Question for PC saavy, please.

[Jack Sprat]

On some excellent advice received last evening, I am making an effort to quicken the response time of a lethargic PC before throwing it off my apartment building.

I have shed a multi-picture screensaver and that helped. I'm shedding my Norton AV in favor of a less complex and free anti-virus provided by my IP.

Now, I would like to delete some programs rarely used. Can I safely remove Dell Musicmatch jukebox, its' replacement Yahoo Music? I still have RealOne Player and Windows Media Player, which I do utilize. Also, I have a program called Viewpoint Media Player that says it hasn't been used since 2007 that I would like to delete. Is it safe to remove Dell/Yahoo Music Jukebox and its' driver, Viewpoint Media Player, and a seldom used program called Quicktime? I don't seem to use any of them ever, that I'm aware of.

[av8rdave]

1. You might want to keep Quicktime, as that allows you to play a lot of the onine videos

As for the rest, I'm not sure. I would assume they're safe to get rid of if they have their own uninstall routine.

[Jack Sprat]

2. I'll keep Quicktime.

It does seem like it operates on occasional video links. Thanks.

[hobbit709]

3. Dump Quicktime and Realplayer

Get Real Alternative and Quick Alternative
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/real_Alternative.htm

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/quicktime_alternative.htm

Get rid of the Dell crap. Get Advanced systems Care and use it to optimize your system.
http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html

Are you listening to a lot of mp3 files? If you listen to a lot of audio files, you don't need that piece of bloatware called Windows Media Player. playtray is a 37Kb execute file that sits in your system tray and plays sound all day long without bogging down the system.
http://chime.tv/products/trayplay.shtml

[Jack Sprat]

5. I use Realplayer for music downloads.

I don't know why I had Dell/Yahoo Musicmatch Jukebox, Windows Media Player, Viewpoint Media Player, Quicktime, and Realplayer too. I purchase music on RealPlayer, so I want to keep it. I also have a CD burner device that came with my Dell. I use it occasionally, but mostly just transfer music files to MP3 with the Rhapsody mp3 add-on. If I delete Quicktime, Viewpoint Media Player, and Windows Media Player as well, it seems to me that video/music would default to RealPlayer. I think some of this stuff is redundant, but that's why I'm sounding people out on their opinions before deleting everything. Hey, it's fun getting rid of the clutter. I just want to stop before deleting the entire Microsoft O/S. That might not work out well.

[DS1]

4. If you don't dump quicktime ( i would) open it and shut off all automatic updates

including checking for updates. Dump everything else, unless you have a lot of real media. Install VideoLan's VLC player to watch just about every type of movie including quicktime and mp4

drop the musicmatch, and get rid of everything Yahoo. Winamp is a small and capable file/music manager.

[astral]

6. I love Winamp. It is very dependable

and doesn't do any weird stuff. I wouldn't dump Windows Media Player, though, you can keep it installed in case you ever think you need it.

[sohndrsmith]

7. Glad to hear your dumping NAV (hard to get rid of completely - a behemoth)

I speak from personal experience only, and I can only say that I hope the IP provided AV isn't McAffee - that is pretty bloated and obnoxious, too (or at least it used to be).

I just switched to a new Dell not too long ago, and no longer have Quicktime (miss it). Used to loathe Windows Media Player (and Viewpoint just annoys me, but that's another story) but it serves it's purpose for basic utility. I also avoid Roxio (is that the same as RealPlayer? The only reason I don't can't watch C-SPAN online is because it requires RealPlayer - but I may be confusing it with Roxio). A "friend" installed a bunch of Roxio glut in my last laptop and it took over everything and bogged me down with programs I didn't want or need - that is something I really, really despise...

Just got an mp3 player (thinking I would start running again - ha!) and after doing some investigating online, the biggest complaint seemed to be the (yet again) obnoxious, monstrous software that comes with the little device - so I just let it sit on my shelf, unopened for a couple of weeks. Finally, I decided to just plug it in and see what would happen. No software installed - WMP recognizes it immediately, I just drag and drop. Easy. For image files, when the Autoplay screen comes up, I choose "open folder to view files", and drop jpegs in there. everything works.

There is nothing worse than (I think the technical term is) "bloatware". Ugh. I use (and update continually) free versions for my firewall and anti-virus protection, etc. I've yet to be infected (one false positive, but I don't count that). And I also like to use other monitoring tools (I like Process Explorer and Hijack This - but I don't know enough to actually do things with them - I just use them to see what's going on and what changes. Or streamline my startup programs). And I'm cautious about what I do/where I go on the web, use Firefox and clear out the gunk each time I load it and it may or may not matter but I don't save passwords or do any auto complete garbage... but that's just me. I know I should be doing more (and I'm still trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of Vista, something that seemed more accessible with XP. Vista seems to assume that I'm an idiot and I don't like that even if the assumption is correct. : ). I am in the habit of investigating things I don't understand or changes I didn't initiate, but I'm not tech savvy so it takes me a long time to figure out what's what. Usually things are not alarming even when they look ominous to me, they generally turn out to be anything but.

These free programs were just going to be my interim choice until I got to know this machine, but I'm reluctant to change what seems to be working at this point. (Dell Vostro ugly as a truck but just as sturdy - w/Vista HP 32bit. Jury's still out on Vista HP - actually I have few qualms other than the bloody way they screwed up the search function.)

This Dell came with something called "Media Center" which I've never used and didn't want but I couldn't get the machine without it. I'd rather have that space to do what I want with it and add the doodads and gadgets that I choose to install.

If something gets installed with more than I want without telling me - I get really grumpy. : )

I concur with others - if you have Quicktime, keep it (but I had a tough time getting it out of my start up programs and it was annoying to find it always loading). And I wouldn't get rid of WMP, especially if you use it for basic rip/burn/etc. I don't download music off the internet, so I don't know if that makes a difference for you. I don't like having multiple programs that basically do the same thing on my machine, but I that's me...

There are several good resources that I've turned to in the past - but I'm drawing a blank - unfortunately (and all my saved links are on the dead laptop (argh). A couple worth looking at - or used to be, anyway for software/hardware/security/networking questions. Or at least they can be a jumping off point:
http://www.aumha.org/
http://help.lockergnome.com/
http://forums.techguy.org/
...but you have to practice due diligence and do some cross checking on your info/research. But either way, you learn somehting in the process.... there are many others, I just can't think of them at the moment.

Good luck!

[DUlover2909]

8. I don't have any virus protection at all and I never have a problem.

1st thing: shut off all that BS that runs as soon as windows starts using msconfig.exe

You'll never get a virus if you do not use Outlook. Use a web based email account. Windows firewall consumes very little resources and works just fine for those that stay connected permanenty. I have XP Pro.

Go online and get a list of services that are safe to disable. If you're a regular Joe that just looks at websites and plays games, a bunch of services can be disabled that improves performance.

[blogslut]

9. As long as you can remove a program via Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs

You're pretty safe. Is that the way you intend to remove them?

With well known programs like Quicktime, if you remove them, you can always go get them and re-install later.

[elifino]

10. For a Norton AV removal tool try this link

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

Download CCleaner from www.filehippo.com. Run and install this program. Run the cleaner under the tabs WINDOWS AND APPLICATIONS. Click on Registry, run scan for issues then fix issues. If you click on tools, then start up, you will find an easy and reverable way to disable programs which run on start up. If you can copy and paste a list of which programs are starting, I will reply as to which you may disable.

Using Explore all users, turn on to show hidden files, go to the windows directory and delete the files starting with $ and ending with $. Delete the contents of the Windows/temp directory.

Download both Adaware and Spybot search and remove from www.filehippo.com. I use the teatimer feature of Spybot.

The above programs are free for personal use.

I also use AVG free for virus protection.

If you uninstall any existing programs, make sure to re-run CCleaner, this will remove most items not deleted by the un-install.

I work in IT SUPPORT for my company,

elifino