System Cleanup for XP and Vista

The following procedure is a basic cleanup and will improve the running speed of your system. This will not improve the speed of your system on the internet by any noticeable amount, this has more to do with the speed of your connection. There are further steps that can be taken to fine tune and clean other areas in your system. If you are interested, call the Computer Corral. There is a lot of software available to do the same job for a price. I have not used any of it and can not attest to the thoroughness or effectiveness of it.

Note to reading this document:   When I say "click" that means left click otherwise I will say "right click".
                                                      Text contained between < > are places to click on.

If your system was setup by the Computer Corral the software indicated  "Easycleaner" has been loaded and shortcuts placed in the start menu for Easycleaner and Defrag. If not, you can go back to the computer corral page, scroll down to "More Software" section and select <Easycleaner> to either download it or load it directly, or you can obtain one of the several programs that are available. In any case, it's a good idea to have some sort registry cleaner. Errors in the registry can be very costly in time. Lets continue.

Internet Temporary Files Cleanup
(The following is for version 7 of Internet Explorer)

Click <Start>, right click on <Internet Explorer>, click on <Internet Properties>, a panel will come up, click on <Delete> in the middle of the panel, this will produce another panel where you will click on the top three buttons (Delete Files, Delete Cookies, Delete History). Close all the panels. This should be done after on some regular bases or after each session on the internet.

Registry Clean

The registry clean section is for Easycleaner. If you have another product follow their instructions.
Run Registry Cleaner once a week or after installing/uninstalling software. Only use the "Clean Registry" at the top of the panel. <Start>, <Easycleaner>. After selecting "Clean Registry", click on <Find>. When the search has completed, click on <Select All> and then <Delete>. Close all panels.

System Temporary Files Cleanup

There are folders on your system for each user that contain temporary files that are created by the System and OEM software. Because these entities do not cleanup after themselves we have to. Some of the files in these folders can currently be in use and the system will notify you and not allow you to delete them.

Defrag The Hard Drive

Defragging is one of the most important cleanups that you can perform. If you do nothing else, defrag. The defrag is best run immediately after system startup or a re-boot.  Click on Disk Defrag (if setup by the Computer Corral) or click <start>, <programs>, <accessories>, <system tools>, click on <Disk Defragmentation>, a panel will come up for the Defrag, click on the drive to be Defragged, click on Defrag at the bottom left. When complete a panel will appear, click on close. Repeat this process several times until the speed of the Defrag is at its quickest  point. (Usually two or three times). Close all panels. Again, you cannot run defrag to often.