Computer maintenance

[Riddick]

Once a month or so I do a clean/update of my computer, I do the following in this basic order:

-Go through Add/Remove Programs and remove anything I don't use/need
-Go through my folders and remove any folders I don't use or any left from stuff I have uninstalled
-Run DiskCleanup
-Run Windows Update
-Run Adaware/Spybot (I do this more often then this but also part of this routine)
-Run TrendMicro's Housecall
-Run a Defrag

I can't think of anything else do check/clean/run. Anyone have any other suggestions of any cleanup utilities or things to check?

The only other things that really occur to me that I should look for is new drivers which is something I never really do besides when installing something that requires drivers I will check for newer ones. Any suggestions on that also, like for what components to check for regularly?

Thanks. :hump:

[Glithnenne]

Once a month or so I do a clean/update of my computer, I do the following in this basic order:

-Go through Add/Remove Programs and remove anything I don't use/need
-Go through my folders and remove any folders I don't use or any left from stuff I have uninstalled
-Run DiskCleanup
-Run Windows Update
-Run Adaware/Spybot (I do this more often then this but also part of this routine)
-Run TrendMicro's Housecall
-Run a Defrag

I can't think of anything else do check/clean/run. Anyone have any other suggestions of any cleanup utilities or things to check?

The only other things that really occur to me that I should look for is new drivers which is something I never really do besides when installing something that requires drivers I will check for newer ones. Any suggestions on that also, like for what components to check for regularly?

Thanks. :hump:
Here's one that most people never think of that can make a big difference to CPU lifespan: Crack the case open and vacuum it out once every 1-3 months depending on dust conditions in your area the build up on the CPU cooler of dust and other items(cat fur, tar/nicotine, mice....... :eek: ) can shorten its life considerably. Just one thing I do.

Cheers,
Glithnenne, Maelstrom

[Leiriel]

i addition to vacuuming it out check all your fans and how freely they spin....and not just your case fans...any little fan on your mb, video, sound whatever. only reason i say this is my son had an overheating problem with his video card and cleaning the fan on card chip cleared it up.

[Armeliis]

You may want to try taking an additional load off your RAM and cpu by going into msconfig and turning off all those annoying background programs that you can't even see running. Sometimes even after getting rid of them, updating a driver or program may cause one or more to reappear on that list.

To do this, you go to start menu and click run. Type in "msconfig" (without the quotes), click on start menu tab, and uncheck everything, except DO NOT UNCHECK system tray and scan registry (you need these two to run windows. this is the bare minimum needed. everything else is extra.). Click apply, then yes to restart your pc. Once it restarts, you'll get a little pop up with a box to check. Checking the box will keep that pop up from showing up each time you boot your pc.

If you have AdAware, you can run it before and after you do this looking at the number it shows you for running processes. You should see a drop in that number. The fewer programs you have running in the background, the more RAM your cpu has to work with for applications like DAoC.

[spyder913]

I will second that dust removal suggestion.

As an aside, don't keep your computer on carpet, and if you can put it on your desk - do it. There is less crap to get sucked up into the case when it's not on the floor.

[bloodreign]

another thing you can run is registry cleaner.
when you remove programs from your system, most programs leave crap in your registry behind. using registry cleaner can help clear all that crap.