Cleaning Windows
Windows picks up lint like my aunt's wool sweater. But before you clean up, scan your system for viruses, spyware, and other interlopers. Then remove the Windows components and applications you don't need. And finally, make sure you have the tools and settings in place to keep digital detritus from reinsinuating itself into your PC.
Eliminate Pests
Start by visiting the Windows Update site to make sure you have the latest patches for your version of the OS. Next, check your antivirus and antispyware utilities for updates, and then run a complete check of your system with each tool. (Be sure to read about our favorite freebies in each category.) Once the scans come up clean, disconnect from the Internet and any local networks you might be on, and shut down each of the utilities' autoprotect features. This will make it easier to spot the CPU-cycle robbers on your system.
Zap Unwanted Programs
Many of the programs that came preinstalled on your computer automatically launch "helper" programs when Windows starts, often doing little more than adding to the flurry of applets swirling around in the Windows atmosphere.
First, jettison unneeded Windows components. In XP, click Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, and choose Add/Remove Windows Components in the left pane. (The steps are similar in older versions of the operating system.) Two prime candidates for deletion are Games (click Accessories and Utilities, Details, Games, Details, and uncheck those you don't want) and MSN Explorer (simply uncheck it and step through the wizard). When you're done, click Next and Finish.
You can remove well-behaved applications by using Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs applet, but if the program has its own undelete option (likely on its submenu in All Programs), use that. If the program still appears in Add or Remove Programs after you do so, or if it doesn't have its own undelete function, select it in the list of 'Currently installed programs', click Remove or Change/Remove, and follow the instructions. Some security programs have only a 'Change' option, requiring removal by their own uninstall component.
Click Show updates at the top of this window to see the various Windows and Office patches that have been added to your system. If you delete a Windows or Office patch here, however, Windows concludes that you want to undo the patch, rather than just remove the files. Rolling back patches is risky. If you want to get rid of the backup files, read Lincoln Spector's Answer Line column from March 2005 to learn about a safe approach.
Sometimes programs remain in the Add or Remove Programs list after they have been uninstalled. Others insist on running components even after they've been removed, and icons for some "removed" programs may continue to appear in your system tray (next to the clock), the Ghosts of Applications Past.
When you encounter such a spectral program, click its Remove or Change/Remove button again. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 may recognize your second try as an attempt to remove the entry from the Add or Remove Programs list, and fix the problem automatically. If that doesn't work, shift Windows into Safe Mode: Restart your computer, hold down the <F8> key, and choose Safe Mode. Use the Remove/Change option in Add or Remove Programs once again. If that doesn't work either, haul out the heavy artillery. While you can manually remove stuck entries by editing the Registry, Microsoft has a much more thorough--and less dangerous--option called the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. Download your free copy of this tool.
Poke Autostart Porkers
Once you've deleted all the programs you can live without, look for cycle-stealing apps that run unnecessarily in the background on your system. The majority of self-starting Windows processes, inscrutable though they may be, serve vital roles. For example, if you press <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Del> to bring up the Windows Task Manager, you may see ten copies of the file svchost.exe among your processes. Don't worry. Svchost.exe is a wrapper--a program that runs other programs--and having half a dozen running all the time is common. If you read somewhere that Windows runs blazingly fast if you just disable one of these Windows services, be skeptical, and think twice before you stop any Windows service without knowing for sure that you don't need it. For more on identifying Windows processes, read Andrew Brandt's Security Tips column from last July.
Mike Lin's free Startup Control Panel lists all the programs that start automatically on your PC (except the really sneaky ones). After you download and install the utility, click Start, Control Panel, Startup, and choose one of the Startup tabs. Uncheck the box next to an unwanted program to prevent it from launching when Windows starts. Disabled programs appear on the Deleted tab, so you can bring them back easily if you determine that you need them.
Always restart your machine after you've used Startup Control Panel to make any changes to your Windows settings.
Whip Disks Into Shape
Having plenty of empty space on your hard drive is important for good Windows performance, as it allows room for virtual memory (be sure to learn more about tweaking Windows' memory settings). Fortunately, clearing space on a drive is usually pretty easy. For example, few people need anywhere near the hard-disk space that Windows sets aside for the Recycle Bin--the default is 10 percent of the drive's total capacity. That's 3GB of a 30GB hard drive. To make some room, right-click the Recycle Bin, choose Properties, swing the slider down to 3 percent or less, and click OK. That would still give you almost a gigabyte to temporarily store deleted files on our example 30GB hard drive, which should be plenty under most circumstances.
Another storage profligate is Windows' System Restore, which uses a ton of hard-drive space to hold restore points that you will never need. To trim them, right-click My Computer, choose Properties, System Restore, drag the slider down to 3 percent or less, and click OK. That should be sufficient for at least two restore points on our example 30GB drive.
Now you should run Windows' Disk Cleanup: Click Start, Run, type cleanmgr /sageset:99, and press <Enter>. Check each type of file you want to look for (I check them all), and click OK. Right-click the C: drive in My Computer and choose Properties, Disk Cleanup. You'll see a list of a dozen or so kinds of files that you can delete. Check the categories you don't need, click OK, and then click Yes.
You may want to leave some entries unchecked, however. The contents of your Temporary Internet Files folder, for example, can help speed up Internet Explorer by reducing the amount of data you have to download to view Web pages that you return to frequently (see "Shake Out Internet Explorer" for more). Also, if you delete your Office Setup files, some Office 2003 updates may not function properly (see AskWoody.com for information about Microsoft's fix for the Office 2003 SP2 installer).
Once you've emptied the trash, restart your computer, right-click your C: drive in My Computer, and choose Properties, Tools, Defragment Now. In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click Analyze. If the Analyzer reports that you need to defrag the drive, wait until you can afford to leave your computer alone for a few hours before proceeding. In fact, there is some disagreement as to whether defragging actually improves your system's performance. The consensus at present, however, is that defragging your hard drive periodically does indeed result in faster data accesses.
Automate Your Registry Scrubs
You could spend the next ten years fiddling with Registry keys, cache parameters, menu delay settings, and a thousand other minute Windows details. Or you can take advantage of the years of work that other folks have devoted to the cause of achieving a more shipshape Windows. Two of my favorites are Macecraft's $30 jv16 PowerTools and the Registry scanner in Iolo Technologies' $50 System Mechanic utility suite. Both programs make it easy to clear the crud from your Registry. (Note: The Registry is a terrible thing to muck up, so avoid no-name Registry cleaners like the plague.)
Restrict Future Downloads
Now that Windows is spiffy, keep it that way by creating a limited account for anyone who uses the machine but whom you can't trust to download with discretion. Log on as an administrator and click Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, Create a new account. (If you don't see this option, your network administrator may have restricted your system.) Enter a name for the account, click Next, choose Limited under 'Pick an account type', and select Create Account. To give this account a log-in password, click it in the list of accounts, choose Create a password, type the password twice, enter a password hint (if you desire), and click Create Password. Close the User Accounts dialog box when you're done.
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