Computer Maintenance Tips

One of the main problems with most computers is that applications get installed, removed, reinstalled, corrupted, reinstalled. You know what I'm talking about. You find a cool application on the internet, download it, try it, then decide you don't really like it, or know how to use it.

This plays absolute havoc with the Windows Registry (more about the registry later in this lens).

I'm not saying don't do it, just think before downloading something whether you'll really use it. See if you can find some testimonials for it beforehand to get other reviews on it. Most likely you'll find similar applications that get recommended, which may suit your needs better, or may operate better.

Having said that, I'm sure you will still download applications and this scenario will still happen. It does to me, anyway.

So, here's a great free registry cleaner that helps to get rid of all the references in the registry to applications that have been uninstalled.

It's called CCleaner (used to be called Crap Cleaner!). Download and install it. On the main screen, you will see what you can clean. I would advise at first that you do not remove cookies if you use online banking or login to any web sites. We'll deal with cookies later too. Run the cleaner to remove temporary files, and then run the registry cleaner (backup the registry when prompted - if all works well after the cleanup, you can the delete the registry backup file).