System Tune-up
System Tune-up:
OK, lets start with a basic cleanup of your system.
It
might be wise to print a copy of this.
Open up your start menu. Then go to "All
Programs", > "Accessories", > "System
Tools". And look for "Disk Cleanup" Select your main
drive, usually drive C. And click OK. This could take some time, so don't
worry. Then put Checks only on "Temporary Internet
Files", "Recycle Bin" and "Temporary Files".
Click OK. Then YES.
Next we need to clean out your browser cache and
cookies. Open Internet Explorer. On the top toolbar, choose
"Tools", then "Internet Options" On the General Page,
under "Temporary Internet Files". Choose "Delete
Files" and "Clear History". Then go to “Settings”, >
“View Files” and remove any cookies you really don't need. Which might be
only leave a handful left.
Now if
you don't already have them,
Download
AdAware.
And Spybot S&D.
Update them both. On Spybot, Click to
"Immunize” and for now close them both out.
Now to
get more into a system cleanup.
Go to your
Start Menu, to your "My computer” Icon and R-Click on it. Then down
to "Properties". Then click on the "System Restore"
tab. Then put a check at "Turn off System Restore". Click Apply
and OK. Remember this part so you can turn
"System Restore" back on.
Now Click on your "Start Menu" again, and
click on the "My Computer" icon. On the part that
says "Hard Disk Drives", R-Click on your Drive C (C). Then down
to "Properties" and click to open. On the main window that opens,
choose the "Tools" tab. On "Error Checking", Click
"Check Now" A new window will open. Put a check mark on both
options and click OK. You will be informed that it can't run now and
would you like to run "Disk Check" on next reboot. Click OK.
Now go to your "Start Menu" once again. To
your "Run" icon. And type
"msconfig " without the quotes. This
will open up the "System Configuration Utility". Click on the
"BOOT.INI" tab and put a check on
"/SAFEBOOT" Click Apply and OK. You will be informed that you
will need to reboot your Computer. Click OK. Remember this last
path. You will need to come back to this part To get your Computer back
into normal mode You do so by opening up the "System
Configuration Utility". And on the "General Page"
click on "Normal Startup".
Now we
are ready to reboot the PC.
We are going to reboot into "Safe Mode"
Since we enabled "Scan Disk" to run on
Reboot, this is going to start before windows loads. This is a
5-step process. Now do not worry, steps 4 and 5 take some time
to run. In step 4, it might seem like nothing is going on, but just hang
in there. Step 4 takes the longest, and seems like it just sits there for
some time.
After this is done, Windows will load in "Safe
Mode".
Find the AdAware icon. And open
up the program. Click on start. And place a check on "Perform Full
System Scan". Then click "Next". Let it run through. When
it is finished, click Next. Place a Check mark on everything that was
found. And click next again. It will ask if you’re sure you want to
remove these items. Click OK.
Next find the "Spybot S&D" Icon. And
choose to "Check For Problems" It will now do a scan. When it
is finished. Place a check ONLY ON THE ITEMS IN RED. Then check to
"Fix Items"' Allow for a backup to be made.
The last step will be to Defragment your Hard Drive.
On your "Start Menu" Go to "All
Programs", > "Accessories", > "System
Tools". And look for "Disk Defragmenter" Chose this
program, and highlight your C Drive and click to "Defragment".
If this has not been done for a while, this
process could also take some time. This will get all your files back in
order.
When this is done. Go to your "Start Menu"
once again. To your "Run" icon. And type "
msconfig " without the quotes. On the "General"
page, Place a check at "Normal Startup" click Apply and OK. Now
reboot your PC.
Now hopefully everything is working, and your PC has
had a tune-up and cleaning.
In the future, Update and run both AdAware and
Spybot S&D twice a week, Immunize Spybot also. Keep your browser
cache cleaned out. And check for extensive amounts of cookies.
For more info on AdAware And Spybot S&D.
See the tutorials at the top of the page.
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