Cleaning Up

[Guest]

I have a Dell Dimension 4550. It has run slowly ever since I purchased it
brand new a few years back. I would like to re-intall Windows XP, but cannot
find the Key to do that - so I am out of luck with that route (unless someone
can tell me how to get it) ... What is the best way to clean this
computer? I do all regular maintenance but it never get faster. Any helpful
hints to get the junk out of this computer? Cleaning the registry..just
getting rid of the junk on here beside the regular remove programs etc...
route. I would format the O.S. if I had the code, but I am looking for
another avenue.

 

[Donny Broome]

If you purchased the machine from Dell, you might be able to obtain a valid
CD key from them. If not, be sure to scan your machine for any spyware that
might be on it. I personally use Ad-Aware and SpySweeper. The page below
details several fine products that can assist you with removing any spyware.

http://www.broomeman.com/spyware/


--

 

[sf]

I have a Dell Dimension 4550. It has run slowly ever since I purchased it
brand new a few years back. I would like to re-intall Windows XP, but cannot
find the Key to do that - so I am out of luck with that route (unless someone
can tell me how to get it) ...
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

What is the best way to clean this computer? I do all regular maintenance
but it never get faster.

If your computer was that way out of the box, it's the nature of the
beast - so you may need to change out some parts to speed it up.
http://pcworld.about.com/news/Oct242002id106316.htm says it has a
slow graphics processor, so that could be your problem.
Quote: ....the graphics processor was so slow that we could see images
being drawn on the screen, pixel by pixel.

Any helpful
hints to get the junk out of this computer? Cleaning the registry..just
getting rid of the junk on here beside the regular remove programs etc...
route. I would format the O.S. if I had the code, but I am looking for
another avenue.

I'm assuming you already use Ad-Aware, update your virus protection
daily and have some sort of a personal firewall beyond what XP has to
offer.

After you run Ad-Aware, run CWShredder which removes CoolWebSearch
(aka CoolWwwSearch, YouFindAll, White-Pages.ws and other names)

Caution: If you don't know what you're doing when you tinker with the
registry, you'll just make a bigger mess than you started with. That
said, you can run Hijack This
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
and post your results to an online help forum for review. They will
help you all the way - if you need it. BTW: There is a neat little
utility that finds the registry entry you tell it to find and removes
it for you. If you think you need it after you run Hijack This, I'll
boot up the computer it's installed on and give you the name.

HTH

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Holly

I would suggest you try cCleaner.
http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp
http://www.ccleaner.com/

With any cleaner you need to proceed with caution. I invariably
recommend creating a restore point before using cCleaner.
cCleaner also offers backup before removal.

When using cCleaner think twice before checking before
Autocomplete Form History under Internet Explorer.
You do get a warning but this one has irritating consequences.

However, it may pay to look at the basics!

How much RAM memory?Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task
Manager and click the Performance Tab. Under Commit
Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

How large is your hard drive and how much free space?

What is your CPU processor speed? Right click on your My
Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties to get
this information and the amount of RAM memory.

Another avenue of enquiry is the Event Viewer System log.

Please check Event Viewer for Warning / Error Reports in the System
and Application logs for the last boot and post copies.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Administrative Tools, and
Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the error, information
regarding Event ID, Source and Description are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427&sd=tech

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you should
double click for further information. You can copy using copy and paste.
Often the link will, however, say there is no further information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double click
on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a button
resembling two pages. Double click the button and close Event Viewer. Now
start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of the message. This
will paste the info from the Event Viewer Error Report complete with links
into the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from Event
Viewer.



--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[sonykalkan]

I will suggest HS WinPerfect which can clean hard disk and system
registry, optimizes memory, adjusts system specific settings,
accelerates internet connection, improves cpu usage, maintains
security, detects spyware/adware and un-install software no longer
wanted. The core of the software is based on CleanDisk Pro
http://haysoft.com/main/content/view/3020/32/lang,en/

 

[Gerry Cornell]

That includes a memory optimiser which is NOT a
good idea!

It is also shareware costing you $29, whereas cCleaner
is freeware costing you nothing!

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[xy2z]

I have a Dell Dimension 4550. It has run slowly ever since I purchased
it
brand new a few years back. I would like to re-intall Windows XP, but
cannot
find the Key to do that - so I am out of luck with that route (unless
someone
can tell me how to get it) ... What is the best way to clean this
computer? I do all regular maintenance but it never get faster. Any
helpful
hints to get the junk out of this computer? Cleaning the
registry..just
getting rid of the junk on here beside the regular remove programs
etc...
route. I would format the O.S. if I had the code, but I am looking
for
another avenue.

Check out some links on speeding up a system-
http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/getstarted/speed.mspx/
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html