Do you think that your Personal Computer or Laptop has slowed down and nearing its death? No matter how much free space you have in your hard disk, does your PC just grumble and hang in the middle of something? Do you see the "Blue Screen of Death" often to frustrate you? The problem is that your hard disk could be victimised by malicious programs and softwares that cause all these problems. Whether you system runs Windows XP or the latest Vista, you need to keep your PC free of clutter and junk programs. It is even worse that the programs that you no longer use might cause all such troubles for you.

Here are a few simple tips and free software tools that will improve the performance of your PC by getting rid of unwanted junk files and softwares. When you install and uninstall programs, the registry gets clogged up, when you browse the internet daily and forget to clean up the temporary files, they occupy most part of your C: drive and if you had accidentally switched on System Restore, those backup files would be accumulation every now and then.

Enough of geeky, technical stuff. There are some free tools and softwares that safely does the job of PC maintenance and performance improvement. Download and install them to speed up your PC.

Uninstall unwanted programs and toolbars:

This is easier said than done. I know there would be plenty of unwanted programs, toolbars and applications that we would like to throw off from our PC or laptop. But, the trouble is they won't go. Some programs would install, but wouldn't let you to uninstall. Most of the malicious programs and stealthy toolbars use this technique to remain in your PC for a long time. The Add/Remove Programs tool from the Control Panel won' help much. But, there is a free tool available which is called, "Perfect Uninstaller".

Perfect Uninstaller - This works better than the default Add/Remove Programs tool that comes with Windowx XP. It easily and completely remove your unwanted programs, even the ones that refuse to uninstall. This tool also cleans the empty / corrupted registry entries that other removed applications had left behind. Perfect Uninstaller forcibly removes hidden applications and spywares from your system.

Delete Temporary Files:

Temporary files get created whenever you run a program or use a web browser to surf Internet. The temporary files (or cache files) created by softwares such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop get deleted when you exit from the program. When your software crashes, these temporary files, however, do not get deleted. They remain as junk files. It is difficult to track these files and delete them as they might be sometimes hidden from your eyes. Is there a solution? Yes, CleanUp is the solution.

CleanUp - is a very powerful and free application that removes Temporary Internet files created by your Internet Browsers. More importantly deletes the temporary files created by other programs such Microsft Word, Adobe Photoshop. It is amazing to see how much disk space you gain when you first run the CleanUp tool. When you use CleanUp to remove files, no one or no other program can recover the files back, so the privacy is absolutely guaranteed. It will make your computer faster.

If you are throwing your PC or selling your PC and wipe off the disk completely, CleanUp is the tool that you need.

Run the Usual Maintenance Programs once a month:

Disk Defragmenter: This is a tool that organizes your stored files in an orderly fashion so that your speeds your PC. You need to defragment your Hard Disk Drives (represented by each Drive letter such as C:/ D:/ etc) once a month. You will find Disk Defragmenter in the System Tools menu. Follow this path Start ->All Programs -> Accessories->System Tools--> Disk Defragmenter. Alternatively, you can right-click on each Drive letter and click on Tools tab and click on "Defragment Now" button.

Disk Error Checker: This is another free tool that is available with Windows XP that can be found in the same Tools tab when you right-click on a Drive letter. You can run Check Disk to find out errors and automatically the tool will fix any errors.

You can schedule both these tasks so that they run on your PC while you sleep. Leave your PC on, but.

Install a light-weight Anti-Virus program:

Anti-virus programs protect your PC from malicious attacks and virus infections, but the common complaint against them is that they slow down the PC. One good way to overcome is to use a free, open source Anti-Virus program for which you need not pay. You will get a fully functional version with daily updates and it never slows your system down. The program I would recommend is AVG Free - it is free for personal use and if you want to use for your business purposes, you need to pay.

That's all the tools and softwares that you will need to clean up your PC and speed up your system.

What other system do you use to clean up your PC?

Have you come across any better tool other than the ones mentioned above?

If so, please share in the comments section that might help the readers.

All the best with your PC maintenance.

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