Spring Cleaning!! (Computer)

Reuben_3

I've just noticed I'm down to 2GB's harddrive space on my laptop so was going to use CCleaner to tidy things up. Does this delete old browsing history automatically? And should it be run regularly ie weekly?

I'm also about to deinstall Norton Antivirus/Firewall and replace it with (probably):-

- AVG Antivirus
- ZoneAlarm Firewall
- Ewido
- Spyware detector maybe Spybot S&D

Are there any compatability issues with these and CCleaner, and does it matter which order I do this in?

albertross_2

yes, you can run it at bootup if you wish.

no, but if you install too many resident anti-spyware programs, your pc's performance might slow down a bit.

niceguyrichy

you can uncheck the box in Ccleaner that would delete browser history so that it doesn't.
and it's well worth running it btw, the other day I cleaned out my gf's comp for the first time in a couple months and freed up almost 8GB.
Defrag as well (regularly ), keep your HDD nice and clean and happy

home_alone

I clean with ccleaner everyday when I am finished with the PC.

gary

Reuben_3

Defrag? er how!? Sorry, never defragged or backed up etc.

Should I CClean before new Security installation or is it best to do it afterward?

albertross_2

right click on your c drive in explorer, properties, tools, defag

before.

backup..get this while you can..

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=274307

PONDSAVER_2

Whats cc cleaner - is this the disk clean up or is this another program altogether?

albertross_2

https://www.ccleaner.com

sra

I find Windirstat incredibly useful for discovering where space is being taken up by unnecessary stuff.

You get a visual representation of your drive like this where you can just click on a block to find out what it is.

Of course it goes without saying to be very careful when deleting. It only tells you what's taken up space, not what you should delete. If in doubt only remove stuff from your My Documents section

Reuben_3

Thanks again for all the advice.....where would I be without this site!!
Will defrag & everything else over the weekend. That Windirstat thing looks fascinating - great to be able to 'visualise' my harddrive contents. Presumably it can be used along with CCleaner etc.