General Computer Maintenance

Hi all

having finished the registry back up restoration and cleaning section to a reasonably satisfactory level

I though that id like to round off my guide by adding a final short topic to the system maintenance section of the guide covering General Computer Maintenance

now with regard to this I'm wondering what tasks people would consider to be routine maintenance iv put together a short list of things that I think constitute routine maintenance and I'm wondering if I missed anything ??

1.) Software updating
2.) System error checking
3.) Malware, Virus and Trojan checking
4.) Hard drive defragmentation
5.) Registry defragmentation
6.) Cleaning of unnecessary junk files
7.) Cleaning of unnecessary registry entries leftover from software uninstalls
8.) Physical cleaning of your computers internals

Also what tools you would recommend for carrying out these tasks ??

finally id like to know if there are any other import topics that I should cover that I haven't ??

if you would like to refresh your memories as to what I have covered already you can find my guide HERE

 

1.) Software updating (Windows Update)Check weekly
2.) System error checking (
3.) Malware, Virus and Trojan checking(MS Antispy/Bitdefender) I do this Nightly
4.) Hard drive defragmentation(Windows Defrag)
5.) Registry defragmentation *
6.) Cleaning of unnecessary junk files *
7.) Cleaning of unnecessary registry entries leftover from software uninstalls *
8.) Physical cleaning of your computers internals(?) I do this monthly

*I do this on a weekly basis, unless I have uninstalled software/recieved a trojan/etc etc..

I'm a dork, it''s my friday night ritual LOL

 

I would suggestion to you to make the hard drive and registry defrag in the end, because as you have after defrag you will clean the disk and registry so you will have the disk and registry fragmented...

 

I was reading some of Tom McCune's suggestions at his site the other day and thought he had some good info for you to consider.


http://forum.gladiator-antivirus.com/index.php?showtopic=25350&st=0&#entry92075

 

hi all

thanks for your feed back

thanks will do

No rest for the wicked lol

would you mind elaborating here a lil bit ?? I'm not sure I understand what it is you are suggesting

nice suggestion ill be sure to add it

what would I need for this ??

where ?? could you point me to it ??

good point

TrBot I'm wondering since you have experience with ms anti spyware if you could give me a lil feed back on how it performs see I'm a lil skittish about suggesting beta security software unless its functions well and is reasonable stable for obvious reasons

 

hi all

well i finished the first draft of the new section i been working on so i though id put it up let you have a look so you can point out any mistakes or suggest improvments etc

 

hi all

no takers ??

 

anyone ??

 

I would place a note alongside RegSeeker about having the Beta tag since Adam was a boy... I don't know if there will ever be a final release.

Cheers

 

I will take a look tomorrow...

Thanks

 

hi Blackspear

would you mind elabaratingon that i dont understand what you mean

VaMPiRiC_CRoW

thanks

 

out of these 10 things, i do the following

1.) Software & Operating System updating - not done as most of my software is updated automatically. if they do require manual updating, i'll just see if i remember
2.) System error checking - not done, could use built-in scandisk.
3.) Malware, Virus and Trojan checking - leave it to on access scanners.
4.) Cleaning of unnecessary junk files - not done. could use built-in disk cleanup. as for secure deletion, not needed. but i've not seen a tool that can recover deleted files after a full defrag.
5.) Cleaning of the Registry - not done, occasionally done manually as i don't trust reg cleaners.
6.) Registry defragmentation - not done.
7.) Hard drive defragmentation - not done, as i have diskeeper on set and forget, which is like a on access disk defrag.
8.) Physical cleaning of your hardware and peripherals - not done.

 

Hi Bethrezen,

After see you very informating post I will make some suggestions...
Remember that it's my opinions and that doesn't mean that I'm correct...

About routine maintenance tasks:
1.) Software & Operating System updating
2.) System error checking
3.) Cleaning of unnecessary junk files
4.) Cleaning of the Registry
5.) Quick Hard drive defragmentation (to speed up the Malware checking...)
6.) Malware, Virus and Trojan checking
7.) Registry defragmentation
8.) Hard drive defragmentation
9.) Physical cleaning of your hardware and peripherals

I prefer to remove the junk files and obsolete registry before the Malware checking to avoid that a lot of useless files and registry will be scanner and with this the checking will be more quick...

Updating Your Software & Operating System
For this I use the "Automatic Updates" feature with the Automatic option enabled.

Error checking
When I used the Windows Utilities, I used the Norton Disk Doctor to check errors but since I use WinXP I don't care much about that.
Now I only check, rarely sometimes, with HD Tune.

Malware, Virus and Trojan checking
In this section I use NOD32, avast! (sometimes), ewido, Spybot-S&D, Ad-Aware, SpySweeper and Microsoft AntiSpyware, to have my system clean, and run it one time almost every week...

Cleaning Unnecessary Junk and Registry
I try to always have my system clean. Before I install a program, I clean my system to run "Total Uninstall" to monitor the installation. And when I remove a program I always clean my system again...

To have my system clean of junk and obsolete registries, I use Ace Utilities (disk and registry), RegSupreme Pro (registry), CCleaner (disk and registry), Total Uninstall (monitor installations) and Eraser (secure delete data).

Registry & Disk Defragmentation
This is also very important to maintain a system. I like to defrag my registry one time per week with "Registry Compressor", but the "NTREGOPT" is also good and free. For disk I use "O&O Defrag Pro" with the automatic defrag enable and with a job to defrag all my partitions with the best method every Friday night...

Physical Cleaning Of Your Hardware And Peripherals
For this section you can take a look at this website: Information about cleaning computer components

Hope that could be useful for you...

 

I always leave the one cover off my desktop, why not? nobody sees it anyway.

If I had to stop drinking around my computer, I would be done with computing LOL

 

I would recommend using the free program Erunt to back up the registry. It's far superior to anything Windows will do to back up the reg. It's a great little program and anyone who messes with the registry may find it very helpful, nay invaluable!

But if your even somewhat new to computers you probably shouldn't be messin' around with the registry, or you may regret it. I never do anything to the reg and my computer works just fine. If it aint broke don't fix it certainly applies here.

For defrags why not just use the Windows defrag, works just fine for me and fast enough too.

We already spend enough on software so I won't recommend any payware programs. My suggestion is save your cash for your high maintenance woman.

 

true but the real maintenance at your woman shouldn't cost you a dollar my friend and maybe she likes to defrag a bit heaven....hmmmmmm

 

hi all

thanks for your replies

judging form the responses I've had here it would seem this section is good to go unless anyone has spotted anything wrong that I've missed