how often do you maintain your comp?

D

Dome

2[H]4U
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Mar 16, 2002
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how often do you guys reformat, defrag etc?

i know i should but i'm always either using my computer or forget to set it while i'm out, or sleeping (i always turn it off)

its awful because i know i could use a defrag badly, i always open tons of programs at once and switch between them all...
 
I do Disk Cleanup everyday.

I Defragment before I install a Software, after installing it. If I do not install anything new, I usually Defrag once every week. Really depends on what kind of stuff I was using the comp. for.

I got this program called Clean Disk Security, and I use that every time I finish using the computer. So about 2-3 times a day.

I also use Tune Up Utilities 2003 to clean up my Registry and Hard Disk. Usually once a week.

Every week I also perform some sort of a Spyware wash. Use quite a bunch of programs to do this. Ad Aware 6, Spybot Search and Destroy, Hijackthis, Webroots Spy Sweeper, and Webroots Window Washer.

Yeps, my weekly routine. O yeah, and once a year or maybe if I get super annoyed with all of the crap that I have installed and uninstalled, I usually do a clean installation of the OS. Right now, I have been doing fresh installs every 3-4 months on average. Hahaha, don't ask me why.
 
A lot of the same stuff as Chelica here. Disk Cleanup daily, O&O defrag after installing anything, RegCleaner after unistalling anything, and I format about once a month - or whenever a major driver is released (chipset, etc.).
 
I don't do any disk cleanup, but i defrag weekly.

Registry clean once a month.

spyware removal is every 3rd day, more often if Im trying to figure out how a particular spyware works.

I only reformat once the OS is messed up beyond maintenance..I'm getting near that point now, I have some really bizarre media handling issues that was traced back to me installing a few codecs, and I can't figure out what changed to mess things up so badly. Normally that is about 10-12 months.


For hardware miantenance, I clean the fan filter once a week, and dust the inside of my PC every month. May not make for the celanest inside, but I can live with a few dust bunnies.
 
Guys, if you want the BEST spyware removal, get yourself Webroots Spy Sweeper. This thing is a dream. Ad Aware 6 will not detect anything but when I run Spy Sweeper, it detected 18 spywares. Now, I can actually use my Internet Explorer. So yeah, that is prolly a good investment.

Regcleaner is a really good program too.
 
spyware wash (adaware 6 pro and Spybot S&D) = daily
defrag = every weekend
open case up and remove dust = every weekend

and thats about it.
 
Spyware == 1 - 2 times a week.
Disk Clean Up == 1 time a week.
Defrag == 1 time a week.
Reg Clean == 1 time a week.

Clean Inside == 1 time a month.
 
Virus scan = every day @ 0200
Defrag = every 48 hours @ 0300
AdAware = once or twice a week.
Open 'em up, blow 'em out with air, and check for noisy fans = once, sometimes twice a year unless they get opened up for something lots more fun in the meantime....:cool:

Regards - B.B.S.
 
I defrag everday using diskeeper 8, and run a boot-time defrag every week.

Norton cleansweep- every 2 days
adaware - every day
Norton Utilities checkup- everyday

I also usually defrag and run Norton after I uninstall big programs. I usually only do a full virus scan every week or so.
 
i dust my pc and whatnot off about once a month, and i do disk cleanup about every week... i defrag once every two weeks or so and reformat... havent done yet, is that like reinstalling the os or what is it exactly?

-warsaw
 
I just format and reinstall on one partition, every once in a blue moon i defrag on my game partition. I reinstall about once a month.
Run anti virus a couple times a week. Adaware and spybot every once in awhile.
 
Wow, some of you are really anal.

I try to defrag once a quarter or so. Box gets "dusted" when I'm in there to do something else - maybe twice a year. I only scan for adware when something is not working or acting funky - I don't really care if someone is tracking how many times I read the forums.
 
Spyware = About once a week
Disk Clean Up = twice a month
Defrag = Once a month

Clean fan filters = Every couple of months
Clean inside of case = Once a year
 
I defrag when the system seems to be running slow.. Or I have dl'ed a huge amount of p0rn.. :) I run chkdsk every so often.. I had a problem with DELAYED WRITE FAILURE after I installed the Radeon 9700 Pro.. I haven't had that problem in a long time. I vacuum out my case whenever I upgrade something.. My case never really gets that dusty.. I shoot air through my KOOLANCE fans when I get around to looking how dusty they get. :)

I run SPYBOt now and then.. I keep Norton anti-virus up to date.. I very rarly scan my system..
 
defrag = never
virus scan = never
reformat = when it breaks
spyware scan = never (use mozilla)

you people to to much effort into your computers
 
Disk Cleanup every Night
Defrag Every night
Spyware removal every night
Reformat, as much as i need to, probly once every 3 or so months lol
 
Defrag at least once a week
Spyware removal every day
Disk cleanup once a week

Whats a good freeware program that you guys use for cleaning out your registry?
 
Originally posted by mcryptic
defrag = never
virus scan = never
reformat = when it breaks
spyware scan = never (use mozilla)

you people to to much effort into your computers
Click to expand...

It is no different than washing and waxing your car every sunday or something like that. If you are into computers, it is just something a lot of people do to keep them nice.

Becides, most computer maintenece things(defrag, scandisk, virus scan, etc.) can be seculed to automatically start while you are sleeping on a nightly or weekley basis. It is so simple to setup one time, it is kinda asanine not to.
 
Defrag all 3 drives about every 2 weeks
Disk Cleanup every week
Adware 2x a week

Blow out case, & clean keyboard every couple of months except when tinkering then I do it then.

No need to reformat if you do your homework.
 
virus scan = 3 times a week
defrag = every three months or so
run backups = every night
clean dust = 3-4 times a year
remove old programs = only if a newer version is out or if its a game i haven't played in a few months
remove spyware = rarely. i could care less. i don't use IE anyway
reformat = every 18 months or so, this is also when i do a major upgrade.
 
Is true that you do not need to reformat, but man, when you do, it feels so fresh and so clean, clean, ehehe. I think I am addicted to reinstalling my OS!!

For some, cleaning and doing system maintenance on the computer is like a bug huge hassle, but for me and most of the folks here, it gives some sort of a relief, at least for me it does. Nothing better than knowing that your computer is clean and free from these annoyance that alot of people are encountering. That is why when I see posts about their computer acting up, well majority of the reason is because they do not take care of it. But there are still a lucky few who gets by without cleaning their PC (software based) and does not encounte any problems, but once again, that is only a lucky few.

As for that question regarding the best free program to clean your Registry, I think RegCleaner is still free ain't it?

Alex
 
call it a wierd question, but how do you make scheduled tasks run how they should? i can only get it to open the programme, rather than execute a defrag or whatever.... :confused:
 
I use Diskeeper for defragging because it's extremely fast relative to the MS built-in defragger.

I format my secondary computer all the time, but it's got an ECS mobo, what do you expect? :rolleyes:
 
I usually doing some good systems administration every month or so...but that's on the desktop. My other linux machine really doesn't need any of that.
 
never ran scandisk
never defragged
never ran disk cleanup
i have three hds, a 120, an 80, and a 40 (mostly full)
i ran search + destroy once and it didn't find anything
i use f-secure antivirus 4.51, it updates automatically, besides installing it i haven't heard anything from it
i use outlook
i rarely run windows update
i have a firewall router but pretty much every port is mapped to me
i use mozilla firebird

i think that last one's the key to some of this stuff.
 
I only virusscan only when pc feels slow. And guess what, had 11 viruses LOL. I never defrag. Formatting only when Operating System messed up.
 
Originally posted by DocFaustus
It is no different than washing and waxing your car every sunday or something like that. If you are into computers, it is just something a lot of people do to keep them nice.
.
Click to expand...

lol, if your saw the state of my car you'd understand why i don't do as much computer maintenance as a lot of you. mainly only do stuff when it's needed like if im installing new hardware i'll make an effort in the same way i only clean my car once a year right before it gets it's mot.
 
Originally posted by DocFaustus
Becides, most computer maintenece things(defrag, scandisk, virus scan, etc.) can be seculed to automatically start while you are sleeping on a nightly or weekley basis. It is so simple to setup one time, it is kinda asanine not to.
Click to expand...
Yeah, agreed. Seems kinda silly, but what the PC does while I'm sleeping isn't a bother, really......:D

B.B.S.
 
I used to be anal but I ended up reformating anyways.

Adaware and Norton Corp. Scan automatically weekly
Regcleaner monthly/whenever I actually remember...
Format quarterly

I also noticed a lot less problems switching from Exploder to Firebird. :p
 
Reformat...not the main rig since it was built last April. The others were so long ago that I cannot remember.

Defrag...daily with O&O

Clean registry...daily with jv16 Power Tools

Virus Scan...four times a year.

Spyware Scan...whenever I add something new.


I never defrag. Formatting only when Operating System messed up.
Click to expand...
...which it will surely do if you never defrag.
 
Defrag: Tried it once, got 50% done, machine froze. Corrupted entire hard drive. Had to format and reinstall everything. Haven't done it since.

Disk Cleanup: Did it a few times.. once every quarter or so.

Antivirus: Never used it.

Spyware removal: Don't have one, need to get one.

Cleanout inside of case: whenever it gets opened, usually once every 6 months of so.
 
Defrag = monthly
Spyware scan = monthly
Virus Scan = rarely
Clean registry = monthly & whenever I remove something
Defrag & compress registry = monthly
Windows Update = monthly
Update drivers = monthly or when available
Format = when system files are corrupted and beyond repair, upon the death of the primary hard drive, or when doing a major system upgrade
 
oh yeah, i forgot to say, I never run a full disk virus scan, but i have auto-protect on all the time.

i reformat whenever something goes mental, or when i get a new piece of major hardware (will reformat in a couple of days when i get my new motherboard for instance).

The reason i always clean the dust out is because my house is fairly dusty. Like really dusty.

im actually quite anal about spyware, thats why i get rid of it daily. usually every time i run Adaware i get about 20 spyware, and S&D gets 5-10. So its a fair bit that i pick up just by whoring the internet.

Oh, and i update Adaware everytime i run it. S&D i update every second day.
 
defrag=once a month or two
reformat=once a year
disk clean-up=never, it clears my web browser (email log-ins, saved passwords)
 
I just do a format whenever it is needed. Which averages out to be every 6 months or so.

As long as everything else works properly, I just tend to leave it alone :D
 
ok after seeing how much all you guys do to maintain your comps i thought i'd try a registry cleaner (regcleaner) to see how things were.

it found 200+ invalid keys on a normal skan and 600+ doing a really deep scan. is this normal, i only formated this hard drive bout a month ago and i havnt installed that much.

Chelica

how many keys does it normally find when you run it and where did you get Webroots Spy Sweeper from, i cant find it anywhere
 
Whoa 200, lol. Man, do Regcleaner more. I usually find about 50 or so, depending on what I have installed and uninstalled. But Regcleaner is a safe program, meaning, it is not going to screw your computer up. I have been using the program for 2 years straight, no problems yet.

As for Webroots, you can get them anywhere, online, Compusa, etc...
http://www.webroot.com/wb/downloads/index.php
 
cheers chelica. thats reasuring then, was a bit worried bout the amount of stuff it wanted to delete but if it's been working problem free for you for two years i aint gonna worry anymore.

200+, first time ive run any registry clean of any sorts so that would explain things
 
Yeah, can't believe that it is free. It is a really good program. And as for Spyware, do not spend your money on Ad Aware 6. I did because I thought that it was a good program, since I used 5. But it never recognized any Spyware and such, even tho I know that I have a bunch stuck on my IE. I loaded up Webroots Spy Sweeper because I was desperate for something, and it worked like a charm. It cleaned out 18 Spywares that Spybot Seach and Destroy and Ad Aware 6 did not even find. WHOA!
 
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