hello, my names Pauline and I can be thick as 2 planks when it comes to computers, so please bear with me

My question is, I`m about to download the free c cleaner software to hopefully speed up my old computer which, due to a ton of excellent security loaded onto it (supplied by my S.P. for 50p a month) has slowed right down, its always very low on vertual memory and takes a lifetime to "warm up" so, will the free c cleaner software take up even more space and make using it almost impossible? does c cleaner tyake a lot of space?

Thank you for reading me

Pauline

hi polly,think you have to bring more information like hardware specifications..and what programas you have,cpu-memory ram...
maybe your old pc has dust inside,..
you may need a"safe" registry cleaner like the one from auslogics [freeware],,and then a good free registry defragmenter [winaso registry defrag]...
-but what you need first is to "untick" system restore.run a program like privacy eraser pro [trial] it will clean your machine from junk,let overs in windows and browsers..
-run malwarebytes [free] and superantispyware [free] besides your updated antivirus..
a good defrag utility like the defraggler..
---..and then post back with your specifications...

Really? Your name is Pollywolly?

Sounds like you got a Norton-esque type of AV from your SP. True, the price is great, but you get what you pay for.

2 free AV's are available online and they're pretty decent and very popular for home PC users.
Avira
Avast
The best place to get & keep things up to date is Filehippo.
Don't trust unknown sites or ads. The tech community recognizes Filehippo, all the products they display are clean from virii and malware, etc.

With your current AV it sounds as if you added anything else to your PC you'd come to a screeching halt. So #1 priority is uninstall that behemoth and install 1 of the 2 I mentioned above. Both are excellent. It's up to you. I use Avast myself.

As for CCleaner...it's small and it is excellent. (Somebody has to show me how to do a cartwheel right now!) It's Cleaner gets rid of internet cache and a whole lot more, but internet cache is the main culprit. As for it's Registry cleaner, it's very safe, but as always, run it quite a few times and get to recognize the files it catches before you delete anything. Remember to perform a 'System Restore save' before you run the Register cleaner and delete things. That way you have a backup.

Another way to make your computer run faster is uninstall programs you don't need and run MalwareBytes Startup Lite: http://www.malwarebytes.org/startuplite.php It'll give you a list of startup items that are safe to disable on your computer, and you can disable them to increase startup speed (you can also choose not to disable something if you want it to start up). Also like Aqua said, run a defragger for your computer about once a month or so, and regularly use CCleaner. It'll help to keep your computer fast.

As the above have said:

1. uninstall the big av.
2. install one of the above av's.
3. install and run ccleaner
4. if you which to clean your registry, stick with using the one included with ccleaner (which is know to be safe, but of course no guarantees)
dont use any other registry cleaner untill you are more confident with fooling with the pc.
5. if unsure about anything else make another post here.

Thank you everyone, your replies have been very helpful I`ll unistall my massive secuity and check out the links you gave, then I`ll do the cleaning, but can I ask one more question please, how do I do "System restore save", my old comp is XP and my lap top is Vista

Thank you all very much

Pauline X

This is where System Restore is located in XP. Not sure about Vista.

(click to embiggen)



Ignore those reg cleaners you see on my start menu. They're for people who have a full understanding of what's in their registry. I rarely ever use them to clean a few items. Haven't used them in over a year now. So why do I still have them?

Thank you very much Corona I`ve noted it all down and I`ll be doing that very soon

Take care
Pauline X

let us know how you go

Here's where you can find system restore on Vista: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...system-restore/

Thank, that explains everything, I`ve never done a system restore on my vista, I think its something I should do straight away

Pauline X