Laptop maintenance and clean up

[Nickelodeon]

I have a 3.5 year laptop which is chugging along nicely, but it appears to be slowing down on all functions.

Before I call an authorized manufacturer service centre, what questions should I be asking? Is there a tune-up, cleaning or anything else they do? I've already de-fragmented it a couple of times....what else should I do and how much should I pay?

Thanks all,

 

[SpaClient]

#1 - Delete/Uninstall/Disable any software/services that you do not use.

 

[ron3221]

You should run a reliable system cleaner on your system. If you don't have one already installed on your system try Glary Utilities, it's freeware and recognized as a stable product. CC Cleaner is also freeware and a good choice but does not have the wider range of tools found in Glary Utilities. If your registry has not been cleaned out yet you will notice a significant difference once it has.

 

[WoodPeckr]

What are you running, XP or Vista?

After 3.5 years, XP or Vista would accumulate quite a bit of crap that builds up and slows down Windows. What I would do is save all your important data/stuff to another drive or external HDD, then reformat the drive and reinstall Windows and your laptop will run fast and just like new again.

 

[Nickelodeon]

What are you running, XP or Vista?

After 3.5 years, XP or Vista would accumulate quite a bit of crap that builds up and slows down Windows. What I would do is save all your important data/stuff to another drive or external HDD, then reformat the drive and reinstall Windows and your laptop will run fast and just like new again.

I'm running XP. I have a hard drive that I use to back up all of my files so that is covered. I don't know how to "reformat the drive". Is it easy or should I just go to the authorized service depot so I don't screw it up?

 

[WoodPeckr]

I don't know how to "reformat the drive". Is it easy or should I just go to the authorized service depot so I don't screw it up?

Depends how PC knowledgeable you are. If you know what your doing it's not that hard. There is plenty of help for this online where Google is your friend.

i.e., How to format your hard drive and re-install Windows XP

I assume you have XP reinstall disc(s). If you go by the book XP can take about 8 hours to format, then reinstall XP, then update and then reload all your fav programs and apps one by one. Not sure if M$ still supports XP, so this may be a problem. If that's the case you may be better off getting and installing Windows 7 instead which IS better than XP.