Four Lakes Golf Club FourlakersOnline

Cleaning up a new computer

(Q) I just bought a computer. There's really a lot of trial software on it. How do I know what I can remove? I want to do this before loading my own programs on it.

(A) I hear you! Those things really clutter up Windows Explorer. But look at it this way. Computers today are really cheap. And all that trial crud is one reason.

Profit margins on computers are very narrow. That's because competition is so fierce. Manufacturers are paid by publishers to install trial software. They hope buyers will upgrade to the full programs. And the computer manufacturers make a few hard-earned bucks.

Of course, not all software on a new machine is junk. Some is included to make a machine more attractive. Besides, as the adage goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Computers used to come with installation discs. You'd get one for the operating system. Another would contain the programs. This made it possible to reformat the hard drive. From there, you could install Windows and skip most of the junk.

Unfortunately, most computers aren't like that these days. There is usually a separate recovery partition. And restoring your computer is usually an all-or-nothing affair.

Cleaning up a computer isn't bad. So, you'll need to do some work. First, I recommend that you look at the software that's installed on the machine. Decide what you want to keep and what you don't.

A good place to start is the desktop. Most of the junk loaded on new machines has desktop icons. This should give you an idea of what you're facing.

Some of the programs may actually be helpful. So, you may want to try them before removing them. List the programs you want to remove.

You should also check out the Programs menu. Access it by clicking Start>>All Programs. Again, you may want to try the programs before uninstalling them.

Now, there are a couple of ways to go about removing the programs. First, you can do it manually. Perhaps this is beneath you. If not, click Start>>Control Panel. In the left panel, be sure you're in Classic View. Double-click Programs and Features.

Search for the program's names. Uninstall any you find.

That probably won't get them all. So, the next stop is PC Decrapifier. This program will remove some more.

Next, it's time to use the delete button. Open Windows Explorer. Delete anything that's on your list. That should just about do it.

However, there may be stuff left in the registry. So, you should CCleaner. It should get rid of stray entries.

DesignBySusie©2002
Last Updated