Clean Up Your Computer - Free Online Computer Fix

To start off, you should do a few quick things that may improve performance. First, Restart your computer. Also, you should not be leaving your computer on for weeks at a time, we endorse a shutdown each night - this will cleanse your system and run diagnostics at the startup. If you are running Windows98 still, you must shutdown your computer each day or so to avoid the system from crashing.

Next, go to your Control Panel and click on Add and Remove Programs - take a close look and see what programs have been installed on your computer - uninstall software that you do not use or that you did not install (spyware). Keep an eye on the size of your hard drive and how full it is. Typically, hard drives that are nearly full will not perform as efficiently as a hard drive that has more ample free space available. If you don't need it, get rid of it!

Hard Drive Defragmenter
Run a Hard Drive Defragmenter (Accessories -- System Tools -- Disk Defragmenter) - especially if you have not done so recently. A defragmenter is an application that reorganizes the data on your hard drive's partitions in such a manner that the files are stored in as much contiguous space as possible. The defragmenter will search your hard drive partition and move data from one location to another location, rearranging the data so that it is stored in one contiguous piece, rather than being scattered throughout your hard drive. This allows programs to run more efficiently and data to be transferred quicker. If you have the time, we recommend also running a Disk Cleanup as well.

Free-up Space on your Hard Drive
Free up some space, perform these tasks regularly: Empty your recycle bin. Clear out your Temporary Internet Files and Cookies (Internet Explorer / Tools / Internet Options). Make sure your hard drive is not chock-full (i.e. 97% full) - the fuller your hard drive, the poorer your performance -- you may need to delete unused files and even programs. The best thing to do is to keep programs that you don't use regularly off of your computer. You may even need to buy an additional hard drive, if you cannot free-up enough space.

If your computer's hard drive has less than 10% free, you are in a critical situation and you must remove some files to clear out room on that drive. If you are using Windows Vista operating system, when you browse your hard drives after clicking on MY COMPUTER - a red bar will highlight your drive if it becomes dangerously full. In today's digital age, more than likely, your PC's hard drive is full of photos and videos. Obviously family photos and videos are treasured and should not be haphazardly deleted - however, we advocate archiving them to a secondary (external) hard drive in order to free up space on your PC - especially if you take a lot of photos! Visit our hard drive back-up solutions section for information on how to back-up your important files.

Clean Up your Computer
A potent program called CCleaner is an easy way to clean up your computer and fix many conflicts and problems. CCleaner is an all-in-one program that allows you to uninstall unused software, clean out your temporary internet files and cache, and analyze your PC Registry. Also, speed up a slow computer by removing unnecessary items loading at startup.

Another great free clean-up program is ATF Cleaner. This program cleans all user temp folders, Java cache, the Opera browser, cookies, history, download history, saved passwords and visited links. Often malware (harmful applications) are harbored in these temporary files.

Are you concerned about your online privacy? Check out our new section on how to best Protect your Privacy Online - with tips and advice on browsing, protecting and encrypting information on your computer.

Disk Cleanup
If you are using the Windows Vista operating system, you'll find a slew of useful diagnostic tools and programs installed on your PC. Go to Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools (see below screen-shot).

Here you will find tools such as Disk Cleanup (program that enables you to clear your PC of unnecessary files). Below this you will find Disk Defragmenter. Below that option is the System Information diagnostic program that allows you to analyze your performance and view what programs are loaded or executed at startup and you can also identify problems or system conflicts.

Lastly is the System Restore option. This allows you to either set-up a new System Restore point or revert your system back to a previous System Restore point. Windows XP/Vista periodically records a snapshot of your computer. These snapshots are called restore points. You can use System Restore to remove any operating system changes that were made since the last time you remember your computer working correctly. System Restore does not affect your personal data files (such as documents, browsing history, photos, favorites, or email) so you won't lose changes made to these files. System Restore can be used to restore you PC back to its state before you installed new software, or before you started tweaking its settings.

Too Many Startup Programs
Want to remove some of your Startup items from initiating when you boot-up your computer? Startup programs are programs that are automatically started by Windows when the operating system starts up. The problem is that many programs, viruses, hijackers, spyware, and other malware set themselves to start automatically when Windows starts. As more and more programs are started automatically, your computer's valuable resources are drained, thus making your computer start to operate slow. Check out this handy online list of Startup Programs and Executables -- cross reference the items on your startup list and then remove the ones you don't need. You can also check out this Startup Programs List to find out which are harmful and which are necessary.

Most people think you need to tinker around with your computer's registry to remove your sartup programs. This used to be the case before programs were created to do just that. Now any user can remove the startup programs they don't need without having to learn complicated Regedit functions. It's easy - simply use the CCleaner program to help you control your startup programs or click on Start > Run > msconfig to control your startup items manually.

Is your internet connection bogged-down? Wondering how fast you are actually connecting? Gage how fast you are connected: test your internet connection speed. This troubleshooting is particularly useful to perform prior to calling your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for help - gauge your connection speed yourself that way when you call your ISP you can tell them exactly how slow you are connecting.

Browser Hijack
If you see random windows popping-up from your internet browser, or you feel you have lost control of your internet browser and it is directing you to surreptitious websites, you may be experiencing a Browser Hijack. A Browser Hijack is a serious and time-consuming problem and should be treated seriously. This happens when malware is inadvertently loaded on your PC causing a change to your internet browser. This usually causes your internet browser to force pages to "pop up" and in many cases try to sell you products to fix your infected computer - a kind of internet extortion scheme. A Browser Hijack can be initiated when you visit a "questionable" website on the internet, or when downloading files from the internet or via a peer-to-peer network much in the same manner as how viruses are delivered.

Check out our instructions on how to eliminate a Browser Hijack.

Once you have taken care of these Quick Fix items, it's time to move on to finding and eliminating spyware on your PC and a complete and thorough virus scan. Once you are finished cleaning up your computer and fixing the conflicts and problems, you must take precautions against these problems popping up again in the future.