How to Clean and Optimize a PC or MAC

PC CLEAN-UP PROCESS

1. DISABLE UNECESSARY ITEMS:
   1. Start up: Disable any unnecessary start up apps in MSCONFIG. Windows 7: Windows-r then CMD then type “msconfig”. Windows 8+: Ctrl-Alt-Del then Startup Tab.
   2. BHO’s: Chrome – Click the menu icon “≡” at the top right of the browser window, choose More tools and choose Extensions to open the Extensions. Uncheck Enabled to disable an extension or lick the trash can icon next to the extension you want to delete. Enter chrome://plugins in Chrome’s address bar to view plugins installed for your browser. Click the Disable link under the plugin you want to disable.
   3. BHO’s: Firefox – Click the menu icon “≡” at the top left-hand corner of the browser window and choose Add-ons. Click Extensions to view the installed extensions or click Plugins to view plugins installed for your browser. Disable the Extensions or Plugins one by one until the issue experienced no longer occurs. Find the add-on you want to disable and click its Disable.
   4. OS Special Effects: Disable any Windows 10 special effects. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel, click Adjust Visual Effects, click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK.
   5. OS Transparency Effects: Disable any transparency effects. Launch Settings by clicking the Start Menu and then Settings. Choose Personalization from the list of options. Select colors from the options in the left sidebar. Toggle the button under Make Start, taskbar, and action center transparent to off.
2. CLEAN-UP: Use the built-in Windows Clean-up utility – Click on Windows Menu and type “Disk Cleanup”. In addition, you can use CCleaner which will also clean up unused registry keys. Don’t forget to delete all unnecessary files in the “Download” folder.
3. REMOVE REDUNDANT SOFTWARE: Remove any unused or redundant software. After removal, run CCleaner and scan registry to remove any abandoned keys.
4. DEFRAGMENT HDD: Defrag the HDD (you don’t need to defrag an SSD). Do this by opening up the disk optimization tool-search for Defrag, then select the HDD and click analyze. Click defrag if necessary. Verify the default schedule is set to do this automatically after hours.
5. VIRUS/MALWARE REMOVAL/SCAN:
   Malware: Scan the PC using Malwarebytes.

MAC CLEAN-UP PROCESS

1. DISABLE UNECESSARY ITEMS:
   1. Start up: Click on System Preferences, then Users & Accounts, select the Login tab. Look through the items and remove anything that you don’t need to start automatically. Also let the client know that ideally, they would want to turn off the MACs at least once a week. This clears out the memory.
   2. BHO’s: Internet Explorer – Close all instances of Internet Explorer, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Under Browsing, click to clear the Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart) check box. Restart Internet Explorer.
   3. BHO’s: Chrome – Click the menu icon “≡” at the top right of the browser window, choose More tools and choose Extensions to open the Extensions. Uncheck Enabled to disable an extension or lick the trash can icon next to the extension you want to delete. Enter chrome://plugins in Chrome’s address bar to view plugins installed for your browser. Click the Disable link under the plugin you want to disable.
   4. BHO’s: Firefox – Click the menu icon “≡” at the top left-hand corner of the browser window and choose Add-ons. Click Extensions to view the installed extensions or click Plugins to view plugins installed for your browser. Disable the Extensions or Plugins one by one until the issue experienced no longer occurs. Find the add-on you want to disable and click its Disable.
2. CLEAN-UP: Look at the desktop and remove the shortcuts for any programs and documents that you’re no longer being using. Don’t forget to delete all unnecessary files in the “Download” folder.
3. REMOVE REDUNDANT SOFTWARE: Delete the programs and documents or move them to storage.
4. OPTIMIZE HDD: Click Choose Applications, then Utilities, and Disk Utility. Choose your storage drive, then click Verify Disk. If any errors are returned, click Repair Disk.
5. VIRUS/MALWARE REMOVAL/SCAN:
   Malware: Scan the PC using Malwarebytes.