Degunking Windows

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 376 pages
• Published by: Paraglyph Press
• Edition: 2nd Edition September 28, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1933097078
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1933097077
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 1.5 pounds

Product Review
"Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann have compiled an entire book on the subject [Windows arthritis], and it's a good one." -- Brian's Buzz (Brian Livingston) FEBRUARY 12, 2004 - Issue 23

"Just follow this book, chapter by chapter and you'll be amazed at how you can improve your PC." -- Goldon Triangle PC Club Review (February 2004) by Dale Farris

A great new book that explains why computers lose their vigor over time. -- Parade Magazine, July 4, 2004

I can heartily recommend Degunking Windows to any PC user and only wished it had been published sooner. -- Bits & Bytes, March 2004

Some PC 'fixit books' tend to get 'too techy,' whereas I found this one to be informative and enjoyable. -- Todd Hawley

The advice [in Degunking Windows] is elegantly presented with superb hand-holding from coauthors Joli Bellew and Jeff Duntemann. -- Chicago Tribune

The cheapest infusion of power to a Windows XP computer is a well-done book titled Degunking Windows. -- Miami Herald --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Degunking Windows, Second Edition continues on with the mission introduced in the bestselling first edition--help all Windows XP users get the most out of their PC. Since the first edition was published, new software updates, hardware changes, and more aggressive viruses have all contributed to creating more gunk for users.

The new edition is especially designed to help readers clean up Windows and get much more out of their PCs. The focus is on Service Pack 2 and all of the new features that have been added to Windows XP. Degunking Windows, Second Edition features proven techniques to help users quickly get their PCs back to top performance. It shows why PCs get gunked up, and presents the best techniques for degunking including improving security, dealing with spam, getting rid of unused programs, making Internet Explorer more secure, dealing with email programs, getting SP2 working well, cleaning files, optimizing hard drives to free up valuable space, working with Windows Media programs, and fixing the Desktop and Start menus. The new edition presents the easiest ways to back up precious files, clean and optimize the registry, and how to do a clean install.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Degunking Windows (Paperback) Target Audience Windows users who are tired of having their computer grow old before it's time... Contents This book shows you how to take the necessary steps to clean up your Windows installation and restore some of the speed that it had when things were brand new. The book is divided into the following chapters: Why Is My Computer All Gunked Up?; Degunking Your PC; Getting Rid Of Files That Shouldn't Be There; Uninstalling Programs You Don't Need And Tweaking Those You Do; Organizing Your Desktop And Start Menu; Preventing Spam Gunk; Cleaning Up E-Mail Gunk; Cleaning And Tweaking Your Registry; Optimizing Your Hard Drive And Startup System; Installing Upgrades To Your System; The Best Hardware For PC Degunking; PowerToys And Awesome Shareware; Improving Security; Backing Up Precious Files; Last Resort Degunking Techniques Review Don't you just love how your brand new PC screams when you first remove it from the box and boot it up for the first time? Miles and miles of open disk space, lots of free memory, that "new computer smell"... Then, over time, memory starts to disappear with resident tasks that didn't used to be there. Boot-up now takes minutes instead of seconds. Programs that flew now amble along at pedestrian speeds. Congratulations! Your PC is "gunked up". You need to degunk it with this book. Degunking Windows is a twelve step program designed to help you organize your Windows installation such that you can find the things you need, you are only running the things that matter, and the underlying disk structure is properly formatted. While you can pick and choose what you want to implement, its best to follow the entire program to get the whole synergistic effect. For instance, I could start out by defragmenting my hard drive. Of course, if I still have a lot of garbage on my drive, the defrag won't be as useful as it could be if I took the time to organize things first. The authors have written an extremely useful and easy to read "how to" manual that will add years to your PC's life by getting it running closer to how it used to behave when it was new. The book does assume a Windows XP environment for the degunking tasks. However, many of the steps (such as file cleanup, desktop cleanup, defraging, and such) are applicable to all version of Windows. So don't panic if you're not yet an XP user. Also, hardcore operating system gurus will either know all this stuff already or "scoff" at the simplistic approach. Fine, the book isn't for you. But for those of us who more often are "users" of the operating system, the information is valuable and helpful. I've already regained nearly a gigabyte of disk space, and I'm still on step 1! Conclusion If you're not a Windows guru with a predefined plan of your own to keep Windows working cleanly, you owe it to yourself to get this book and start your "degunking" program.