Alot of the performance issues I see can be solved by simply running maintenance. Windows is intuitive and will learn by your actions, speeding up the most frequently used applications. So run your disk cleanup, defrag, delete cookies..etc. often. There are other variations of these utilities available although I have yet to find a problem with the ones that Windows provides.

To flush DNS cache in XP click start, run and type command. At the prompt type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter.

Hey Crow ~ I am sooo glad to see someone talking about the maintenance of these machines. I have discovered the same thing as you. Users will overlook this stuff. There's no oil to change, but it is just as important.

I make my clients machines work like new by following this line-up:

M.I.C.A. MAINTENANCE

1) ‘Scan’ for Adware, Spyware and all Malware DAILY.

2) Clean your ‘Temporary Internet files’ and ‘History list’ every 3 Days.

3) Clear your ‘SSL state 'every 3 Days.

4) Clear your ‘Java files’ in your Java console every 3 Days

5) Empty the ‘Recycle bin’ every 3 Days.

6) ‘Defrag’ your hard Drive every 5 Days.

7) ‘Scan’ for Viruses and Trojans every 4 Days.

8) ‘Degauss’ your monitor by turning it off completely and back on, every 5 Days.

9) ‘Completely turn off’ your machine every 5 Days. This is different than re-starting. When you re-start, it does not shut down 100%

You give some nice tips there, micaman. I've never seen the above four tips reccomended in anyone's routine maintenance list. ...As they should be. I'm adding them to my list of good things to do for my system. Thanks.

7 of the 9 I do on a regular basis but I'm not sure how to do these two items if someone could explain?

I would be glad to help you with that.

» O.K. let’s open “control panel” and then “Internet options.” With the 'internet options' open, you will see the general page. Next click on the “content” tab. You will see “clear SSL state.” This normally is performed automatically but I have come across old data left in here. While you are here, you should clean the “auto complete” as well. There is a lot of data stored here that can breach your security and privacy. It is best to uncheck all of the three boxes and never use this feature, however if you like this feature, keep it.

» To just clean the stored data, click the “auto complete” button and then the “clean passwords” and then OK and then the “clear forms” and then OK. It will wipe all of the stored information.

» Now let’s move on to the Java files. Open “control panel and find “java plug-in" and click on it. Next click the “cache” tab and then the “clear” button. Now while we have it opened, let’s adjust the size from ‘unlimited’ down to “maximum 4 mb” and you will be ready to go.




Hey "Bold_Fortune," you're welcome! Glad to see you are doing your machine maintenance. "Crow" was sooo correct on bringing this subject up!



This post has been edited by micaman: Sep 20 2005, 09:05 PM

Another item that seems to get overlooked on today’s maintenance routine is the “C:\windows\temp” folder. You should delete everything that is in this folder, BUT not the folder itself. If you have never done this, it will have a ton of stuff in it.

All of this stuff is safe to clean as often as you wish. This stuff was used at one time or another, but is no longer needed. That is why they call it a temporary file. It can harbor malware and it does take space up on your system.

Great Suggestions guys.... Keep up the good work.

As an older user returning to the pc world after a hiatus, I find that much has changed. Would you consider including a brief summary of the logic behind the tips and procedures posted in this section. I think that would help foster growth among those of us who are here to learn, in the hopes that someday we too can spend hours of effort on behalf of our fellow users....without pay of course!!!!

This forum Rocks.....Thank you all for your valuable, donated, completely free advice consider me as

This post has been edited by pvres: Oct 29 2005, 01:24 AM

Morning Guys

Im doing my weekend computer maintenace, and i really do appricate all the helpful tips, but before i add this one to the list, i need to know what the info. below does and why a flush is helpful??


flush DNS cache in XP click start, run and type command. At the prompt type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter. [size=3]

what is the DNS cache?
DNS stands for?
new to this board, sorry. matybe it stands for "dont know s$&^."

DNS = Domain Name Server, the cache reffered to is where windows stores all IP addresses it collects as you surf tying the IP to the domain name you surf to, this cache can grow large over a period of time and cause a slowdown on your surfing and computer interaction

Morning folks,

I am new to this forum but an old hand at pc's. it is great to c that ppl give their time and advice to other ppl. i hope to contribute and put in my 2 cents worth.

all the tips given are great ones, but i believe that one of the most important ones where left out. that is to defrag your registry. it is the soul of the machine and if that gets cluttered or corrupted nothing on the machine will work.

now the reason it might not have been mentioned before is that it is very dangerous to do if u dont know what u are doing. most maintenance software have a reg cleaner of some sort or other. i use one called 1-Click Maintenance which comes with TuneUp Utilities 2006 it is not a free app. but well worth the money. maybe someone out there knows of a free ver that does the same job. i must state again that PLS BE CAREFUL when doing a reg maintenance.

I tried to empty everything from Windows/temp but there were some that would not delete saying they were being used. They all were;

Sqlite (followed by a string of letters and numbers)

Could someone tell me what they are? Thank You

Try Googling "sqlite" (with or without the quotes) and see what you get. Then try Googling "sqlite [the number-letter string you found on your computer]" and see what that says. It looks like you have a program running that is using some sort of sql database.

When you find things on your computer, and you don't know what they are, try Google first ... it will save you a bunch of time. Same thing for processes (found in the Task Manager) ... if you find a process or service or file extension running and you don't know what it is, Google it.

Hope that helps.

Those are all good tips micaman.


These two imparticularly,

8) ‘Degauss’ your monitor by turning it off completely and back on, every 5 Days.

9) ‘Completely turn off’ your machine every 5 Days. This is different than re-starting. When you re-start, it does not shut down 100%

I feel are missunderstood and I want to clairify a couple of things for those of you who follow my posts. These two are listed separatley for good reason. When you see or hear someone talking about powering down, it aint because of the monitor that you want to do this. Yes, I realize I preach about leaving your monitor ON...however thats not to say you shouldnt ever turn it off. Monitors (more specifically CRT's) have capacitors. Capacitors DO have a shelf life. When you figure that in with the fact that turning on and off monitor, heats and cools them up and down, you see that it shortens the life of the cap's... greatly. The solution to this is to turn your monitor on, then forget about it. When you powerdown your computer, it sends a signal to the monitor that puts it in a sort of hibernating state. Your monitor is STILL ON...just in power saving mode. You still have juice flowing into it, therefore the transformer/cap's/etc do not go through the heating and cooling as they would if you were to power down your monitor as well.