Clean, Defrag, Optimize

[The Tech]

Clean, Defrag, Optimize


Step 1:

Get everything you possibly can out of the System Tray (by the clock in the lower right hand of the screen). The best way to do this is in the applications options. If that fails, use msconfig. To use msconfig press the Windows & R keys> type msconfig and click OK > click the Startup tab > Uncheck anything you do not want to start with windows. The fewer things the better. If you don't know what it is, leave it alone. Shut down and restart.



Step 2:

Open Internet Explorer > Go to Tools > Internet Options > click the Delete Cookies button and click OK in the resulting window > click the Delete Files button. In the resulting window, check the box that says Delete all offline content and click OK > now click the Clear History button, click Yes in the resulting window > click OK and then close Internet Explorer.



Step 3:

Go to C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch (substitute the drive letter your OS is on). Delete the contents of this folder. A better option is to download Windows XP Prefetch Clean And Control and use that. Only use this step for an initial install or after completing this guide.



Step 4:

Start up in Safe Mode (press F8 while booting and choose Safe Mode) Go to Start > Run > type cleanmgr /sageset:50 . Ensure there is a space between cleanmgr and / > click OK

In the resulting screen, choose your options by checking the boxes. I choose all but the bottom two. Click OK

Go to Start > Run > type cleanmgr /sagerun:50 . Ensure there is a space between cleanmgr and / > click OK and let it do its thing.

*Extra cleanup tip. Just to be sure...

Launch X-Setup > All X-Setup Plug-ins > Internet > Internet Explorer> Clear > there are 4 categories here:

Clear Cache, Clear Cookies, Clear History, Clear Items. Do all of these.



Step 5:

Defragment your drive. go to Start > Accessories > System Tools> Disk Defragmenter. Highlight the drive you installed XP on, usually C >click the Defragment button. This will take a while. When finished shut down and restart. If you use a 3rd party defragmenter, use that instead of Windows defragmenter.



Step 6:

If you use a drive imaging program, make an image now.

Enjoy.