Clean: Washing out junk data quickly
Put Windows in the bath tub now and throw in a couple of highly effective cleaning agents

1. Thoroughly Cleaning old Windows versions

If Windows has been used for a long time, there are sure to be dozens of useless files stored on the hard disk, which slow down the system. You can get rid of them with CCleaner

Click "Analyze" after installing and starting the tool. After a few seconds you will see how much disk space the tool clears up and which files will be deleted. Clean the disk with "Start CCleaner".

2. Purging the Registry correctly

Vista users should now delete all abandoned and defective entries in the registry database with CCleaner via "Registry". Under Windows XP, it is better if you use NTRegOpt because this tool closes all the loopholes that are created after the cleaning and rewrites the registry.

Using NTRegOpt is as easy as using the CCleaner. Click OK after install and start in order to start the cleaning process. Once the tool has finished its work, then reboot the computer. This process takes longer than usual because the registry is optimized during this time. To  make up for that, the system works noticeably thereafter.

3. Speed up Windows start

Lots of programs saved in your computer do exactly as they please. Many applications consider themselves to be so important that they trigger an auto-start command in the system without being requested. That means that every time the computer is booted up, they are started together with Windows, which is not always the user’s intention. As a result of this, the start sequence becomes considerably longer and manually shutting down most of the unwanted windows immediately afterward because they simply aren’t needed, certainly isn’t fun.

The Ashampoo StartUp Tuner 2 lists all auto-start entries and allows them to be individually deleted or to be deactivated. If the user proceeds with caution in this area, and at least deactivates all of the unnecessary entries, then they will be able to enjoy a clearly faster start to Windows.

4. Finding Duplicates and Empty Files

Files with zero bytes confuse the user, duplicate ones occupy storage space. The only thing to do: get rid of them.

Download Duplicate File Finder , the tool does not require any installation. Specify the Windows partition in "Add Path" for instance "C:\". Activate "include empty files in search" to get rid of empty files as well. Search the selected hard disk with "Start Search" and this process is slightly time consuming.

You can get rid of the duplicate files with "Delete all duplicates", as long as you are not dealing with protected system files in the process. Now clean the empty files using "View and Delete empty files". The latter doesn’t get you any storage place but keeps your drive better organized.

5. Getting Rid of Setup Files and ISOs

Do you install new tools frequently? Then it is worth tracking down old set-up files because you often forget to delete them after the installation. The same is applicable to old iso files that were once mounted in a virtual drive. Deleting this files gives you a lot of empty storage space.