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General discussion

cleaning up hard drive (i think)

Nov 18, 2004 8:49AM PST

In what order are you to run the cleanup programs, Defrag, scandisk, Ad-ware, Spybot, Viris cleaner, cookies, clean temp files,delete history, etc. I dont'know what is suppose to be the order to do these. Are you to set a System restore point before doing anything? I am a really newbie newbie!!!

Discussion is locked

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Re: cleaning up hard drive (i think)
Nov 18, 2004 8:54AM PST

I would do it this way;

1] Clean out any temp files, (goto Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.

2] Update and run anti-virus program,

3] Update and run any anti-spyware programs

4] Update and run Ad-Aware,

5] Reboot, run Scandisk, (If you're using Windows Xp it may ask you to reboot again).

6] Reboot when Scandisk is done, and run Defragmenter.

You shouldn't need to set a System Restore before any of these actions but you can if you wish.

But I would create a System Restore point "after" you have done everything. Then, if you have any problems later, you know you have got a clean system to come back to.

Mark

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Re: cleaning up hard drive (i think)
Nov 21, 2004 3:57AM PST

Have Windows ME (I know)
Cannot run defragmenter-I set it and have left it overnight and still 0% complete. Scan disk does not run properly either. Any suggestions?

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Re: cleaning up hard drive (i think)
Nov 21, 2004 4:49AM PST

Run those in the safe mode. Press the F8 key repeatedly during startup. The desktop will look funny since many of the programs and drivers don't load. After you have completed those tasks, restart the computer.

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rchippy, Have You Checked The Newbies "Tips" Thread?
Nov 21, 2004 6:16AM PST
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Good advice from markflax..
Nov 21, 2004 5:19AM PST

Some other options, just to clear out a few more things:

1. Download, install, and run MRU Blaster .

2. Clear Prefetch folder, C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch. Don't delete the folder, just open it up, and select ALL, then Delete. Or download this handy program, Prefetch-Clean . Very small download (28K), is configurable, and runs in only a few seconds. Think this is a standalone executable, so no need to install, just save it somewhere, and run it.

3. Besides deleting .tmp files, may also want to open IE, then delete all Temporary Internet Files, and Offline files, and clear History.

4. And something I do, maybe not a big deal, but I shut down the Task Scheduler service. Seems to have a grip on some files, or programs, so they are not defragged. Turning it off gives me a cleaner report after defragging. But don't forget to turn it back on after cleanup is done..Happy

5. And last, don't forget to empty Recycle Bin before defrag. No use to process those unless you have something in there you want to keep for awhile.

HTH