Windows Vista vs. Dell PC Tuneup

[Kim Doyle]

Hi,

I have had my Dell with Windows Vista for about a month now. The other day
I received a pop-up message saying my trial subscription to Dell Automated
PC Tuneup was up and click here or else I wouldn't be able to do a defrag or
a disk cleanup or other maintenance tasks on my PC. I thought these
performance maintenance tasks were run by Windows Vista using the Task
Scheduler (or I can, and even know how to, select to do it manually)?

I've spent the last couple days trying to do research to find out exactly
what the Dell PC Tuneup does and the cost but the Dell Support site is
extremely unhelpful. It pretty much tells you SFA -- no pricing, and
nothing that tells me what this does versus what Windows Vista and the Task
Scheduler do. I've done Google searches and posted to the Dell Forum (which
I found very unhelpful compared to the Microsoft Forums).

So does anybody with a Dell and Windows Vista have an opinion on whether
it's necessary to pay for the subscription? Or am I covered with Windows
Vista and the Task Scheduler running??

Thanks,

Kim Doyle
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Uninstall Dell PC Tuneup..

 

[Alan Biddle]

Kim,

All those tasks can be done manually, or scheduled at your pleasure.
The Dell program will not prevent that.

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Windows Vista contains Windows Defender (anti spyware software),
Defragmenter, Firewall, Disk Cleanup. It 'doesn't' have its own Anti Virus,
but the free versions of AVG Anti Virus is highly recommended
(http://free.grisoft.com)

As others have said, you can do most tune ups manually within Vista, you
certainly don't need Dells Tune-up, I don't even recommend Microsoft's own
One Care software because I find it too temperamental.

I've recently bought a new Intel Core2 Duo machine and the first thing I did
was uninstalled all the rubbish that E-Machines (Part of Dell) put on it. I
prefer my machine to have software 'I want' installed not what the PC
manufacturer wants. They only put Norton, MacAfee's free trial onto the
machines because they get commission if you subsequently extend the trial
period.


--
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Kim Doyle]

It's good to have confirmation of what I thought. Many thanks to all who
replied.

Kim

 

[John Barnett MVP]

You're Welcome!

--
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Ralph]

Ok- almost all correct- my version of Vista Ultimate did not come with
Defender. I downloaded it. (after testing 3 other programs)
Unlike all the complaints I've heard about it, I have had not one problem or
complaint with it.

I run the disk cleanup, to get rid of temporary files, so the scans happen
faster.
Then I run the virus scan, after updating.

Defender does its own thing, as it pleases. - maintenance done.

The one thing I recommend against, (!) is regular defragmentation. This is
very hard on the hard drive, and not necessary with todays hard drives.
Historically, there was a benefit to save space on tiny drives. Remember 20
MB hard drives?
I've watched many people do it, and also watched a good percentage of them
replace their hard drives.

I DO advise running it, after about 6 months running a computer. I find the
actual defragmentation does a minor bit of good, but the main benefit comes
from the re-orientation of the most-used programs to the center of the
drive, where they can be accessed most quickly.

I torture my drive incessantly, with testing and removing software, hardware
and data, almost 24 hours a day. I will run my first defrag during my
Christmas outing, after six months running the machine.

Back to the subject... Windows supplies most of what you need. You will
need an anti-virus that you're comfortable with.
I also worked at Dell. Feel free to remove additional programs that annoy
you. Dell's great at sales, but the slew of stuff they add to their systems
was a shock to me. It did not make for a positive impression when I started
one the first time.

Have fun on your machine!