The first thing you need to know is this: You do NOT need to purchase any software. Will I do agree that there are some good one for this, even when we do a deeper cleanup than what is listed here, we still use free versions of the program that are available.

Step 1 – Uninstall Unused Applications. I am often shocked by how many applications users have installed…that they never use. Go to your control panel and open “Add/Remove Application” in Windows XP or “Programs and Features” in Windows 7. Look for applications you have never heard of and remove them. You have to be careful here because some Vendors (Dell, HP, Sony, Video Drivers, etc…) often add software that help your computer run better. A good example of an application to remove would be Firefox, if you only use Internet Explorer. Another is Java, you may have older version, but really only need the newest (as of this writing it is Java 6 update 29). This means any Java 5 can be safely removed.

Step 2 – Internet Explorer. Go to your control panel and open “Internet Options”. Click on “Delete” (under Browsing History – do not worry, it will not delete anything yet). Typically you will leave the first 4 boxes checked (Preserve Favorite website data, Temporary internet files, Cookies and history). At the bottom, click “Delete”. An additional option is to go to the “Advanced” tab, scroll almost all the way down and check the box for “Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed” and select “OK”.

Step 3 – System Protection (Windows 7) and (Windows XP). Every time you install new software, windows creates a snapshot that you can return to when a problems comes up (bad Microsoft update or driver installed). These can add up over time and take up a lot of unnecessary room. If your computer is running fine, it’s a good idea to clean them up. Go to you control panel and open “System”.

In Windows 7, you will then click on “System Protection” (left side), To ONLY delete the restore points, click the”Delete” button at the bottom. If you want to stop system protection from running entirely, select “Turn off system protection”.

In Windows XP,click on the “System Restore”tab (if it is not there, your administrator has disabled it for you and you can skip this step). Check the box for “Turn off System Restore” and click “Apply”. After that process is done (it can take some time), uncheck the box and click “OK” (this will turn the system restore function back on)

Step 4 – Temp Files and Folders. In Windows XP, go to C:\Documents and Settings\your username\Local Settings\Temp folder. Select all the files and delete them. In Windows 7, go to C:\Users\your username\AppData\Local\Temp. Select all the files and delete them. In both, go to C:\Windows\Temp. Select all the files and delete them

Note: Sometimes these folders are hidden. To unhide them go to Control Panel and open “Folder Options”. Click on the “View” tab and select “Show hidden files, folders and drives”, click “OK”. Most people should uncheck that when done to re-hide the files.

Step 5 – Disk Cleanup. Right click on your Hard Drive (Usually “C”) and select “Properties”. You will see “Disk Cleanup”, click on it. I suggest you check all the boxes except the one called “Compress old files” (only available in XP) and click “OK”.

Note: Uncheck “Recycle Bin” or all the items in your Trash will be permanently deleted.

Step 6 – Defragmentation. In Windows XP, right click on “My Computer” and select “Manage”. In the left Pane, click “Disk Defragmentation”. On the right pane, click on your Hard Drive and then click on “Defragment” In Windows 7, open “My Computer”, right click on your Hard Drive, select “Properties”. Click on the “Tools” pane and click on “Defragment now…” This process can take a long time if you have not run this in a few months.

These steps are a basic way to clean your computer, but it should be faster after you have run them all. As always use caution and make sure you have a current backup! If you ask us to do it for you, we will run many additional cleaning tools, but we do not recommend using those on your own. Please send any suggestions or errors to info@bostoncse.com

I have run into a problem where I cannot rename a computer’s name and get the following error: “The following error occurred attempting to rename the computer to “XXXXXX”: Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one username, are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again.”

This was caused by a start-up script that was establishing a mounted share to a server using a drive letter. Simply disconnecting it allowed the name change to go through!

These new Malware are getting more and more annoying to clean up properly, but it’s still possible! My latest encounter was with one that simple “hides” all your files. That is, it gives them a hidden attribute and they only appear hidden (only you have your folder options set to “show hidden files”). I found an amazing program thanks to the good people at www.bleepingcomputer.com that is called “unhide.exe”. It will go through your entire computer and restore all the files to their correct (unhidden) settings, leaving the Microsoft OS ones the way they are supposed to be (hidden). I did notice that in addition, it makes the “Start” Menu completely blank. To fix that, Right click on your Taskbar and select “Properties”. Select the “Start Menu” tab and click on “Customize”. All the options will all say “Don’t display this item” and your “Number of recent program to display” may be set to “0″, change that back to “10″ (default). Make the appropriate changes and Voila, you Start Menu is back.

The CompTIA MSP Partners Trustmark is a vendor neutral, business-level credential, designed to qualify and differentiate organizations providing remote IT services via a managed service business model. This credential identifies the MSPs that demonstrate a commitment to providing managed services in a competent manner and strive toward industry best practices. It serves as a reference to the quality of the services these companies provide and the commitment they make to their clients. To receive the MSP Partners Trustmark, an IT service organization must agree to a code of conduct, provide customer references, and submit an application covering a detailed list of criteria.

BostonCSE Corporation is enrolled in the MSP Partners Trustmark program through 12/16/2014

BostonCSE Corporation was allowed to visit the Intronis DataCenter located in Somerville. Intronis is the best file and folder backup company that we have tested (5 different companies in all). We have now seen the insides of a major data center and know where our backed up data is located and have an even better understanding on how their own internal replication processes. I can officially say that I have never felt better about the safety of all our client information. The only question at this time is: “If you are not using us for your backup, what are you waiting for?” A huge Thanks to Intronis for their patience, we look forward to many more years of working together.

Be careful of an e-mail that appears to come from Stubhub.com telling you that you purchased tickets to a fight in Las Vegas. This is spam attempting to get you to log in an enter your password. Delete the e-mail and disregard it.

There is nothing more frustrating in IT than to have to uninstall malware programs that are added maliciously to your computer. That said, it can be even more frustrating to have to uninstall a good program only to have it fail. I was uninstalling Norton 360 from a client desktop the other day. When the uninstall came to this point, the window stayed there for over 30 minutes. I was actually about to shutdown the computer the “ominous” way (holding the power button and praying it would come back up after). If your software tells us that the program will take “less than a minute”, could you extend us the courtesy of not having it last more than 10..perhaps? This is one of the reasons why BostonCSE Corporation no longer sells Norton (or Symantec). Contact us anytime at: http://www.bostoncse.com/about-us/contact-us/ and we would love to show you how our Antivirus will help you…and do what is says!

The Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard (N5901) is a very small form factor keyboard with an integrated scroll mouse. It fits right in the palm of your hand and you can easily use your two thumbs to press the keys. It can be used as you full time keyboard (though i suspect you will want to continue using a full sized keyboard for actual work), but i have found that it works amazing well when used on a TV screen (or larger sized screen) to view movies and videos or just surf the web while sitting on a couch (or even in bed). The keyboard also has an on/off switch and connects using a small USB Bluetooth Dongle. Check out our review: http://www.bostoncse.com/?p=4036 to see how it can be used with a wireless HDMI adapter to create the ultimate Computer room.

I am attending the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles this week and learning about the new Microsoft products. Things were off to a great Start when I met with Eric Ligman, Director of Partner Experience in the Worldwide Partner Group. the even continued with the learning of all the furure products that are coming out, like Multipoint Server (2.0), which will replace Terminal Services in the coming future. Once again Windows 7 stole the show for me as it is truly the best Operating System Microsoft has released. Also a big one is Small business Server 2011 which we hope to deploy to many of our clients in the coming months.

To remove Microsoft Office from your Mac OS X computer, you must use the Remove Office tool provided by Microsoft.

The Remove Office tools will not delete documents you have created with Office programs unless they are located in the application folders for Microsoft Office. If you have documents you want to keep in any of the application folders, move them to a different folder before using the tool.

1. To find the Remove Office tools, open the Microsoft Office 2008 folder or the Microsoft Office 2004 folder, and then open the Additional Tools folder.
2. For instructions, read the Read Me file in the Remove Office folder.
3. When you run Remove Office, it will allow you to remove installations of Microsoft Office 98 through 2008 as well as related preferences and system files. Once you have run the program, it places the removed Office components in the Trash

Note: Currently, the Remove Office tool is not available for Office 2011.