Windows 7 Maintenance

[BluePeter]

Hello forum,
I need clarification on a couple of points. I have heard conflicting reports about both.
(1) In Check Disk, does running the second box "discover and repair bad sections on disk" damage the Hard Drive ? I would use the first box on a monthly basis and maybe the second one quarterly.

(2) Is cCleaner safe to use in Windows 7 ? I have used it but NEVER the Registry section which I was warned about in Vista. Views appreciated.

 

[Bill2]

1) No, chkdsk does not damage the hard disk. With that option, chkdsk reads every sector on that volume to confirm that its readable- when it comes across an unreadable sector, it marks the particular cluster bad and assigns its job to a new cluster. But it can take a lot of time so is recommended only when theres a doubt that the drive is failing.

Having said that, most modern hard drives are SMART enabled and you can get detailed info including bad sectors with a tool like crystaldisk. Personally, I would just run crystaldisk or a similar tool from time to time to check for any health parameters that have crossed the threshold and invoke chkdsk only if crystal throws up something. In any case theres no foolproof way to predict drive failure- drives with significant errors can go on for ever while seemingly healthy drives can fail catastrophically.

Best thing is to keep important data backed up to a separate disk.

2) CCleaner is 100 % safe to use- both the regular and registry cleanups. However, theres no reason to use the reg cleanup regularly unless some errors pop up that could be due to orphan entries in the registry. The registry really is too large for a dozen or so entries to make any difference. Generally speaking, I'm yet to come across any benchmark that shows bootup or performance is enhanced by cleaning the registry.

 

[BluePeter]

1) No, chkdsk does not damage the hard disk. With that option, chkdsk reads every sector on that volume to confirm that its readable- when it comes across an unreadable sector, it marks the particular cluster bad and assigns its job to a new cluster. But it can take a lot of time so is recommended only when theres a doubt that the drive is failing.

Having said that, most modern hard drives are SMART enabled and you can get detailed info including bad sectors with a tool like crystaldisk. Personally, I would just run crystaldisk or a similar tool from time to time to check for any health parameters that have crossed the threshold and invoke chkdsk only if crystal throws up something. In any case theres no foolproof way to predict drive failure- drives with significant errors can go on for ever while seemingly healthy drives can fail catastrophically.

Best thing is to keep important data backed up to a separate disk.

2) CCleaner is 100 % safe to use- both the regular and registry cleanups. However, theres no reason to use the reg cleanup regularly unless some errors pop up that could be due to orphan entries in the registry. The registry really is too large for a dozen or so entries to make any difference. Generally speaking, I'm yet to come across any benchmark that shows bootup or performance is enhanced by cleaning the registry.

Thanks,Bill2, That seems to answer my questions. Regarding an outside Disc check I use the Seagate HD Analyzer which runs several tests upwards from SMART to Long Analysis. Everything appears fine to date.

 

[kado897]

1) CCleaner is 100 % safe to use- both the regular and registry cleanups. However, theres no reason to use the reg cleanup regularly unless some errors pop up that could be due to orphan entries in the registry. The registry really is too large for a dozen or so entries to make any difference. Generally speaking, I'm yet to come across any benchmark that shows bootup or performance is enhanced by cleaning the registry.

CCleaner can delete things that you would rather not delete. It will not destroy your system but check everything it suggests before you press delete. If you use the registry cleaner make a restore point before you use it, check the suggestions carefully and always accept the backup option.

 

[richc46]

I am not going to argue this point, but Reg cleaners are not necessary and can cause trouble. I use ccleaner constantly but not the reg cleaners
for Maintenance
As soon as you get home with your computer:

Dont install the antivirus software that pops up with instuctions to install.
Should be done at the end and this software, although probably free for a while,
will cost money down the road and is probably not the best.

Windows updates should be done immediately as you are vulnerable to problems
until updated; be sure to include office updates.

Adobe reader should be updated, the most recent version is a sandbox version which
reduces virus vulnerablity to your PDF files.

This is also the opportunity to download Adobe Flash Player

Download an alertative browser; ie FF or Chrome etc. In the event of problems with IE.

Remove any unwanted program bloat. They will slow up your computer and probably
cost money in the future.

Download your antivirus; Microsoft Security Essentials is suggested.

Make your recovery disc.

Now enjoy the internet.

To maintain your computer

10 Tips on How to Properly Maintain Your Computer

Steps that I did not notice on the guide include:

Running a scan disc before doing a defrag

Using Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes.

Making System Restore points, at least once a week

Makaing a system Image once a month (varies by user)

Not relying on your A/V common sense, should prevail. You know of many sites can cause a problem.

Do not use any reg cleaning or optimizing software.

Download and use Ccleaner about once every two months. Untick any registry entries.
Piriform - Download CCleaner, Defraggler, Recuva, Speccy - Millions of users worldwide!

If you follow these instructions, you will be trouble free for a long time to come.

Be sure to back up your hard drive about once a month (varies by user) and to keeep system restore points up to date.

Optimize Windows 7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...er-performance

 

[jaydeee]

I second about ccleaner, it is actually a main stay on all my computers.

 

[gregrocker]

Have installed CCleaner on hundreds of installs representing thousands of uses for both Disk and Registry cleaner without a single issue. It is the state of the art.