What do you do to keep your system running smoothly?

[BoomAM]

Hi,
What exactely does everyone here do to their systems(software wise), to keep it running smoothly?

Heres what i do
once a week i,
1) Run Windows Update
2) Update other software, such as AntiVirus.
3) Run AdAware to get rid of Spyware/Ad`s
4) Run RegCleaner to keep registary "clean"
5) defrag drives C:, D: & Z:

 

[Wolfsraider]

1.defrag daily (scsi drive gets very fragmented)
2.add and remove different games daily as well as all updated patches of the games i install.
3.rarely update at microsoft unless i have a glitch (its been a while )
4.clean the dust out weekly to keep my system cooler.
5.clean the registry when i remove games/apps.

i have an 18 gig hdd and i have been known to go thru a spindle of cdr's a week in downloads and demo's etc...
my system is actually very smooth.but i spend huge amounts of time on it,so it better be lol
i update video drivers usually only if i find a glitch in a game etc..same with most other drivers.
i run spybot once a month unless i am surfing a lot then it depends on where i go as to how often i run it.



mike

edit>once a month i remove everything except directx9 and sp1 and drivers,everything else is backed up and cleaned out then reinstalled after 3 or 4 defrags

 

[BurnItDwn]

AdAware
Defrag
Manually keep Registry clean (especially the Run and Run Once)


I rarely delete stuff ... usually if i burn stuff its for backup purposes ...
I do download too much though ... but i have enough drive space for the current time

 

[ai42]

Shouldn't this be in the software or OS forum?

I watercool
I excessively cool all the system parts
I keep FSB overclocking to a minimmum (if I had a better motherboard I would push it a bit more)

 

[thorin]

1) I turn off all unneeded services (which is alot in WinXP) and startup items (services applet and msconfig). (THIS IMHO is the BIGGEST one).
2) I scandisk once every month (sometimes every 2 wks if I remember).
3) I keep up on my windows update.
4) I keep NAV up-to-date (within a wk).
5) I run SpeedDisk (Norton Defrag) everyone month (sometimes every 2 wks if I remember).

Thorin

 

[BoomAM]

Good point there ai42. I should have put it in the software forum. Ah well.
Also, the key words were software wise ai42.

 

[CraigRT]

What do I do? not install crap I don't need... Im picky when it comes to the programs I install.

I then to defrags once or twice a month.

done.

 

[BoomAM]

lol.
Ive gotta say, im sorta the same, it takes me about 20minutes to decide which parts of ms office i need, and which i dont.

 

[WarmAndSCSI]

Nothing... I just let Diskeeper auto-defrag my drives. Now that I have a dedicated workstation of my own (laptop), I tend to not use my servers for anything but serving.

 

[0roo0roo]

once a week? thats too much work. i just keep a ghost image of windows thats pretty much all setup cept for just a few things like games. if i seriously hose windows, i can go back to that state in 15 minutes

its like going back in time, instead of frantically trying to scrub something clean in the rain

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

I install Bonzi Buddy to make the tedious task of using a PC much more entertaining.
I download Comet Cursor because it's plain' ol' cool.
I'll usually install AOL the minute I install Windows, since it's my gateway to the internet.
There's a cool program called GAIN which I use to find awesome deals on X-10 cameras!
I try and download movies on Kazaa but for some reason they don't work. What player do I need to play .vbs files?!




In all reality, I defrag overnight about once a week and run AdAware when I remember. That's about it.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Defrag every month or two
Run adaware
Check list of programs that starts when windows starts and make sure no BS got in there

 

[MarkHark]

well, if you really REALLY want your system to be clean and stable and smooth, you should get yourself an OS that does exactly what it's supposed to, while permanently keeping the same configuration you once set up, instead of crapping itself every time you log in and out. Maybe you should give Linux a try.

Last time I had a trustable computer I was running Windows 3.11 though. lol

 

[BoomAM]

IMO, for the best, most stable system around, run DOS. Its the only OS that i didnt have trouble with.

 

[Slammy1]

Originally posted by: BoomAM
IMO, for the best, most stable system around, run DOS. Its the only OS that i didnt have trouble with.

Now in my DOS days, I used to tweak out every little bit of performance. I'd change settings on my hardware, get a major problem (like cannot access the HD), then spend 5 or 6 hours trying to figure out how to get it to work. Win2k saved me from that paradigm, now I just have to reinstall windows every 6 months or so. I keep one EIDE drive with a basic install to facilitate that, or when I kill my computer and I need can't get into Windows.

More on topic, I try to keep everything up to date. I recently installed the beta bios for my board, and that took care of a few issues. I minimize TSR type programs, keep my desktop uncluttered, defrag when needed, I use Norton for tasks like registry cleaning, try to maintain a decent amount of free space on each drive (at least 10%). I think the key is only running what you need at a given time.

 

[Insidious]

AdAware and PCCillin Housecall (Free Virus Scan from Trendmicro) once a week.
Check for updates of my proggies (such as video drivers, MoBo BIOS updates, burning software, etc.)
Windows update every few weeks
de-frag following periods of big installs/uninstalls or every couple months.

Second HD in computer that is not normally plugged in. Once a week, I use Ghost and make a copy of my HD to it (then unplug it again). Not really necessary to keep XP running smoothly, but VERY necessary to save me from myself when I experiment too much.

When I uninstall a program I go to regedit and search/remove leftover stuff associated with it. (Major irk of mine that these programs all leave their little trail of cr@p when I "uninstall") This isn't necessary, but it makes me feel better.

 

[PliotronX]

Oh, just a little WD-40 here and there.

 

Just reboot it twice a year.