They're not the same, ok? For one, bak chor mee uses minced pork, bolognese sauce uses minced beef. It's like saying pig copy cow! (ok, we're running away from the topic here)
Anyway!
A tradition in many Chinese households is to conduct a "spring cleaning" of the entire house - that is to say, throwing out old junk that has been accumulating dust and ススワタリ (soot sprites, from My Neighbor Totoro) over the past year.
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| susuwatari (soot sprite). isn't he adorable? |
So here I will give a little guide on how to Spring Clean your HDD, for all the non-geeks and computer idiots out there (Windows only, sorry). Note: You might want to leave plenty of time to complete all these.
Level: Noobcake
First, do the easiest (and most tedious) part. Go through your files and delete whatever you think you don't need - old pictures, videos, Word documents, Powerpoint presentations, whatnot. Uninstall old programs and games that you've finished playing. Mind you, confine your rummaging to files and programs that you recognize and know, don't go around deleting files from Program Files or Windows/system32 or something horrendous like that.Oh and do remember to empty your recycle bin after everything.
Run a virus scan. If your antivirus is out of date, or the subscription ran out, or basically is named Norton or McAfee, get a free one like Microsoft Security Essentials (Free download). Make sure to update it before running.
Level: Not bad
Tools required: CCleaner (Free Download)
Now on to the more serious stuff. You do know that temporary files accumulate after every Internet browsing session right? And that they are the main reason behind the slowing down of your computer? Right? .....right?After downloading and installing CCleaner, run it. Chances are, it will have removed a few hundred MB worth of temp files. Do note that doing so will delete any cookies as well, which means that your highly convenient "keep me signed in" for Facebook and email and other login sites will be gone. Don't worry though, we'll sort it out later.
Click the next tab "Registry". Do a scan, and click "Fix selected issues". CCleaner will prompt you to make a backup of your registry items. Click Yes, save it somewhere accessible, and carry on with the fixing.
Next head on to "Tools". You will notice an Uninstall manager similar to the one found in the Control Panel. Select the "Startup" tab. This will show you a list of programs that will run the first thing when Windows loads. Disable those programs you don't need at startup. As with the earlier rule, only disable programs that you recognise. Don't worry if something breaks the next time you start your computer, you can easily re-enable it here.
Click "System Restore". Remove all entries EXCEPT the most recent one (and maybe the 2nd most recent one). Chances are, if your computer was working perfectly fine on those dates, you won't have any problems. Restore points are some of the largest space-wasting files you can find, so don't be surprised to find that your HDD free space has increased. Ignore the last option "Drive Wiper".
Now head on to "Options" -> Cookies. Put the sites that you frequently access (and need that auto-sign in) on the right under "cookies to keep". That's it! The next time you go to Facebook, you might need sign in again, but subsequently you won't have to.
Level: F-yeah
Tools required: Time. Lots of it.
Go to Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools -> Defragment your hard drive. Start the task. And wait. And wait some more. You might want to do something else while waiting.
Now for the final step - Do a backup of the entire system. Now this is entirely up to you, as I'm not entirely sure what's the normal backup routine for you guys. How often do you do a backup? Post in the comments if you can :)
One thing's for sure, backups can be very, very useful. They can save you from lots of hassle in the event of a (touch wood!) system crash or a lightning strike. In my case, I try to do a system backup once every 6 months. For important files and other documents I try to backup whenever I make changes to them.
For all of us Windows users, there's always the built-in System Restore. Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Backup and Restore Centre. Choose "Create a Restore Point", and you're done!
Unfortunately restore points don't always work (I've experienced it myself), so the best would be to make a full system backup. You can get some suggestions for software that will do the job here: Best Free Backup Program
Different people have different backup options. I personally use a 3rd party program and save my backups in a separate external HDD that I protect from the elements. Some prefer to burn to CDs and DVDs, but its difficult to keep track of them.
And that's it! Spring Cleaning isn't that hard, eh?
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To keep your computer running smoothly I'd recommend running CCleaner once every few days to prevent those temp files from accumulating. I run it every time before I shutdown my PC as a habit.
Enjoy the Lunar New Year holidays everyone! 新年快乐!
