Programs for cleaning up a Windows 7 laptop to get it running well

computers | July 27 2015 | self

[dennisw]

Hi all..... Friend will be giving me his laptop tomorrow to fix up. To clean up. For starters I am going to scan and clean it up with malware bytes.

What other free programs are good to run on a slow, sludgy, messed up laptop?

I am not asking for any diagnosis. Just what programs you have used to do a house cleaning on WINDOWS SEVEN computers that family and friends have thrust upon you

BTW in these type of cases, first thing they do after buying the desktop/laptop is to be sure to chuck all restore DVDs in the trash. lol lol lol happens every time

Thanks!!

[dennisw]

I understand all that. If you use the recovery partition and the process poops out in the middle you are screwed. So better to back up the recovery partition via DVD or thumb drive before using the recovery partition

I will find out tomorrow if the laptop came with restore DVDs or the user is supposed to make his own DVDs or thumb drive backup.

[867V309]

I like W 8.1 a lot, fast, stable, start screen is useful if you take a little time to configure it.

That said, I can see where W 10 might be as good or better, but uncontrollable auto update was a deal breaker for me.

Thanks for the info.

[Abby4116]

I just finished doing that with a windows 7 Toshiba laptop and I am so thankful that I did make the DVDs. Very few laptops came with restore disks - they used the partition/make your own. Hard drives in laptops don't always last forever.

Only strange thing I ran into - it set the date back to 2009 so every website showed bad certificate warning.

[grb]

Ping for later

[dennisw]

"Only strange thing I ran into - it set the date back to 2009 so every website showed bad certificate warning."

You get spooked for a minute seeing this then it hits you that the computer time is way off. In your case the date was set back to the original factory settings of 2009

[eyeamok]

Linux! any flavor you like

[garryowenartillery]

My thoughts also.

[FreedomOfExpression]

I don't encourage you to be quiet. I encourage you to be educated, ask questions, participate, and further the interests of conservatives. Most of all participate– good ideas make this forum great. I speak as someone who has been here since (almost) before it started.

Seriously, go have a look at dennis' posting history in any Mac thread.

I take your word for it. I have to at this point anyway, since I don't really have much time to browse. I understand the idea that if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen. Thanks for the reasoned reply. It's time for bed. FRegards!

[dayglored]

Pitch in and help a fellow FReeper clean his machine ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Hi Dennis -- feel free to ping me to help threads, I'm happy to call in the Ping List! -- Dayglored

[Scrambler Bob]

M4L Win 7

[tacticalogic]

When your W 10 decides to download and install a buggy update without your permission while you're in the middle of a time critical project, you may see the light.

Business users can still control their update schedule.

[minnesota_bound]

Get a new 7200 rpm hard drive. That will make a big noticeable difference from the 5400rpm drive you probably have now. Just plug it in. You will have to install Windows 7 on it so find your cd. If lost you can buy Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit system builder cd from many sources including WalMart for less then $100. Check out your model of laptop and see how much ram you can ad to it. If you have the 32bit Windows then 4gb is the limit. If 64bit it is determined by the motherboard.
Many vendors selling: http://tinyurl.com/nkzpvvd

Avast anti-virus - FREE and no extra toolbar you do not want installed against your wishes.
https://www.avast.com/en-us/lp-ppc-win-02c?gclid=COic0uzs_MYCFQVbfgodta0Npw

TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/files/file/187-tfc-temp-file-cleaner-by-oldtimer/

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[China Clipper]

Best website, HANDS DOWN for Windows problems

windowsbbs.com

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

Norton™ Power Eraser - This is a free tool
Eliminates deeply embedded and difficult to remove crimeware that traditional virus scanning doesn’t always detect.
https://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.aspx

I have used it successfully on XP and Windows 7 machines.

[Secret Agent Man]

combofix and kaspersky’s program for rootkits are both good for really awful virii.

[truth_seeker]

I have a sluggish Win 7 laptop, and cannot get Malwarebytes to download.

[Musket]

In addition to your Malwarebytes scan, I would download the latest Kaspersky rescue disk .iso file, burn it to a CD/DVD, run a scan from that booted disc, then run a scan from whatever anti-virus they have installed, and you should be pretty clean by then.

[Musket]

That Kaspersky is free btw.

[Musket]

Oh yeah, you might also want to run an mrt scan. Just type mrt into the start menu search box and launch the first result. Good luck.