And to stop the problem with the computers getting slower in the first place use a program such as Deep Freeze, or Clean Slate to lock the machine into "Original Image" state. Use your network for storage. This way every time the computer is rebooted, or a new user logs on the machine reverts back to it's original config.
If you currently leave your machines open so users can install any software they want on the system, you may have some political grumblings, but if you do leave them open can you comfortably say that all the software on your systems is legitimately licensed? I know of a district that had a software audit required, and they were fined over $50k for unlicensed software. Remember the district is liable for all software installed on machines regardless of how it got there. The other thing is it can reduce desktop support by 80%, letting you get to more important tasks. If money is an issue Microsoft Steady State is a free program that will do the same thing, but missing advanced features you can find in the commercial products. From: Jason kehoe Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [info-tech] clean-ups I wouldn't waste money on a registry cleaners. Even if you did, the computers would still run slow. Jim Kerns has the right idea. Make an image of your machines and if one is underperforming, reimage it. --Jason Kehoe From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mitch Mueller Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:25 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [info-tech] clean-ups What do you guys all do for computer clean up. I had a teacher come into today asking if we could buy a registry cleaner for all the computers because they are so slow. Want to know what you guys do for something like that part. Please help me and thank god we get a break tomorrow. Mitch Mueller Network Administrator Emmetsburg Community Schools Emmetsburg, Ia 50536 [email protected] P: (712)852-2966 C: (712)298-0596
