Need help to choose between building new computer or trying to fix current one.

[Zefrik]

My computer is starting to get old. After a few years of installing random stuff and messing around the computer is slower and littered with stuff and constant errors appear during regular use. I have done regular maintenance with the computer such as disk cleanup and disk defragment along with running AVG free anti-virus software. Is there something that I could do to really clean my computer? I keep getting .dll errors too.

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

The best option is to back up your data, and do a full reinstall of the operating system and programs

 

[PP Mguire]

The best option is to back up your data, and do a full reinstall of the operating system and programs

This. Do a fresh format and assess your performance from there. Make sure to download the latest drivers for your hardware as well as backup any existing data you want to keep.

 

[jasonalwaysready]

for maintenance, instead of disk cleanup, use ccleaner. it will take out old files and fix stuff in the registry. always save a backup of the changes to the registry so they can be undone.

instead of the windows disk defrag, get the auslogics disk defragger. it will defrag and has an option to optimize the disk, putting windows and frequently used programs to where they can be accessed fastest.

but a fresh windows install is your best option right now.

 

[steve10765]

I would download this
When you install stuff, move stuff, and/or delete and uninstall things it leaves registry errors, this download will fix it, jut click the registry part once its downloaded,
I would also download firefox, and get the add on adblock plus for it, it blocks ads so it also helps the page load faster, and possibly prevent viruses from popups etc. AND NO MORE ADS IN YOUTUBE!

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

personally I have always been against registry cleaners and similar cleaning and optimising software, as I find they tend to fix some things, but break others.
in the long run they are more trouble than they are worth.
and the time it takes to scan a machine with these various tools, you could have re-installed the OS anyway

I always advise people to only mess with the registry if you need to, and by this I mean only if you are getting a specific error due to a registry based issue or if modifying a certain registry entry will fix a problem.

 

[realism51]

What is your current build?

 

[jasonalwaysready]

personally I have always been against registry cleaners and similar cleaning and optimising software, as I find they tend to fix some things, but break others.
in the long run they are more trouble than they are worth.
and the time it takes to scan a machine with these various tools, you could have re-installed the OS anyway

I always advise people to only mess with the registry if you need to, and by this I mean only if you are getting a specific error due to a registry based issue or if modifying a certain registry entry will fix a problem.

i have used ccleaner on dozens of computers for probably 5 years and have never had it break anything.

running either a data cleaner or the registry cleaner takes usually 10 seconds, and sometimes on the oldest computer 5 minutes. you cant reinstall an os in that amount of time. i think that these programs and reinstalling the os are mutually exclusive of their intents and results.

 

[maddangerous]

i have used ccleaner on dozens of computers for probably 5 years and have never had it break anything.

running either a data cleaner or the registry cleaner takes usually 10 seconds, and sometimes on the oldest computer 5 minutes. you cant reinstall an os in that amount of time. i think that these programs and reinstalling the os are mutually exclusive of their intents and results.

this guy is correct, as i also have been running Ccleaner on all 3 of my computers, any computers i have ever owned, and my friends/family members computers, for also about 5-6 years. not once has it broken anything. or slowed anything down, on the contrary it sped everything up.

the uninstaller is handy when the "links" in add/remove programs don't work.

It also makes managing start up programs a tad easier, just because it is easy to access.

the first scan can take 5 to 10 minutes, after that you're golden, it runs fairly quick as long as you do it every once in a while.


and hey, its free as long as it is non-commercial use. <---best part


Edit: there are way more features too

 

[carnageX]

personally I have always been against registry cleaners and similar cleaning and optimising software, as I find they tend to fix some things, but break others.
in the long run they are more trouble than they are worth.
and the time it takes to scan a machine with these various tools, you could have re-installed the OS anyway

I always advise people to only mess with the registry if you need to, and by this I mean only if you are getting a specific error due to a registry based issue or if modifying a certain registry entry will fix a problem.

This. It's usually recommended against touching the registry unless you know what you're doing.

Sure, you guys might not have had any problems with CCleaner and the registry cleaner, but it's not really necessary either. You're not really going to gain any performance by removing a few registry entries, unless that's actually the root of the problem (which rarely it is). I used to use the registry option in CCleaner as well; but as of late, when I do use CCleaner, I don't touch the registry option.