re: One Simple Solution for a Smooth running PC.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 9:04 am
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by br
(387 messages posted)
I have not tried Window Washer, but have read some of the things it does. One of
its main features is cleaning up after Internet Explorer, which along with its companion
Outlook Express, is not installed in my modified operating system. Therefore, I do
not have folders such as Application Data, Cookies, Downloaded Program Files, Favorites,
History, Local Settings, NetHood and Temporary Internet Files. So, without these
hideous monstrosities contaminating my computer, that particular feature of WW is
not needed.Window Washer can remove tracks from other browsers and programs, but
I'm not too concerned about privacy. If someone wants to snoop into my activity,
they will get exactly what they deserve. I realize that some PC users cannot afford
this attitude, but fortunately I am not in that position. Other browsers are not
integrated with the operating system and do not accumulate near the garbage as IE,
so most of what is left behind can be useful for my needs. As far as the other
features of WW, most are duplicated by utilities that I already have. Please understand,
I am not trying to knock WW in any way. From your report and that of others, I gather
that it is a very useful program for most systems. When it comes to cleaning the
registry and getting rid of garbage, I have yet to find a single utility that will
locate it all. Any worthwhile utility will find most of it, but each individual one
will often find a few things the others miss. I suppose if I installed yet another,
it would find a few more things. However, there is not much left in my system to
be removed. For instance, my Windows folder is 110mb, containing 1780 files in
49 folders. Not much when compared with most PC's. I work with numerous programs,
some of them quite large, but they produce little garbage, if any. So it is a matter
of minor housecleaning on a regular basis to keep things tidy. Like you, I learned
a good bit tinkering with old computers. I didn't go to some of your extremes, but
it gave me the opportunity to experiment without worry, and some of the things I
learned were applied to my main computer afterwards. Also like you, I am not a whiz
with the registry, but feel comfortable going into it on occasion when necessary.
Many things can be changed in the registry by using certain windows routines, so
going directly to it is not always necessary. A slave drive is good for what you
have in mind, and with a little ingenuity, you may find other good uses for it too.
A partitioned HD can do very much the same thing, so don't leave that option out.
I always install just the operating system on C\ and everything else on other partitions.
When done this way, nothing needs to be saved, so the operating system can be redone
by whatever means without dealing with anything else. Regardless of what you or
I do, hopefully we will never get carried away to the extent of the fellow you met
in Toronto. There ain't no patch that can remove a virus that has wormed its way
that deep into the human operating system.
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