March 3

Give Your System a Good Scrubbing
Sun Review March 3, 2001

If you want your computer to run faster, remember to sweep out the dustbunnies every month. This means not only removing those pesky temporary files that accumulate as you surf the Web, but also deleting programs you haven't run in years. Uninstalling unwanted or unnecessary software is much easier with an uninstall utility or program. A good cleaning will prevent those nasty crashes, speed up your computer and free up precious hard drive space.

Installing software is the easy part - just keep clicking and follow the installation procedures. But when you install software, your computer often takes actions that can make deleting that application a glitch-filled nightmare. Every time you install a new program, Windows searches through the application for new DLL (Dynamically Linked Library) files. If Windows determines that the new DLL file is already on your computer, it doesn't install the new file but simply shares the existing DLL file with the new application. This saves disk space, but when you want to delete the program, you may often lose that shared DLL file. Any other programs that use that shared DLL will now experience problems or may not run at all. Your best option for removing software from your computer without deleting important DLL files is to use an uninstall utility. These utility programs can also help you manage your hard drive space by identifying junk files, doing scheduled clean-ups and optimizing your hard drive's performance.

If you think you can get by with the Add/Remove Programs utility that came with Windows, you might be in for a surprise. A good uninstaller program such as Norton CleanSweep 2001 for Windows 2000/NT/Me/98/95 (www.norton.com) or McAfee's Uninstaller (www.mcafee.com) launders your PC more thoroughly and much more safely than the Windows tool. If you don't already have one, you can download a demo of CleanSweep or Uninstaller to do the job, or purchase a copy of either program (approx. $30-40).

The best bang for your buck might be a complete utility suite ($80-$100) such as Norton SystemWorks 2001, OnTrack SystemSuite 3.0 (www.ontrack.com), which include virus protection, software updating, performance optimizers and more. Alternatively, you can use McAfee.com's suite of web-based services online - purchase a one-year subscription ($30US) and get online access to the latest versions of VirusScan, Oil Change, Uninstaller and First Aid. The main benefit of these uninstaller programs is that you can undo any goofs - if you change your mind, you can still go back and re-install the software at a later date. If you're on a budget and can't afford to buy a program, try a shareware uninstaller (www.download.com, www.winfiles.com) or keep a close watch on the applications you install and remove any that cause problems.