What kind of housekeeper are you?  If you're anything like me, feel free to "plead the 5th" on the question; there will be no prizes given for living amongst numerous piles of old computer magazines.  ...Or for hoarding valuable, barely-used computer parts that will one day be worth something again (maybe).

Seriously, keep your house, your shop, your office, and your car as messy as you like, but don't expect your computer to perform at its best unless you occasionally spend some time and effort cleaning up your hard drive.  You can do most of what's needed manually, navigating to the various folders where temporary or useless files are stored, and deleting them as needed.  I prefer a more elegant, automatic solution.

I've been using EasyCleaner 2.0, a freeware utility from Finland, for nearly five years.  On command, it will clean out temporary files, Temporary Internet files, cookies, lists of recently used files, browser history, unnecessary files, broken program shortcuts, and incorrect Registry entries.  (While lots of people tell me they aren't really comfortable giving any program access to the Windows Registry, I've cleaned dozens of computers with EasyCleaner, and never had the slightest hiccup afterwards.)  Each of these categories is selected individually, meaning you click on Cookies to delete cookies, History to clear the history, Clear Files to clear the Temporary Internet Files, etc.  In short, you only delete the files you meant to delete.

I've tried a couple of other freeware cleanup utilities.  They were good, they did a credible job, and they didn't seem to do any damage to my computer.  But, running EasyCleaner afterward found more useless files to delete, and more bogus Registry entries.  I trust it, and I've installed it on all of my clients' computers for the past four+ years.

You can download EasyCleaner 2.0 here.  Save it to your Desktop, then double-click it to start the install process.  Accept all the defaults; e.g., click on Next  »  Next  »  Install  »  Finish.  Now, move the installation executable file from the desktop to a sub-folder for safekeeping against the possibility of one day having to reload Windows and all of your applications — I know, not likely, but you just never know.

EasyCleaner will now be available on your Start Menu, at the very end of the Programs or All Programs list.  [To move it to a more logical location, click on Start  »  Programs or All Programs  »  right-click any item on the menu  »  and select Sort By Name to put the entire menu in alphabetical order, folders first, then individual icons.]

Start EasyCleaner:  Start  »  [All] Programs   »  EasyCleaner  »  EasyCleaner.  There may be an error message the first time you start the program, which won't appear ever again.  Ignore it, or click OK if it doesn't go away by itself.  [The error message occurs because the program didn't see the video environment (resolution) it expected on first start; it will adjust itself, and you won't see the error message again.]

The program will run fine as initially installed.  However, I prefer tweaking any time I get the opportunity — to save disk space, to do a more thorough job, or just because I can.  If you're in a tweaking mood, here are my recommendations:

• Click on the Options button.
• On the General tab ...
  • Place a check mark next to Check For Updates Automatically;
  • Place a check mark next to Download and Update Blacklist Automatically;
  • If you have a broadband connection, place a check mark next to Always Connected To the Internet.
• The Appearance, Updates, and Space Usage tabs are okay as they are — don't bother making any changes on these tabs.
• Click the Unnecessary Files tab.
  • In the Ignore box, clear all four check marks.
  • In the Advanced box, clear the check mark next to Confirm Changes, check the box next to Recurse Subdirectories.
  • In the Delete Method box, choose Permanent Delete.
• Click the Shortcuts tab.
  • In the Ignore box, check all boxes except Empty Folders.
  • In the Advanced box, clear both check marks.
  • In the Delete Method box, choose Permanent Delete.
• Click on the Startup tab.
  • In the Undo and Advanced boxes, clear the checkmarks.
  • In the Delete Method box, choose Permanent Delete.
• Click on the Registry tab.
  • In the Undo box, put a check mark next to Create Undo File on Delete, and use the down arrow to decrease the number of possible Undo's to 4.
  • In the Advanced box, remove the check mark next to Confirm Changes.
• Click on the Add/Remove tab.
  • In the Undo box, clear the check mark.
  • In the Advanced box, place a check mark next to List Extra Items, and remove the check mark next to Confirm Changes.
• Click on the Duplicate Files tab.
  • Place a check mark in every box in the Require and Advanced boxes.
  • In the Delete Method box, choose Recycle Bin.

Here are several things you can do to make your computer run faster.  Some force Windows to use space on the hard drive a little more efficiently, while others turn off resource-hogging features most of us don't need.

• Right-click the Recycle Bin, select Properties.  By default, Windows will allow you to add items to the Recycle Bin until it takes up 10% of the drive; using the left mouse button, grab the slider and drag it down as close to 700MB as you can get it — that's more than enough.

• If you're using Windows XP, right-click My Computer, and select Properties.
  • Click on the System Restore tab.  Using the left mouse button, drag the slider to the left until the maximum size allowed for System Restore Points is between 1500 and 2000 megabytes.  Click on OK.
  • Click on the Advanced tab.
    • Click the Error Reporting button  »  click on the 'radio button' next to Disable Error Reporting  »  click OK.
    • Under Performance, click the Settings button.  The Performance Options window will open.
      • On the Visual Effects tab, remove the check marks next to the first four settings, check the boxes next to the next three, un-check the next three, put a checkmark next to Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts, un-check the next three, and the last two don't matter one way or the other.  (I know, I made it sound really confusing ... just look at the picture.)
      • Still in the Performance Options window, click the Advanced tab.
        • There are two sets of 'radio buttons'; click next to the word "Programs" in each one.
        • In the Virtual Memory box, click the Change button.  When the Virtual Memory window opens, click the radio button next to System Managed Size  »  click the Set button  »  click OK.
  • Click OK to close the System Properties page.

Some of the following adjustments make browsing faster, some make it safer, and some are just my personal preferences you might want to emulate, just so you won't have to choose your own based on trial and error.

These settings are for Internet Explorer 7.  If you have Windows XP, you should be running IE 7; it's orders of magnitude safer than IE 6 was.  Or you could just download and install  Firefox 3.0 , making all the tweaks in this last section unnecessary.  If you're running Win 9x, you need to download and install  Firefox 2.0 , set it as your default browser, and stop using Internet Explorer altogether.

Assuming you have IE 7 and are going to continue to use it, on to the tweaks:

Open Control Panel  »  Internet Options.  The Internet Properties page will open in a new window, with the General tab already open.

• Under Browsing History, click the Settings Button.  Looking at the Temporary Internet Files and History Settings window ...
  • Click the 'radio button' next to "Automatically".
  • In the "Disk Space To Use ..." box, replace the ridiculously-huge number with 25.
  • Under History, change the "Days to Keep Pages in History" to a number between 14 and 30.
  • Click OK.
• Click the Security tab.
  • If it isn't 'grayed-out', click on "Reset All Zones To Default Level".
• Click the Privacy tab.
  • Drag the slider to "Medium High".
  • Put a check mark next to "Turn On Pop-Up Blocker".
• Click the Content tab.
  • Under AutoComplete, click the Settings button.
    • Put a check mark in every box on the page.
    • Click OK.
• Click the Connections tab.
  • Click the LAN Settings button.
    • Put a check mark next to "Automatically Detect Settings".
    • Click OK.
• Click the Programs tab.
  • Remove the check mark next to "Tell Me If Internet Explorer Is Not the Default Web Browser".
• Click the Advanced tab.
  • Start by clicking the "Restore Advanced Settings" button.  Then ...
  • Under Accessibility, check all the boxes you need to enjoy browsing, but un-check any that aren't necessary — every little bit helps.
  • Under Browsing ...
    • Remove the check mark next to ...
      • Automatically Check For IE Updates;
      • Display a Notification About Every Script Error;
      • Enable Websites To Use the Search Pane;
      • Use Smooth Scrolling.
    • Put a check mark next to ...
      • Close Unused Folders in History and Favorites;
      • Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer);
      • Disable Script Debugging (Other);
      • Enable FTP Folder View;
      • Enable Page Transitions;
      • Enable Third-Party Browser Extrensions;
      • Enable Visual Styles On Buttons and Controls ... ;
      • Force Off-Screen Compositing ... ;
      • Notify When Downloads Complete;
      • Re-Use Windows For Launching Shortcuts ... ;
      • Show Friendly HTTP Error Messages;
      • Use Inline AutoComplete;
      • Use Most Recent Order When Switching Tabs ... ;
      • Use Passive FTP.
    • Still in Browsing, in the Underline Links section, click the radio button next to "Always".
    • If there's more than one user set up on your PC, put a check mark next to "Enable Personalized Favorites Menu"; if there's only one user, remove the check mark.
  • Under HTTP 1.1 Settings, put check marks in both boxes.
  • Under International, leave all settings at their defaults.
  • Under Java (Sun), put a check mark next to "Use JRE ..." .
  • Under Multimedia, put a check mark in every box EXCEPT "Show Image Download Placeholders".
  • Under Printing, remove the check mark next to "Print Backgound ...".
  • Under Search From the Address Bar, click the radio button next to "Just Display the Results..."
  • Under Security ...
    • Put check marks in all boxes EXCEPT
      • Allow Software To Run or Install Even If ..."
      • Warn If Changing Between Secure and ..."
    • Under Phishing Filter, click the radio button next to "Turn On Automatic Website Checking".
• Click OK.

Once a month, preferably on a weekend, and several days after having installed any new programs or drivers ...

1. Open My Computer  »  C: drive  »  Windows.
   • Delete any folders that start with the phrase $NT_Uninstall ...  (If there are none, click on Tools  »  Folder Options  »  View and be sure there is a check mark next to Show Hidden Files and Folders.  Click OK and check again.)
   • Open the PreFetch folder, and delete every file in it.
   • Close My Computer.
   
   
2. Open EasyCleaner.  Most of the time, you will only be concerned with cleaning up Unnecessary Files and bogus Registry entries.  Here's how:
   • Click on the Unnecessary button.
   • Click on Local Disk C: to highlight it.
   • In the middle of the upper part of the page, there's a list of file types.  Normal Types is already checked — add check marks next to Temp Directories and Temp Internet Files.
   • Click on Find.  Go get some coffee, wash the car, mow the lawn — this takes a while.  Notice that the row of buttons beneath the window is grayed out — the only choice available during the scan is Stop.
   • When the scan is complete, you will be presented with several choices (in color), including Select All and Delete All; choose Delete All.
   • Confirm to delete multiple megabytes of bogus files that are just clogging your PC and slowing it down.  The deletion process will take from several seconds to several minutes, depending on how many files it's wiping.
   • There will be from 2 to 16 files that EasyCleaner won't be able to delete, as they are marked as in use by Windows; click OK, then Close.
   • Click on the Registry button, then click on Find.
   • When EasyCleaner finishes looking for bogus entries, and presents you with the same row of choices as in the Unnecessary Files module, again choose Delete All.
   • Confirm the choice to clean up the registry, then click on Close, and click Close again to exit the program.  (For those who care, what the program does is read the Registry, one key at a time.  If the key references a file on the computer, but the file isn't there any longer, the key is deleted.)
   
   Close EasyCleaner.

3. Run Windows' Disk Cleanup utility:
   • Start  »  [All] Programs  »  Accessories  »  System Tools  »  Disk Cleanup.
   • Select C: drive if given a choice
   • Wait while Windows scans the drive
   • Place check marks in all boxes except Compress Old Files
   • Click the More Options tab
   • Under System Restore, click Cleanup  »  Yes
   • Click OK  »  Yes

4. Defrag Your Hard Drive.

   If you're using Windows Vista or Windows 7...  You should Defrag every week.  That's Microsoft's recommendation, and for once I agree with them.

   For all other Windows versions ...  Defrag every month.