It has been a few months or longer since you last made a clean reinstall of your OS. The overall performance of the computer is beginning to suffer, a product of unused DLL's cluttering up the system folder, and the overall obesity of the registry files which Windows does a terrible job of managing. A feeling of dread is clouding over the workspace in which the computer resides. It's time to reinstall the OS. But wait! That painful process of deleting the Windows directory, reinstalling the operating system, and then having to reload all of the applications and games CAN be averted. What follows is nearly a miracle of nature, a renewal of life into a drooping computer.
The Miracle
This so-called miracle is a combination of several things. The first step in this process is a system directory cleaner called Clean System Directory. The way this program determines if a DLL is used is by scanning all of the programs on the computer and look for references to the DLLs. Because this is not a surefire way to make sure a DLL isn't used, the program simply moves the files to a subdirectory within the system directory, and recommends that the user wait several months before deleting them from the system entirely.
The second step entails moving or removing other useless files to speed up your system's boot time. Did you know that having extra files in the root directory slows down your boot time? Well, it does - and we're going to fix that problem.
The third step is a set of three - yes, I said three - registry cleaners. Why three? Well, each of these programs search the registry differently to determine which keys can be safely removed - and in some instances, they even remove different types of unnecessary keys.
The first, and most notable of the programs, is the new version of Microsoft's very own RegClean. This is probably one of the best little pieces of software that is in the "shoulda but didn't make it into Windows 98" department. It is a totally automated registry cleaner that allows the user to undo the changes if the removal of a key causes a problem with a program. As the (only) totally automated registry cleaner in this guide, it is also the least customizable. There is no way to choose which keys are and aren't removed. However, RegClean does such a good job of determining unused keys, that this shouldn't be a problem.
The next program in the guide is called EasyCleaner. This program is moderately automated; you have to select which keys you wish to delete, but you can use the shift and ctrl keys to select many at once, a feature that the next program doesn't have. However, there are a few bugs in the EasyCleaner interface, as the user may need to run the program repeatedly before it will clear out all the unused keys. Generally, it should be run consecutively until it no longer detects any unused keys.
The last program in the registry cleaning section is called Cleanreg. The least automated of the three programs, it is also the most comprehensive. It appears to catch 95% of the unused keys of the other two programs combined, and normally I would recommend to most users to only use this program; however, it has no automation at all, so each key has to be deleted separately. This takes a LONG, LONG time, so running the two other programs is definitely to the benefit of the user.
The fourth, and last step, in my miracle speeder-upper program, is compressing the registry. It removes duplicate keys from the system.dat, user.dat, system.da0, and user.da0 registry files. This can shave up to 2 MBs off of a computer's registry, which decreases startup time and generally makes the computer more responsive. It is during this step that the process for cleaning up the system differs between Windows versions. For the original release of Windows 95 and Service Pack 1 (denoted by an "a" in the version number) will need to go through one extra step to patch a bug in Regedit that does not exist in OSR 2.1 and above, or in Windows 98.
The First Part of the Miracle
Before attempting this process, reboot the computer to make sure there is nothing that will prevent your system from rebooting. If the computer boots properly, continue on to the first step. Of course, making a backup of your system.dat and user.dat files before continuing would also be intelligent. To make a backup, go into regedit within Windows (Start -> Run -> regedit) and choose Export Registry File from the Registry menu. To restore a backup, click on the Import Registry File selection and browse to the name of the file you saved your registry to. I recommend using backup.dat.
Begin by starting up the Clean System Directory program from the Start Menu. A box will appear with some checkboxes and three buttons at the bottom. Check the boxes that correspond with your hard drives and disk partitions (for me that was c:, d:, and e:). Then click on the "start scanning" button. After the program has gone through the entire system, a white dialogue box will appear with some buttons at the bottom. Click on the "Select All" button and then click on the "Move Selected Files" button. Then restart your computer before moving on to the next step.
The Second Part of the Miracle
The root directory (denoted by C:\ under DOS) is the directory that your computer boots from. It is important for this directory to be as clean as possible. However, this process is just as dangerous as screwing around with the registry - so make sure you have a backup of any files you delete and a convenient boot disk available in case your system won't start. The good news is that recovery is a snap. You just copy the files you removed back to your root directory and you're back in business.
Start by removing all of those old scandisk files and any program files that you might have copied into the root directory. The root directory on the C drive seems to be a favorite receptacle for all that junk people have downloaded (remember that Pinky and the Brain Win95 theme and those audio files of the platypus's mating call that you downloaded from www.weird.com?), particularly if one of the users is an old DOS hound (back in the day when everyone used a text based OS, the root directory was a great place to stash junk). Next, things get a little bit tricky. If you're sure you don't need them, you can delete the old backups of Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. But keep in mind, if you edited either of those files using the System Configuration Utility, don't delete any files with the .TSH extension - they are used by the SCU.
Other than that, what you can delete can vary from system to system. But whatever you do, make sure you don't delete the following files - because EVERYONE (or almost everyone) needs them to boot up. They are:
Command.com
Ffastun.ffa *
Ffastun.ffo *
Ffastun.ffl *
Ffastun.ffx *
Io.sys
Msdos.sys
Logo.sys
Suhdlog.dat
Io32.idx
Reboot the system and make sure it starts up before continuing on to the next step.
* - Deleting these files when Find Fast is installed on a system can cause the system to refuse to boot. You can, however, safely delete them if (1) you use the Find Fast applet in the Control Panel to do it, or (2) if you remove or disable the program before deleting them manually.
The Third Part of the Miracle
Begin by opening up the RegClean directory in Windows Explorer and run RegClean. Click on the start button and it will scan the registry files and determine which keys should be removed. After the scanning is complete, click on the Fix Errors button to apply the changes. After this process, you should reboot your system. If the computer has an error during the reboot, just double click on the undo*.reg file that is created to reset the computer to what it was prior.
Next, run EasyCleaner from the Start Menu. There are several parts to this program, but for this guide I will focus on the Clean Registry section. Click on the "Clean Registry" button and then click "Find". After the program is done scanning, delete all the entries shown and run the program again. Continue to run the program until no entries come up after a complete scan.
And finally, run Cleanreg using Windows Explorer, as this program doesn't create an icon on the start menu. Uncheck the "Update after Delete" box, select a key from the top window and click on the Delete Key button. Repeat this ten or so times, go up and select the update after delete box, and delete one more key. Then uncheck the update box and continue this process until all of the entries are gone.
Reboot the computer and continue onto the next, and final, part.
The Fourth Part of the Miracle
We'll begin this process by clearing out all the extra .dll files in your windows\system directory. These orphaned files clog up the OS and generally create havoc at the worst possible times, so getting rid of them is to our benefit. The program we will use for this is Clean System Directory. Open up this program from the start menu. Select the check-boxes for all of your hard drives, and click the Start Scanning button. After it is done scanning, a box will appear. Click on the Select All button and then the Move Selected Files button. This will move those .dll's to the system\backup subdirectory. I recommend waiting at least two months before permanently deleting those files, in case they are needed.
Next, run RegClean (a Microsoft product that is definitely a candidate for the "Shoulda but didn't make it into Windows" award). This program is fairly self-explanatory, so I won't go into the details. The next registry cleaner is called Easy Cleaner. This program has several parts. Go into the Clean Registry part and run the program. Delete all the entries that appear and run the program again. Repeat this process until no more entries pop up, then move on to the last registry cleaner.
The last registry cleaner, called CleanReg, totally lacks any form of automation. Everything has to be deleted key by painful key in this program. It picks up everything that the other two pick up, as well as some other stuff, so normally I'd recommend just using this, but it takes too long to delete all of the bad entries in this program. This program also doesn't create a start menu icon, so you will have to browse the hard drive to run the program. Go through the entire list of bad entries, using the delete key button to remove them (not the delete value key). After you are done this step, reboot your computer and you will be ready for the last, and most important, step.
Once Windows boots up successfully (if it didn't, restore your backup by going into DOS and running the command regedit /I backup.reg), exit windows to the DOS prompt and go to the windows directory (NOTE: if you are a Win95 Service Pack 1 or before user, you will need to install the regedit replacement before continuing on to this step - Simply copy the file into the Windows directory and continue). Type the following commands:
- smartdrv
- regedit /e all.reg
- regedit /c all.reg
- win
After Windows starts back up, run FixReg. To use FixReg, run the program, go to the import function and browse to the all.reg file in the Windows directory. Click ok and it will run automatically. This program is designed to fix another problem with importing condensed registry files.
All in all, this process should speed up computer responsiveness, increase stability and bootup speed, not to mention letting an install of Windows last longer before it starts randomly crashing. Basically, it is the Holy Grail of Windows tweaking. You're welcome.
Next, type win to start up Windows. Open the FixReg program, point it at the all.reg file in the Windows directory, and open the file. It will automatically make sure that all of the necessary registry keys were imported. Once this is completed, delete the all.reg file and reboot the computer.
Scan for File System Errors to Free Lost Space and Improve Data Integrity
One of the most important--and yet simple--ways to optimize the performance of your hard disk's file system is to scan it regularly for errors. Over time, errors can creep up in the file system, which can lead potentially to lost data, file corruption, and also wasted disk space.
I recommend that you scan for file system errors regularly, using a tool such as Microsoft's SCANDISK or Norton's Disk Doctor. This should be part of your preventive maintenance routine, and can be automated if you use the correct tools.
Defragment to Improve Performance
Over time, the file system (or more accurately, its files) will tend to become fragmented. When this happens, it takes increasingly more and more time for files to be loaded, and the overall system performance will drag down noticeably. The cure for fragmentation is, of course, defragmentation. Running a defragmentation utility should be part of your overall preventive maintenance scheme.
Organize Files for Easier Access
One thing I look at when I examine a PC is the structure of the file system, especially after the PC has been in active use for a few months, or a year or two. In most cases, I see that the hard disk has files all over the place, and that locating things on the hard disk is very difficult. The best way to avoid this problem is to organize your files, much as you would organize paper files. This is much easier to do as the PC is being set up, as opposed to trying to fix a mess later on.
Rein in the Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin in Windows 95 is the "file graveyard"; it is where files go when you delete them. Microsoft set this system up as a safety measure, so that you can easily undelete a file if you find you have deleted it by accident. When you delete a file, it isn't really deleted, it is just moved to a special hidden area on the disk, which you can access by opening up the Recycle Bin. To really delete a file, you purge it by emptying it from the Recycle Bin.
One problem with the Recycle Bin is that it takes up a lot of space. By default, it is set to allow up to 10% of the hard disk to be used for deleted files. On a 4 GB drive, you could be allocating 400 MB of disk space to items you thought you deleted! This can cause you to prematurely run out of free space. Fortunately, Windows is smart enough to detect this and ask if you want to clear out the Recycle Bin when disk space gets low, but this only happens when it gets very low.
I recommend that most people change the default based on the size of their hard disk, and how much security they want for restoring accidentally deleted files. I usually set the bin to use a maximum of 5% of my disk. You can also set different values for different disk volumes, which is convenient if you have a small disk and a hard disk, for example. To change Recycle Bin settings, just right-click on it and then select "Properties". To manually empty the Recycle Bin, right-click on it and choose "Empty Recycle Bin". Simple enough.
Tip: A good idea at the same time is to clear the box that says "Display delete confirmation dialog". This will stop the annoying "Are you sure?" type messages every time you try to delete a file. (After all, the whole point of the Recycle Bin is that it lets you change your mind, why bother with the hassle of
an "are you sure?" every time?)
Rein In Browser Cache
In order to save time when traversing the Web, most Web browsers cache documents and images after you view them. Then, if you go back to the same page again soon, the browser will load the file from its cache, saving you from waiting for it to be retrieved from the Internet over and over. While this is an important feature, there can be a problem related to the amount of disk space that the cache uses up. Depending on your system and how large the cluster size is of your hard disk, this browser cache may take up tens of megabytes of disk space. Part of the problem is that most of the files that the browser stores are very small, but due to the larger clusters used in bigger FAT16 partitions, a lot more disk space than the strict size of the file is used. See here for a full explanation of this phenomenon.
There are a few ways that you can reduce this waste of space:
Reduce Maximum Cache Size: Go into the option settings for your browser, and reduce the maximum allowable size of the cache. This will reduce how much space is used by the cache, but it also will mean that your Web browsing will be slowed down more since it will be less likely that the browser will find the items you need in its cache.
Clean Out Cache Periodically: Most browsers include a feature you can access to empty out the browser cache on demand. Do this from time to time, or when you are running low on space. (This is more of a temporary solution than the option immediately above.)
Conclusion
Congratulations, you have successfully cleaned out Windows. Soon I will be adding information to this guide about removing unnecessary files that Windows should have already deleted. Remember, if you mess up, I don't want to hear about it.
Booting CD Rom System Cleanup CPU & Motherboard Hard Disk Sound Card
Modem Monitor Mouse System Enhancements Windows Shell
Some part of this document is taken from www.tweak3d.net and www.pcguide.com.
