How to use CCleaner like a pro

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There have been several postings on how to use CCleaner. How To Geek has one of the better tutorials:
http://www.howtogeek.com/113382/how-to-use-ccleaner-like-a-pro-9-tips-tricks/

Jerry

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I think the How-To-Geek article was fair and balanced.

CCLeaner has many settings, some more aggressive than others. More importantly, the article also explains what will happen if a user removes items that are designed to improve responsiveness or maintain stability. Disk space is cheap: time is not.

I want to focus on two items: Browser cache (via the Temporary Internet Files) and the Thumbnail database. Users should consider the rather minor improvement in security and recovered disk space of a cleared browser cache and deleted thumbnails against the decrease in performance that they would encounter. Periodically cleaning those specific items will tend to slow the machine down as it will recreate the cache and thumbnails and will not significantly improve security except at the instant the machine is cleaned.

If users are concerned specifically about browsing cache or thumbnails, I recommend turning them off permanently rather than enter into a never-ending cycle of automatic creation and manual removal.

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Seems like sound advice to me. Very good article.

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Tinto, are you referring to the Taskbar jump list for Windows Explorer item in CC ??

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Tinto, are you referring to the Taskbar jump list for Windows Explorer item in CC ??

Hi Bany, no I’m fairly sure a browser task-bar jump list is populated from a different source of data.

My comments are targeted towards the clearing of the Temporary Internet Files cache, which will slow down browsing activities because the browser will need to download from the internet rather than load from a much faster disk cache; and the removal of the thumbnail database for media folders which will be automatically re-generated by explorer next time the user opens the folder containing the media files.

Manually removing things that are then re-populated automatically is not exactly efficient and is self defeating. If a user is concerned about the size on disk or security/privacy issues of those two items (which is a valid concern to some), then it’s better to set the browser to empty the cache on exit and to turn off the tumbnail database. The same could be said for browsing history (again, a valid concern), but I think that might break browser task-bar jumplists.

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Well Tinto, I have mine set to clean.
I usually run CC once a day in the morning and while your explanation makes sense I have never really noticed any difference whether I clean it or not..

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I can’t imagine pros have time to run CC, too busy fixing real problems. ;-))

cheers, Paul

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Tech Tips-
I never run “anything” on a cold startup!-
Especially a defrag or Win Update!
Browsers will also be slow, and Windows Live Mail (POP3) will often Stop Working (also soon after an AV definition update/ wait 5min to resume…)!
Solution- I wait 12min on a cold startup, and reboot then wait 8min for Win to completely load before… (15min for a defrag, so temp files… can finish their auto-delete…).
A $5 digital kitchen timer from Wally World…, is a Must!

CC… will not even run properly until you clean/no-activity reboot (I wait 8min/run, wait 8min and reboot (twice, if you reg clean!).

I also 8min reboot before/after All installs/uninstalls (especially if they have kernel level drivers!).
~~~~~~~
Free Defraggler defrag (filehippo.com), gives me the best system performance (replace Win defrag install option, Run as Admin, and whitelist .exe Process in your AV)!

No matter what 3d party defrag you use (All Systems)!- Open Win defrag, and Disable Schedule!
Also set Win defrag to Manual in Services.msc, so layout.ini keeps updating (unless your defrag has it’s own layout, then Disable)…

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Good article, and I learned at bit as well. I use CCleaner, but don’t use it everyday. I do however run my maintenance programs at least once a week, and I do use the Reg Cleaner although never without a back up, and I also run the Drive Swipe during my maintenance.

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Decent article, well worth the read.
If I remeber correctly, Fred Langa covered something like this some time back, even well before Windows Vista came out.

I’ve started selectively removing some of those checkmarks and have set my browser’s cache size a little bigger.
Having the browser cache in it’s own directory on a separate drive enables for larger, more care free capacity. It actually helps speed
up loading of frequently visited sites. If your on a slow connection like a wireless with a limited monthly plan, it can go a long way.
Keeping selective cookies will preserve the logon to certain sites too, this one included.
Preserving the thumbnail cache helps when it comes to viewing massive amounts of photos in explorer.

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