My son just purchased a desktop pc and we would like to wipe it out totally without losing Windows XP or anything else important to keep it working safely and correctly as we don't have any installation discs.

New or Used PC

I assume that this is a used computer? If so, it's definitely smart to clean it up as you don't know what types of programs the previous owner installed on it. If the previous owner downloaded a bunch of freebies off of the Internet, it's possible that the computer has a fair amount of malware on it too.

If the computer is brand new, it may have the installation files in a hidden partition which is becoming increasingly common. Rather than providing users with discs, manufacturers store the files on the hard disc and then expect users to either use an "eRecovery" function (which varies by manufacturer) or create their own recovery discs for future use.

Either way, your computer may have the installation files on its hard drive in which case you can restore it to its factory settings. Reboot the PC and hold the F8 key while doing so. Check to see if any options under the Advanced Boot Menu reveal any clues. Is there an "e-Recovery" (or similar wording) option? You can also try looking up the make and model of the computer and checking the manufacturer's Web site for information about recovering the operating system. For example, you may find that all you need to do is enter a certain key combination to access the recovery utility. This varies by manufacturer and may or may not be an option.

Basic Cleanup Steps

Assuming a factory restore is not an option, let's move on to what you can do to clean up the computer. First, let's uninstall all of the unnecessary programs. Go to Start > Control Panel > Add and Remove Programs. Remove all programs that you do not want as well as any that could be potentially malicious or could compromise your computer's security such as peer-to-peer file sharing programs. For software that you intend to keep such as Outlook Express or Microsoft Money, you'll need to go in and clean out the old user's information. Hopefully, the previous owner did so but if not, you'll need to do it.

Next, delete old user accounts. For example, if the computer is a used PC, create an account for your son and then delete any accounts (but not the administrator account) that the previous owner created. If the previous owner used the administrator account as the primary account, then you'll need to go in and manually delete data. Focus on the My Documents folder as well as any folders that contain photos, videos, and music files.

Clean the Web browser's history. Launch Internet Explorer and go to Tools > Internet Options. Go to the Browsing History section and delete the history, cookies, temporary files, etc. Once that's cleaned, set your own home pages and preferences.

Another good idea is to run the Disk Cleanup tool. It's found in My Computer. Simply right-click the hard drive and choose Properties followed by Disk Cleanup. This allows you to delete Recycle Bin files, temporary files, downloaded files, and much more. From there, defrag the hard disk by going to Start> Programs> Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. This will realign bits and pieces of files on the hard drive and often dramatically improves performance.

Final Computer Maintenance Steps

After doing the basic computer cleaning, update Windows XP and then invest in a good PC security product. Run a complete system scan to ensure that the computer is free of viruses and malware.

Celeste Stewart | May 11th, 2009
Tags: cleanup computer, cleanup pc, computer maintenance
Categories: General

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