Cleaning Windows – an Introduction to the Vital Purpose of Windows XP Maintenance

Three months after buying a new computer, the PC turns from a fast, cutting-edge, new machine to a virus and malware infected zombie machine. Eventually, within a year, such a great computer may have to be fully replaced without scavenging its precious and valuable parts. Unfortunately, this is the fate of most PCs bought and operated by everyday common consumers. The simple usage on a Windows machine will cause this destiny if proper action is not taken. In our electronic age, the maintenance of our machines is key to their and our survival in society. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to cleaning our Microsoft Windows PCs.

It is quite reasonable to conclude that most of us have never fully cleaned nor maintenanced our computers. Such avoidance causes our systems to start out fresh, slowly bog down with garbage, and eventually just crash and die. This problematic issue could actually easily be solved if we simply took the time to follow a step-by-step procedure of computer maintenance. Cleaning both the physical and virtual junk from our PCs is crucial to preserving their performance.


On a Windows machine, virtual junk is referred to the countless garbage data stored on hard drives during normal usage. These files include a build up of needless temporary Internet and operating system files, Internet cookies, misplaced or old documents, and the dirtiest system of them all: the Windows Registry. Generally speaking, the Windows Registry is a great tool used by Microsoft’s operating system to store locations of data to efficiently perform tasks. These tasks include quickly determining how data should behave, for instance the list of programs in the Start taskbar menu. The registry is great at doing its task. At the same time, it is also the king of collecting garbage. All the uninstalled programs temporary files leave footprints and traces of left over data all over this registry. For instance, when a program is installed, certain registry “keys” are written. However, when the program is uninstalled, most of the time the uninstaller does not bother to delete these registry files, thus leaving behind garbage. Since Window’s operating system greatly depends on this registry, a registry stuffed with rubbish will hence greatly slow down performance. In addition, viruses can hide in certain registry files, just waiting to be activated to eat their way through a PC. Like a waiting trash can, the Windows registry is crucial to everyday usage but at the same time is a center for garbage.

Thus, to clean a computer, first the registry must be vacuumed of its junk. Secondly, all the temporary Internet and Windows files all have to be removed. In addition, needless startup items (applications that start during log in) need to be removed to ensure a quick boot time. Finally, a computer needs to be physically opened and cleaned of its dust bunnies and big scary dust balls that are blocking the CPU fan or some other hardware.

By following these specific set of procedures of PC maintenance, it can almost be guaranteed that a computer will no longer die within three months. In fact, if a computer is constantly well maintained on a weekly or monthly basis, it can basically work as well as, or even better than it did when it was new. Nothing lasts forever, however, we can take the first step of caring for our PCs by at least maintenancing them.