How to clean your computer from old files. We remove excess junk from the computer. Cleaning your computer from unnecessary files and folders

Greetings dear reader. Today, almost everyone has computers, laptops, tablets and other gadgets. No matter how powerful your computer is, over time it begins to slow down and the further it goes, the worse. There are many reasons for this, but most can be easily fixed. Also, the method described below will be for Windows, since most ordinary users sit on it.

To begin with, there are two ways to clean your computer so that it does not slow down. First- Call a technician to your home. This is the case if you are not confident in your abilities or simply do not have time for this. Second- clean it yourself, namely: clean it from dust, from temporary files, from information garbage, from viruses and malware, optimize the system. This option requires time and perseverance, but you don’t need to be a programmer or hacker, all the steps are simple. BUT, if not sure in your own strengths and actions - call a technician or take the computer to him.

It's certainly nice to work on a new PC or laptop, or if you've just installed a new operating system. Everything works quickly and does not slow down. But over time, “brakes” begin, something doesn’t open right away, gets stuck, sometimes freezes or even turns off, in due to overheating. There may be several reasons for this. The most basic:

Body contamination: dust, crumbs, wool...
The processor heats up
Unnecessary programs get clogged RAM,
Information “junk” has accumulated on the hard drive,
Viruses and various malware slow down Windows.

What to do about it? There is nothing wrong, anyone, even a novice PC or laptop user, can repeat what is described below. First, you need to clean your computer from dust. You will need a damp cloth, a dry cloth, cotton swabs, a vacuum cleaner, and if possible, a can of compressed air, but this is not necessary. And if you have a laptop, then most likely there will be no dust there, which means there is no need to physically clean it. The fact is that the laptop case is designed in such a way that dust practically does not accumulate there, and sometimes it is difficult to disassemble it, so it’s better not even worth it.

For subsequent cleaning, we will use various programs to clean the operating system, so be prepared for the fact that you will need to install them.

Cleaning your computer from dust.

With the accumulation of dust on the internal parts of the computer, these same elements begin to heat up. Therefore, they cannot perform their functions 100%, which leads to the computer slowing down in games, programs, and so on. This is especially true with top-end computer assemblies; they are very powerful and often heat up. Moreover, if processors, whether central or graphic, often heat up, this leads to irreversible processes inside the cores, which is a serious breakdown and cannot be repaired.

I also note that the cause of strong heating may be drying out of the thermal paste. If you are new to this business, then in order to clean your computer well, you should also replace it. In general, thermal paste is, simply put, a paste that helps remove heat from the processor to the heatsink. And she is located between them accordingly.

And this is how to clean your computer from dust:

Ideally, of course, it is better to remove all elements and wipe them separately. But you need to do this if you are sure that you will put everything back together.

Removing unnecessary programs.

The next step is to clean your computer - find and remove programs and applications that you do not need. The fact is that over time, a bunch of programs are installed, they hang in startup and some are simply not used, and clutter up the RAM.

First, let's remove the programs:

You can use third-party programs. I recommend using them to clean your computer, since such programs usually remove the program 100%, cleaning out folders and the registry. For example, I use .

It is free, and weighs little, I have never noticed any problems with it. It’s easy to use, install it, and just as I described above, remove the programs. Afterwards it scans the computer, and if it finds folders and files, click delete them.

Cleaning startup.

Sometimes you have to leave some necessary programs, but they hang in startup, that is, they turn on with the computer. We may not use them, but they work and fill up the RAM. Then we need:

There are also third-party programs for cleaning startup, but they have more functionality and are for those who understand what needs to be disabled. For example, I use the program to clean my computer. It's free and works great.

Removing viruses and malware.

If you have an antivirus installed, run full check computer. This is one of the important factors in how to clean your computer well. What can I say about antiviruses? Many opinions, many programs. In my opinion, you need to install licensed programs and buy licenses. Some of the best: Kaspersky Lab, Dr.Web (Doctor Web), Eset Nod32 (Nod 32) and so on.

True, some of them put a lot of stress on the operating system, and it turns out that you will not speed up your computer, but vice versa. But you won’t ruin your system with viruses and malware. This is of course worth keeping in mind if you have powerful computer, then there is no need to worry. Well, it is desirable that there is a constant connection to the Internet so that the antivirus is constantly updated.

There are of course alternatives. I, like many people, love freebies, just for myself I was able to choose a good antivirus, or rather, it’s a set of programs for cleaning and unnecessary files, temporary files, operating system optimization and virus checking. This 360 total security. It's free and easy to use. And on personal experience I will say that it copes well with viruses.

The check or scan, as it is also called, can take a long time. It all depends on the size hard drive and the amount of information on it. Well, after that you should restart your computer.

Cleaning your computer from unnecessary files and folders.

This point is very important in order to clean your computer well. After all, what happens when there is a lot of information garbage in a person’s head? He's starting to get dumb. It's the same with a computer. He sees all the information on the computer, indexes folders and files, and when it’s a mess, it takes more time, and as a result the computer starts to slow down.

Cleaning the registry.

What is a registry? Simply put, this is a kind of operating system database with settings and various parameters. A very important element of Windows. And when it is cluttered, the computer also slows down, because all the programs that we install there also register their settings, and when we do something, the parameters in the registry also change. In general, to clean your computer, you also need to clean it.

The already installed program will help us here; it does an excellent job with this.

Launch the program and select the “Registry” tab.
Here too, first we do the analysis.
Now click “Fix”. A window will appear asking you to do backup copy We agree that the registry won't hurt.
We wait until the end and reboot the PC.

There is also a program that I really like and use it all the time - Wise Registry Clesner. It doesn't even require installation. What are the advantages:

Cleans the Registry, also analysis, then cleaning.
Optimizes the Registry
Defragments the Registry

I do all three points, a powerful program.

Here, just like with the Registry, all files and folders should be in their places and shelves, and not scattered throughout the hard drive. This point is also important to clean your computer properly. After this, it is easier for the operating system to find files and folders, as a result of which the system does not slow down.

Now you can go about your business, because this process is long but effective. You need to do this with all disks on your computer.

But if you already have a modern SSD drive, then there is no need to do defragmentation, it’s simply pointless, since such disks are the same flash drives. And on regular disks there is a disk that spins up when reading files, and the head can read what is nearby. Well, if the files are scattered, then the head runs a lot, the disk spins faster, and a lot of time is spent. A flash drive eliminates all these moments and reads information almost instantly.

Optimizing the Windows operating system

Here we will look at a few more points to optimize the system itself.

Disable visual effects . right click on my computer - properties - additional options- performance - parameters. Here we turn off as much as possible, see for yourself, try it. If the computer is generally weak, turn everything off.
Cleaning up the task scheduler. Go to C:\Windows\Tasks and we delete everything. Now the system won’t schedule anything without your knowledge :)
Disable System Restore. From practice, this rarely helps to restore the system, but if necessary, then leave this item. Again, right-click on my computer - select the property - system protection (in other versions of operating systems, it may simply be called system recovery) - click on each disk and click configure - in the window that opens, click disable and delete all the points so as not to take up much space and OK.
Optimize desktop. All icons and folders on the desktop load the system, so in order to clean your computer well, leave only the essentials on the desktop. Or is it better to create shortcuts on the desktop.

Well, I think this is the most basic thing you need to do to clean your computer. And it’s better to do this at least once every two months, and then your computer will live and breathe freely. Have a nice day.

And here is a video about how you can clean your computer so that it doesn’t slow down.

How to clean your computer so it doesn't slow down. updated: May 22, 2019 by: Subbotin Pavel

Everyone has encountered this problem at some point when the computer starts to freeze and files load very slowly. And in most cases, people simply forget to clean out junk from their computer. Size hard drives on modern PCs it can reach several terabytes, but someday the free space still runs out.

What are junk files?

Unneeded files on your computer are movies, videos or games that you have not been interested in for a long time, but you simply forgot to delete them. Some files, after using the uninstallation utility built into them, leave behind a memory and, as a result, turn into a pile of junk. This also includes your unresolved browser history and all files created by the operating system.

Cleaning your laptop from unnecessary files without installation unnecessary programs and without registration

We have already figured out what unnecessary files are on your laptop and why you need to get rid of them. Now we will tell you how to clean your computer of junk and speed up its operation without installing unnecessary programs.

How to clean your computer: removing programs

Cleaning your laptop from unnecessary debris is done by uninstalling programs. To do this, run "Control Panel" - "Add or Remove Programs" - "Add/Remove Programs" (Windows XP) or "Programs and Features" (Windows 7, 8). You will see a list of programs that are installed on your personal computer. After this, you can remove all junk from your hard drive.

Disk cleaning

Every operating system has a utility called Disk Cleanup. With its help, you can destroy any file without compromising the performance of the OS.

The program is launched as follows:

Open "Start" - "All Programs" - "Accessories" - "System Tools" - "Disk Cleanup". Select the disk on which you want to clean.
Open "My Computer" and with one click select required section and its properties. Click "Properties" - "General" and "Disk Cleanup".
Open the program search "cleanmgr" and select the partition to clean your computer.
By simultaneously pressing the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys, you automatically launch the "Dispatcher" Windows tasks", where you can select the "File" tab, and in the " New team(execute)" write down "cleanmgr" and select the desired partition.

Additional programs to uninstall extra files on the computer

how to clean your computer from unnecessary files? In addition to standard system tools, we can use programs to clean our PC. Let's consider two options that are the most popular and reliable.

CCleaner program

This program cleans system folders and the operating system registry. CCleaner can be downloaded completely free of charge by simply going to the official website. She is considered the best program for cleaning unnecessary files, because it is quite understandable even for beginners. It is also often installed on a mobile phone.

This cleaning program consists of several sections, and this will allow you to quickly find the required option. For example, in the Cleaning section, you can manually mark a list of files to remove from your computer. With the help of analysis, you can understand how much will be freed hard drive.

This program can be used to clean files various types. You can manually restrict access to deletion cookies or the program will not pay attention to them at all. The versatility of CCleaner lies in the fact that it can be used to eliminate errors in the registry. Mostly such errors appear due to incorrect removal of programs from the computer.

Programs in the "Service" section

"Remove programs". This function designed to display absolutely all programs on the computer.
"System Restore" restores the system from a point that is automatically created operating system.
"Erase Disc" suitable for those users who do not want their deleted files to be recovered.

Uninstall Expert

The Uninstall Expert program is necessary not only to speed up your computer, but also to remove uninstalled necessary programs. Even after uninstallation, many small files remain on your computer that need to be deleted. Uninstall Expert completely removes all unnecessary files from your PC and improves the performance of your computer. This is absolutely free program, which is easy to install on your computer and launches quickly.

The Program list displays a list of previously installed programs that you can easily remove and, in addition, clean up all the garbage behind them. Using Startup Items, you can remove those programs that are activated along with the operating system. If you don't want your disk to be full of unnecessary files, you'd better download Uninstall Expert.

Regular cleaning of unnecessary files is the key to the speed of your computer!

Now you know what you need to work for long and fast work your PC. Sometimes you need to perform a function to remove several programs, and all your problems will be instantly solved. Also, do not forget to clear your browser history, because even there it can accumulate large number garbage. We strongly recommend that you clean your computer in a timely manner, and then you will not constantly receive unpleasant reminders about the lack of space on your hard drive.

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1. Where is garbage stored in operating systems?

In Windows XP

We go in and delete everything in the folders: Temporary Windows files:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\History
C:\Windows\Temp
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp
C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History

For Windows 7 and 8

Windows temporary files:

C:\Windows\Temp
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp
C:\Users\All Users\TEMP
C:\Users\All Users\TEMP
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Temp

Browser cache

Opera cache:

C:\users\username\AppData\Local\Opera\Opera\cache\

Cache muck:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ folder\Cache

Google Chrome cache:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Bromium\User Data\Default\Cache
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache

Or enter it in the address chrome://version/ and see the path to the profile. There will be a folder there Cache

Temporary Internet files:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\

Recent documents:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\

Some folders may be hidden from prying eyes. To show them you need .

2. Cleaning the disk from temporary and unused files using

Standard Disk Cleanup tool

1. Go to “Start” -> “All Programs” -> “Accessories” -> “System Tools” and run the “Disk Cleanup” program.

2. Select the disk to clean:

The disk scanning process will begin...

3. A window will open with information about the amount of space occupied by temporary files:

Check the boxes next to the partitions you want to clear and click OK.

4. But this not all yet. If you did not install Windows 7 on blank disk, and on top of the previously installed operating system, you probably have space-consuming folders such as Windows.old or $WINDOWS.~Q.

Additionally, it may make sense to delete system restore checkpoints (except the last one). To perform this operation, repeat steps 1-3, but this time click “Clear system files»:

5. After the procedure described in step 2, the same window will open, but the “Advanced” tab will appear at the top. Go to it.

Under System Restore and Shadow Copies, click Clean.

3. Files pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys

The files are located at the root of the system disk and take up quite a lot of space.

1. The pagefile.sys file is system swap file(virtual memory). You cannot delete it (it is not recommended to reduce it either), but you can and even need to move it to another disk.

This is done very simply, open “Control Panel - System and Security - System”, select “Advanced system settings” in the “Performance” section, click “Options”, switch to the “Advanced” tab (or press the key combination win + R, the command “execute” will open and there type SystemPropertiesAdvanced) and in the section " Virtual memory» click "Edit". There you can select the location of the paging file and its size (I recommend leaving “Size as selected by the system”).

4. Removing unnecessary programs from the disk

Good way free up disk space (, and how additional bonus increase system performance) is to remove unused programs.

Go to Control Panel and select “Uninstall Programs”. A list will appear from which you can select a program. Which you want to delete and click “Delete”.

5. Defragmentation

Defragmentation of a hard disk, carried out by a defragmenter program, allows you to organize the contents of clusters, that is, move them on the disk so that clusters with the same file are placed sequentially, and empty clusters are combined.

This leads to an increase in the speed of access to files, and therefore to a slight increase in the performance of the computer, which can be quite noticeable at a high level of disk fragmentation. The standard disk defragmentation program is located at: start>all programs>standard>utilities>disk defragmentation.

This is what the program looks like. In which you can analyze the disk, where the program will show a diagram of disk fragmentation and tell you whether or not you need to defragment. You can also set a schedule for when the disk will be defragmented. This is a program built into Windows; there are also separate disk defragmentation programs, for example which you can download here:

Its interface is also quite simple.

Here are its advantages over the standard program:

Analysis before disk defragmentation.
- Do a disk analysis before defragmenting. After the analysis, a dialog box is displayed with a diagram showing the percentage of fragmented files and folders on the disk and a recommendation for action.
- It is recommended to carry out analysis regularly, and defragmentation only after appropriate recommendations from a disk defragmentation program. It is recommended to perform disk analysis at least once a week. If the need for defragmentation occurs rarely, the disk analysis interval can be increased to one month.
Analysis after adding a large number of files.
- After adding a large number of files or folders, the disks may become excessively fragmented, so in such cases it is recommended to analyze them.
Availability check of at least 15% free space on disk.
- To defragment completely and correctly using Disk Defragmenter, the disk must have at least 15% free space. Disk Defragmenter uses this volume as an area to sort file fragments. If the amount is less than 15% of free space, Disk Defragmenter will only perform a partial defragmentation.
- To free up more disk space, delete unnecessary files or move them to another disk.
Defragmentation after installing software or Windows installations.
- Defragment drives after installing software or after performing an update or clean install Windows. Disks often become fragmented after installing software, so running Disk Defragmenter can help ensure peak file system performance.
Saves time on disk defragmentation.
- You can save a little time required for defragmentation if you remove junk files from your computer before starting the operation, and also exclude from consideration the system files pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys, which are used by the system as temporary, buffer files and are recreated at the beginning of each Windows session .

System: unnecessary services

A cluttered Windows slows down programs and can cause errors in your computer. What do you need to clean it?

1. ANALYZING WINDOWS Before you restore order, you need to get an idea of the scale of the chaos happening on your PC. To do this, press the “Win+R” keys and enter the command “perfmon /report”. Windows will start performance monitoring and provide a list of system health indicators. At the very beginning, errors will be highlighted in red - for example, non-functioning devices or system services that take too long to respond. If there are a lot of these markings, tackle those issues first, solving them with our cleaning tips. Green entries indicate that Windows is normal, but often there is still a lot of room for perfect cleanliness.

2. CLEARING THE AUTOLOAD Excess programs in the startup folder slows down Windows startup. To view the processes taking place in background, you need to turn to external analysis utilities, such as Autoruns. This program checks the system and displays running applications, loaded drivers and running services. You will find the information necessary to optimize startup on the “Logon” tab. Unlike your own Windows features"msconfig", Autoruns provides a description of the program and, if possible, the name of its developer. This way, if you encounter an unfamiliar service, you can decide whether to disable it or leave it alone.

3. “CLEARING” SERVICES The smooth interaction of various components - for example, network connections - is ensured in Windows by background services. Use the “Win + R” combination, enter the “msconfig” command and go to the “Services” tab. Here, check the box next to "Don't display Microsoft services" to view only additional application services. When you eventually find program notes related to utilities that you actually use, decide whether they need to start automatically. For example, iTunes installs the Bonjour service to share your music library. If you don't need it, you can disable it. The same applies to SkypeUpdater. Click the Start button, open the Run dialog and type “services.msc”. Is the list of service entries still amazing? Not only Windows offers many services - the principle of introducing into the system through services is also very common among programs. To manually disable it, right-click the service and select Properties. In the window that appears, click on the “Stop” button - the service will be disabled immediately. Now change the Startup Type to Disabled. However, you should not devote too much time to Microsoft services, as well as startup, since the not very significant benefits from these actions are hardly worth such effort.

4. CLEANING OUT THE “GARBAGE” USING CCLEANER Windows accumulates a lot of data that has become unnecessary. Although their inhibitory effect in the “seven” and “eight” is no longer as great as in Windows times 95, from time to time they should be removed at least in order to clear the place where solid state drives There's always not enough. Our choice fell on the CCleaner utility, since it not only deletes temporary files and cache in Windows, but also specifically deals with memory “eaters” among installed programs. The latest (fourth) version even removes the Photoshop installation process cache. To do this, on the left side of the Cleanup screen, simply select the Windows items and programs you want to clean. Now click on the “Analyze” button. CCleaner will check the sections you select for the presence of digital junk and create a visual list of results. Clicking the Clean button will start the process. If cleaning with CCleaner left you wanting more, you can continue with the CCEnhancer extension. This utility adds 500 additional cleaning options to CCleaner for other programs. In addition, once a year you should review installed applications and delete unnecessary ones. This can be done either through the Panel Windows management, or using special program- for example, Revo Uninstaller.

5. SORTING WINDOWS 8 APPLICATIONS Applications for the G8 tiled interface, existing alongside classic programs, create additional opportunity littering your PC. In this case, the rule also applies: once a year, find time and review the installed applications. The "Win" key will take you to the start Windows screen 8. On it you will probably find applications that you definitely will not use again. In this case, they should be removed. This is very simple to do: select the application on the main screen by right-clicking the mouse, and then click on the “Delete” button in the panel at the bottom of the screen.

6. CLEARING THE WORK SPACE Fans of the Desktop interface love to fill their screen with various shortcuts. To a certain extent, this is convenient, but at one point you may lose your bearings. Icons that you no longer need should be deleted. If they belong to installed programs that you no longer use, then erase the entire software through the Control Panel. For the remaining desktop icons, the rule is: order comes first. The commercial program Fences (stardock.com, about 350 rubles) will provide greater visibility of your Desktop. Like a drawer system, Fences neatly sorts all your programs, files, folders, and shortcuts into categories and organizes your mess of icons.

NOTE Fences is distributed free of charge only in version 1.01, but the latest version 2.10 will already require costs.

8. GET RID OF OLD DRIVERS Damaged and outdated drivers can cause performance problems in Windows. In this regard, it is worth looking into the Device Manager. See here exclamation marks? Update the appropriate drivers via the context menu. Free software - such as SlimDrivers (driverupdate.net) - will also perform this check for free and automatically.

2. TAKE CARE OF THE FILE SYSTEM The built-in Windows health check does not affect file system. The appropriate utility must be launched via the command line as an administrator. In the "seven" this line is called by pressing the "Win + R" keys and entering the "cmd" command. When confirming with the “OK” button, hold down the “Ctrl” and “Shift” keys. In Windows 8, use the “Win+X” combination and select the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option. Now enter “chkdsk” at the command prompt. You can eliminate detected errors using the “chkdsk /f” command.

3. CLEANING THE HARD DISK Regular defragmentation not only brings broken files back together, but also adds speed to your work. Windows versions from XP to 8 have their own defragmenter. However, in XP it must either be launched manually or configured to run regularly using the Task Scheduler. In Windows 7, the defragmenter starts automatically when the PC is idle or at one in the morning, when the PC is usually turned off. You can use and third party program- for example, Defraggler.

ATTENTION! Carrying out defragmentation makes sense only on normal hard drives. It will not be useful on solid state drives. Fans of built-in Windows tools can use the little-known Disk Cleanup feature to clean up. You can call it directly from the Start menu through the search bar with the query “cleanmgr” and get rid of unnecessary files.

5. ERASE WINDOWS.OLD Those who have upgraded Windows (for example, switched to version 8) will find a Windows.old folder on the C: drive. It contains files previous version, occupying, depending on the size of the installation, from 5 to 15 GB. If you no longer need the files from old Windows, just erase the Windows.old folder. To do this, call the Disk Cleanup service using the search bar. keyword"cleanmgr", select "Clean up system files" and check the box next to the "Previous Windows installations" entry. Click on "OK" and then on "Delete Files" to completely erase the entire Windows.old folder from your computer.

Internet: tricky traces of surfing

The browser and web services also accumulate data that, among other things, can compromise you. How to clean them? Here are some relevant tips.

1. CLEANING IE Users Internet Explorer 10 can, of course, resort to the help of external utilities, such as CCleaner, to erase unnecessary web browser data. However, now we will talk about our own funds. In Internet Explorer 10, click on Options and then on Internet Options. On the General tab, in the Browsing History section, check the box next to “Delete browsing history when exiting.” Internet Explorer will now delete temporary files such as log files, cookies, passwords, and form information when shutting down.

3. ORGANIZING DROPBOX Dropbox is a well-executed online storage service, but after a while it often feels like a file dump. Requires vigorous cleaning. We recommend the WinDirStat utility. When using it, you do not need to log into Dropbox through the website - the program simply scans the “Dropbox” folder integrated into Windows Explorer. WinDirStat is able to report the space allocated for individual folders and very clearly display the volumes occupied by certain types of files, coloring them in different colors. This way you can instantly identify memory hogs and be able to purposefully get rid of them.

4. LET'S RAKE UP FACEBOOK Even on Facebook, over the course of a year, a huge number of applications accumulate that you used only once and then forgot about them.

We recommend that you go to facebook.com/appcenter/my to view programs and remove unnecessary ones. Sorting by “Lately Used” will help with this. In addition, Facebook stores every search query. This log is deleted from your profile through the Activity Log. To do this, select “Search” in the menu on the left, and then click on the line “Clear search history” at the top.

5. CLEAN GOOGLE To view saved search queries, go to any Google service of your choice - for example, Gmail. If you are already logged in, then in the upper right corner of the browser window next to your profile picture, find the small arrow, click on it and select “Privacy” from the drop-down menu. Here in the “Google” section go to the entry “ Personal account" In the "Web History" category, you will see a corresponding link that says "Remove entries from Web History." Click on it, and Google will create a list of all your saved Internet queries, which can be easily deleted with one click on the “Delete Entries” button.

Content

For the last 10 years, a PC has been not a luxury, but a vital necessity. More and more services are switching to the Internet and people have to master this device. Over time, a certain number of files accumulate on the computer, which are no longer used by the system or a person, but take up space and complicate the work of the PC. To avoid various freezes and loads, you need to regularly clean your system.

Why do you need to clean your computer from junk?

Modern PCs are equipped with huge capacity hard drives, but even they become full at some point and you have to start deleting unnecessary files. Cleaning your computer of junk is a mandatory procedure for both home and work computers, because they interfere with the normal operation of the machine and slow down the search on the hard drive. The main difficulty of the removal process is not to erase important system records, but only garbage.

Most of the unnecessary documents appear when installing programs, games, the PC begins to load the system more slowly and open windows. Some software even automatically installs additional utilities into the system if an inexperienced user forgot to uncheck the boxes during installation. All this leads to deterioration in computer performance. When your hard drive is critically full, a special window will begin to appear, which indicates the need to free up space on the disk. There are the following positive aspects of regular cleaning of unnecessary files:

PC operation will be much faster;
you have more space for important documents and files;
programs will open and the system will boot faster;
less risk that it will occur critical error, which will close the application or game at the wrong time.

Cleaning methods

To clean the system, it is not necessary to search for each file manually and delete it through the trash. There are special tools that automate the process and require minimal user intervention. Cleaning your computer of unnecessary files can be done using a system function; it is located in the properties of the hard drive itself. The second method is installation special software, which were developed specifically for these purposes, for example, Cсleaner, Uninstall Expert.

How to clean your computer of unnecessary files yourself

Most of the “garbage” is collected due to a person’s reluctance to get rid of files that he no longer needs. Someone downloaded the series, watched it and left it on the disk. Any user who knows how to move from folder to folder and remembers what they downloaded or installed recently can manually clean their computer of junk. Most importantly, do not delete anything from the Windows or Program Files folder on system disk. To clean them of unnecessary files, it is better to use special utilities.

Remove junk from your desktop

Over time, a huge number of shortcuts and documents accumulate on the screen that are no longer needed and only create chaos. This will not directly affect the operation of the system, but will make it easier for you to find the applications you need. Simply select the files you don't need and drag them to the Trash. If you accidentally placed something you need there, you can restore this document. When everything unnecessary is sent to the trash, do not forget to empty it. Right-click on it and select Cleanup.

Torrents and unnecessary videos

The second place in terms of memory capacity on a PC is occupied by video files (the first is modern games). Most users, after watching a series or movie, forget to delete them. Depending on the quality of the picture, such a file can occupy from 700 megabytes to 30 gigabytes. To clear your computer of movies and eliminate lack of space you need:

go to the folder with the file;
select it with the left mouse button;
hold down the Shift button and press Del;
the film will be permanently deleted.

Services that distribute free movies use a torrent system, i.e. The download speed depends on the number of people who have already downloaded it and left it for distribution. A very convenient system that saves you from losing the connection during downloading and allows you to pause this process. Over time, you accumulate a large number of these torrent files that can be deleted. You can find them by a noticeable green icon with the Torrent program logo. You can safely “demolish” them.

Extra bookmarks in the browser

All modern programs for surfing the Internet they support the function of saving interesting pages. They are called “bookmarks” and can be located in special folders in the browser itself or directly on the panel quick access. If you do not clear unnecessary links, the program may become “dull” and take a long time to load windows. To clean you need:

hover your mouse over the unwanted bookmark;
right click;
Select "delete bookmark".

Unused programs

It will be extremely difficult for a person to check all folders for unnecessary files and clean them. For this purpose, special utilities have been created that scan the contents of the hard drive and identify the oldest, least used files that can be cleaned. There is a built-in Windows Disk Cleanup utility, but you can also use more advanced applications, for example, CCleaner, Revo uninstaller. The program will collect all outdated files and registry entries and offer you to delete them. You can do everything automatically or manually.

Finding duplicates and removing them

The operating system and some programs sometimes create copies of files for certain operations, but then do not delete them. This data clogs up your PC and can negatively affect the operation of the OS, so it should be cleaned. Well suited for these purposes CCleaner app. Download and install the program, launch it from the desktop shortcut. The procedure is performed as follows:

In the left menu of the interface you need to select “Service”.
Next, in the adjacent list, select “Search for duplicates.”
You should set criteria for searching for unnecessary files. If you don't know them, then it is recommended to simply enable all 4 checkboxes.
Be sure to check the box next to the “System” line so that the program does not accidentally delete important data from Windows.
If a folder contains important files, you can add it in the “Exceptions” tab.
Next, click on “Search”, the results will be displayed in alphabetical order.
Select the files you want to destroy and click “Delete selected.”

One of the disks was selected to install the operating system on it. It’s called system, the more junk, garbage, or suddenly a virus on it, the worse your Windows will work. Regular cleaning will ensure stable work system will speed it up, so you should do “cleaning” regularly, usually this is a volume called “C”. There should always be a reserve of memory on it, in case some programs suddenly create temporary documents for their work. Optimal for at the moment A volume of at least 20 GB of free space is considered.

Removing residual files on a computer with a TEMP extension

The system for accelerating the loading of programs, files, pages in the browser (Chrome, Opera, Yandex) creates temporary documents and remembers some data. Over time, a lot of them can accumulate and take up disk space. You can clean them yourself in Windows folder, then Temp and simply use the Shift+Del combination to destroy everything without regret. Another option is the CCleaner program. It will do everything for you automatically, you need:

Download and install the utility.
In the left menu, select “Analysis” and run it.
The application itself will collect all the data, analyze the contents of the folders, you just need to check them (in case something important accidentally ended up in the list).
Confirm clearing of unnecessary documents.

Disk cleanup using standard Windows tools

The developers of the operating system knew that garbage would accumulate on the computer over time, so they created a native function for deleting unnecessary files. To clean the disk you need to do the following:

Go to “My Computer” or open File Explorer.”
Right-click on the required disk.
IN context menu click on "Properties".
In this window at the bottom right there will be a “disk cleanup” section.
A window will appear in which you can select additional removal options.
Then click “Ok” and Windows will delete the files itself. It can destroy temporary documents, internet data, cache Chrome browser, Mozilla, and, if necessary, system documents.

How to delete temporary files after a system update

Add-ons are regularly released for Windows that are installed on top of existing files. To do this, backup copies are created in a special folder, which then become useless and only clog up the disk. To properly clean these files, you can use the PatchCleaner utility. It helps to detect unused unnecessary documents, which are called orphaned.

The application sends a request to the system and receives a response, which of the data is in use, compares it with the data from the Installer folder and determines the idle elements. Before use, it is recommended to create a recovery point so that if an error occurs, you can return all deleted documents. You just need to launch the application, then click the “Delete” button and all unnecessary system update files will be destroyed.

Removing garbage from the windows system registry

Important Windows operating parameters are stored in the registry; it is responsible for the adequate operation of many programs. It is difficult to clean it yourself; not every user will be able to determine which of these records is unnecessary and which is important. For these purposes, it is better to use the CCleaner program. She will be able to conduct a deep analysis of the data and identify duplicate files of registry entries, broken pieces and simply outdated ones. Before cleaning, it is recommended to create an OS restore point. You need:

Launch CCleaner and click on the “Registry” section.
Then click the “Search for Problems” button.
Next, a list of damaged or unnecessary documents will appear.
Click the "Fix Selected" button. The system will prompt you to make a backup copy of the registry and it is recommended that you complete this procedure. If Windows malfunctions, you can restore lost registry entries.

How to clear Startup of unnecessary programs

The newly installed operating system will boot quickly without any problems. Over time, the user installs additional software, which begins to load automatically along with the OS, slowing it down. You won't really need all of these utilities, so you can disable them and run them manually if necessary. You can clean autorun yourself or using special utilities. If you chose the first option, then you need to do the following:

Press the key combination win+R.
Will open command line, in which you need to write “msconfig” (without quotes).
IN top menu select the “Startup” tab.
The list will be long and some names will be unclear to you, but some can be turned off intuitively, for example, agent programs from different services, players for playing videos, music, etc.

For users Windows versions from 8 and above, the developers have simplified this task. When you press the Ctrl+alt+del key combination, a menu opens in which you need to select “task manager”. In the top menu, a tab called “Startup” is immediately available, where you can disable all unnecessary applications. You can also see a list of these applications and disable them through the Ccleaner utility. Click on the “Service” section and in the additional list go to “Startup”. There you can also clean all unnecessary applications.

Scan your computer with an antivirus program

Malware poses a serious threat to any computer. Viruses are not so easy to clean, so you need to use special antivirus programs. They can get onto your computer by installing suspicious utilities, along with hacked games, or through a browser. The most annoying are the “worms” that settle in your browser and open unnecessary tabs for you, adding them to pages various advertisements, advertisements of an obscene or shocking nature.

You won’t be able to clean your computer of viruses manually, so you should choose one of the products that will do this efficiently, without damaging the system. Among paid options, Kaspersky antivirus is very popular, and Malwarebyte is used to clean the browser and registry. These two utilities will automatically scan your computer and offer you to clean all potentially dangerous documents. No additional action is required from you.

Before using a flash drive, CD or DVD (if someone else uses them), it is recommended to check the data with an antivirus. This will protect your computer from malware entering through these media. If you don’t want to pay for Kaspersky, you can find free alternative. How to clean your computer of unnecessary files without investing money and neutralize viruses:

Dr.Web;
360 Total Security;
Avast Antivirus(Free);
AviraFree Antivirus;
AVG Antivirus.

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