Clean up unwanted file,etc?

[Len Amaral]

Are those plug in computer cleaners you see advertised any good? Supposed to clean and speed up slow computers via the USB port.

[Mitch Drumm]

I'd avoid them religiously.

If you want to "clean up", get CCleaner, a free download from Piriform.com. It's been around a long time and is not aggressive and very rarely causes issues. It contains a registry cleaner that I wouldn't use under normal circumstances. Just use the standard "cleaner" section.


It has some other tools that you can use if necessary: a drive wiper, a duplicate file finder, etc.

But the standard cleaner portion is where its reputation was made.

Windows built-in "Disk Cleanup" works pretty well too.

Other than that, use a good anti-virus and anti-malware application. Maybe familiarize yourself with Windows Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and your non-Microsoft services. If you have something going on that slows you down, it should show up there.

There are limits to what you can do, depending on your CPU horsepower and amount of RAM.

[Dave Potter]

Are those plug in computer cleaners you see advertised any good? Supposed to clean and speed up slow computers via the USB port.

I have no experience with "USB port" cleaners. However, I've been a satisfied user of "JV16 Power Tools" for nearly a decade now, which includes a registry cleaner, along with a plethora of other useful utilities.

The "any good" question depends; one doesn't want to get into anything that makes changes to one's PC registry, or any other aspects of the PC's critical settings, UNLESS one has at least a basic understanding of what's being done.

[Richard Sinkler]

There are ads on tv for these cleaners on USB drives for like $19. I wouldn't trust them.

[Jim Priebe]

Len

The USB cleaners don't send a hose in through the USB and flush out the crap via the ???? They simply run a utility from the USB port (probably slower than from the hard drive).
There is plenty of reliable software to do this. yes, CC is Ok and there are many others but stay away from most of the freebies as they just load crap on to your computer as a "bonus".
We all get our 'favourites' - I use Ashampoo Win Optimizer, have for years and it works OK. Most of them are pretty 'careful' what they do and there is always still some things they don't remove but they are for experts to deal with.
Actually the Registry is probably one of the easier areas for them to deal with but they are usually very conservative there.
They DON'T remove malware, phishing moles or those nasties so be aware of that.

[Len Amaral]

Thanks all for the info and replies. Will avoid the plug in USB cleaner devices. Going to have the computer worked on by tech guy as it needs more than my pay grade to get it operational.

[Len Amaral]

An update on my computer problems. I had an IT guy come in and work on my computer cleaning out unwanted and duplicate files, updated the system and made adjustments and changes. Whew, what a difference in speed and was told the system is healthy. $75.00 and well worth it.