How to give your PC a good clean

Over time, PCs tend to get cluttered with unwanted software and temporary files, while Windows’ startup times can slow to a crawl with many applications loading automatically.

Fortunately, with just a little effort much of this mess can be removed or otherwise undone. At the same time, giving the hardware itself a quick spit and polish will keep it ticking over for many more years to come.

The result of this comprehensive spring clean will be a cleaner, faster and more reliable computer that no longer frustrates. And we even give some tips on how to give your PC itself a proper spring clean. Here’s what to do.

Removing unwanted programs
First, a quick point of order: all references to Control Panel assume that Small/Large Icons (Vista/Windows 7) or Classic (XP) view is selected.

We also advise you to back up all important data and create a system restore point before making any changes to your computer.

Over time, it’s all too easy to build up a huge collection of installed programs. Some will be used on a daily basis, but many fall into the category of ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ and are never used.

Removing redundant applications is more than good housekeeping – it can actually improve a PC’s performance, as space is freed up and fewer programs launch at startup.

 

To uninstall a program click Start, Control Panel and then Programs and Features (Vista/Windows 7) or Add or Remove Programs (XP). Windows will now compile a list of all installed applications.

In XP, the list can be ordered by name, size, frequency of use or the date they were last used; click the Sort by dropdown menu to choose how you want it ordered. Vista and Windows 7 provide additional information such as the publisher of the applications and what version is installed.

Scroll through the list, keeping an eye out for unwanted applications. If you are unsure about a particular entry, a quick search online will help determine what it is before removal. To permanently remove an application, highlight it and click the Uninstall (Vista/Windows 7) or Remove (XP) button. Note that programs can only be uninstalled one at a time – follow the prompts to complete the task.