A useful tip to clean your pc..

I happened to chance upon this article in the straits times Digital Life on 3 Sep by Lim Yee Hung.. that teaches me how to clean my pc so that I can get my pc running faster and smoother.. which is very useful for my desktop which I bought for about 5 years ago.. I have reduced my use of this desktop after buying my this laptop last year.. why did I buy this laptop? becos the desktop is too slow le.. startup slow.. internet loads very slow.. so when I want to book nmr slot for my honours project, I always lose to others.. Therefore, I hope these following steps will help to speed up my com.. I tried them.. it did help to speed up a bit but maybe my desktop ram is 256mb only so it still run quite slow compared to my 2G laptop.. I am not used to using my desktop already.. maybe I need to upgrade the ram..

I still want to share with you all the steps.. so that all of you can try it out on your pc.. hope it is useful.. There is only one requirement which is an internet connection for downloading..

1. Tidy the startup
Remove the needless programs which run automatically when your com is turned on. Go to Start Menu, Run, and type "msconfig" in the command prompt. Click the startup tab which displays the list of programs and uncheck the ones that you don't need running at boot up. Restart your com after that. Programs like itunes and skype can go.
A small note: After your com restarted, you will prompt with a dialogue box that tell you that com has startup with a selective start up and asking whether you want to change it to normal. You can ignore that and check the box that you don't want to be reminded again for every startup.

2. Clean up the crap
Over time, your computer accumulates GB of junk and slows down your system and reduces the free space on the hard disk. Go to www.ccleaner.com and download the latest version of CCleaner. Run the program. In the left hand pane under the windows tab, check th boxes of the files that you want to remove such as Temporary Internet Files and your Recent Documents history. If you are unsure, just leave it at the default settings. Click the Applications tab and do likewise. Once you are done, click on Run Cleaner at the bottom right corner and let CCleaner do the magic.
I managed to clean over 2 GB of junk from my com!

3. Clean up your registry
Your PC also collects useless or erroneous entries in the computer registry over time. However, since the registry contains critical files for your computer to function, create a system restore point by going to the Start menu, All programs, Accessories, System Tools and click System Restore. Check the Create a Restore Point button and click Next; follow through the process.
Run the CCleaner and navigate to the Registry tab on the left hand pane. Click the Scan for Issues button. A list of problematic registry entries will be generated. Once the scan is complete, click the Fix All Selected Issues. Click No when asked to create a backup of your registry, since you have already created a restore point and then click Fix All Selected Issues. Restart your computer once it is done. Should something go wrong and you wish to restore your registry, simply restore your com to its original state using System Restore.

4. Remove viruses and spyware.
Many old com are stuck with expired versions of antivirus software. Simply download the latest AVG Free Internet Security Suite which incorporates an antivirus and antispyware scanner and remover from free.avg.com.
A small note: I believe AVG Free is one of the best free antivirus software around becos even the computer centre in NUS also recommends using that and remember to download the free version and not the standard one which requires you to pay after the trial period.
Run the program on startup and click the computer scanner tab on the left hand pane, then click Scan Whole Computer. AVG will then weed out all viruses and spyware and you can choose to delete or quarantine them.

5. Uninstall unwanted programs
Bloatware are a burden on thbe system. You can remove them swiftly and completely with the free Revo Uninstaller program. It scans your system after you uninstall any program and removes any files that are left behind. Go to www.revouninstaller.com, download and run the program. Click on a program you wish to remove from your computer, such as PC games which take up large amounts of space, and then click the Uninstall button on the taskbar.

That's all. Go and try it out!