Cleaning up XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Penang
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Penang

After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
 
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
Click to expand...

1) Backup your data files.

2) Level and rebuild.

Nothing else quite compares. Repartition/Reformat the HDD and start
fresh. All the old things you installed and forgot about, go away.

Best wishes to you.

Pete
 
1) Backup your data files.

2) Level and rebuild.

Nothing else quite compares.  Repartition/Reformat the HDD and start
fresh.  All the old things you installed and forgot about, go away.

Best wishes to you.

Pete
Click to expand...


Is there any other way short of a reformat?

Last time when I re-installed my XP on a new hard disk, I encountered
a "serial number" problem. Can't remember much about the details,
something like the verification server for Microsoft told me that my
serial number was invalid or something like that, and I had to call
the MS support line to get a new serial number

Although it's not a big problem actually, just that I would much
prefer a way that does NOT involve reformatting the hard disk and the
re-installing of the OS.
 
Is there any other way short of a reformat?

Last time when I re-installed my XP on a new hard disk, I encountered
a "serial number" problem. Can't remember much about the details,
something like the verification server for Microsoft told me that my
serial number was invalid or something like that, and I had to call
the MS support line to get a new serial number

Although it's not a big problem actually, just that I would much
prefer a way that does NOT involve reformatting the hard disk and the
re-installing of the OS.

If you have a valid disc with serial # should not be that big of an issue,
format and install is always the best way to 'clean' house.
 
A Windows Cleanup isn't difficult, but has some risks. Regardless of
what you do a backup or image is critical. It's very easy to get into a
mode where you "Over-Clean" the machine and then it either doesn't
work properly or worse won't boot.

Acronis True Image is an excellent tool for Imaging a computer.

The cleanup involves removing unused or unwanted applications from
the PC. Next you'll want to remove Temporary files. Afterwards a full
defrag on the Windows volume will restore performance. It's also a
good idea to verify the disk drive's integrity with Chkdsk. These are
the minimum operations. There are more detailed/involved procedures
that deal with Browser add-ins and things that technicians would do.
It's really beyond the scope of what can be recommended in a NG
posting.

Another key point is to update all your applications. Many folks do
not update items like Sun Java, Adobe Flash and Shockwave.

Finally you should run alternate vendor Security apps on your PC.Both
an AntiVirus scan ( BitDefender or Kaspersky ) and Malware tests.

Hopefully this is enough information to get you started. Just be sure to
take the time to backup before getting started.

1) Backup your data files.

2) Level and rebuild.

Nothing else quite compares. Repartition/Reformat the HDD and start
fresh. All the old things you installed and forgot about, go away.

Best wishes to you.

Pete
Click to expand...


Is there any other way short of a reformat?

Last time when I re-installed my XP on a new hard disk, I encountered
a "serial number" problem. Can't remember much about the details,
something like the verification server for Microsoft told me that my
serial number was invalid or something like that, and I had to call
the MS support line to get a new serial number

Although it's not a big problem actually, just that I would much
prefer a way that does NOT involve reformatting the hard disk and the
re-installing of the OS.
 
Penang said:
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
Click to expand...

If you are against "format" you might read what follows and give it some
thought. I always have good luck reloading. But I've taken that a
level further lately with an imaging program that allows me to take that
5 hours of reload time and with a single 15 minute image, I now can
reload that 5 hours in 15 minutes. So now, reloads are simple. But
keeping your system clean is going to make it run fast longer.

See below: this is a collection from other posts, but they are still
good ideas from all the posters:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you think about reinstalling see the steps listed below.

#1: A process that's loading down your CPU:
It could be a sub-process or application that's running in the background
and taking all the CPU resources, which could be the cause of your PC
running slow.
To find and display what could be the problem try Process Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Note: Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and
'Show Lower Pane' options.
Then expand the process named 'Explorer' (click on the + sign)
In the column on the left named 'CPU', look for any high CPU usage.
Next click on the CPU column to sort the processes by %CPU usage
(Highest to Lowest).
Move the mouse cursor over any process, you should see a popup with some
detailed info.
Then mouse over the process that's using most or all the CPU %.
Then click on that process to highlight it,
Now that it's highlighted, right click and from the options listed select:
'Search Online'
This should display what out there on the web about that process.
You can also double click on any process to open up a more detailed
'Properties' window.
Note: some entries like Explorer, System/Services, and
Svchost entries may need to be expanded to show the detail (sub processes),
in this case click on the + located to the left of the entry.

An alternate method using Process Explorer is to double click
on the Graph just below the Menu bar.
This will open the 'System Information' window, which has a larger display
of all three graphs.
Move your mouse over any spike in the CPU Usage graph to see what
process/application or service was the cause of the spike.

#2: Stuff that loads during boot or logon and then is always running in the
background:
If you want to list and explore what may be the cause then:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/Autoruns.mspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot
(Boot Execute tab),
when you logon (Logon tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.
It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop any program
(use with care) that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.
Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you may need to
highlight the item (right click) and use the 'Search Online' option to get
the details, especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

#3: Viruses
Viruses and malware can also cause your PC to slowdown or malfunction.
Malke has an excellent set of instructions on what to do:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

#4: To much crap on the hard drive:
Take a look at CCleaner as a tool to remove Internet history info, cookies,
temp files, auto complete and other junk.
In the 'Windows' tab listing check the item types you want deleted.
Note: Do not use the registry cleaning option!!!
Also available is customization, see Options/Custom to add any
other/additional folders you want files deleted from.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

#5: Defragment your hard drive.
 
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?
Click to expand...

Nobody can know what is safe for you to delete because
nobody knows what you have -- but you can use general
principles of prudence:
1. Back up essential data and config settings, preferably
to a separate hard drive so you can reload them if you
need to reinstal the OS. WinXP has a Documents and
Settings Wizard for this purpose.
2a. If you have plenty of drive space, before removing
unknown material, you can copy it to a special place
in case it later turns out you need it. E.g. create a new
folder /DISCARDS and copy there any folders or files
about which you are uncertain.
2b. Instead of deleting files or folders, UNINSTAL all
unwanted apps that appear in / Control Panel / Add&Remove.
2c. Verify the reliability of the hard drive before proceeding.
You may use either WinXP's CHKDISK tool or the drive
manufacturer's diagnostiicc apps.
3. The WinXP wizard designed to free wasted drive
space is Disk Cleanup, one of your /Accessories.
This totals the space it can clear and seeks your
OK before proceeding. See also its /Advanced facilities.
4. When you have done this, test how fast the PC
boots and then loads apps. You can then decide
about reinstalling the OS.
 
Penang said:
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
Click to expand...


Getting rid of unused programs is a good first start. Then use CCleaner
(free). Check My Computer before and after to see how much HD space you've
gained. I do a backup of the registry befoe running CCleaner just in case.
After that, do a compact on your e-mail and defrag. I use OE and it
generates a massive backup file after compaction which I delete after a day
or so.

The above steps, done every couple of months, always make a noticeable
difference in load time and operating speed and, so far, no problems of any
kind. (Using XP Professional). This all assumes that you do a virus and
malware scan regularly, so no gremlins are stealing space and time.

TKM
 
First use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

If you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 3:
Look for an odd folder name which is located here
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\cf8ec753e88561d..........\
Note: the apparent random set of letter and number may vary from my
example above but whatever the name is, it will be more than
600MB in size and can be safely deleted.
You may also see a number of other folders or files located in the:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ directory
They also can be deleted.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C:),
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...sys-hibernation-file-in-windows-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/hibernate.mspx

If you are using IE7 and then installed SP3 read the info below.
IE7 users will find the folders listed below on their hard drive:
$NtServicePackUninstallIDNMitigationAPIs$
$NtServicePackUninstallNLSDownlevelMapping$
They are needed to uninstall IE7. However, if you installed IE7 and
then installed XP SP3 you can no longer uninstall IE7 and these
folders can also be deleted.

Note: The recommended procedure before installing XP SP3 is to
uninstall IE7, then install XP SP3. Now you still have the ability to
install and uninstall IE7.

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www.pagestart.com/ntuninstall.html
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

If you upgraded your PC from Windows 98 to Windows XP.
The $Win98UpdateUninstall$ can be deleted.

You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx
Just follow the instructions but instead of increasing the size
(as stated in the article) decrease it.

Finally: Check the Recycle Bin one more time and empty it
if necessary as some of those files you deleted in the steps
mentioned above may find there way into the recycle bin.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307971/en-us

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308666

Can I move or delete my C:\I386 directory to free up some space?
See:
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_move_or_delete_my_i386_directory_to_free_up_some_space.html
Note: C:\i386 is not to be confused with the
C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folder which should not
be moved or deleted as Windows File Protection needs those files

JS
http://www.pagestart.com
 
You may also have too many applications running in the background,
like more than one Anti-Virus software application both set to run
in the 'Active Scanning' which will slow things down.

If you want to dig deeper:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot ...
(the 'Boot Execute' tab),
when you logon (the 'Logon' tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.

It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop
(use with care) any program that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.

Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you can't
readily identify you may need to highlight the item (right click) and use
the 'Search Online' option to get the details,
especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com
 
Penang said:
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
Click to expand...

If you or anyone else decides to do a reinstall to solve this issue the I
suggest you first do a search for "slipstreaming", or read here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

This allows you to creat a reinstall disk including all microsoft updates
and will save much time. Personally I have never succeeded in speeding up
an old computer more than marginally by spring cleaning it.
 
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?

Please help. Thank you !!
Click to expand...

The easeist and most efficient way to clean out that stuff is to start
by running disk cleanup:
Start; Programs; Accessories; System Tools; Disk Cleanup.

It sounds like it may take a bit of time to run from your discription,
so be patient; go have coffee or your fav beverage while it runs.

Then run the disk defragmenter:
Start; Programs; Accessories; System Tools; Defragment.

Next will be to run an antivirus scan and malware detectors; at least 3
spyware detectors as have been listed here many times.

At this point you should be pretty much back to speed, you'll know what
to try next time, and wont' have lost any data or anythign else. Which
reminds me, if you aren't backing up your data regularly, you really
should start doing to before you lose everything.

If those haven't helped enough, come on back and explain what you have
and what you did. Some of the other responses here are right, and will
work, but they're using a wrecking ball and new construction as opposed
to simply taking out the garbage first.

HTH

Twayne
 
Is there any other way short of a reformat?

Last time when I re-installed my XP on a new hard disk, I encountered
a "serial number" problem. Can't remember much about the details,
something like the verification server for Microsoft told me that my
serial number was invalid or something like that, and I had to call
the MS support line to get a new serial number

Although it's not a big problem actually, just that I would much
prefer a way that does NOT involve reformatting the hard disk and the
re-installing of the OS.
Click to expand...

Yes; see my answer to the original post.
 
Is there any other way short of a reformat?
Last time when I re-installed my XP on a new hard disk, I encountered
a "serial number" problem. Can't remember much about the details,
something like the verification server for Microsoft told me that my
serial number was invalid or something like that, and I had to call
the MS support line to get a new serial number

Although it's not a big problem actually, just that I would much
prefer a way that does NOT involve reformatting the hard disk and the
re-installing of the OS.

If you have a valid disc with serial # should not be that big of an
issue, format and install is always the best way to 'clean' house.
Click to expand...

No, it's not; it's a last resort when nothing else works. It's silly to
have to spend the hours it takes to reinstall the OS and then more hours
to rebuild all your applications, updates and so on.

Having to call MS is no reason to avoid a format either, OTOH. It's a
simple call and easy to do. The screen even gives you the number to
call. But a complete rebuild is silly when it's not necessary,
especially since all other data on the drive will be lost, too, meaning
many will have to do an inexperienced backup, not knowing whether they
can restore things or not. What works for one may not be a good choice
for another. I'ts always best to start wtih the non-destructive routes.
Besides, if I were at that point, I'd update my backjups and try a
Repair Install before just blindly wiping and rebuilding everything.
f'ups to here; stopping wasted ether.

HTH
 
3 years for maintenance
is too long and you may
have set a new record.

on the other hand, cleaning
may put your system at risk
because a number of undisclosed
issues may have already
undermined the stability of
your file and disk system.

be sure to make copies of
your personal files onto
another partition or disk, just
in case.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
 
After 3 years of using, my XP is loaded with junks, and my PC is
running very slow.

Time for spring cleaning !

Checking through the XP directories, especially those under "Documents
and Settings" and "Windows" and "Program Files", there are indeed a
whole lot of STUFFS that I don't have any clue where they came from
and what's their use are.

So my questions to all the Gurus,

1. Can you tell me where I can safely clean out the junks?

2. Is there anywhere on the Net that tells me what is safe to delete,
what's not?
Click to expand...



Before anyone can accurately answer your questions, you need to answer
the following questions:

1. Exactly what "junk" are you talking about?

2. How do you know it's there?

3. How do you know it's junk?

4. What makes you think that what you have identified as "junk" is
what's responsible for your running slow?

5. Exactly what are the "STUFFS" in "Documents and Settings" and
"Windows" and "Program Files" that you think are responsible for your
slowdown? Note that having a program installed doesn't slow down your
computer, but running that program might slow it down.

These days there are two main reasons for a computer's running slowly:

a. Infection with malware.

b. Programs autostarting and running in the background that drag down
Windows performance.

So please also tell us

6. What anti-virus and anti-spyware programs you run.

7. What programs you have autostarting (from Start | Run, run MSConfig
and you can see the list of them there).
 
Big_Al said:
Before you think about reinstalling see the steps listed below.
Click to expand...

I would add, to use CCleaner, while I've never used it, others swear
by it.

(This is a general macro I use for Hijackthis:)

Go here http://hijackthis.de/en download
http://download.hijackthis.eu/HJTInstall.exe

No need to install, just run it; Scan, save log, copy then, paste the
log file into http://hijackthis.de/en click analyze. Google first of
course, but Red should be deleted and yellow researched.

-- when your all done cleaning up, do a repair install, I've run the
same OS installation (XPro) for over 4 years and it's running just
fine.

A repair install is what I do to set things straight again. I've run
two so far. http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Follow the directions (it's the second repair option, not the first)
and you will not lose anything.

This can be a lot of problems for some people, the best chance you
have of doing this is if you have a XP CD slipstreamed to the latest
SP
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp
Replace SP2 with SP3. it's not an easy process.

There is also SFC but it rarely works after a few updates.
http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
 
From a previous post:

Start/Search:

*.tmp
*

Other files you could delete are files with these extensions:

..dmp - Dump file. When Windows (or an application) experiences a crash, a
memory dump is performed. If you don't use these files (for trouble
shooting), delete them, you can save quite a bit of space!
..bak - Backup file; when a new (data) file is created, some programs will
rename the old version with a .bak extension. Be careful when removing these
files.
..cnt - Help-related file; ever notice those tables of contents when you
launch certain Help files? If you don't need a table to help you navigate
through a Help file, delete these. They will not come back.
..fts - Help-related file; when you perform a search with a Help file, this
is created to make all future searches be performed quicker. E.G., not worth
having around unless you use Help files on a daily basis. They are
re-created if you do a search in a Help file, so these should be regularly
scanned for and deleted.
..gid - Help-related file; when you run a Help file, it creates a GID to make
future accesses to that particular help file a tad quicker. They're a
complete waste of space. You'll have to delete these on a regular basis, as
they are recreated with every Help file execution.
..old - Old file; see .bak.
..~mp - Temporary file; see .tmp.
..$$$ - Old file; see .bak (usually, not always)
..000 - Old file; see .bak

To be on the safe side, delete your files to the Recycle Bin, and leave them
there for a week or two. If you don't run into any problems, you can empty
the Recycle Bin. If Windows or any program complains about a missing file,
just select your Recycle Bin, find the file and right-click on it. From the
context menu choose Restore. This will restore the file to its original
location.

--

All the Best and Happy Holidays,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
 
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