How often should I perform maintenance on Windows?

windowbob

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3
Hi
I'm relatively new to all of the maintenance aspects of Windows etc. However, I want to try and run tasks on my laptop, according to a schedule, rather than worry about maintenance every two minutes etc.

So far, I have got the following on my computer for security:

Anti Virus - Run once a week, full scan once per month (inc. firewall)
Malware Bytes - Run once a week, full scan once per month
CC Cleaner - Remove junk - remove junk once a week

However, what maintenance tasks do I need to perform with Windows 8.1? Will the Maintenance tool do the work for me and if so, will running maintenance in general once a week, do the trick? I don't want to do maintenance every day for the sake of it.

Am I doing things correctly thus far? The security of my computer, I have been advised, is good. However, I'm a shade rusty on what maintenance I need to do - I was planning to run the maintenance at night so it could do the necessary work in the small hours and then come back to the laptop in the morning etc.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards
Rob
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
You don't indictate what anti-virus you are using. I use Microsoft defender and do nothing with it except allow its daily updates (via Windows Update - see here: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/25343-windows-update-check-install-windows-8-a.html

Malwarebytes I use only if something goes wrong (rarely - perhaps 1 time per year for me).
CC Cleaner - you can run the clean bit once a month (or week if you want). It certainly isn't necessary for anything unless you are seriously running out of disk space. Don't run the registry cleaner (or any other).

Windows will do it's own maintenance - let it be. It will default to 3am but will choose another time if your PC was turned off and try again when you just aren't doing anything.

Your best bet though is to make a backup now while things are working.

Do this: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-create-use-custom-recovery-image.html
And consider Macrium (or similar) to back up everything: Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download perhaps once a month or so.
And also backup daily (or as you wish) your own pictures, music, whatever. You could use this for example http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2484-file-history-how-use-windows-8-a.html - it will run automatically.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
I agree with the above (no CC Cleaner, yes malware scan, yes Windows takes care of itself ((unless you turned auto maintenance off)))
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 700z
    CPU
    AMD 4.1 GHz quad-core
    Motherboard
    MSI
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Radeon HD 8670D
    Sound Card
    Integrated Sound, Envy Audio; Beats Audio
    Hard Drives
    1TB 7200 RPM SATA
    PSU
    460 watt
    Keyboard
    wired USB
    Mouse
    wired USB
    Browser
    IE11 / Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender aka MSE
I run Avast Antivirus. I have decided to run things according to a schedule now. Once a week, typical virus scan and malware bytes scan as well as a typical clean up.

Also, when you say Windows takes care of itself, this might sound like a dumb question and apologies if it is, but can Windows maintain itself, even when the Laptop is switched off?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
No, off is off, nothing happens then.

I use the built-in Windows Defender and scan maybe once a month.
I use Malware Bytes Pro and scan once a month.
I use CCleaner and run it every night before I shut the computer down.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
In addition to what others have said here, I do automated file backups every day and an full image backup once a week.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
Windows will do it's own maintenance - let it be. It will default to 3am but will choose another time if your PC was turned off and try again when you just aren't doing anything.
Except, Windows do it, when the PC is inactive and that might never happen or not properly, in other words, it will be never maintained. HDD defragmentation takes time as it is and when it is stopped regularly, it can make performance worse, since at first it moves files to the edges of the HDD and when stopped, it is messed up, that is why 3rd party tools are recommended, they provide more details and probably better algorithms, Microsoft does not have a patent for being the best in everything. I also use CCleaner, actually to shutdown PC (/AUTO /SHUTDOWN), along with WiseCare365, it contains HD defrag and other tools, like an uninstaller.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
No, off is off, nothing happens then

It depends what you mean by off. If the laptop is fully shut down then yes. It will however wake from sleep - do its thing and then shut down again. Otherwise it will wait until it thinks you aren't doing anything interesting (no user input for a certain time) and then run its tasks (and those of correctly written third party programs).

You can read about it here if you want Automatic Maintenance (Windows)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Good advice here...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
I use CCleaner and AVG Clean-Up... but noticed that when I clean my registry, my apps don't load so I have to re-install them.

Would be great to use an AIO utility rather than having lots of different ones. I liked the defrag tool in AVG because it has an optimise utility. I also like the fact I can see the progress rather than a little text and % box.

I'll have to uninstall AVG due to the fact it keep wrecking my apps, which is a shame. Does anyone have any other recommendations for a good AIO utility that's not likely to make things worse?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
In addition to what others have said here, I do automated file backups every day and an full image backup once a week.

Same here , but daily 'data/picture' file backups and monthly system image backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Memory
    6 GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 1024
    Hard Drives
    12 TB in 6 disks
    PSU
    TX650
    Keyboard
    G15
    Mouse
    Intellimouse 3.0
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbits
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Trend Micro
I gave up on all of those utilities long time ago, even with Win7 SP1. Even automatic maintenance is disabled, nothing ever slowed down, HDDs are never fragmented more than 1%. Only things i let take care of the system are "Revo Uninstaller" to cleanly uninstall large amount of programs I go thru all the time (prevention part) and use Windows own "Disk cleanup" occasionally to delete temp files and old restore points. I use Avast as AV and scan with it only when warranted ie. when I suspect something. Same goes for Malwarebytes. Despite heavy computer use and on internet 24/7 I very rarely (blue moon) run into a problem that requires anything else. Found out long time ago that less you "repair" what needs no repair, less chances of something going wrong.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Agree with CountMike.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Windows Automatic Maintenance Issues

Hi

I am having a major issue with automatic maintenance - I left it on overnight to do maintenance and only this morning, it was *still* doing maintenance, though this is an issue I know other people have experienced.

What I need is a checklist because I have disabled maintenance now as it too was driving me nuts. Basically, in the checklist, all the things I need to do to ensure a healthy computer. I have checked disk drive optimizer and done disk error checking and both don't show any issues, so what else is there left for me to do? Is there a program I can use to ensure that the same tasks can be done with it as opposed to if I were using automatic maintenance?

Please help. Touch wood, I haven't experienced any issues with my computer but I felt I had no choice but to disable maintenance.

Thanks

Robin
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Yes, Windows default maintenance is pain in the, ehm. It runs forever and hardly does anything. :rolleyes:
Basically you only need Disk De-fragmenter and you can use Disk Cleanup, tough it can take hours too.
You can use a cleanup tool like CCleaner or you can use all-in-one tools like Wise Care or Glary Utilities.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
I don't do anything :) I let Windows Defender do its thing. No AV installed - all it does is slow things down. My primary machine is my laptop, which I use for mostly work. I'd rather not waste my time at home maintaining my computer. I figure if you are smart about what you surf and download (not the cracked apps on newsgroups), then you don't really need to worry about viruses. At least I haven't encountered any such virus that made my machine unusable.

Recently, I changed my HD in my laptop to an SSD, so I don't need to worry about defragging - at least I don't do it, because it just introduces more writes to the SSD, which would probably be bad.

Maintain less, so you can enjoy doing things that really matter ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
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