Refurbishing our Laptop - pt 1

This week and part of last I probably spent close to 30 hours trying to make our laptop computer perform the way it used to, the way it did when we brought it home from the store.  Of course I'm scared to do what Friend of the family Eric Bushman would do: rebuild the system from scratch.  Come to think of it, our two youngest kids would probably do that as well, and it wouldn't take 30 hours to do it.

No, I picked the approach that someone out there has faced (and solved) the same problem and would love to share their solution with the world.  What I have found is more like the old adage of "garbage in, garbage out".

A thorough survey of the internet using Google to search for "speed up your computer", "fix that slow computer", "tired of waiting for your computer to start". etc. gave me a list of approximately 50 programs, almost all of which can be loosely classified as "registry cleaners". (A survey of late evening TV advertisements came up with a half dozen of the same solutions.)

Quick lesson on the registry:  This is a super-humongous file that Windows uses to store indices, parameters, default values, keys, file names, passwords, ... that Windows will ever need to interact with other programs and various parts of Windows.  

Now since Windows created the registry one might think they would feel some responsibility for keeping it cleaned up and updated.  "Not our problem," says Windows as the registry grow and grows, getting bloated and unruly while your computer does indeed slow down.  And cleaning your registry can indeed speed things up.

The problem is that registry bloat is just one of many problems that can cause your computer to slow down.  In our case it actually had more to do with a faulty disk drive.  But it could have been poor memory allocation, badly fragmented disk files, or outdated hardware drivers.   Or a dozen other conditions.  In which case a registry cleaner is just a waste of time and money.

Fortunately, I happened upon System Mechanic, a truly wonderful collection of utilities put together in a package that helps you to use them and understand what you're doing in the process.  If I had gotten this tool at the beginning of the 30 hours perhaps I would have only spent 15 hours.  System Mechanic doesn't eliminate the need for lengthy disk testing and repairing but it does help you know what to do.

(to be continued)