Windows XP Hotfix ;; Erase junk from my system

[srikki9]

Hi,

When i clicked on the add/remove programs dialog box to uninstall a certain software, i happened to see many "Windows XP Hotfix" programs in my computer. What are these ? Should i remove these programs ?

Also, i recently bought my notebook. Can you suggest me ways to determine whether there are any processes/background tasks going on that are slowing down my computer ? There were a lot of advertising programs like AOL, AT&T, etc on my notebook when i got it. I erased these programs but how can i make sure that i have cleared up everything that is junk in my system ?

Is there any software/program that cleans up the system to avoid my system from getting slow ?

Thank you for your help,

Dom

 

[dball63]

Hotfix updates are usually security patches installed from Windows Update and No, you don't want to remove them.

As far as a program for cleaning up junk, I am not aware of one. I would suggest an IT person examine your PC to determine what can safely be removed. Deleting files on your own could lead to more trouble.

Hope this helped some

David Ball CNE, MCSE

 

[franklin97355]

start>control panel>performance..... >free up space....

 

[linney]

If you have just installed XP your drive may need to be Defragged. Running the Disk Cleanup tool will help too.


Type MSCONFIG in the Run Box to see what is loading at start up.

Try disabling any unrequired services that are running in background.

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Computer Speed and Performance May Decrease (Q310419)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q310/4/19.asp

HOW TO: Set Performance Options (Q308417)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/4/17.asp

Spybot

http://security.kolla.de/

Ad-aware

http://www.lavasoft.nu

Hijack This

http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip

The last three will check your computer for spyware and adware.

 

[aserty]

VisualBasic Script to clean out all the hotfix detritus. Works great! Leaves the Hotfix Registry entries so that Windows "knows" that fixes have been applied.

http://cwashington.netreach.net/depo/view.asp?Index=900&ScriptType=vbscript