Revamp/Clean Out My Laptop, Any Suggestions?

I have had this laptop for over 4 yrs. I love it, but I have accumulated a massive amount of unnecessary junk, that the speed is horrible. I only use it for a few things, like Youtube, ATS, PDF's, Download videos, and games (mostly from iwin, or bigfish). I am not looking to purchase a new laptop as I barely use this one.

This in my opinion should not require most of the programs that I have on it, but because of fear of making it worse, I keep them. Yes, there are many sites with info on how to do this, but I dont think this is the kind of thing that you do based on a simple internet search.

I currently have 15GB of data usage a month, and it lags like I have dial up (this amount is for rural areas, and is new).

Here is a bit about what I have and what I have done to try to help my situation.

I have Chrome and FF, that is due to at one time having problems with chat which is now fixed.

I have Advanced System Care 5 which I pay for yearly and have the Pro Package.

With FF I have most of the programs to help speed up my internet.

My computer cleans itself when started daily.

I have an Acer Laptop (Acer Aspire 4730Z) and Windows Vista.

What I would like to do.

I would like to have the simplest configuration to only do the things that I like and do. Which is a very small amount of stuff. I have recently moved most of my things to an external hardrive and it didnt seem to make a dent.

So any advice is welcome and appreciated. Please explain it to me like you would a newbie, as I am one. I am looking to get the best speed on my computer considering I only do a few things and nothing more.

Thanks in advance, NRE.

Wipe that sucker, reformat the drive, re-install windows and install only what you need.

I go through a format and clean install like every 3 months on my gaming PC...

But than again I have Fios at 150, so 100x faster, and I tend to accumulate a bunch of crap because of that.

You could also do MSCONFIG to disable all startup programs, via selective start up, that should give you a boost as well.

With Windows vista and above if you you have a spare usb thumb drive you could take advantage of ReadyBoost or maybe ReadyDrive (if you have a hybrid drive) which will give your system a boost.

Ready boost is like getting more RAM for your computer without having to change over the memory sticks inside. Increasing your RAM is the easiest and most hassle free way of getting a boost to your system.You can buy a 16 gb thumb drive very cheaply these days (make sure you get one that has a fast read/write speed), I highly recommend it. You just put in a USB thumb drive and in the autoplay box that pops up (at the bottom of the list) click the option "speed up my system" , tell it how much space to use on the drive and you should be good to go

If you use ReadyBoost you should not have to upgrade your RAM.

CCleaner (freeware) will help get rid of lots of junk on your drive.

Try defragging your system drive may help but this will take quite a while and is maybe best done over night.

From Computer in your start menu right click your system drive ( probably drive c: ) and then click "disk cleanup" from the dialogue box.

IOBit Uninstaller (freeware) is an excellent program for uninstalling programs as it makes sure it scrubs any leftover info from the registry as well if you click the deep scan option.

I just reworked a couple of neighbor's laptops about the same age and on Vista. Both had 1GB of Ram and were nearly useless. Up your Ram to 3 or 4GB and your laptop will run better than new.

At 4 yrs. I wouldn't trust the drive either. Clone it, or put it in a $10 USB enclosure and reinstall your OS onto a new drive. Then transfer necessary data back, format the old drive, and use it for backup.

I agree with the advice in this post so far.

Just to cover all bases: someone will eventually make a post here recommending you try switching to Linux, especially considering your needs and usage habits. While you could definitely benefit from switching, I don't think you would want to spend what little time you spend on your computer learning a new operating system. So, I will only recommend switching to Linux if you still don't notice any performance gains after following the advice above.

TL;DR: In before the obligatory "switch to Linux" post

If you're not a huge gamer, might I recommend foregoing windows altogether and trying a Linux Distro like Ubuntu or Mint. I am dual booting right now (because I'm a gamer) between Windows 7 and Linux Mint 13. Very nice interface for Mint, and on the upside, you NEVER have to worry about viruses on a Linux-based system and Linux does almost everything Windows does, only faster! Lysis apparently knew I was writing this reply...

reply to post by NoRegretsEver

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I don't use anti viris. I use an image of the C drive which I made before I connected to the net and if there's a problem I re-install the operating system and I'm up and running again in about 20 minutes.

reply to post by Frank_Rizzo


Linux users are like Piranha , they prey on anyone in trouble to try to convert then to their OS.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver

People are going to tell you to "format" your drive before a fresh install of Windows. I hate to dispute, but a "format" only writes over once, and places an arrangement of folders. The drive will still be "dirty." Here is how I restore a hard drive to like new condition:
Ultimate Boot CD is my favorite tool. Download the iso image and burn it as an image, not a file, to a CD-R.
You will have to make the computer boot on the CD.
You can navigate to Hard Disk Diagnosis and there are tools for all drives. Or, you can navigate to Hard Disk Wiping and use one of the professional disc wiping tools. I like CopyWipe
myself, I go to "settings" and select "reverse pattern" for the wipe.

Then a fresh install of your operating system, Windows or one of the popular Linux Distros. Your laptop will run better than new. I work on them for a partial living, and always install Comodo firewall, without Geek Buddy and the other trash, (hint: do not allow it to change DNS settings) and Avira Anti-Virus, and CCCleaner, and Eraser. Be sure to configure Eraser to wipe the C: drive free space, and your drive will always be clean. Set Internet Options to Advanced, and do not allow third party cookies. Go to Computer Administration, and disable remote connections, and remote registry.

They never come back after I fix them.

reply to post by autowrench


I don't have a operating system disc. I just bought the laptop and have been using it Vista already on it. Do I need a physical disc?

Peace, NRE.

reply to post by PhoenixOD


I work tech support at a company and take calls on windows issues all day. Viruses, BSOD, error codes with over 75 characters, hard drive failures, malware, trojans, If the situation is bad enough, we always end up having to do a recovery from the partition because of a nasty virus or pure neglect...who wants to do that to their notebook once a week? Besides there's so many pretty links to click on!

I'm sure the OP will come to his own conclusion about what to do, no matter what they choose, it's ultimately their choice. I'm not linux because I have to be, Only because I want to be.

Happy surfing Phoenix