Cleanup Utilities: Can They Speed Up Your PC?

[win7holic]

Most PC users know that to speed up an old system, you need to spring for new hardware: RAM, a graphics card, or a CPU. If you're not ready to make an investment and crack open the case, however, system-cleanup utilities are enticing. They promise to pry off all the digital barnacles that have collected on your PC and on Windows, remaking it into the spry system you remember from the day you first set it up.

But do cleanup utilities really improve system performance? Or are they the digital equivalent of a placebo (your PC only seems faster because you've invested $40 and a half hour on a utility, and you don't want to think you've wasted your money and time)? The PCWorld Labs tested such programs to settle once and for all whether they significantly speed up computers.

Read more

 

[Deleted member 178]

1- clean the registry
2- defrag my registry
3- clean junk files
4- defrag my disk
5- defrag boot files

my system goes faster

 

[win7holic]

1- clean the registry
2- defrag my registry
3- clean junk files
4- defrag my disk
5- defrag boot files

my system goes faster

i never do defrag registry
defrag disk and defrag boot file is same.. on auslogics disk defrag have feature about it.. we can move boot file to faster disc access so, you can get fast boot cause windows system file on fast disc access

 

[new user]

Lol.... Cleanup utilities they are mostly useless. Only Disk defragging and getting rid of startup programs really boost up performance. Everything else either does nothing or only saves disk space. You'll end spending more time cleaning your computer then using it.

 

[Ink]

Spoiler: Topic Moved from How-To Articles, Tips and Guides

Tutorials Guidelines

• Let's teach, not just show.Post detailed tutorials which contains step by step instructions so it will be easy for anyone to complete him.
• Please post a finished tutorial. Don't say "I'll finish later" or "I'll add screenshots when I have time."
• Always use the "Search" feature before writing a tutorial to see if it has been done before.
• If you are tempted to put the word 'simple' or 'easy' in your thread title, ask yourself why you are writing that tutorial in the first place. Your 'tutorial' is probably not necessary.

 

[new user]

Lol.... Cleanup utilities they are mostly useless. Only Disk defragging and getting rid of startup programs really boost up performance. Everything else either does nothing or only saves disk space. You'll end spending more time cleaning your computer then using it.

Plus defragging only helps because of flaws in NTFS. Other filesystems like ext4 and btrfs don't frag, or only frag a little.

 

[win7holic]

Spoiler: Topic Moved from How-To Articles, Tips and Guides

Tutorials Guidelines

• Let's teach, not just show.Post detailed tutorials which contains step by step instructions so it will be easy for anyone to complete him.
• Please post a finished tutorial. Don't say "I'll finish later" or "I'll add screenshots when I have time."
• Always use the "Search" feature before writing a tutorial to see if it has been done before.
• If you are tempted to put the word 'simple' or 'easy' in your thread title, ask yourself why you are writing that tutorial in the first place. Your 'tutorial' is probably not necessary.

ooppss.. sorry storm

 

[jamescv7]

Of course Cleanup Utilities can speed up for your computer from, cleaning the traces, defrag, optimize the bootup and others.

 

[win7holic]

Of course Cleanup Utilities can speed up for your computer from, cleaning the traces, defrag, optimize the bootup and others.

but, for important is defrag HD and clean junk file by ccleaner (free)

 

[jamescv7]

Ccleaner is the one I used until now in XP yet effective on cleaning and free.

 

[Deleted member 178]

i will be more keen, its what i do before the backup of my system

1- clean and defrag registry (with cleaning tools)
2- clean junk files and defrag C (with cleaning tools)
3- disable useless start up program (by Msconfig.exe)
4- optimize windows services by putting some in manual or disable others (by services.exe)

i think i forget nothing, with those steps your system is "lighter" and "faster"

@New User: for linux i dont know, but for Windows it is a fact. if not i will not do it since many years.

 

[TKFlight]

This one of the reasons why I hate using Windows. You always have to worry about your PC slowing down over time, defrags, etc. God bless Linux and open source!

 

[iPanik]

I have made it a rule not to touch the registry. I did a reformat some time ago because the system had gotten less reliable. I suspect registry cleaners messed it up.

This one of the reasons why I hate using Windows. You always have to worry about your PC slowing down over time, defrags, etc. God bless Linux and open source!

Or you can automate it all through Windows Task Scheduler and never have to worry about it again.

 

[new user]

I have made it a rule not to touch the registry. I did a reformat some time ago because the system had gotten less reliable. I suspect registry cleaners messed it up.

This one of the reasons why I hate using Windows. You always have to worry about your PC slowing down over time, defrags, etc. God bless Linux and open source!

Or you can automate it all through Windows Task Scheduler and never have to worry about it again.

Except for the fact that running all these programs takes a lot of system resources.

 

[iPanik]

Except for the fact that running all these programs takes a lot of system resources.

Do explain.

They only run when you need them to, so the only resources they take up when they aren't running is the hard drive space.

 

[bogdan]

In my opinion Win7 does a good job of optimizing itself, however installing and uninstalling a bunch of applications will probably slow down your system over time and the best thing you can do to maintain your system is to use a VM for testing/a separate PC/or don't install software you don't need at all.

 

[new user]

Except for the fact that running all these programs takes a lot of system resources.

Do explain.

They only run when you need them to, so the only resources they take up when they aren't running is the hard drive space.

Thats the thing. IF you scheduled them to let say, once per week, then whenever they happen to be running, they take a heavy toll on the system.

 

[iPanik]

Thats the thing. IF you scheduled them to let say, once per week, then whenever they happen to be running, they take a heavy toll on the system.

How is that different from running them manually once per week?

 

[new user]

Thats the thing. IF you scheduled them to let say, once per week, then whenever they happen to be running, they take a heavy toll on the system.

How is that different from running them manually once per week?

You said to TJ saying he hates running clean up tools AT ALL. You replied you can just schedule them. But the thin gis they still have a negative performance impact when they are running.

 

[iPanik]

You said to TJ saying he hates running clean up tools AT ALL. You replied you can just schedule them. But the thin gis they still have a negative performance impact when they are running.

oh now i see what you mean!

While that is true, it's not as if Linux is immune to the curse of redundancy. While defrags are unnecessary, you still have to perform cleanups on a Linux box. (or at least i did when i used Linux.)