Welcome to the Windows XP Guide!
The purpose of this guide is help you get the most out of your experince.

Programs You'll Need

PerfectDisk
Ad-Aware SE
RegSupreme
Crap Cleaner
SpywareBlaster
Windows Update
Registry Defragmentation

Once you've got the above we're ready to move on!


Update Windows
Execute Internet Explorer and go to Tools and choose Windows Update.
If there are any results in critcal or drivers updates then Select All and perform a Install Now.


Removing Spyware
Execute Ad-Aware SE and perform a Full System Scan.
If there are any results then Select All and choose Remove.


Preventing Spyware
Execute Spyware Blaster and perform a Enable All Protection.


Cleaning Drive
Execute Crap Cleaner and perform a Clean.



Cleaning Registry
Execute RegSupreme and perform Deep Scan.
If there are any results Select All and choose a Remove


Defragmenting Registry
Execute Registry Defragmentation and perform a Defragment.



Defragmenting Drive
Execute Perfect Disk and perform a Defragment.


Your done!
It's recommended you perform a reboot now.


I hope you enjoyed my Windows XP Guide,
If you have any comments, etc feel free to post them.

Nice set of applications, cheers

Thanks!

Updated 12/21/2004: Screenshot error.

Regsupreme is not necessary because Ccleaner (you are not showing the latest version which is different btw) also cleans the registry.

RegSupreme is necessary because it's cleaning ability is far greater than CCleaner...
Simply go do a registry scan in CCleaner followed be one with deep mode in RegSupreme and you will see the diffrence.

As for the screenshots except for CCleaner which is from majorgeeks, the rest are from the actual author's site.

It doesn't matter as the options I gave are still in effect...
Like when I said "Deep" as the mode in RegSupreme even though "Extra Deep" was in the screenshot because from personal experince I know that the mode shown is no longer given.

Cool.

Check out: x-cleaner (Or Xcleaner)

I have TweakNow PowerPack 2005 which includes a damn good registry cleaner. Does it do the same job?

just started downloading!

btw, is it necessary to download reg defrag? wat does it do anyway... (noob question)

Nice little guide. You may want to throw a disk defragmenter in there as well though, a weekly defrag makes a huge difference too.

aaah you have to pay.. :LOL: j/k

As taken from there website...
I myself by the way have noticed a diffrence.



As for disk defragmentation I will update the guide soon with alot more!

there are other tools which perform these functions
i use tuneup utilities to perform all of the above with regcleanr (discontiniued) to clean specific registry entries

perfectdisk, diskeeper and oo are good defragers

Norton Systemworks has a good defrager...but i dont think there is any legitimate way to obtain it for free or even for trial...

Also dont forget to include a Spy/Ad Malware remover (ie: Spybot - Search and Destroy or Ad-Aware) and additionally a hosts file link to block said ads (ad-aware does this as well i believe)

Added Disk Defragmenter!
Will add Spyware Remover soon.

The guide has been completely redone thanks to your aweome comments and suggestions!
Keep in mind the screenshots will come soon once my image host is back online.

Great guide!

Thanks!
I updated the guide again and even added an FAQ.

Put Spybot - Search and Destroy in this guide, its Immunize feature is worth the mention. Ad-Aware Personal Free Edition i dont think has ad-watch so Spybot wins on that one (I use Ad-Aware SE Professional 1.05 ...and Spybot's Immunize - Ad-Watch pops up too much)

nice guide. but i know howto maintain and secure my system

w00t - damn fast response times on this thread i hadnt even finished posting and the adware/spy malware removal section had been added - good work. Dare we try to implement a safe 'generally speaking' Services tweak? Also - How to properly configure the Security Center in SP2 to be most effective/least annoying (i can provide this if needed)

Just some thoughts/suggestions

I know right but I just got up early but now all my energy is exhausted so back to bed.

If you want to do the security center section then feel free as well as the services (if not then I can do the services)...
Simply private message me!

I will defiantly try to clean it up even more maybe with some bullets as well as screenshots once my image provider gets back online.

Edit: Don't worry about how it's written because I'll customize it to intergrate into the current or future layouts of the post. Also you will most defiantly get credit don't worry!

Also,
Could the moderators rename the title to "Windows XP Guide"
As I'm planning on making this a big windows xp guide.

Also any graphics artists I'd really like to have a logo,
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=260706

Title updated

Thanks ultima!
Now once I get the logo and the private message... this guide is on the way to becoming a massive one!

I reccommend running CCleaner before all the anti-spyware programs, so they have to scan less files.
Also I'd suggest you take a look at this program called Hitman Pro, it automatically runs a lot of anti-spyware programs and changes settings to prevent spyware from installing. Downside for you might be that it's dutch but you'll probably be able to figure it out.

http://www.hitmanpro.nl/

you go!

Question: Whats the different from 3rd partyt disk defragmenter then the windows disk defrag?

i like system mechanic for the cleaning and reg jobs

They use diffrent technlogies and usually more features such as offline defragging (during reboot of core system files).

Any more suggestions or comments?

Hi User540,
While the Registry Defragmentation program you mention is good, I highly recommend you replace it with the freeware NTREGOPT because I found it to be much more effective. This is the test I conducted: I used Registry Defragmentation which compacted my registry by ~1%, then I restarted, and used NTREGOPT right after which compacted my registry by 16%!! Also, although I didn't measure this, I felt that NTREGOPT worked slightly faster than Registry Defragmentation.

The only downside to NTREGOPT compared to Registry Defragmentation is that it doesn't allow you to select individual hives in the registry, it defrags the entire thing (some people may actually find this beneficial though, since it is just click-and-go rather than going through multiple steps in a wizard). NTREGOPT also has some cool command line options, so I have it set to run silently every x number of days while I'm asleep and it automatically reboots when done - quite neat.

honestly i would add
free
windowscleaner05
winpatrol
x-setup pro
pay
registry first aid
jv16 power tools
tuneup04