Hi Guys,

I put together a small guide for cleaning up Windows computers and optimizing them a bit. I know a lot of people here have problems with the software side of their computers, so I figured I would share some advice with those that want it. This is just a small, step by step, of how I would go about quickly bringing a computer up to an optimized state. Well, as optimized as you can get it, without actually doing a reformat, then following it with some of this stuff. The guide should give you some boost in everything and also it should remove some problems, if you haven't cleaned up your computer in a while. Don't expect miracles. I am making the focus on the computer and not individual needs, so that it is tuned more for overall usage and gaming.

I would do most of this stuff in order. The main reason is that it is set up to dirty and destroy, then clean up afterwards. I am trying to make it so that the benefits are all there at the end and also so that each step is done optimally. I take no responsibility for what you do to your system, as it would most likely be user or program error. Whatever you install, you agree to use. Whatever you do, that is on you. I would read the full step, before proceeding to do it. That way, you know what you are getting into and what is due to happen.

I will focus on free software and free trials of paid software. I don't want to make anyone feel like they have to pay out any money. I'll make some mention of other programs and you are free to purchase what you like. You can, do everything I mention, more than one way, without ever spending a penny. In almost every case, you won't suffer even a bit by not spending any money, so I say stick with the freeware and trials.

So now to the steps:

<--- Please note. Anything that you install could potentially try to install other pieces of software. Please be sure to uncheck these boxes and don't rush through any install. --->

1 - Initial Software Removal

<--- Do not uninstall the drivers or driver related software in this step, as this will come later on. --->

I like to start off with a removal of all software that isn't needed or used. I don't recommend using the Windows built in program manager. Instead, I suggest going with an advanced uninstaller. Revo Uninstaller is my uninstaller of choice and it has a free trial. If you insist on using another one, Total Uninstall, Your Uninstaller!, and Full Uninstall are all decent. I would stick with Revo. It is probably the easiest to use of the bunch and also is very accurate in what it removes after the uninstall.

The whole point to using an uninstaller is that it cleans up leftovers that programs leave behind. This is not only nice for people looking for cleaner harddrives, but it can also reduce a number of problems related to files being left behind when you go to install a newer version of a program or drivers. Revo tends to be more than capable or replacing those individual uninstallers that you see, for things like Java and video card drivers, so that future problems don't occur.

Basic usage of Revo is similar to others, so I will just explain Revo. Simply put, follow this order:

• Right click a program, choose uninstall.

• Wait for the programs uninstaller to launch, then uninstall it (Do not use the scanner, yet).

• After the program is uninstalled, choose advanced on the scan mode screen that Revo has up and click scan.

• Personally review all registry keys that it presents (If they come up. There may be none.).

• Select the ones you want to delete or select all.

• Click Delete, then Next (It should automatically move on after delete is hit, if nothing is left).

• Personally review all the files and folders that it presents (If they come up. There may be none.).

• Select the ones you want to delete or select all.

• Click Delete, then Click Finish (It should automatically move on after delete is hit, if nothing is left)

• Repeat for other programs.

I find Revo to be very accurate, so I have no problem simply selecting all and deleting them. In the options for it, you can actually chose to have it select all automatically, to save a step.

I would go about removing anything that you simply don't want or need. Most computers are loaded with junk that will never be used. This is especially true if you have a version of Windows that you got with your computer (OEM), they usually comes filled with useless programs that they got paid to add to the operating system. It is also very useful to cut down on the amount of programs that are starting up with Windows, so I would say that anything you don't need or use, eliminate here.

2 - Fully Update Windows

Most people fall behind a bit on keeping Windows up to date. Typically, you would be missing out on a few security updates and a few occasional speed upgrades. Minimal, yes, but they can make things run smoother. I like to do this step fairly early on, so that I know that I am not uninstalling anything important or missing out on anything that can benefit me later on.

For newer operating systems, the fastest way to access your updates feature is to open your Start menu, choose control panel, and then find it in there. If your Control Panel is categorized, set it to show icons using the little menu they give you. If you don't see it, you can go to The Windows Update Site, using Internet Explorer only. You may also find it on your Start menu, on older versions of Windows.

I prefer the approach of doing a custom search for updates. I usually like to look at both the recommended and the optional updates. Usually I will grab all security stuff and important Windows updates, as well as fixes and similar stuff. Basically, I skip driver installs and anything else that should be installed only manually. Windows tends to be a bit behind on most of this stuff. I just like to cover all the things that actually are part of the operating system.

3 - Update Software, Firmware, And Drivers

I usually do this manually, but you certainly don't have to. At least, you can use a program to check around for you. SUMO, FileHippo, and Secunia PSI are examples of good programs for the task. I still like to manually uninstall and install for my stuff, but the choice is yours. At least they can alert you to what is going on. You may also find that your computer manufacturer or the manufacturer of an individual piece of your hardware will have their own scanners. Typically you can install on top of older software, I wouldn't for drivers or really important software. Also some software and drivers can have problems if this is done. Better to sometimes choose safe over sorry. Revo Uninstaller can be used for most of this, to be able to start clean. Be warned, though... If you have saved settings, it will probably delete them. You may want to either back them up or not bother going this route. If you uninstalled enough stuff from part one, you probably won't have to spend that much time doing this.

I recommend manually looking up your system and/or hardware, to find their official downloads, in order to see what you are behind on. If you bought the system whole, you should be able to find the updates by entering in some unique code or the model number of your system. If you want to look up individual parts, try the main company for each. If you bought a Samsung SSD, go and look up firmware updates and tools at their page. If you bought an Asus Motherboard, try their page. Updating firmware and drivers can actually extend the life of your pc, add new features, and speed up each piece of hardware.

Video card drivers are the most important for gaming and these should be done manually. Guru3d always has the latest drivers available for video cards, with some useful info on them. Older cards sometimes require special drivers, which you may have to look up on your own. Laptops sometimes require them as well and a good place for those would be LaptopVideo2Go. I would use Revo Uninstaller to remove all traces of the software and then go into the Control Panel, open Device Manager, and then under display adapters, right click your video card and choose uninstall. After this, restart, then install your new drivers.

I would say it is a good idea to update anything that is important, including what hardware needs and also the software you use most often. Getting this out of the way now, can allow things to go smoother later on. At this point, you can uninstall the update programs, using Revo Uninstaller, if you never plan to use them again. Sometimes they can annoy people if you don't turn off the automation. That is optional, I'm just saying, we are done with them. Make sure to delete any installers and unneeded install folders as well. No reason to take up extra space.

4 - Tweak/Tune Your Computer

This is actually a monster step. If done right, you can add quite a bit of speed to your computer and make things go a lot smoother. I choose to do this step, at this point, because it is a great fit before you get into removing more things and applying finishing touches. Now is it easy to tweak or should you do it manually if you have never done it before? No and no.

Using more than one program can cause small problems. First off, I don't trust most programs. That means that I am not going to post a huge list of tweaking programs that could potentially cause problems. I like programs that actually tell you what you are doing and why you should do it. There are two programs that I think do this really well for new users and they can work together because one applies the tweaks and the other simply picks up on leftover problems and tells you what you can do to solve them.

The first program is Yamicsoft Manager, which has a 15 day trial period and it has a separate version for each of the last four versions of Windows. These programs are actually jam packed with features, but I would focus on System Speed (Under Optimizer), Customize System (Under Customization), System Security (Under Security), Other Security (Under Security), and System Network (Under Network). This will give you access to a ton of tweaks that can help you out a lot, such as shutting off Windows features (Like System Restore and Indexer) and fixing startup problems. Make sure to check out each tab, which will offer even more things you can do. You will also see a number of other sections, which you can feel free to browse and use as you see fit. The biggest feature is actually the 1-Click Optimizer, but we will cover that later. You can run it now if you would like and follow the instructions, but the last few steps I will cover later on. As always, be careful with what you touch, as you may cause something to no longer work that you actually need. For the most part, most of it is harmless. If you don't know, ask or do a search on it.

The second program is TuneUp Utitilies 2013, which is more of a check things for you and make suggestions type program. That makes it perfect for new users, since it will suggest many different things to make your system better and in many cases, it will allow you to change these things with one click. There is a 15 day trial, but you probably will only need to run it once and just follow all of the instructions. It will attempt to do other things, like clean your system and quickly defragment your drive. That is fine, it won't harm anything. It also isn't necessary to do these things since we will be doing them later, anyway. Either way, it will still be a good idea to do them later. After you run all of the suggested tweaks and make all the changes, it is fine to let Revo uninstall it. You won't need this program going on. I would just use it for some quick suggestions. Unlike most all in one utilities, this one is actually really smart and easy to use.

Now, you can actually feel free to look around your control panel and see if there is anything else you want to do. I like to turn off most of the visual options, that Windows uses, for example. This is found under the System menu, under the advanced tab. You can choose the settings button, under performance, and turn off a number of things to get more speed. It may be called advanced system settings on newer versions of Windows. Just turn on the icons on your control panel and choose System. You can look at other things as well and choose your own options. I wouldn't go for anything big when doing it manually, unless you know what you are doing. You can tweak small things here and there, which is mostly what the control panel is anyway. A simple way to tweak a few things on your computer.

Now that we are tweaked and tuned, it is time to move on. As mentioned before, leave Yamicsoft Manager for later, as it still has some usefulness. There are other tweaking programs and utilities programs out there that some will want to use, but really, those are the two best you can get and I don't see a point in using another one. Believe me, I have tested them all, a number of times.

5 - Optimize Your Browser

A lot of people game within the browser, so you need to take care of it. I suggest Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. Firefox is for people that like having full control over the browser and being able to do anything you want with it. Chrome is more for people looking for something easier, that just works out of the box. They are both good and fast. I use Firefox personally, but I no problem using Chrome.

I'm not going to bother getting into extensions or anything. Maybe a later discussion. If you are using one of those two browsers or some variant of them, I can't recommend Speedy Fox enough. It works for both and will defragment and clean up your profiles, which can then speed you up big time. Especially with startup times. If you are using Firefox, you may also want to look at FireMin (Used CNet Download since the main site isn't all that great). FireMin doesn't start by itself, although you can right click the program, choose create a shortcut, then drag it into the startup menu on your Start menu. The program basically reduces the memory usage of Firefox down to nothing. There have been other attempts at this, but FireMin wipes the floor with them.

A little bit of effort and your browsers suddenly run better, which makes your whole computer look like it runs better. The startup times can be cut down to nothing with a good profile optimization. Later on we will clean out the browser some more, if you choose to do so.

6 - Registry Cleaning And Defragging

<--- Note, I edited this all a bit. Do this step at your own risk. --->

The registry basically saves an insane amount of information about your computer, programs, and other things. It should be cleaned and defragged here and there. The cleaning part can be a bit dangerous if you hit the wrong key, but the programs I recommend are less likely to do that and they should give you backup options before you even begin. The worst I have ever had happen with the programs I use was that a single program stopped working and I had to reinstall it. Not a huge deal.

I'll present you with three options here. You can use the Yamicsoft Manager Optimization Wizard (Or directly use the features) from step four and you will likely cover everything you need. This is what I would use. I have never had even the smallest problem with it and I haven't heard of many who have.

Your other alternatives are RegVac and CCleaner. RegVac is a beast registry cleaner that pretty much only does that. I would recommend it over CCleaner The automated scans, on default, will do quite a bit. I'm not sure you really would be any happier than you would with Yamicsoft Manager, so your choice. It might find a few new things. You will still want to defrag your registry with Yamicsoft Manager.

CCleaner is a program I will talk about more in the next step. Basically it a good static cleaner (Meaning it cleans specific locations, but doesn't really go and look for files to clean), but the registry cleaner is alright at best. It will do the job just fine, but you will still want to defragment your registry with Yamicsoft Manager. I would only use this if I was desperate, compared to the other two. It is the most likely of the three to cause problems.

No matter what you choose, you can pretty much just scan and delete the keys with the default settings. I would just use Windows Manager, personally. RegVac would be next in line.

7 - System Cleaning

For this, I recommend two previously mentioned programs and one addon. Yamicsoft Manager has the Optimization Wizard that if you haven't ran at this point, now you can go ahead and do that. They also have the 1-Click Cleaner, which covers the back part of the Optimization Wizard. Their cleaner is more dynamic, as it focuses more on finding files on the drive, than looking in specific places where certain files might be.

The other is CCleaner, but with a twist this time. There is an addon creator of sorts, called CCEnhancer that adds in the ability to clean other things on your computer. Software, more parts of Windows, etc. They also warn you on anything that you probably shouldn't activate. It great enhances the ability to utilize the static cleaning. Dynamic cleaning is nice, but most of the time you know where the junk is, so static cleaning can be fast and cover more specific tasks. You basically download and run CCEnhancer, download the newest updates through it, then run CCleaner to clean the locations. You will have to pick and choose what you wish to clean and follow any instructions that they give you.

After this is over, I would keep both programs installed, until the very end. It doesn't hurt to run them once more and you may even want to keep CCleaner permanently, since it is free. It actually can do quite a bit once you add CCEnhancer to the mix.

8 - Scanning For Bad Things

So why not do this earlier? Well, I wanted to make sure you had installed almost everything you were going to install and then get rid of almost everything you were going to get rid of. This is more of a what's left standing type deals.

I just want to make some things clear. I don't believe in keeping scanners or software firewalls active full time. An occasional scan and a hardware firewall on your router will pretty much cover most people. With that said, if you are prone to getting bad things on your computer, I would have to say you shouldn't follow my advice. I haven't had a virus ever and I haven't had spyware/malware/adware in forever. I go all over the place and scan like once every 4 months or something. If you know what you are doing on the internet, you probably won't need things running full time. Most people really don't, so you might not be willing to take the risk and you shouldn't have to, if you don't want to.

So why do I only do it here and there? All scanners and firewalls out there cause problems. Most slow you down, even on really fast computers. They also interfere with programs, remove things they shouldn't, and can causes all sorts of lockups and other problems. You basically run everything through them, so they are pretty much software versions of speed bumps or really dirty filters. They can bottleneck things and make your system sit around, waiting for stuff to pass through. They typically aren't smarter than the user.

Before I get into this one scan suggestion, I will say this. If I wanted to run an anti-virus program, I would pick Eset Nod32 because it is small and has been able to catch just about anything for well over a decade. Small resource usage, plus one of the best engines. I think Avast is alright for free, with Kaspersky and Bitdefender among my choices for paid. Nod32 was actually free after rebate back in December on Newegg and they give away 6 month keys sometimes (Usually foreign places where you have to translate the site to get them). Most of the other ones are too heavy (Especially Symantec(Norton) anything) or really bad at doing their jobs. I would probably pick Comodo or Outpost as a standalone firewall and Eset Smart Security as an all-in-one, although most all in ones are quite awful. At least that one is average or better at everything and uses almost no resources. The firewall company all in ones have awful anti-viruses and the anti-virus companies have the same problems that their standalone products had, which would usually fall under can't catch anything or too resource hungry.

Alright... So that is out of the way. Now lets give your computer a scan through. I'm going to say at least one small anti-virus engine, two spyware/adware/malware sweeps, and perhaps a trojan sweep. I'll throw in one oddball for good measure.

Lets start with a small virus scanner. Bitdefender and Eset both have great online ones that use little to no resources, but that can catch most things. Now are you better off than downloading a product and using it? No. Close enough, though. You can feel free to download a full anti-virus if you would like. There is no reason to let me stop you.

For spyware? I like SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Both have free to use versions that can be upgraded to pro. I actually like the free versions more because they don't try to force themselves to run all the time.

Now for something non standard. How about HitmanPro? HitmanPro basically scans your files against a database made by users (A cloud), that can quickly tell you if it suspects anything is bad. It basically, as they call it, is a second opinion scanner. You can use the free trial of HitmanPro.

If you are really bored, you can try Trojan Remover. I'm fairly certain that one of the other programs would have picked it up by this point, but if not, well don't blame me. They have a 30 day free trial.

You can really use any combo you want here, I am just picking what I know works.

On my computer, they would be uninstalled after I was done. I am not telling you to go either way. Do what you want for your protection.

9 - Defragging Your Drives And Handling Your SSDs

Alright so lets start with, don't try to defrag a SSD. This is actually a topic that I don't feel like talking about for ten paragraphs. I will just point you to two links Sean's Windows 7 SSD Guide and Sean's Windows 8 SSD Guide. Those will cover you for what you should do to install one, to optimize it, and so on. If you already have it installed, the guides cover everything to do to optimize it afters. He really put a lot of effort into those guides, so if you have an SSD, they are a must read.

So which defragger? So many different ways to go on this one. There are really 5 defragmenters that I would look at. Diskeeper, PerfectDisk, UltimateDefrag, O&O Defrag, and Defraggler.

I'm going to keep this simple. Diskeeper is great for running full time so that it defrags everything that goes through it, but I can't stand the manual defrag. It is worth a trial install just to restart 25 or so times with it, so that its boot optimization completes and basically you startup a lot faster. So more or less, if you run the program for a while, you startup faster. Probably not worth the effort. They call it the HyperBoot engine and I have no clue how many restarts it has to go through before it can optimize, but I think it is like 25.

UltimateDefrag is more for people that want full control over how their defrag is handled. It is popular among power users, but probably skippable.

PerfectDisk is nice, but I think all the automatic defragmenters struggle to actually defrag everything. They never seem to defrag as much as you would think they do. It does have a better manual defrag than Diskeeper.

O&O Defrag actually always had my favorite manual defragger since that is pretty much the only thing it really does well. It is built for giving you some control to be a power user, but having a few different easily selectable modes to choose how you want it done.

Defraggler is actually my choice for most people. It has no automatic scanner, although I think it can be scheduled. It is mostly a decent manual defragger that you can run anytime. It barely uses any resources, is reasonably fast, and very easy to use. It is also free and by the people that made CCleaner. I recommend it just to defrag your drives here and there.

You can uninstall with Revo when you are done or keep running the automatic programs. Defraggler, being free, is nice to keep around and have replace the built in Windows one. It isn't the worst idea to defrag every month or two.

10 - Final Cleanup

Alright, so you are at the end. I would uninstall everything you don't want, except for Revo and the cleaners. At that point, I would give them one last quick run and then uninstall them, if you want to. You might as well clean out the registry and the files leftover from the last uninstalls, so that one last run is worth it and usually really fast.

At this point, it is time for Revo to go. Unfortunately, Revo can't uninstall itself. You will have to break protocol and do it manually. This can be done from the windows program list, the start menu, or the Revo program files folder. I will assume most of you know how to uninstall something, but you can always ask for help.

You have reached the end at this point. Feel free to ask any questions, add suggestions, let me know of any corrections that need to be made, and so forth. I may do more guides on all sorts of subjects if people want. We'll see how this goes. Keep in mind, I typed this in a text editor with no spell check, plus I barely learned anything in school, so don't expect proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, or really anything. How many points do I get if I spelled my name right? Oh yeah... I didn't reread it, so I am sure there are errors.