Good pc tuneup software ?

war2k10

Im looking for a good 'FREE' pc tuneup software help plz

yoyo

Glary is an all in one suite (download the slim version minus toolbar), you could also download CCleaner and Defraggler here which are both excellent, my reccomendation is those 2

Nick

Torqay

war2k10 wrote: »

Im looking for a good 'FREE' pc tuneup software help plz

The OS installation disc you got with your computer...

These "tune up" programs are noting but snake oil, you might as well download more RAM. You'll need it to accommodate all the free browser toolbars and other cool adware usually installed with such freebies.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

The OS installation disc you got with your computer...

These "tune up" programs are noting but snake oil, you might as well download more RAM. You'll need it to accommodate all the free browser toolbars and other cool adware usually installed with such freebies.

There are more straight forward options before doing a full OS reinstall.

MSCONFIG is the best tool for speeding up the average PC.
http://alfred.co.in/how-to/how-to-use-msconfig

CCLEANER is the best piece of third party software out there. Remove tmp files, reg keys, uninstall programms and most importantly you can also remove startup entries (MSCONFIG also does this)


When installing select the option to install without the toolbar.

There are a lot of freebies out there that make for excellent software, and often you have the choice when you install them whether to install a toolbar or not.

Examples,
CCLEANER (Mentioned above)
MALWAREBYTES (Excellent removal tools)
VLC MEDIA PLAYER (Plays anything you throw at it)
WINDIRSTAT (which will help you determine what and where the big files are on your PC)
Lots more mentioned in the stickied thread on this forum.

A full OS reinstall, is, despite what many on this forum think, a pretty formidable job for the average PC user.

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

MSCONFIG is the best tool for speeding up the average PC.
http://alfred.co.in/how-to/how-to-use-msconfig

I beg to differ, MSCONFIG is a troubleshooting utility, not a startup manager and therefore better be left alone. The best startup manager is Microsoft's own Autoruns for Windows.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

I beg to differ, MSCONFIG is a troubleshooting utility, not a startup manager and therefore better be left alone. The best startup manager is Microsoft's own Autoruns for Windows.

MSCONFIG is included in almost every version of windows by default and can be used to manage the most common areas that programmes start up from.
Troubleshooting or not, it can be used for much more.

fionny

kippy wrote: »

MSCONFIG is included in almost every version of windows by default and can be used to manage the most common areas that programmes start up from.
Troubleshooting or not, it can be used for much more.

I agree, I use msconfig to control the startup items like all the stuff Adobe and Microsoft Office and Itunes feels the need to have start at boot.

5uspect

The simple answer is that there is no magic bullet. CCleaner will help remove lot of junk, disabling startup applications just avoids the problem.

If you find that your usage results in poor performance consider looking at creating a custom install disk to automate your fresh install. Otherwise change your usage habits and look at preventative maintenance.

BostonB

CCleaner is good. But nothing beats a fresh install.

kippy

5uspect wrote: »

The simple answer is that there is no magic bullet. CCleaner will help remove lot of junk, disabling startup applications just avoids the problem.

If you find that your usage results in poor performance consider looking at creating a custom install disk to automate your fresh install. Otherwise change your usage habits and look at preventative maintenance.

Disabling startup items does not "avoid" the problem.
The vast majority of PC's that I am asked to look at to "speed up" fall into a few categories, and sometimes a little from each category.

1. The user has had the machine a few years, the system tray is full with icons of various apps that started on startup. It's obvious here that a simple MSCONFIG - Disable all (perhaps leave on or two of the more useful ones there) will improve startup and indeed performance drastically.

2. The machine is riddled with malware. Malwarebytes and further tools to assist with removal (sometimes including MSCONFIG), as well as ensuring the user has a new and reliable antivirus after the infection usually makes all the difference.

3. The machine is woefully underspecced for the operating system and/or pieces of software that the user generally runs. Machines with Celeron or Semperon processors usually fall into this category usually running very little physical RAM. You do what you can, sometimes disabling a few unneeded services, perhaps recommending a relatively cheap RAM upgrade if the processor is decent enough, but that really depends on the circumstances.

4. The users machine is running as well as it ever has, the issue is the user. They are using a physicilly faster PC at work or elsewhere, get used to that level of responsiveness and set it as the benchmark. They believe their machine has "slowed down".

5. The PC itself is fine. It's not running slowly at all, however internet browsing is woefully slow. (this can be a bit of point 4 as well). Not much you can do here but review ISP options for the user.

6. The machine needs to have it's OS reinstalled because the malware infection is too bad or too much has been added and removed from the machine in the time since it left the box.


A complete reinstall, or a custom install of an OS is not the most straightforward thing to do for a standard user. Running MSCONFIG with the instructions I posted earlier is a lot more straight forward and MAY provide that silver bullet for a time period.

Windows 7 comes with a new feature, create system image, which, if done on a monthly basis, or indeed just after you have installed the OS, removed the bloat, installed you favourite applications, updates etc, will save you hours when wanting to do a "fresh" install.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/4241/how-to-create-a-system-image-in-windows-7/

An OS reinstall particularly from scratch, for me anyway, is usually the final step in most situations above.

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

MSCONFIG is included in almost every version of windows by default and can be used to manage the most common areas that programmes start up from.

LOL, ever tried to disable Apple/Adobe/HP/Google software updaters via MSCONFIG?

kippy wrote: »

Troubleshooting or not, it can be used for much more.

It doesn't mean it should be used for anything else.

BostonB

kippy wrote: »

....
An OS reinstall particularly from scratch, for me anyway, is usually the final step in most situations above.

If you don't have the apps, or the OS disc, or you don't know how to install the OS. Then I can understand not re-installing it the OS

But otherwise its much faster to reinstall the OS, than clean and optimise it, and its gets better results.

Often a upgrade to the RAM makes no sense if the machine is very low spec. Modern websites are very demanding, and the difference in performance between a low end dual core and a late high end core2duo is vast, in my experience. Sometimes simply selling the old machine and buying a 2nd hand a few years younger costs less than 100 and is night and day faster in performance. Often you'll more ram, a faster bus as part of the upgrade. Can be much more cost effective than buying slow ram for an old machine at the end of its useful life. A cheaper SSD might also be an option.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

LOL, ever tried to disable Apple/Adobe/HP/Google software updaters via MSCONFIG?



It doesn't mean it should be used for anything else.

We'll agree to disagree.

kippy

BostonB wrote: »

If you don't have the apps, or the OS disc, or you don't know how to install the OS. Then I can understand not re-installing it the OS

But otherwise its much faster to reinstall the OS, than clean and optimise it, and its gets better results.

Often a upgrade to the RAM makes no sense if the machine is very low spec. Modern websites are very demanding, and the difference in performance between a low end dual core and a late high end core2duo is vast, in my experience. Sometimes simply selling the old machine and buying a 2nd hand a few years younger costs less than 100 and is night and day faster in performance. Often you'll more ram, a faster bus as part of the upgrade. Can be much more cost effective than buying slow ram for an old machine at the end of its useful life. A cheaper SSD might also be an option.

Agree
Disagree
Agree in cases.

Again, we all have our opinions.

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

We'll agree to disagree.

What is there to disagree?

Have you ever tried to disable Apple/Adobe/HP/Google software updaters via MSCONFIG? Yes or no?

If the answer is yes, did you succeed? Yes or no?

Hint: these (and many other) programs and services are initialised from registry locations which are not covered by MSCONFIG. But of course you wouldn't know that, unless you'd be using a more comprehensive software to manage the startup routine of a Windows computer.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

What is there to disagree?

Have you ever tried to disable Apple/Adobe/HP/Google software updaters via MSCONFIG? Yes or no?

If the answer is yes, did you succeed? Yes or no?

Hint: these (and many other) programs and services are initialised from registry locations which are not covered by MSCONFIG. But of course you wouldn't know that, unless you'd be using a more comprehensive software to manage the startup routine of a Windows computer.

These are not the only applications that slow down a computer on startup.

I realise there are other locations not covered by msconfig, the vast MAJORITY of apps that end up in startup, are however.......
Again, you use your way, I'll use mine.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

LOL, ever tried to disable Apple/Adobe/HP/Google software updaters via MSCONFIG?



It doesn't mean it should be used for anything else.

Jesus, you love to complicate things, don't you?

CainMarko

Use CCleaner and defrag your hard drive .
a reinstall is a bit drastic but like the others said if you use msconfig you can get rid of a lot of bloat at startup .

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

Again, you use your way, I'll use mine.

Crude solutions are just that, I prefer to give sound advice, even more so as Autoruns is promoted by Microsoft as a startup manager and MSCONFIG is not. If you want to do a proper job use the right tools.

And if you don't believe me, how about some reviews then?

Autoruns has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations amongst all the startup managers, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility

BostonB

Had to fix someones laptop the other day and had to clean it up rather than just re-install as they didn't have the system or applications disks with them, and it took forever. I couldn't get over how much HP bloat-ware was on the system. You couldn't install most of it, as one HP app would need another to function. Why they fill a low spec machine (2GB ram low end AMD) with so much crud from the factory just baffles me. Then the average user is going to leave a bunch of things like iTunes, Skype, auto loading, and wouldn't be interested in turning these startup apps off, if they use them all the time. Back to back with another machine with similar specs and non of this stuff installed was a night and day difference.

Mc Love

Just going to hijack this thread - sorry OP!

My in-laws have an 8 year old if not more Dimension PC (XP) and sometimes the CPU spikes to 100 and stays that way for ages, is there anything I can do other than a fresh install (doubt they have the OS discs from when they got the PC)

I can try some of the options listed above, but I think they will have to get a new PC...oh and they are running Norton, would trend be a better option??

cookie1977

Use BlackViper's site for configuring services in your OS. I find this great but do take note of what you've disabled.

http://www.blackviper.com/

5uspect

Mc Love wrote: »

Just going to hijack this thread - sorry OP!

My in-laws have an 8 year old if not more Dimension PC (XP) and sometimes the CPU spikes to 100 and stays that way for ages, is there anything I can do other than a fresh install (doubt they have the OS discs from when they got the PC)

I can try some of the options listed above, but I think they will have to get a new PC...oh and they are running Norton, would trend be a better option??

Norton is absolute muck, get rid of it and install (free) Microsoft Security Essentials. Check the task manager and see what process is eating up the CPU.
A machine of that age could benefit from a memory upgrade, RAM is cheap these days. You could even consider putting Ubuntu on it if all they want is email and browsing and storing photos.

arodabomb

5uspect wrote: »

Norton is absolute muck, get rid of it and install (free) Microsoft Security Essentials. Check the task manager and see what process is eating up the CPU.
A machine of that age could benefit from a memory upgrade, RAM is cheap these days. You could even consider putting Ubuntu on it if all they want is email and browsing and storing photos.

+1 on getting rid of Norton (massive resource hog). MSE is a far better tool, especially for an older machine.

Another +1 on the Ubuntu side of things. It'll really breathe new life into an old machine. There is very little difference in terms of using it for someone who just wants to do basic tasks.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

Crude solutions are just that, I prefer to give sound advice, even more so as Autoruns is promoted by Microsoft as a startup manager and MSCONFIG is not. If you want to do a proper job use the right tools.

And if you don't believe me, how about some reviews then?

I am familiar with the software.

BostonB

Personally I think XP or Windows 8 is a lot lighter on a PC than a full Ubuntu GUI. Theres lighter Linux alternatives...

http://www.osnews.com/story/24476/

Norton and even AVG is quite heavy on a old machine MSE is much lighter as the others have said.

Also consider...
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/hp-compaq-dc7700p-desktop-pc-intel-core2-duo-2-13-ghz-4gb-ram-160gb-hdd-dvdrw/1929775
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/fujitsu-siemens-sff-esprimo-c5720-dual-core-e2180-1-5gb-vista/1966131
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/hp-7700-desktops-3-4ghz-d-intel-2gb-ram-80-sata/1744831

5uspect

BostonB wrote: »

Personally I think XP or Windows 8 is a lot lighter on a PC than a full Ubuntu GUI. Theres lighter Linux alternatives...

http://www.osnews.com/story/24476/

Norton and even AVG is quite heavy on a old machine MSE is much lighter as the others have said.

Also consider...
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/hp-compaq-dc7700p-desktop-pc-intel-core2-duo-2-13-ghz-4gb-ram-160gb-hdd-dvdrw/1929775
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/fujitsu-siemens-sff-esprimo-c5720-dual-core-e2180-1-5gb-vista/1966131
http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/hp-7700-desktops-3-4ghz-d-intel-2gb-ram-80-sata/1744831

Actually you're probably right, modern versions of Ubuntu are getting heavy on the graphics side of things. I haven't tried Ubuntu on a machine of this age in a long time. But a nice light weight Linux distro should be worth a shot.

Mc Love

The thing is, its used for their business so has to have good Security software on it, we used trend here in work and thought it would be a good product to use!

5uspect

Mc Love wrote: »

The thing is, its used for their business so has to have good Security software on it, we used trend here in work and thought it would be a good product to use!

A fully patched XP, MSE, common sense and the default XP firewall enabled should be adequate. That said, running a business from an 8 year old machine is concerning. The hard drive is probably beyond it's reliable life of about 5 years. I hope they have a suitable back up solution?

Back OT this article compares a range of tune-up programs against a RAM upgrade for the lulz:
http://www.reghardware.com/2009/09/29/review_pc_tune_up_sofware/

BostonB

If you had a spare disk, you could try an install on W8 on it. Seems nippy on the machines I've tried but they do have 2GB of RAM in them.

I was hunting for a comparison of a fresh windows installed vs a old machine 4yrs+ of home use, cleaned up. But I couldn't find one.

I've recently switched from using a Core2Duo 2.0 to a Core2Duo E8500 3.0 and theres a massive difference in browsing. Granted the 2nd machine has a 7200 HD vs a 5400 in the old laptop, and the new machine has DDR3. But the difference is very dramatic. I was also using a QuadCore 9450 2.6 for a while and that was lovely using the web on too. The E8500 feels the quickest though. These can be picked up quite cheap.

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

I am familiar with the software.

And yet you suggest an utterly inferior solution?

Torqay

BostonB wrote: »

I've recently switched from using a Core2Duo 2.0 to a Core2Duo E8500 3.0 and theres a massive difference in browsing. Granted the 2nd machine has a 7200 HD vs a 5400 in the old laptop, and the new machine has DDR3. But the difference is very dramatic.

Not saying a faster CPU won't help matters (as the code and scripts have to be processed after all) but the difference in "browsing speed" is not for a small part the result of the faster hard drive (which probably also has a faster and bigger cache) and memory.

Take an old clunker like some Inspiron with a P4 and add more RAM, say 2 GB. Then create a RAM disk and run your web browser inside that RAM disk (various way of doing that, Sandboxie probably the easiest plus it will add another layer of security), now that the slow HDD is taken out of the loop and all the caching happens in the system memory, you'll experience a helluva difference in speed.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

And yet you suggest an utterly inferior solution?

Where exactly did I say it was an "utterly inferior solution"?

Torqay

Despite being familiar with Autoruns, you try selling MSCONFIG as the best thing since sliced bread... something doesn't add up.

BostonB

Torqay wrote: »

Not saying a faster CPU won't help matters (as the code and scripts have to be processed after all) but the difference in "browsing speed" is not for a small part the result of the faster hard drive (which probably also has a faster and bigger cache) and memory...

Thats why I mentioned it.

What speed drive will a 8yr old PC have.

Torqay

BostonB wrote: »

What speed drive will a 8yr old PC have.

Just looking at a Dell Dimension 3000 here, which is about 8 yrs old, the drive is a 40GB IDE ATA/100 (5400 rpm, 2 MB buffer), certainly nothing to write home about.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

Despite being familiar with Autoruns, you try selling MSCONFIG as the best thing since sliced bread... something doesn't add up.

I said it was the best software for speeding up your average PC. This is for various reasons.
Finished discussing this point with you tbh.
You prefer Autoruns, fair enough.

yoyo

Enough of the autoruns vs msconfig discussion lads. Keep to the topic.

Mc Love

Got rid of Norton, using MSE and PCTools FW. Used CCleaner and MalwareBytes to get rid of some potentially harmful stuff (one trojan!!) Crazy that Norton never picked up on it! Adjusted the Startup in MSCONFIG, and hopefully that will that, I did notice a marked improvement, and the CPU wasnt spiking anymore which is good.

I looked up crucial and they advised that the system should be able to run 2GB RAM, currently it only has 512MB (Shocking I know) and it has a pentium 4 processor.

Is crucial the best place to pick up sticks of RAM or should I look elsewhere??

BostonB

Depends on price. I always pick up ram 2nd hand.

How much was the quote from Crucial and was the type of ram.

Mc Love

Where do you pick it up 2nd hand?

They are looking for 28.79 inc VAT and its DDR PC2700

BostonB

Well thats not terrible. Whats the P4 speed.

Someone in the family has a P2.8 with 4GB of ram and I think its very slow compared to a 1.8 core2duo with 3GB of ram.