Windows Cleaning software is simple to install and uninstall, just like any other software. There are no special steps you need to know to benefit from trying the driver updater yourself.

Installing the Software

Firstly you will need to download the installer. This is a small file that will take a minute or two to download, depending on your Internet connection. Make sure to save it to your desktop so that you can easily find it afterwards.

Launch the installer after the download is complete by double-clicking on its icon on your desktop. Follow the install wizard to setup the Windows Cleaner, the software will automatically launch after the installation is complete.

Using the Software

Windows cleaning software is simple to use: after starting the application just click on the central button to start the cleaning scan process. After the scan is complete you will be shown a list of items that can be cleaned, removed or optimized on your PC. Just proceed to take care of all of them if you’re not sure which ones to clean. Remember that you can always go through the process later on by starting the program through Start, Programs menu.

Unistalling the Software

Normally, you can leave the cleaner software installed on your computer indefinitely – it takes up very little space and does not run unless you need it to. It is a good idea to run it at least once per month to keep your computer performing at its best.

If you want to remove it the process is very straight-forward: click on Start menu then Control Panel. Next, double-click on Add or Remove Programs, highlight the cleaner software in the list and just tap the Uninstall button. This will permanently remove it from your PC.

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Is your Windows desktop starting to look like a dog’s breakfast?  Clean it up easily with a built in Windows XP tool: the Desktop Clean up Wizard

To start the Desktop Cleanup Wizard:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes under Pick a category.
3. Under or pick a Control Panel icon, click Display.The Display Properties dialog box is displayed.
4. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop.The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed.
5. Under Desktop cleanup, click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60 days.
6. Click Clean Desktop Now.The Desktop Cleanup Wizard starts.

How to Remove Unwanted Shortcuts

To remove unwanted shortcuts:

1. In the Welcome to the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, click Next.
2. In the Shortcuts dialog box, a list of shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut to Clean Up list. The shortcuts that you click are removed from the desktop and placed in the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder on the Windows desktop. If you do not want a shortcut to be removed from the desktop, click to clear the check box for that shortcut, and then click Next when you are finished.
3. In the Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, view the items in the Shortcuts box to confirm that you want them removed from the desktop, and then click Finish.The Desktop Cleanup Wizard moves the selected shortcuts to the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder and then quits.

Restore Shortcuts

If a shortcut that you want is removed, follow these steps to restore the shortcut:

1. On the desktop, double-click the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder. The Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is displayed.NOTE: If the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is maximized, click the Restore Down button (appears to the left of the red Close button).
2. Drag the shortcut that you want to the Windows desktop.
3. Close the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box.

For tips on how to enable and disable the Desktop Clean up Wizard, check out this article on xp-tips.com

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Occasionally, you may need to back up and restore your Windows OS registry by hand.  The following is the official Microsoft instructions for performing these critical tasks:

Instructions for manually backing up the registry in Windows 7, Windows Vista or in Windows XP

Windows Vista or Windows 7

1. Click Start, type systempropertiesprotection in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Wait for Windows to search for available disks and most recent restore points. In the System Properties dialog box, on the System Protection tab, click Create,
3. Type a name for the restore point and then click Create.
4. After the restore point has been created successfully, click OK two times.

Note If System Restore is turned off, click to select the local disk, click Apply and then click Create.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, and then click OK.
2. On the Welcome to System Restore page, click Create a restore point, and then click Next .
3. On the Create a Restore Point page, type a name for the restore point and then click Create
4. After the restore point has been created, click Close.

Note If System Restore is turned off, you receive a message that asks whether you want to turn on System Restore now. Click Yes. Then, in the System Properties dialog box, click to clear the Turn off System Restore check box, click OK, and then repeat this step.

Steps to restore the registry in Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP

Use System Restore to undo registry changes in Windows 7, Windows Vista or in Windows XP

Windows Vista and Windows 7

1. Click Start, type systempropertiesprotection in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, on the System Protection tab, click System Restore,
3. In the System Restore dialog box select Choose a different restore point, and then click Next
4. Select the restore point that you want to use, and then click Next.
5. Confirm your restore point, and then click Finish System restore restores the selected Windows Vista or Windows 7 configuration and then restarts the computer.
6. Log on to the computer. When the System Restore confirmation page appears, click OK..

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type %SystemRoot%\System32\Restore\Rstrui.exe, and then click OK.
2. On the Welcome to System Restore page, click Restore my computer to an earlier time (if it is not already selected), and then click Next .
3. On the Select a Restore Point page, click the system checkpoint. In the On this list select the restore point area, click an entry that is named “Guided Help (Registry Backup),” and then click Next. If a System Restore message appears that lists configuration changes that System Restore will make, click OK.
4. On the Confirm Restore Point Selection page, click Next. System Restore restores the previous Windows XP configuration and then restarts the computer.
5. Log on to the computer. When the System Restore confirmation page appears, click OK..

For additional support in manually editing your registry, you can follow the discussion here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

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The Disk Cleanup tool helps free up space on your hard drive by searching your drive for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard drive:

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files.
• Remove optional Windows components that you are not using.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

You can start Disk Cleanup, by doing any of the following:

• Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cleanmgr, and then click OK.-or-
• Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.-or-
• In Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, click Properties, click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.

Here’s a screenshot to of this utility:

For additional details on using the Windows XP Disk Cleanup Tool, check in with this article on How-to-Geek

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If your computer is not starting normally, or if you receive errors when you start your computer that you cannot identify, you could consider performing a “clean boot.” This operation starts the computer by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This can help you troubleshoot the problem.

There are two methods to start Windows XP by using a clean boot:

• Method 1: Use the Guided Help
• Method 2: Manually starting XP with a clean boot (advanced user only)

Start with the first method. If it does not work and you are comfortable trying a more advanced method, try the second.

Manually starting XP with a clean boot (advanced user only)

Note: This section is intended for advanced computer users.

To manually start Windows XP with a clean boot, follow these steps:

Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
2. The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.

Step 2: Configure selective startup options

1. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup.
2. Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box.
3. Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box.
4. Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box. Verify that Load System Services and Use Original BOOT.INI are checked.
5. Click the Services tab.
6. Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
7. Click Disable All, and then click OK.
8. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

Step 3: Log on to Windows

1. If you are prompted, log on to Windows.
2. When you receive the following message, click to select the Don’t show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows start check box, and then click OK.Notes
   • You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts.
   • The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts.
   • Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows normally and undo the changes you made using the System Configuration Utility.

Step 4: Optional step to disable features

If the clean boot fixed the error, you do not have to perform this step.

Important If your problem is not fixed and you do have to follow this step, it permanently removes all restore points from your computer. The System Restore feature uses restore points to restore your computer to an earlier state. If you remove the restore points, you can no longer restore Windows to an earlier state.

This step temporarily disables Microsoft features such as Plug and Play, networking, event logging, and error reporting.

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
   The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.
2. Click the General tab, click to clear the Load System Services check box, and then click OK.
3. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

If these steps helped you start your computer in a clean-boot state, you are finished. If these steps did not help, go to the “Next Steps” section. If you have to return your computer to a normal startup state, go to “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state”.

Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state

After you used the clean boot to resolve your problem, you can follow these steps to configure Windows XP to start normally.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type msconfig, and then click OK.
   The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.
3. Click the General tab, click Normal Startup – load all device drivers and services, and then click OK.
4. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

For further assistance with the Clean Boot feature, refer to this article on the Microsoft Knowledgebase: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041/

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We’re often asked what the ‘optimal’ system settings are for performance settings in the Windows XP system settings panel.

This video provides an excellent overview of exactly how to configure your performance settings:

Following these performance tweaks can dramatically speed up your Windows performance.  Great Video!

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Notice your Windows XP or Vista installation getting slower and slower these days?

CCleaner is a Windows utility built to clean your computer and speed it up by turfing files that you don’t need, cleaning your Windows registry, and freeing up disk space.

Piriform, the company that developed CCleaner describes it this way:

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it’s fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!

The latest version of CCleaner keeps up with new developments in the browser market, as well as Windows Vista and 7:

CCleaner provides cleaning for main Windows components:

• Internet Explorer
• Recycle Bin
• Clipboard
• Windows Temporary files
• Windows Log files
• Recent Documents (on the Start Menu)
• Run history (on the Start Menu)
• Windows XP Search Assistant history
• Windows XP old Prefetch data
• Windows memory dumps after crashes
• Chkdsk file fragments

Temporary files and recent file lists for the following applications:

• Internet Explorer
  - Temporary File Cache
  - URL History
  - Cookies
  - Hidden Index.dat files
  - Last download file location
• Firefox
  - Temporary File Cache
  - URL History
  - Cookies
  - Download manager
• Google Chrome
• Opera
• Safari
• Recycle Bin
• Clipboard
• Windows Temporary files
• Windows Log files
• Recent Documents (on the Start Menu)
• Run history (on the Start Menu)
• Windows XP Search Assistant history
• Windows XP old Prefetch data
• Windows memory dumps after crashes
• Chkdsk file fragments

Our test results:

We were impressed with the speed of cleaning, you don’t have to wait particularly long, but it goes slow enough for you to realize it’s doing something.

It’s also nice that they prevent you from cleaning dangerous areas of the windows registry accidentally, keeping those unchecked in the default settings.

We’d feel comfortable recommending this app to friends and family without worryhing about incoming “you wrecked my computer” calls:)

Additional notes:

Always back up your Windows registry before performing any cleaning or changes.

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