How To De-Crapify A PC Efficiently
As I’ve been doing PC repair for quite a while now (see my guide to doing local pc repair), the most common repetitive action I do is cleaning up someone’s PC. Over the years, I’ve found the most efficient way is to do a complete re-install (obviously). However there are times when you can’t or don’t want to do a complete reinstall. I’ve found that with 6 quick easy steps you can effectively de-crapify a computer, leaving it running much faster overall. I have literally tried this on uncountable machines, so you can be sure that this method works.
Whether you are a computer newbie, or just need a checklist for cleaning up a PC, this might help.
Step 1: Uninstall all unnecessary programs
- Uninstall all trialware
- Uninstall any trial anti-virus or Norton Anti-Virus and replace it with a non-intrusive or free anti virus software
- Uninstall unneeded programs
- Replace large, resource consuming programs with lighter alternative (e.x. IE for Chrome, Azureus for uTorrent, Avira for Norton, etc.)
Use Revo Uninstaller. It gets rid of unnecessary stuff left over from removed programs, along with uninstalling normally.
Step 2: Make sure there is nothing unnecessary starting up with your account login or windows startup
This, by far, is the greatest cause of slow PC’s, in my opinion. Totally unnecessary crap from Nero to Adobe Acrobat have startup programs which do nothing useful.
Here’s how you disable them in various operating systems:
Another tip from GerryK:
There are many unnecessary services that can be disabled or changed to manual start. As an example, I rarely print things so I set my print spooler to manual start. I also manually start my IPOD/Bonjour/Apple services when I need to update my apple devices. You can google “Unnecessary windows services” for more information.
Step 3: Delete all unnecessary files
An extremely handy software that will help you with tis is CCleaner - an accredited software endorsed by many reputable sources.
Step 4: Do a virus scan
Step 5: Update your drivers
Consider using this free driver updater.
Step 6: Do a defrag
You could do this in either one of these ways:
- Use the standard Windows defragger
- Use defraggler (recommended)
- Another tip from a commenter is to use MyDefrag - it has some intelligent defragging capabilities
Tell me in the comments if I missed anything or if you have a good tip…
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ThePCGuild is based in Toronto, Canada, edited and mainly written by Isa Hassen. This is not just a technology blog, but a technology blog with a twist. I try to focus on quality news and content, combined with insightful commentary. Surf & subscribe!
I also do remote computer repair via CrossLoop.
The best, easiest way to De-Crapify a computer is to install an open source OS on it.
just ringing in here to say that you’re an idiot.
Without anything to back it up your claim is weaksauce. What can I expect from someone who can’t correctly spell “what”? I’m amazed that you caught “you’re” instead of “your”.
fuck you carl
Agreed, is there anything more boring than Linux trolls posting this idiotic response everywhere they get they get the chance. WE DON’T CARE. Stop it.
The Open Source commenter is not a ‘troll’.
Linux is as exciting as any O.S.
You do not speak for ‘we’ because ‘we’ care.
This article is helpful. And windows sucks almost as bad as wut does.
Microsoft Windows sucks ass, and articles that are intended to help you “de-crapify a PC” without actually uninstalling that defunct pile of shit are a waste of time. You’re unlimited with Linux type OSs if devs would stop trying to lock their software to Windows then people would have no reason to stay there.
chumbawumba, awesome song man, soundtrack to my life
They’re actually a band. You’re probably thinking of Tubthumping, but they have actually made many amazing songs, and they are anarchists! (Linux 4ever)
Quick aside: I have no idea why the FUCK I ever trust a website’s fucking text box. Just how fucking hard is it, in 2009, to KEEP THE GODDAMN TEXT if an error props up? Go to hell, comment field designer.
So anyhoo, let’s cut some bullshit on Linux, shall we?
Unless you’re running Gentoo (and who knows, maybe even then), you are NOT running your Linux distro as-is for the year or three Windows folks go through before their systems slow down. Six months in, chances are you’re going to have to do a system upgrade because your fucking package manager hasn’t updated SHIT since the last OS update. Meaning unless you wanna add potentionally system-fubaring repositories/packages or compile your own goddamn software, you have to wipe and install your OS every six fucking months. FIND me a Windows user who does this and has a slow system.
Now, I’m well aware that Linux has some awesome advantages (hardware requirements that have either barely gone up or outright stopped in the last 5-10 years, depending on what you’re doing, rock-solid stability if you’re not using 3D hardware). I’ve got a Linux box downstairs and an OpenSolaris box (I love ZFS, the day it gets a rock-solid, independently verified stable release on Linux is the day I drop OpenSolaris like a bad habit) next to it. While my desktop runs Windows 7 (I have some funny system setup edge cases that make Linux a headache on it), said desktop has a snapshot on the fileserver (for quick restoration using dd over SSH on a Linux LiveUSB drive) and the hard drive it’s on doesn’t store ANY important data. However, Linux comes with a variety of disadvantages which basically amount to a lack of unity amongst its development community. It’s getting better, mind you (leagues better every year), but we’re still a ways away from “just install Linux” being anything that RESEMBLES good advice.
ThatGuy,
It’s actually very hard to keep the text if there ‘is an error.’ Because the text never makes it to the program, it’s only sitting on your machine. So it’s really your browser that removed it from the cache.
That’s because Linux is not a desktop OS, Windows 7 is. Once you get over that hurdle, you realise how amazing Linux is and how it is something Windows 7 will never be. That said, they are not competing platforms.
Linux is everywhere. It runs your car radio, your microwave, your ADSL router is probably a stripped down Red Hat. These are things you want to work no matter what.
The fact that certain people like Canonical have spent so much energy packaging up the Gnu-Linux system as a desktop environment is a noble cause, certainly, but that’s not it’s beauty. Can you imagine if Windows 7 ran your microwave or the car-park pay meters?
They are completely different things and this religious argument is ridiculous.
I always dump the user profile’s temp files. Fast way to get to it is:
Start -> Run -> type: %TEMP%
This is equivalent to navigating to:
C:\Documents an Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Temp\
also delete all c:\Windows\Temp\ files.
I use CCleaner to delete files I don’t need which seem to always sneak up on me. It’s surprising what files it finds to be deleted.
Cleaning temp files may free up necessary disk space and remove tracking cookies, but it will have to reload everything it already had cached. I don’t find that it generally speeds up operation.
Try MyDefrag instead of Defraggler – will take longer but will also place files intelligently to take advantage of the higher data transfer rate at the beginning of the drive.
Other than that, that guide mostly matches my experiences. (Only other differences are use of WinDirStat and CCleaner.)
Defrag is completely absolutely useless, a waste of time, unless you are padding your service hours.
At least don’t sit in front of the machine while it runs, do something better with your life…..
Totally agree. In most cases, defragmenting is completely useless.
No way, it’s not useless, but it’s certainly not needed when you first get a computer. After a year or two of heavy use though it can really do a lot to counter the speed-loss of windows rot.
depends what the defragger does. on a fresh install you should make the swap static, and then you should defrag to move everything to the start of the drive, and remove gaps in the data.
Any recommendations on free anti-virus software? AVG? Kaspersky?
try microsoft’s security essentials. i used avg, then avast, then comodo, and now am in love with microsoft’s new free product.
I second Microsoft Security Essentials. I personally use Avira, the free version has an annoying popup everyday, but worth it in my opinion. It’s fast, and very resource-light, though you have to be a techy guy to understand the UI.
I fix computers too; your post is pretty good. I also use iobit.com’s Advanced Systems Care. It’s a wonderful thing, with SmartDefrag & Registry Defrags built in. CCleaner is also very good for cutting the fat. TreeSize Free is great to find large cache files. Here’s a link to a software kit doc I put together recently: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQYvq9np48fuZGhmOXNycXhfOGZxY216cmNn&hl=en
Thanks for the list…I’ll check it out and maybe add to it my official Guide post…
appreciate the list but why can’t you link to the tools you talk about. A link to Revo or defraggler would be handy.
Whoops, sorry about that. Fixed!
There are many unnecessary services that can be disabled or changed to manual start. As an example, I rarely print things so I set my print spooler to manual start. I also manually start my IPOD/Bonjour/Apple services when I need to update my apple devices. You can google “Unnecessary windows services” for more information.
Also worth mentioning would be registry cleaning. The afore mentioned ccleaner also does registry cleaning.
Regardless of all the tricks, eventually you will be better off to re-install windows from scratch (including reformatting).
Your title should have been “How to Decrapify WINDOWS”, a PC might just have Linux or OSX installed on it.
Personally I’m tired of people saying “PC” or “Mac” when they mean Windows or OSX.
Hello – ALL COMMON CURRENT CONSUMER OPERATING SYSTEMS RUN ON PCs.
It’s as brain dead as people using the term “hard drive” for their PC box.
oh man, this cracked me up.
People at my office always say “My Outlook Express blah blah blah” when we use the full version. Then they say “My Windows blah blah blah” when they’re talking about Word. Then they say, “My email is so slow” when they are using Outlook to download emails. Then they’ll misuse the words “backup” “file” “save” “network” and a host of other words. Ha! I even had a director once say to me, “Will this program run on an IBM?” while pointing to his Dell Windows Vista computer. Yeah, yeah, I know he means IBM-compatible, but c’mon! When was the last time you heard someone under the age of 50 say that?
Step 1 #4 contradicts step 1 #2. You may want to fix that.
Actually not, Stijn, I mentioned in Step 1 #4 to install a free or non-resource consuming anti-virus, not to remove the antivirus altogether.
ah, your methods are similar to mine, but I usually use a registry optimizer to optimize system
I see in your post that you recommend to uninstall Norton AV. Is it really very intrusive?
Yes. Norton’s just a big fat hog splopin’ around in your PC. I replaced Norton AV with Avast free ver. and my system runs a lot better.