Rabbit
Administrator
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Post by Rabbit on Sept 27, 2017 8:54:05 GMT
I have found that real care is needed with these programmes that clean out junk and unwanted files. I've noticed increasingly, that I have started to get errors on my PC yet again and thinks freeze, so I decided to go for a new Windows installation, yet again. Thankfully, Windows 10 does give a great refresh option hat leaves everything in Music, Documents and Videos alone. It took an hour to refresh Windows. All Programmes off. I set a new restore point straight away and then put Programmes back on. Result is that it once again runs smoothly. The Windows refresh is a great feature that allows you to start all over again, so your junk files are deleted in any case. You just have to be sure that you know your Password for Windows and it's a doddle. Instead of using these programmes that seem to impact things eventually, I think I'll just go for the free and fairly quick reinstall of Windows. Makes you feel as though the computer has been in the shower ..........
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Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
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Post by Javier on Sept 27, 2017 9:43:42 GMT
I've always disliked these performance improving "wonder" apps. At best they increase free space a little but generaly nothing worth the risk of F'ing up something. Many install unwanted adware or programs that actually slow down the computer. I've always recommended people to stay away from that stuff.
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Rabbit
Administrator
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Post by Rabbit on Sept 27, 2017 10:14:01 GMT
Exactly Javier. Mine slowed down and then errors started to happen. Then lockups. Finally, slowing down more and more.
New installation done in an hour and computer back to normal!! The Windows 10 reinstall has been made very simple, but I guess past experience with Windows has made many of us reticent to touch it. Now it's like reinstalling a tablet.
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Post by Mr Trev on Sept 27, 2017 18:32:52 GMT
Most of them system cleaning/repair will do more harm than good. The only one I'd recommend would be CCleaner - although even that recently got hacked. I just read about another program (cloneapp) that you run before you reinstall. It saves all your registry and program settings from the (compatible) programs you already have installed. Then after you get your reinstall done, you run cloneapp again to restore all the other program to the way the were. Haven't had a chance to give it a try yet, but it looks like a good way to save all my settings for Opera (web browser) and Thunderbird (email) if nothing else.
My computery stuff has been staging a rebellion lately too - part of the reason my NAS (and music lib.) got nuked. I want to wait for the next Windows update to be released before I do anything though. Its supposed to be released in October and has some major changes, so that looks like a good time and reason to start over - hopefully this time Musicbee will stop acting up
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oldson
extremely active
Posts: 1,677
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Post by oldson on Sept 27, 2017 20:42:58 GMT
now this is interesting! for years now i have been running "tune-up" utilities in various forms along with programs like spybot.
things always seem to speed up after using them, but is it them causing the issues in the first place?
is it worth upgrading to win10?
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Post by Mr Trev on Sept 28, 2017 2:45:14 GMT
Quite often those types of programs tend to find problems for issues that don't really exist - sort of like getting fleeced by a mechanic Other times they can end up deleting registry items that are needed and create even further problems. Personally, I stay away from them
As far as Windows 10 goes, I suppose its best for me to reserve final judgement until the Fall update gets released - the spring (Creators) update caused nothing but problems for me. I will say however that they only reason I'm even running Win 10 is because that's what my new laptop came with - that and the fact that apparently there isn't any Win 7 compatible audio drivers for my machine. Win 10 does have some nice features, like the easy restore feature Ian mentioned. But, it also has a whole lot of bloat that I have no use for (telemetry, Cortana, forced driver updates). For my everyday usage I don't find the 10 offers anything more than 7 (never used Win 8/8.1 so I can't comment there)
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solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
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Post by solderdude on Sept 28, 2017 6:16:08 GMT
I use CCleaner now and then on an old XPSP3 machine. It removes a lot of crap but it doesn't speed up. Only putting back the first image I made does this but then have to reinstall a lot of other programs and their settings so just let it slow down. Doing the defrag thing also doesn't help nor do register cleaners I had used before.
I rarely use XP though... only for some measurements. That PC is dual boot and is on Ubuntu Studio 95% of the time.
At work we have W7 and W10. Not much problems there but is managed by IT guys.
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Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
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Post by Javier on Sept 28, 2017 7:00:06 GMT
I've been using W10 almost since it came out and have not regretted it not even a bit. It takes a few days to get used to the new interface but once you get comformtable with it it has many advantages. It is as solid or even more than W7 and has a great advantage in licensing since now once activated on a PC it can be reinstalled any number of times and will always reactivate itself without asking for a serial number. Rolling updates are also quite nice and the two (25th anniversary and creator's) we've had so far have added nice stuff. As to telemetry, cortana, etc. they are not that difficult to restrain them to W7 levels with ani-spyware like "Win 10 Spy Disabler" from site2unblock.com or many others (though I advise to re run them after each major update). Recently I found an old office PC with a burnt MoBo and salvaged the working parts (CPU, RAM, HDD) and upgraded my PC from a very modest Core i3 2100 to a much more powerful Core i7 3770 and thanks to a RAM increase from 4GB to 16GB I've jumped from 32bit to a 64bit W10. Now my PC is incredibly quick and only needs an SSD drive for booting to ice the already nice cake.
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Sept 28, 2017 8:15:20 GMT
now this is interesting! for years now i have been running "tune-up" utilities in various forms along with programs like spybot. is it worth upgrading to win10? It was ccCleaner that may have caused my problems. Also another pain programme from Avira which just won't leave you alone with supposed updates. I suspect that some time back, things were deleted from the registry and I had no idea until I used something that needed the deleted entry. That seemed to become worse over time, leading to lockups. Then forced shut downs and from then on, the errors compounded. Windows 10 is quite different from 7 or XP. It does seem smoother, but best of all for me is the fact that you can reinstall Windows from scratch in very little time. It leaves the documents, pictures, and video folders intact as well as set up a link file for programmes deleted to be downloaded again. It's a great feature, since you just start all over again with a new machine. Also, reinstalling Windows means that you get rid of the bloatware that your computer came with. In my case though, it also got rid of the mouse pad because that was something to do with Acer's software. Not a big problem though because I just installed a USB mouse instead. In fact I much prefer it. Boot up time is now much quicker than it was. Some programs also run much quicker. I did a System restore point straight away after reinstalling windows so in another emergency at least I can go back to where the computer was at the start before having to reinstall again. I think in the future, I will just reinstall again and again in order to clean up my computer. It's way easier than using these destructive programs that you have no idea about until you suddenly find something wrong with the registry or a program crashes. It kind of brings a computer to the level of a tablet as far as starting all over again goes and to be honest makes a lot of sense with these machines. I've actually started to enjoy using a PC rather than worrying about what I have wrong with it since the fix is so easy.
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fanda
contributing
Posts: 61
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Post by fanda on Sept 28, 2017 17:19:22 GMT
CCleaner is useful to get rid of unwanted files and also disable useless startup programs. Just don't let it clean your registry. That whole process is an old relic from XP days - for modern machines, registry size is pretty much inconsequential for speed. Other than disabling startup programs, CCleaner shouldn't have any noticeable effect on speed.
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Sept 28, 2017 17:47:40 GMT
I'm not using any more 'cleanup' programmes. I'll just reinstall. It's safer!!
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juke
very active
Posts: 396
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Post by juke on Sept 28, 2017 22:47:41 GMT
I started getting the 'green bar' at the top of Windows Explorer, taking ages to let me access my files.
A few things helped but it's unreliable so I tried the 'Win 10 install but leave files and apps'. I have tried it twice and both times it appeared to go well then just stopped near the end with a liitle square announcing that it failed, no explanation.
I've order a replacement SSD and my son can sort it next week, so a nuisance but nothing lost.
This green bar things seems to affect a number of people with Win 10. I had never heard anything about it but when I started searching quite a few people have the problem, not easily solved.
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Post by Mr Trev on Sept 28, 2017 23:16:15 GMT
I've been using W10 almost since it came out and have not regretted it not even a bit. It takes a few days to get used to the new interface but once you get comformtable with it it has many advantages. It is as solid or even more than W7 and has a great advantage in licensing since now once activated on a PC it can be reinstalled any number of times and will always reactivate itself without asking for a serial number. Rolling updates are also quite nice and the two (25th anniversary and creator's) we've had so far have added nice stuff. As to telemetry, cortana, etc. they are not that difficult to restrain them to W7 levels with ani-spyware like "Win 10 Spy Disabler" from site2unblock.com or many others (though I advise to re run them after each major update). Recently I found an old office PC with a burnt MoBo and salvaged the working parts (CPU, RAM, HDD) and upgraded my PC from a very modest Core i3 2100 to a much more powerful Core i7 3770 and thanks to a RAM increase from 4GB to 16GB I've jumped from 32bit to a 64bit W10. Now my PC is incredibly quick and only needs an SSD drive for booting to ice the already nice cake. I use O&O ShutUp 10 to keep the telemetry and other privacy issues at bay (funny thing is this program was made by Microsoft employees) Like you mentioned, a good idea to run after any major update. Found a stupid good deal on a SSD just after I bought my machine. I had no idea if it was any good(Transcend), but $30 for a 128gb M2 drive was too good to pass up. The drive hasn't had a problem other than spoiling me from having to boot from a HDD now.
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Rabbit
Administrator
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Post by Rabbit on Sept 29, 2017 6:47:29 GMT
Syd, did you reinstall or 'refresh'. Reinstall might mean that the computer is using a compressed set of cab files on the computer itself. 'Refresh' means that it gets a new copy and downloads it from Windows, so no bloatware. Installing from the computer files will leave you with the original bloatware that came with the computer.
Some people do a 'refresh' straight away when they buy a new machine to get rid of the bloatware. It might be corrupted on your hard drive.
Go to Windows Defender in the security section and tap ' refresh.' That will give you a new copy from the internet, not the machine.
That green line is a pain. It's cataloguing files before showing them to you. I had that for a while as well. Really slow in the end so that any window opened literally locked up.
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juke
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Post by juke on Sept 29, 2017 12:43:41 GMT
Hi Ian, it was a new download, both times that I tried. Last night my son caled past and brought his own USB drive with the W10 he uses on it. Same thing happened, got close to finishing then failed. He's a bit of a wizard with PCs so he'll get it sorted, now that I have him interested<G>
He's coming next Friday and all should be well after that. I wanted a new SSD before we try again. I have a use for the one that's coming out so not wasted.
The PC is home made so no inbuilt bloat, just what I do to it after a year or two!
I have the green line running a bit better, just need this reinstall for peace of mind, then try to cut down the garbage software I try then forget to uninstall, never mind the bits that get left behind probably intentionally.
Javier did a great job a while back on my m/c, he was 'a little surprised' at the amount of stuff on it!
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