• Memtest86 - Best I have found so far

What I have not had time to evaluate and add to my repertoire is;

• A registry auto backup util
• A registry cleaner
• An uninstaller
• An AIO optimizer

I wanted to get some input to see if others had better tools for these tasks.

I guess I should have been a little more forthcoming in my original post.

It's just that I have had an amazing education on malware here over the last few years and the folks here have done an AMAZING job of putting together comprehensive solutions and utilities. I looked around the site in hopes of finding a similar guide/set of utils for system cleanup, optimization etc. but no luck.

Thanks again,

Disciple

 

BTW - I have also started (last night) going through a lot of the downloads on the site. VERY cool.

Although I did not know about that Must Have Downloads area.

Many thanks,

Disciple