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Fix it utilities software...Do they work?


Tazman

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Do these programs work? Our computer has really slowed down and every so often we have to have it cleaned up. It is really slow now since my sons computer crashed and now he uses mine to go to facebook and all the other community sites. I looked at a Fix It utilities program at Best Buy for like 30 bucks that says it will clean your computer up and keep it running fast. I already have a security suite provided by my isp that does seem to work. It will always find 11 to 15 infected files when it runs it scheduled scan.

I guess I always viewed those programs the same way I view all these engine fixes in a can. Usually don't work and can do more harm in the long run.

So if anyone has experience using these utilitys which do you recommend?

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Nice write up Allan! But I like the Google toolbar, it is about the only one smile all the rest of them are crap!

 

Ian

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Wow Thanks Allan for the great write up. I have printed it out so I have it to refer to while going through all the steps. Will this process delete passwords for paypal and message boards or other sites where I use a password?

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WOW, how is that for some information????

 

I am gonna print that out & go thru it as well.

Some stuff I do others I have not.

 

Thanks for a GREAT POST! Good bit of info!

 

 

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Hmmm...I got to step 3 "Disc Cleanup". The first thing it does is it calculates how much space I will regain by performing disc cleanup and it says 93K. Then I click on the OK button and a pop up ask "are you sure you want to perform disc cleanup?" I say yes and then I get another pop up which is a progress bar and it says it is performing disc cleanup. After about 5 seconds the progress bar pop up leaves the screen. It is not minimzed to the tray it is just gone and nothing happens. Now what does that mean?

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Thats would be right. I dosen't do anything after the pop up window leaves the screen. The computer is just sitting there. I can launch IE or do anything else I want.

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The only reason I asked was because I have a laptop that is not working properly (which I will get to soon) which has like 2 meg of compress old files when I ran the disk cleanup. Now, my laptop issue. It seems to be full of issues, I downloaded avast! virus software because I noticed on my other computer it does a system start up scan before the virus scan. After finally getting it on the laptop it found tons of viruses in the start up menu. Now at least I can do certain internet things like games and such. If I go to internet explorer it will open to the homepage but if I click to another site it opens another window all together and freezes. I don't know if there is any software to help with this, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

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Well, I have gone to lunch, to dinner & to a baseball game.. I am almost done with all the steps in Allans post.

I used to run the disk clean up & defrag scheduled but I don;t know why I forgot to schedule it on this computer. I always ran the defrag b4 I went to bed so it would be done by morning.

 

Nice instructions Allans!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

I find the most effective way to keep our computers running fast is to completely reformat every 3-5 years. Sometimes I'll use a second hard drive so that I can transfer back stuff like Favorites, email, pictures, etc...It's alot faster in most cases and it is guaranteed to get you back to optimum speed. Problemf or most people is that they don't have a fresh install disk for Windows XP and don't know how to reinstall things called drivers, etc...I've tried all of the anti-spyware stuff out there and google for issues but I've found once you have problems they just keep coming back no matter what you do and how knowledgable you are in fixing computers.

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ditto I do it about once a year or so, just because I like the new install feeling. I install and uninstall stuff all the time and it just keeps getting slower and slower.
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I used to replace my computer about every three years but found that when hard drives started exceeding 100GB, 500mb RAM, and 2.4Ghz Pentiums came around that they finally hit a speed and capacity that the average user needs could be satisfied. Now I am not into the gaming, don't visit the porn sites and have no desire to watch TV on the computer so this last unit I built in 2002 is still running AOK. Mind you I went with quality motherboard, CPU, etc...and turn the PC off when I am not using it. So in six years I have formatted and reloaded the OS just once. I did buy a pair of hard drives since they don't sell the 120GB Maxtor SATA drives anymore. My 17 inch monster CRT which I bought for a steal for $500.00 when they were first new now sits downstairs and is used only to setup new PC's. I did upgrade to 17 inch BenQ LCD several years ago. I guess it depends what you use the computer for and how you use it that plays a big part in how often it should be reloaded.

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  • 5 months later...

If you are heavy into PC gaming you probably will have to reformat every other year or so. I setup a RAID array on a pair of 500 GB sata drives and I built it about 2 years ago and while it is still fast, I've noticed it has slowed down a bit. Funny thing is, it is nice having the space on the RAID drives but when you go to back up everything, you need a lot of space elsewhere to save it! Of the 931 GB I have available, I have used 348 GB. Would take a lot of floppy discs I'd say!

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  • 1 year later...
Guest Charlie

Hi guys

 

you can download a good anti-virus for free from AVG Anti-virus.

I have been usig it for 6+ months no and it's great, better than Norton or McAfee. Both of those let my PC get infected badly.

I can't remember which compnay, but even with my subscription, they charged em $90 to remote connect and remove the virus.

 

I got hit again and had to take pc to local computer company; cost me $135 to fix, including a fresh install of Windows XP.

He is th eone who installed the AVG Anti-Virus. Just don't use its' firewall.

 

Also for free is a produt called "littleregistrycleaner" which will find and rair all errors in the Windows Registry.

This is very importat and the more errors in the Registry, the slower your machine will run.

 

Good luck

Charlie

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  • 8 months later...

While not a free utility, to sign up and their service`s are 100% free.

 

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/

 

I am an Advisor there though probably not for much longer. Life is taking me in a different direction.

 

If you have any PC related problem I highly recommend the board.

 

Please just keep in mind all Staff are volunteers and give freely of their time.

The type of your problem will dictate how quickly you receive help and how long it takes to solve.

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I frequently use the Disc Cleanup on my computer. I was introduced to a free cleanup program GlaryUtilities.com and I like it as well You just have to hit no or cancel when it asks to update so you don't download the paid program. My PC stays on all the time now so the scheduled programs can run such as Defrag.

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One free program that's good against spyware is Spybot search and destroy. Will catch a lot of stuff. Though it's not a virus scanner so you will still need one of those.

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