[SOLVED] Opinions on cleaning software/leftover file deletion software?

[ShangWang]

Hi all,

After doing a clean installation what I thought was a failing hard drive was most likely due to software I downloaded to "speed up" my system which only did the opposite.

I suspect the programs are from iObit, especially advanced system care and the uninstaller tool. I find driver booster is useful for a one time update however,

What are your opinions on the advanced system care and the uninstaller tools? Should I just download CCleaner once to remove residual files from programs and junk once a month to regulate?

 

[hotaru.hino]

I usually don't care for these applications because they don't do anything more than what I can do using Windows' built-in tools. If I need to do more cleaning beyond what they can scrub, I have WinDirStat to show me where the space hogs are at.

I'm also under no real belief that having leftover stuff in either the drive or the registry actually impacts performance (at least as long as there's plenty of free space). So basically if I have like maybe 10MB of junk laying around, I'm not going to care. I might care if I have a few gigabytes worth, but my OS drive is half empty most of the time so I don't really care.

 

[Ralston18]

I just run Window's Disk Cleanup once in a while.

Per @hotaru.hino I keep lots of space open on my drives (20-30% free).

I consider backups to be far more important with respect to "system care".

At least 2 x copies in different locations than the original host location and one location off line. Proven recoverable and readable.

 

[Eximo]

File type association is about the only thing I know of that can slow down a Windows experience. If you have lots of programs add their file extension types, it makes search in Windows much slower as it tries to pair the right icon with each file.

But I think that is beyond what most cleanup software will do. Just prudent to uninstall old programs when you don't use them. And every once in a long while re-install Windows completely.

 

[Bob.B]

Hi all,

After doing a clean installation what I thought was a failing hard drive was most likely due to software I downloaded to "speed up" my system which only did the opposite.

I suspect the programs are from iObit, especially advanced system care and the uninstaller tool. I find driver booster is useful for a one time update however,

What are your opinions on the advanced system care and the uninstaller tools? Should I just download CCleaner once to remove residual files from programs and junk once a month to regulate?

I've been using disk cleanup and ccleaner for years.
I see gripes on the web about ccleaner/registry cleaner.
I have not seen a problem with them.

I have found the builtin uninstaller for some apps leaves a lot of crud behind.
I've been testing revo uninstaller just to see whats been missed.

 

[ShangWang]

I've been using disk cleanup and ccleaner for years.
I see gripes on the web about ccleaner/registry cleaner.
I have not seen a problem with them.

I have found the builtin uninstaller for some apps leaves a lot of crud behind.
I've been testing revo uninstaller just to see whats been missed.

In that case do you recommend using the free trial of revo to remove any residual files? Do you think this makes any difference in computer performance on a clean installed drive? Also I'm guessing you wouldn't use it's junk file cleaner and CCleaner is a better choice.

 

[Bob.B]

In that case do you recommend using the free trial of revo to remove any residual files? Do you think this makes any difference in computer performance on a clean installed drive? Also I'm guessing you wouldn't use it's junk file cleaner and CCleaner is a better choice.

Not sure where you see free trial.
I just use the free version.
It shows me what has been left behind by the stock uninstaller.
It's then my option to leave the stuff or clean more.
Never tried the junk cleaner option I'm in the habit of using ccleaner.

Perf? I doubt anything dramatic will happen, over time as stuff gets installed and uninstalled you can end up with a pile of unneeded crud