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Disk Cleanup

Arizona Willie

Active Member
I had a problem with my Surface Pro wanting to send crash info to Microsoft every time I started it.
Someone suggested I run Disk Cleanup so this morning I did.
I let it keep the downloaded website files, but cleaned everything else.
There was over a gigabyte of junk that has accumulated already!!

That fixed the problem.

So I decided to try it on this desktop machine and while still keeping the downloaded website files, it found over 2 gb of junk to remove :D

I was leery of using the option to cleanup SYSTEM FILES, so I skipped that.
It's < probably > safe but I'm not sure about it. Might improve boot time if I cleaned those too, dunno.
 

bosamar

Well-Known Member
Slow desktops usually have an enormous amount of useless programs in the System Configuration startup. I check it often and remove the programs I don't need to run at startup.
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
There was over a gigabyte of junk that has accumulated already!!
That's Windows for you!

There's a lot of garbage that gets accumulated. I only wish that software developers--including and especially Microsoft!--would do a better job at cleaning up such waste. Yes, disk space is cheap, but when I am taking a system backup and copying it to the cloud, I certainly do not want garbage files to be included in the backup.
 

Russ

Active Member
Slow desktops usually have an enormous amount of useless programs in the System Configuration startup.

Bosamar --

And, almost every software publisher in the galaxy wants to be in your startup routines -- without asking! I always check them after I install something new or update anything existing. Some of the more annoying ones: Nvidia, Adobe Reader, iTunes (or anything Apple) -- just to name a few.

Take care,
Russ
 

bertopl

Active Member
I use ccleaner on all my pc's to keep everything tidy. I have it set to run when the computers boot up so that even if I forget to run it for a while, they'll get a little maintenance at every boot.

also, I've been using revo uninstaller (the free version) for a while to make uninstalls more thorough. I just sprung for the pro version when I got my surface. the pro version allows you to initiate an install from within the program so that revo can track all the miscellaneous changes an install makes to your system so that it can thoroughly undo everything in the event of an uninstall. haven't tried that feature yet but will do so the next piece of software I install.
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
I use ccleaner on all my pc's to keep everything tidy. I have it set to run when the computers boot up so that even if I forget to run it for a while, they'll get a little maintenance at every boot.

also, I've been using revo uninstaller (the free version) for a while to make uninstalls more thorough. I just sprung for the pro version when I got my surface. the pro version allows you to initiate an install from within the program so that revo can track all the miscellaneous changes an install makes to your system so that it can thoroughly undo everything in the event of an uninstall. haven't tried that feature yet but will do so the next piece of software I install.
I use R-Wipe&Clean and Revo Uninstaller Pro.

Over the years I have found all sort of files/folders that can be cleaned up and I have included them in my regular config/run of R-Wipe&Clean. I think that it is essential to have such utilities; otherwise, your Windows system becomes a garbage dump.

Regarding uninstalls, I am still completely perplexed at the fact that software developers know exactly which files, folders, and registry items they created/updated. You mean to tell me that they cannot, therefore, properly create an uninstall program that completely removes their footprint?! Thank goodness for Revo Uninstaller. It should be unnecessary, but thank goodness it exists.
 
OP
Arizona Willie

Arizona Willie

Active Member
Well I was wrong. I thought it was fixed because when I rebooted I didn't get the error.
But, on subsequent boots, the error message returned. :(

I just tried it a couple of times and ran the Disk Cleanup again and it was ok first start, second start got the error message.
Ran Disk Cleanup again and shut down then it didn't want to start.
Had to hold the power key for 10 seconds then hit it again then the Surface started with no error message this time.
Not sure how long it will go without the error message. But not sure it even matter 'cause the computer seems to run fine after the message.

Think I will try that " Clean System Files " button on the Disk Cleanup app.
What the heck ... it's only a tablet :)
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
Well I was wrong. I thought it was fixed because when I rebooted I didn't get the error.
But, on subsequent boots, the error message returned. :(

I just tried it a couple of times and ran the Disk Cleanup again and it was ok first start, second start got the error message.
Ran Disk Cleanup again and shut down then it didn't want to start.
Had to hold the power key for 10 seconds then hit it again then the Surface started with no error message this time.
Not sure how long it will go without the error message. But not sure it even matter 'cause the computer seems to run fine after the message.

Think I will try that " Clean System Files " button on the Disk Cleanup app.
What the heck ... it's only a tablet :)
Well, I'm not exactly sure how that crash-reporting thing works, but I certainly have had similar experiences.

But in my experiences, though, if I responded "No" (do not send), then even after I rebooted, I would not get that message again. In 99% of the times, I would know when there was a system crash because I'd get the blue screen. (By the way, also in my experiences, when I get that blue crash screen, when it gets to 100% completed, never has it restarted my SP as it says it would.) However, on the odd occasion, I'd never see any blue screen or out-of-the-ordinary app behavior, yet on my next reboot, I'd see that crash message.

On a weekly basis, prior to my system backups, I always run the Disk Cleanup app to clean up those unnecessary system files; it won't be a problem at all for you to run it.
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
Nuspieds, will that Revo-uninstaller find and remove the remains of programs you uninstalled prior to installing RU?
Yes it does.

Furthermore, it allows you to specify the level of detail it in which is searches for left-over content (default is "moderate;" other choices are "low" and "high").
 

bertopl

Active Member
Nuspieds, will that Revo-uninstaller find and remove the remains of programs you uninstalled prior to installing RU?

yes it will, although (if it's like the free version) it is not as automated of a process and I suspect it isn't as thorough and safe as if revo monitored the install. the revo site however shows references to a "logs database" of common programs that the revo team has recorded. as I understand it, if you have previously installed a program in their database, you can import a corresponding file from the website into revo pro and uninstall as if it had been monitored. the website shows "recently added" common programs such as acrobat, itunes, etc, but each time I've visited the page it says "additional information coming soon" and I can't access the actual logs database. when that page goes live, it should be a great resource for revo pro users like me who purchased after some programs were already installed.
 
OP
Arizona Willie

Arizona Willie

Active Member
I don't remember all the programs I've tried an un-installed :(

I < thought > I had the original problem solved --- but it's back.
Seems it booted up a couple of times and then I saw the same old error message again.
Problem is that it doesn't tell ME what the heck is wrong.
Telling Microsoft isn't going to help me fix the error because they claim they don't even collect your name or any personal info so there is no way for them to email me or call and tell me to reinstall some driver or whatever is causing the problem.

Microsoft wins the OSCAR for world's worst error messages.
 
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