I'd say the article title was appealing enough to at least look at, but the tips within are pretty standard and obvious, even by average PC user standards.

Clear your cache? Come on now...

I completely agree. This belongs on Lifehacker or some other site that caters to those with a very low level of technical knowledge. Come on Toms, you guys aught to know your target audience better than that. Bring back the unbiased reviews and importanttech news (not unsubstantiated rumors) of only a few years ago and you'll regain me as a regular reader. Until then, I'll pop in now and again to check on things, but nothing more.

Signed,

A former fan.

Overall, it is low level tech tips. The duplicate file killer sounds useful for my parents though. They have tons of duplicates from drag-and-drop blunders that it usually takes a half hour to fix

Since when does fragmenting a page file improve system performance (re: pg 5)? If I'm running low on VM, it means either (a) I have a program (spyware? trojan? netbot?) that is "leaking" memory, or (b) I am running so many programs or programs of such size that it justifies increasing / upgrading my system RAM. Increasing the fragmentation of my page file is not likely going to improve the performance of my system.

And I love it when files just "randomly" vanish from my father's desktop (re: p 8). Inescapably, I would get a call like, "Where'd my tax calculator go?" First, he claims I did it the last time I did maintenance on his system. Then he thinks it's spyware or a virus. Then he wonders if he accidentally deleted it. So thanks, but no thanks to the computer "cleaning" itself for me (or worse, for my father) on a regular basis.

At least p. 9 is somewhat useful. I wish this was the default Windows config so I didn't have to do it every time I created a user on a system. That said, I also wish the author included a disclaimer in the article such as, "don't change or delete these files or extensions unless you know exactly what you're doing; otherwise, even if you don't think the file is important, you could end up ruining your operating system and making your system unusable"

dumb. Those tips are ridiculous. Show hidden files as a way to clean up? Increase the virtual memory? Here's a tip - by default XP gives you 1.5x more virtual memory than you have real memory. If you only have 256mb of RAM - perhaps you should install some more RAM?

Re p 11: Who needs that Pesky "Windows Internet Explorer 7" anyway? It's listed on my system as having last been used on 4/15, so I guess I should delete it. Though entering a comment to this article without it might be a challenge (which some of you might find to be a good thing, admittedly)...
Again... this article is too high-level for the technical, and too dangerous for the underinformed.

Blah, blah, blah for all those I'm-wise-and-I'm-proving-it-with-my-retarded-opinion guys. Don't bother us with your pathetic lack-of-personality-compensatory comments. God, someone puts "comments" anywhere on a webpage and everybody thinks their cries are useful. PUT SOME BETTER TIPS INSTEAD OF IDIOTIC CLICHES, YOU LOW-SELF-ESTEEM MENTAL PRE-TEENAGERS!!!

Sincerely, Average Joe. =)

Masterwhitman,

Thanks for your comments. I consider it my duty to remind visitors from Tom's Hardware that THIS SITE is tom Tom's Guide. We cater to a different audience--namely, a mainstream, curious consumer, not a tech enthusiast. Apologies if you found yourself here by mistake, but you're welcome to drop by any time.

All the best,

Rachel Rosmarin, Editor Tom's Guide

Ok, and I don't mean to slam Rachel here...just some constructive criticism from a longtime Tom's tech-nut:

"Thousands of duplicate files from your picture and music collection can be spotted and eliminated – freeing up memory for more important things."

Deleting files does not free up memory, it frees up hard drive space...two completely different things. This is a very common mistake, and it may sound like I'm being a pedant, but if you're going to help educate the mainstream and curious consumer, please arm them with the correct terminology because it's the little things like this that make them a target when they enter a big box store and talk to a rep (assuming the rep knows the difference, of course).

Secondly, the suggestion of allowing system files to be viewed is a pretty bad oversight by the publisher, if you are indeed catering these suggestions to mainstream and curious users. This kind of suggestion will only get an average computer user into trouble when they start hacking away at .dll or .sys files and it has no bearing on being able to find duplicate files that the publisher is referring to (music, pictures etc.), as these are not considered critical file types and are readily viewable without the aforementioned tweak.

Arming the average computer user is commendable and, to be honest, many of the suggestions here will save low-level users some money by not wasting it on "fix it" software that does the same thing...but asking them to drive a tank after they just read the manual that someone hijacked with random pages from a Prius is only going to get them, and us, in trouble.

Fair enough Rachel. My frustration lies with the disappearance of deep hardware analysis & review articles from Tom's Hardware. The fact that 1/3 of the links on the Tom's Hardware sites are to this site simply exacerbates this. Your site serves its target audience well; I've provided my less tech-savvy friends with links here on several occasions. Keep up the good work, but put a bug in the ear of whomever is running Tom's Hardware these days!

Cant you see a problem here? well i can. ppl that that can't run a "clean system" already, can get in trouble with this guide. Upgrading software and drivers has a risk involved, Bios?!! come on... it is better to have slow working pc than non at all. Not broken, don't fix it will do just fine in this case. Sure this guide can help, but if something will go wrong, will it be worth it? I think 4 this lvl of computer skill, it will be more useful to make a user guide, with tips on using the computer without damaging the OS. Like smart browsing, file management, limiting junk software installation, system security etc...and only then when you can run stable system and you will have a basic clue on how things works, i will advise to make it"clean" and you better have Acronis or Ghost like software before you do it, just in case

Good advice for the average user. But probably a bit light for people who are on Tom's Hardware. I mean, most people on this site are hardcore geeks and nerds.

Being an incredibly anal person, I use:

HiJack This
Spybot
AVG Free
Ad Aware
Windows Defender
RegSupreme Pro
O&O defrag

regularly. I think I spend more time maintaining my machine than using it. But hey, it's paid me back. Man, I have the smoothest running machines with minimal startup programs. Perfect for when you need those extra frames while playing Call of Dity 4.

well said i always recommend everybody to visit THG to find all kinds of tips for everyone no matter their skill level or knowledge...we must not forget everyday new users born and they will sooner or later need this simple tips(to those of u who feel offended cuz u think ur are know-it-all)...

Seriously, articles have gone downhill big time.

Those individuals that are complaining about the low level tips would also be the same ones to condemn you for not including the simple stuff like clearing your cache. That being said the issue I have with this article is that if the Tom's Guide audience is "a mainstream, curious consumer, not a tech enthusiast" then some of of the tips are perfect for that audience while others such a Bios setting changes are not. I would liked to have seen the article organized in sections titled beginner, intermidate, and advanced.
Unfortuantly I can't send a link to this article to my non-tech friends for fear of them screwing up their pc's and I can't send it to my savvy friends because I'd get laughed at

Tom's - You can do better

I completely agree that these recommendations are fairly mundane, and two are downright dangerous for the average user! OK, Mr. or Mrs. User --- go into your BIOS and change things! I am a System's builder and have been for many (too many) years and I would prefer that my Clients never even hear the word BIOS. OK, Mr. or Mrs. Novice---get rid of your duplicate files. You have to be kidding me. Tom's really wants an inexperienced user to mess with duplicate files? I can understand if we are just talking photos, MP3's etc, and the inexperienced user knows where to search for just those files, but what is to stop a novice from selecting "C" drive to search for duplicates----and then delete them all? Many Duplicate File programs will do just that. The way I see it, at least one of Tom's suggestions could potentially leave a novice dead in the water---no working system! There is something very, very dangerous with this "Get Fresh 'n Clean With an Organized PC" article.

uuuhhgg...geee thanks yaw'll...I GOT THIS HERE PUTER AN' JUS' FIGURED OUT THAT THAT DANG CAPS LOCK BUTTON MAKES THE LETTERS GET BIGGER OR SMALLER..SEE here..look...they are small agin...so, what i'm sayin' is...this is a great article...thanks agin, yaw'll...

ooopp's, fergot to sign my name...(well type it, anyway...although, I bet there is some convoluted way to really sign stuff...like with a pen ya' know)...

bush jr.