More ways to clean up Vista

Q:To improve my Windows Vista system performance, do I really have to wipe my hard drive and reinstall? Or are there other strategies?

A: Reinstalling and reformatting is the best way to start fresh with your system and eliminate any ornery programs, spyware or viruses that might cause a slowdown or that compromise your system’s security. However, before taking such time-consuming step (it can take a day to do!), you might want to try several free scanner tools to help clean up your PC. We recommend you try each one as they all address different issues.

Here’s a quick guide:

• Vista Repair Tool: You can try repairing your system with Error Killer. It’ll find and resolve issues that make your Vista computer crash or unstable. Use the free scanner to see if locates errors before you commit to a purchase and let it solve the problems. Also: It helps clean up startup routine to make your system boot faster and be more efficient with memory.
• Remove Spyware, Speed Up Your System: Is your system behaving oddly? Is it much slower than it used to be? Spyware infections are the number one cause of computer slowdowns and crashes. They can also cause blue screens and weird errors and worse, they violate your privacy. Learn more about the performance and security problems spyware causes in our Anti-Spyware FAQ.

If you prefer to skip these techniques, there’s a lot of advice in our Windows Reinstall and Reformat FAQ.

It has all the instructions on how to scrub your drive and start fresh afterwards.