It was a tough negotiation. I told my editor that I had enough videos left over from last week to fill half this newsletter. I offered to provide some real content--ways for you to tune up your PC--if I could show you more videos. I love it when he agrees.
So let's get this tune-up started.
Maintaining Your PC
There are computing chores you can do weekly (I'll even settle for monthly) that will help keep your PC in running order.
It's not going to rid your PC of all its troubles, but your system may work faster if you get rid of the temp files. Go to the Desktop, open My Computer, and right-click on your C: drive. Choose Properties, then click the Disk Cleanup button. Make sure the Temporary Files and Recycle Bin are checked and click OK.
Repeat the process; but this time, after clicking the Disk Cleanup button, head for the More Options tab and click Cleanup in the System Restore panel. Windows will remove the really old Restore points you no longer need, freeing up disk space.
BTW, if you choose the Tools tab from the main Properties dialog box, you'll find the spot to defrag and scan your drive. If you want to automate the process, something I recommend, zip over to Lincoln Spector's July Answer Line column. In "Let Windows Handle PC Maintenance for You," you get not only a step-by-step automation routine, but also a look at Lincoln's picture.
Get Rid of the DMPs
While you're dusting and cleaning, do a quick search on .dmp files. Depending on how your system's configured, Windows may create a memory dump file after a crash. (Not on your machine, of course, because yours is in pristine shape and never crashes.) A DMP file is a report of errors, and often they're humongous. I had one that was 500MB. There are programs available to read the dump files, but I've never found anything meaningful when I viewed them.
Every so often I do a search for dump files and delete them. I use Agent Ransack, a cool, free search program available from our downloads library: http://pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,16100,00.asp
You might even want to use Agent Ransack to search for files over 500MB, just to see if there are others you can delete. In the program, stick 50000 into "More than" in the Size field.
Lincoln also tells you which files and folders you can get rid of after you upgrade Windows. It's a 5-minute, satisfying job. The column's "Clean Up Your Hard Drive After Upgrading Windows" and you can find it here.
Now, Get Rid of Dups
Besides looking for big files, you might also think about finding duplicates. I wrote about the topic moons ago in "Drive Clogged? Dump the Duplicates." Not long after that posted, readers started suggesting alternative programs for finding duplicates. These three are freebies--and one is easier to use than the programs I offered:
Don G. suggested the free version of DoubleKiller. The interface is fairly easy to navigate. Although the freebie's limited to finding files that max out at 2GB, I suspect it's more than adequate for most of us.
Denise M. turned me onto CloneSpy, a powerful tool with a complicated interface. CloneSpy lets me sort files in many ways and gives me ways to search for exact dups, same name dups, same name and size files. CloneSpy takes longer to scan my drive than DoubleKiller, but it does more detailed comparisons.
Both DoubleKiller and CloneSpy are in zipped files and there's no installation routine: Just extract the program from the zipped file and it's ready to run.
Finally, Sue L. told me about Duplicate File Finder, the one I found the easiest to use. It lets me add search filters, a nice-enough touch that it's a keeper.
Videos to Kill Some Time
Here are few I didn't have space for in last week's newsletter, both new and old favorites.
If you've ever played a FPS game (and even if you haven't), you'll get a kick out of this short film entitled "First Person Shooter." [9MB WMV]
Think you've done dumb things at work? I'll bet you don't hold a candle to this guy. [7MB WMV]
Ouch, that hurt! And if you went through what Star Trek actors had to in these outtake clips, you'd say "ouch" too. [5MB MOV]
Don't you wish you could have done this while you were in school? [2.2MB MPG]
I love watching hand shadows. Here are some that amazed me. [1.5MB AVI] So you liked that hand-shadow video, eh? Here are two sites that help you try your hand at the art: The first is an online version of an ancient book; "Hand Shadows To Be Thrown Upon The Wall" was first published in 1859. The second is from the Bill Douglas Centre.
Steve Bass writes the "Hassle-Free PC" column in PC World's print edition and is the author of PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, available from O'Reilly. Sign up to have Steve Bass's Tips and Tweaks newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.
Ad Choices