Computer newbies: Please review my plan to 'optimze' my laptop and correct.
Please review my plan to 'optimze' my laptop and correct.
by ImNtStpd - 4/28/08 10:05 AMI have never posted on a forum before so be gentle with me. I apologise for the length of what follows. It may be the longest post ever and quite tedious. I deeply appreciate your patience and any assistance you may be kind enough to render. I recently (about 2 weeks ago) bought my first laptop. It is a Toshiba A215, Vista Home Premium 32bit (no SP1), AMD Turion 64X2 Dual Core, 3072MB DDR2, 250 GB (5400 rpm) SATA, ATI Radeon graphics (128mb discreet, up to 255mb shared). When I started it there were tons of programs I never heard of. Since I have had it I have not loaded, activated or entered a thing. The only use I have put it to is to read as much information as I could on how to 'optimize' it, in other words, remove the bloat, crap, junk it came with. I know less than nothing about computers but I am a fast learner and possibly smarter than the average bear (but not my dog, if only he had opposable thumbs). I thought with your help I could do this, as I blew the budget buying it and can't afford to pay professionals to fix it for me. I have researched this forum extensively and compiled as much advice into one plan as I could. Much of it came from CNET online courses. Would you be so kind as to review my plan and tell where it is flawed and how to correct it, please? I am really concerned I turn this thing into a beautiful 'Metallic Onyx Blue' paperweight.
1)Download any and all updated drivers and burn a backup.
Q)Use CD, DVD, DVD-DL or Flash?
2)Export Registry to Desktop & creat System Protection Point.
Q)Export to an external place as well? and to what?
3)Create System Restore Point using SR Wizard
Q)What is the difference between SPP and SRP?
HERE IS WHERE IT GETS MURKY TO ME (More so, I should say)
Do I A) or B) or C)
A:4)Apply PCDecrapifier &/or CCleaner &/or EasyCleaner &/or Registry First Aid &/or Glary Utilities
OR
B:4)Use Add/Remove(Uninstall?) to manually remove programs esp. VONGO/Norton/McAfee and then use REGEDIT to remove related bits
OR
C:4)BOTH!
5)Install new AntiVirus/Spy/Ad/Firewall (AntiVir, AdAware, Spyware Doctor & Spyware Terminator and ComodoFirewall Pro) as per cnet forums advice of 1,2,1 anti's.
6)Optimize start up manually via All Programs>Startup.
Q: Or should I use StartUpInspector as per cnet forum/download.com?
7)Run Windows Defragment tool AFTER changing power down harddrive setting to NEVER.
Q: Any other reccommended tools?
Q: Do you reccommend a change in the sequence?
Q: Will I need to reboot at certain times or will the process tell me too?
Any advice you could give me will be treasured. If I had access to computer savvy people I would not trouble you but no one I know is any more knowledgeable than I. Please forgive my ignorance and thank you again,
Sincerely,
Worn out and Weary.
looks good
by Spongebob Squarpants - 4/28/08 2:46 PM In reply to: Please review my plan to 'optimze' my laptop and correct. by ImNtStpdthe first part seems good if maybe a little paranoid. i think creating a restore point would suffice, or just making a basic backup of your settings and registry which should all fit nicely on a 700mb CD.
as for cleaning up the bloatware, i'm a ccleaner faithful. i would also recommend Revo Uninstaller which can be downloaded from download.com. revo is great because it will scan your computer for all the misc registry files that went with the uninstalled program and delete them for you as opposed to going through and doing it by hand.
for your security apps, aviraantivir is fantastic for a free program. Ad-aware has killed itself in my opinion. i would instead recommend A-squared 3. stay away from spyware doctor, its a bloated waste of money. you don't really need spyware terminator. avira and A-squared should have you covered. for a firewall stick with zonealarm.
for editing your startup apps i would use ccleaner's integrated tool. defragmenting is good and you should do it about once a month at the least. its a good idea to set the hard drive power down to never. and your computer should tell you anytime it needs a reboot.
all the programs i mention are on download.com
Thank you so much, SS!
by ImNtStpd - 4/28/08 6:40 PM In reply to: looks good by Spongebob SquarpantsI appreciate your quick reply and advice. As to my paranoia, it stems from some advice I picked up early about 'losing' drivers and having to hunt & peck for them. As to the multiple backups, it's more to do with the multiple sources of info. I still don't know what the difference is between System Protection Point as it is called in the CNET class on Speed Up My Vista and System Restore everyone else refers to. One bit of advice was to save the Registry to 2 places on the PC AND externally, hence that question. Those that remain include: Is the order correct? Or should I use Add/Remove THEN free ware help or vice versa or both? As to your recc. for A-squared 3 I will Google and learn, but what is your opinion of Spybot Search and Destroy versus SpySweeper, early contenders who didn't make late cuts? I am not questioning your gracious help and advice, I only have never heard of this anti-spyware before. Again, thanks, love the name, Wish I Were Painting
Backup your drivers?
by strickjh2005 - 4/29/08 5:58 AM In reply to: Thank you so much, SS! by ImNtStpdThe .dll files are all located in %Rootdrive%/windows/system32/drivers
All 350 of my drivers are only 30MB
About backups....
by 4Denise - 5/3/08 1:59 AM In reply to: Thank you so much, SS! by ImNtStpdI'm only going to address backups right now.
I suggest that you do a backup immediately, before making any changes. This is in case you accidentally mess something up (not that you're likely to-- I'm as paranoid as you are!). You can label this backup "factory state" or something similar. Make it a full backup of everything, preferably using Acronis True Image software. Make 2 copies on CD or DVD and store them.
Then begin with your plan. Since you have the ability to restore your system to it's factory state at any time you have no need to fear. You can try whatever seems best to you and see if it gets you the results you want. You might make some intermediate backups as you go, if you just finished a lot of work and want to make sure you can get back to that point easily.
Once you have your system running the way you want it, then make another backup. Make two copies, as before. I would call it a "base backup," but you call it whatever makes sense to you. This would be where you would normally start if you want a clean install.
4denise
This is possibly
by JonathanCase - 5/3/08 3:07 AM In reply to: About backups.... by 4Denisethe most intelligent first post I've seen.
Good research done first; best luck with the project.
Only real advice I have is to endorse Revo uninstaller. If you choose to use it, install it before installing anything else. And if you remove the Symantec products, use the uninstaller provided at the Symantec site after uninstalling them.
Re security software generally..Download what you have decided on first, then go offline before removing the old. (Perhaps a bit obvious.)
Bloat doesn't run unless you run it.
by Dango517 - 5/3/08 10:24 AM In reply to: Please review my plan to 'optimze' my laptop and correct. by ImNtStpdIt might add to much to your hard drive on small 40> hard drives but this is of little concern with the newer, larger (120 GB+) drives. These do add time to all maintenance scans, however.
There are some risks with removing some of this software due to dependencies. Just leave them alone. Screw it up and you'll be reinstalling the OS. Do you have an install disk? Get one. They are available from Toshiba.
See this path ... "System configuration", "Startup" tab, then unclick all programs that you don't need. This will disable unneeded programs.
Also check your "startup" folder it should be very lean, 2 or less items should be listed here. I have none.
Accept the fact that Vista is a little slow in starting up this is the price we pay for more capabilities in the OS.
This thread is untracked. If you need me see my profile and choose my most resent post.
Why
by msgale - 5/3/08 12:50 PM In reply to: Bloat doesn't run unless you run it. by Dango517Rule one - Stay out of the registry if possible.
Rule two - See rule one.
Do not try to solve problems that do not exist. I have run 32 bit Microsoft OSs, since Windows 3.5.1. Most of the time I edited the registry to "improve things" I, instead created more problems. I never edited the registry for XP, Vista, and W2K3, and as a result my PCs are like the "Energizer Bunny” they just run and run.
PS I have edited my registry to support Graduate school projects.
Changing the System configuration on Windows XP
by alza68 - 5/6/08 9:35 AM In reply to: Bloat doesn't run unless you run it. by Dango517Hello!
I am afraid changing the system configuration start up tab by unclicking the needless programs has its shortcomings on windows XP. You would recieve a nagging blue screen with a fatal error and cessation of the computer while starting. With an error c000000021A of course following several successful boot procedures. This blue screen may pop up on several occasions to be a nuisance. How would rather deal with this impediment thereafter?
I've disabled items from
by JonathanCase - 5/6/08 3:04 PM In reply to: Changing the System configuration on Windows XP by alza68the startup tab and never seen the symptoms you describe.
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