AFter defragging, I clicked system health - and it said there were 8 junk files. It recommended downloading and using their free auslogics boostspeed to remove the junk files and boost speed. Should I do this? I've never heard of this program - but can well imagine there are junk files on there.

In using explorer to see what was on her C drive, I noticed tons of things I don't recognize. Now we bought this used - and it could be files/folders from previous owner he did not remove (although he tried to wipe it clean and reinstalled XP) - or it could be other junk to remove - or it could be programs that are needed. Is there a way to take a screen shot of these to post for feedback about what to do with them? Or a way to get a listing to post here? there were lines and lines of folders that said uninstall (with a couple of additional characters).

Thanks.
Lynn.

These folders contain the uninstall information for each Microsoft update you install. That means that you will be unable to uninstall the updates if you delete these folders. You may leave them there unless you need hard drive space. If your system is stable, and if you no longer plan to uninstall an update, then go ahead and remove the corresponding $NtUninstall... folders. Or you may move those folders to a different hard drive, or burn them to CD before deleting them from the hard drive.

Still love to clean up more of the junk on there and figure out how to identify if it's junk? But moving those mutliple rows of $NtUninstall folders is a great start.

Thanks.
Lynn.

Another good one to run to clean out stuff safely is ATF
ATF-Cleaner

Clean out your temporary internet files and temp files.

Download TFC by OldTimer From here click Here
to your desktop.

Double-click TFC.exe to run it.

Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator

TFC will close all programswhen run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin

* Click the Start button to begin the cleaning process.
* Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two.
* Please let TFC run uninterrupted until it is finished.

Once TFC is finished it should restart your computer. If it does not, please manually restart the computer yourself to ensure a complete cleaning.

what it does:

TFC (Temp File Cleaner) will clear out all temp folders for all user accounts (temp, IE temp, java, FF, Opera, Chrome, Safari), including Administrator, All Users, LocalService, NetworkService, and any other accounts in the user folder. It also cleans out the %systemroot%\temp folder and checks for .tmp files in the %systemdrive% root folder, %systemroot%, and the system32 folder (both 32bit and 64bit on 64bit OSs). It shows the amount removed for each location found (in bytes) and the total removed (in MB).

Before running, it will stop Explorer and all other running applications. When finished, if a reboot is required the user must reboot to finish clearing any in-use temp files.
-- TFC only cleans temp folders.
-- TFC will not clean URL history, prefetch, or cookies. Depending on how often someone cleans their temp folders, their system hardware, and how many accounts are present, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or more. TFC will completely clear all temp files where other temp file cleaners may fail.

Raven - I have the same type of question for you. What will ATF clean that ccleaner won't. Is one better than another - or do they clean different stuff?

Thank you.
Lynn.

PS - I will avoid auslogics boostspeed.

TFC will completely clear all temp files where other temp file cleaners may fail.

I would not get excited about a mere 8 junk files considering the huge number of files on the computer at any given time.

You can take a screenshot of Windows Explorer by getting the page you want showing then tap the Print Screen button (or PRN SCRN on some keyboards) then open Paint and paste the image there to save.

You can easily Google the unknown programs you feel are there and you are not aware of the uses.

I will do the TFC and ATF-cleaner (still curious what ATF does that the others don't).

Thank you.
Lynn.