That new computer smell
The Mrs. got a new machine. I set out to decrapify the thing by getting rid of all the bloatware and useless stuff. I finally got to do something I’ve been meaning to try. With a stock install of an HP Pavilion DV7, I opened up Internet Exploder and grabbed CCleaner. I think this is the first time I’ve used Internet Exploder for something other than downloading Firefox in years. So, I run the cleaner and it finds a couple of pages worth of stuff to clear out. But when I do the registry cleaner, it finds 148 problems with the registry. Stock install, new out of the box and it needs that many registry corrections.
December 10th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Welcome to the world of Microsoft Windows.
Now you know why I left it thirteen years ago.
December 10th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
CCleaner works well. Used it today on my Mom’s computer today. Removed over 1.5 mb garbage and then cleaned the registry, 184 entries.
And since they live a nice drivable distance away(but it is near a Cabela’s) I installed LogMeIn on the recommendation of a neighbor and friend whom is a true techno geek.
Is amazing the junk on store bought. Is why I have all self built or salvaged computers with Linux or XP installs on them…
December 10th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
What maddmedic said. All built from scratch here, though I now use Win 7 on my new box (dual-booted with Ubuntu 11.04).
Never heard of LogMeIn, thanks for the tip maddmedic.
December 10th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Thanks for the link to ccleaner. I don’t go over to the dark side much[1], unless it related to work, but it looks like a much needed tool.
I’m going to add it to my custom USB version of the Ultimate Boot CD.
[1] I know that comes off as elitist. Let’s just say that I like my tech in a way that not only lets me access the battery, but even lets me add my own distilled water,(and I’m willing to shoulder the headaches that come from that). I know MS is probably the best choice for many and I’m down with that.
December 10th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
You have to wonder if the hardware vendors get some sort of kickback from the makers of all the crapware that needs to be removed and if so is it really worth it for how much it pisses customers off?
December 10th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I’m planning on upgrading from this 2002 HP Pavilion soon. Its slllllllooooooooowwwww. And getting slower with all the junk that’s on websites now.
When I do get a new computer…whatever that model is….it will be a PC.
So…do I keep any new Windows…or do I re-install XP?
I’m a newb when it comes to computers. I blog, surf and play games and write the occasional Word document (I miss Word Perfect sooo much.)
Where can I get some advice?
December 10th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Yeah thats why I either build my own from scratch or atleast buy like a bare bones system with o.s. installed so I dont get all the extra crap.It is kinda crazy you would have that many registry errors from the get go.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
And yet you deride Macs, which don’t have this problem 🙂 Most of the stuff that comes on Mac OS by default is actually useful.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Might want to give this a run also. Works great. And is free and highly recommended through out the web.
http://pcdecrapifier.com/
December 10th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
No. I deride apple phones. Their computers seem better but no one uses them.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
“I set out to decrapify the thing by getting rid of all the bloatware and useless stuff.”
So you took Windows off?
December 11th, 2011 at 3:46 am
You ran Ccleaner to get rid of bloatware then used the registry cleaner. The majority of registry related “problems” are just removing leftover entries from uninstalled programs and other minor things. The 148 number is meaningless, your computer would have ran fine w/o them. Also, tons of mac snark jeez.
December 11th, 2011 at 5:16 am
Run out to http://www.eusing.com and get their free registry cleaner, too. It does a somewhat more thorough job of cleaning up all the goop in the registry. Nothing against the native CCleaner reg cleaner, but tag-teaming is good. Piriform also makes a good disk/data recovery app, Recuva, and their Defraggler and Speccy can be useful as well.
December 11th, 2011 at 5:21 am
There’s an app for decrapifying machines from vendors.
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
December 11th, 2011 at 5:22 am
Squid, a reinstall of XP is not a bad idea. Even a preservation reinstall will fix broken links, reset a lot of broken/harfed defaults, and make the box quicker while saving all your documents and content. I only do a complete bare-metal reinstall in worst-case scenarios when things are well and truly fook’t, and then I’ve usually got a series of backups of my docs, bookmarks, etc. archived.
Before taking this step, try CCleaner and flush it out.
December 11th, 2011 at 8:01 am
You wouldn’t buy a new car that required this treatment, would you?
@RC #5: yes, the h/w vendors get kickbacks from the crapware vendors, because the crapware vendors know new users will probably click lots of icons on their shiny new systems, and some will even sign up for their crapware services.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Oh brother, “windoze is teh sux0rs” right off the bat. Give me a break. OS X, which is just a set of APIs on top of a UNIX kernel, and Linux OSs have plenty of negatives as well. I run all three OSs on various systems for various reasons and they all have their benefits and challenges. I dont understand this irrational Windows rage that seems to crawl out from under the rocks everytime a Windows discussion gets started.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Plus all that crap will make people call the geek squad and others, and then buy a new computer after 2 years because theirs is “old and slow and obsolete”.
Think if PCs as an Obama style jobs program.
Of course I got 5 strong years out of my last PC laptop cause I kept up on it. It died when the circuits finally fried.
I’m still using the R2D2 iMac I purchased in January 2002. Works fine. And my wife’s MacBook is about to turn three. We will easily get a couple more years of life outof that too.
She has a droid phone. I hate it. My iPhone is superior to it in nearly every way. Especially in ease of use, management of programs, and management of data.
December 11th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Sooooo….. is Apple the .45 or the 9mm and which is Windows?
(ducks and runs)
December 11th, 2011 at 11:32 am
@Cargosquid – genius analogy!
Word of caution on CCleaner – it CAN goober up some programs. Did have it break an install of Office 2K7. More of an MS issue as MS downloads office patches even for office stuff you’ve never installed, and over time those bogus reg entries accumulate. Problem is that MS now layers their patches, so by not installing certain patches you break later patches. CCleaner totally screwed it more.
Personal opinion on Mac vs PC – Windows (even Vista) works pretty well if your hardware isn’t crap. But buggy hardware (bad RAM modules, leaky caps in the power supply), will cause all sorts of evil. I’ve had very good luck with Mac hardware quality – not so much with HP, Sony, Dell, etc. Used ’em all over the last 20 years. Win System I built myself – still going.
Kinda like with guns – the OS IS the ammo. Bad hardware, bad results. Poorly made gun that you can’t shoot well = bad results with the ammo. Any one of us would take a Glock .45 over a Hi-Point 9mm – but equal the hardware or the budget and the decision comes down to issues of style, personal preference, and comfort.
December 11th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Forgive my ignorance please, but did you remove the useless programs and then run the registry cleaner? Could all the useless registry entries pertain to the stuff you had just removed?
December 11th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
No, I ran it on a stock install. Thought that was pretty clear but I guess if I get two comments pointing that out, maybe not.
December 11th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
heh.
we’re an HP shop at work, and we reimage every machine with our custom image for that very reason. they’re so dang buggy (but cheap and mostly reliable).
December 11th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
“Sooooo….. is Apple the .45 or the 9mm and which is Windows?”
Windows is a potato in the world of handguns.
December 11th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Heh, A huge part of my first career was fixing the crap that happens when you use TrueType font to dirty up pieces of paper. I swear it seems like some of those non-technical writers got their favorite fonts off a CD they dug out of a cereal box. Boring-ass work, but it kept me employed. Thanks Mr Gates!
Cargosquid Says> :…So…do I keep any new Windows…or do I re-install XP?
Try Puppy Linux. Easy to use, small, fast, and lightweight enough to load completely into RAM upon booting. Watch DVDs, surf the web on Firefox, edit spreadsheets, etc.
December 11th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Don’t put too much stock in the things CCleaner removes from the registry on a fresh install. What it removes are information entries that aren’t required to be there.
I’ve done fresh installs of XP, not install anything except CCleaner and have it find 250+ things in the registry to remove. Matter of fact, CCleaner is the first thing I install followed by Firefox.
Anywhoo… the things CCleaner removes aren’t “bad”, they’re just junk that bloats the registry.
December 11th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
As a long time gamer, I have built several machines for myself and for some friends. Considering my needs from a computer, a PC is the only option. Virtually every year I upgrade some piece of hardware on my machine. While this is option is not necessary from every user, it is something to take into consideration. Mac’s have their merits, but when it comes to swapping out hardware, it can be a nightmare.
Consider this. A pretty good PC can be built for under $500 bucks, leaving money left over for more ammo and gun related goodies. If you decide later on its too slow or is having trouble keeping pace with trends in technology, no problem! You can change out whatever parts you feel fit. For example, on my current desktop, I have changed out the video cards and added some hard drives. Even when it comes time to replace the motherboard and processor, I can still keep my case, power supplies and whatever else I don’t have money to replace (barring some things like ram, which can require specific chipsets). People love the ability to swap out parts and gadgets on their AR’s, why not have that option on their computers as well.
As far as the XP vs W7 debate is concerned, I would side with W7. Windows 7 is polished well enough that I feel the average user can use it near problem free. From a performance standpoint, W7 offers features such as advanced USB compatibility and hardware acceleration that XP simply can’t offer. For example, W7 can more efficiently utilize multicore processors as well larger amounts of RAM. From a graphics standpoint, XP cannot use Direct x 11 which is the new standard for video games.
Keeping your computer running smooth is a lot like shooting guns. Use common sense. Don’t download sketchy files or toolbars. Try to keep as few programs running in the background as possible. Building your own system eliminated a lot of poopware that manufacturers put on. I have anti spyware and virus programs but I never have to use it.
Hope this helps and MERRY CHRISTMAS
December 11th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Cargosquid’s machine is XP-vintage. Wouldn’t W7 be too resource-intensive for it?
December 11th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Not sure why “nobody” using them is a reason not to use them. As I enjoy all the perks of not having to deal with Windows crap on my personal machine it rarely bothers me to know everyone else is trying to figure out what the fuck their Windows machine is doing. 🙂
December 11th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Now I understand….you guys were talking about re-installing XP on THIS computer…..
I thought it was about installing XP on a new computer.
If I get a new one…I’ll just stick with W 7.
On this one…are you saying that reinstalling XP would be a good way to speed it up?
Anyway…thanks in advance. The above has helped.
December 11th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Thanks mac fanboys, but I’d buy a windows computer and spend the money I saved on ammo or another gun(s).
Apple is the Starbucks of the computer world.
December 12th, 2011 at 1:25 am
I’m still a new enough Mac convert to remember very clearly the days when I laughed at Apples and their users… “overpriced toys”, “computers for dummies”, etc. It took a fairly spectacular failure of a beloved HP laptop the week before finals, and downright insulting “support” from HP, to convince me to grudgingly drop the dough on a Macbook Pro. 18 months later and I laugh at my old self the way I used to laugh at Mac-olytes.
The simple version is that my Macbook just works. It’s a year and a half old and several weeks ago, on a whim, I timed it from cold boot to login. 44 seconds flat. I think it’s fair to say that I never owned a Windows machine that could claim the same speed right out of the box, let alone after a year and a half of security updates, bug fixes and the various bits of “bonus” code that skeevy sites dumped into them.
Installing programs= a cinch. Drag an icon onto my Applications folder and I’m done (and rarely is a reboot necessary after doing so). Uninstalling a program= a cinch. Drag that icon onto my trash can and it’s gone; no uninstall wizard, no need to double check a registry. Installing new hardware= a cinch. The OS all but does it for me.
Other hidden bonuses… I can download Apple’s suite of pseudo-Office tools (99.9% compatible with post-2003 MS Office) for a grand total of $60. Compare that to the $150-$250 pricetag on MS Office. The last major Mac OS upgrade cost me $30 and was delivered via the Internet. Compare that to a fresh copy of W7 at $150-$300+. My tech support is the Apple store at the nearest mall. Apple’s call centers are based in North America so there’s never a language barrier. Given my history with Windows laptops the $1100 I spent on a “low-end” Macbook Pro has saved me money insomuch as I used to go through Windows boxes every 12-18 months. I have at least another year left of life in this MBP; probably closer to three or four years. Last and perhaps most importantly, I can put a concurrent install of Windows on my Mac and it will run better on the Applebox than it would on the majority of Windows machines. Hell, Apple has built that functionality right into the Mac OS should you choose to be cheap about it.
Windows machines rule the marketplace, and there are a lot of good reasons that this is so. Yet somehow my Playskool Compooter With Fruit On It has won me over completely, and I’m glad it did.
December 12th, 2011 at 5:45 am
Why download your malware from questionable websites when Microsoft is willing to provide it for you on a brand new, out-of-the-box PC?
December 12th, 2011 at 7:37 am
^ ding ding ding ding ding! Guess why it finds stuff on a brand new PC?
December 12th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I reading about difficulties with Windows machines…so my 2002 HP that has operated without a hiccup and stays on 99% of the time is an outlier? Of course, now that I’ve said this….it’s going to die a horrible, noisy death……with smoke and sparks……just watch.
December 12th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Grab Defraggler from the same company. I use it after CCleaner, makes things runs nice and smooth, until the next piece of crap comes over the Web.
December 12th, 2011 at 10:57 am
I finally found out how to run Windows safely: VirtualBox.
December 12th, 2011 at 11:45 am
If using CCleaner:
(1) always make sure you have the latest version.
(2) grab a copy of CCEnhancer
( http://thewebatom.net/software/ccenhancer/ )
CCEnhancer integrates directly into CCleaner, so much so that you may not even notice that CCEnhancer is running. It gives CCleaner the ability to clean the traces of more applications than CCleaner can normally handle–dozens of them, including Microsoft Works, LogMeIn, Ashampoo Burning Studio, and many others.
And if you truly want to speed up web access, try MVPS Hosts File ( http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm ), which you can customize as needed.
December 12th, 2011 at 4:13 pm
You want a REAL answer?
The registry entries ccleaner removed were likely generated during the image build process at the PC manufacturer.
Let’s take HP as an example:
When HP introduces a new laptop line, they have a group that builds the OS image that goes on all of these computers. They start with a fresh copy of Windows (usually some variant of Windows 7 these days), and they install it. Next they install all of the hardware specific drivers (keep in mind that some of these replace Windows default drivers, so there are some obsolete registry entries). Now these hardware specific drivers will encompass ALL of the possible hardware configurations for that line of computers. There will be computers that are shipped to consumers with drivers for hardware that is not present on that particular computer.
Then they patch it according to the recommendations of their QA/Testing group. This alone results in hundreds/thousands of changed registry entries (along with some that are made obsolete by patches). They then install all the “crap” that software vendors pay them to include on new computers (which also introduces and creates obsolete registry entries). Once that’s done, they will sysprep (this strips some computer specific information out of the OS to prevent conflicts on different hardware later) and image the computer, creating a highly customized OS image that will then be installed on (potentially, depending on sales) hundreds of thousands or millions of computers.
I’ve been an IT Professional for 15 years, and I’ve actually been present for some of that process at HP in Austin (worked for a Backup software company at one point and we were involved in the QA process for the Proliant group, so we got to see all of this process first hand, which is why I picked HP as an example).
MacOS is NOT better in any measurable way than Windows. In fact, if you want to get right down to it, what OS falls first in EVERY single hacking competition? I’ll give you a hint: MacOS (no kidding, look it up).
Security is demonstrably better in the Windows OS default configuration than in the MacOS default configuration.
I have used and supported Windows, MacOS (which is actually based on BSD, not UNIX), Linux, UNIX, NetWare, and several other variants.
Hands down, from a manageability standpoint, Windows is king. For years the *NIX family was out front, but with the introduction of PowerShell, they’ve lost that crown.
From a consumer standpoint this is not really a big deal, but in an enterprise environment, it’s HUGE. Now that’s not to say that *NIX isn’t manageable (I’ve managed Linux farms that were enormous), but the level of granularity, consistency, and documentation of the Windows family is really hard to beat.
I’m not trying to crush anyone’s illusions here, I’m just pointing out the realities of life in Big IT.
tl;dr, All mass produced Windows computers will have Registry entries that need fixin’ right out of the box, and Apple’s security model is a piece of swiss cheese.
December 12th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
For those that are talking about the cost of the software… $199 to start and $149 a year gets you a technet subscription… So for less than the cost of a retail version of Windows or Office, you can get EVERYTHING (Well most retail things) they offer and you get multiple keys.
December 14th, 2011 at 12:40 am
The last company I worked at had an IT department who spent their days fixing all the Windows machines, and never had to do anything at all to any of the Macs, ever, in the 10 years I was there.
I’ve been using Macs for 20 years now, and I’ve never had a virus, never had any spyware or malware, never had to wipe or clean install the OS. The only problems I ever had was a bad motherboard in 2002, which was covered by AppleCare and replaced for free, and a recent hard drive failure (but the entire drive was backed up by Time Machine to an external).
Two problems in 20 years, neither of which caused any serious downtime or loss of files.
You couldn’t pay me to switch to Windows.