6 simple steps to keep your PC running smoothly

This is the basic formula to keep your Windows PC running smoothly:

Keep it clean and simple.

1. Buy decent hardware; otherwise it's just an up-hill battle.
2. Back up your PC! Always have a backup.
3. Install Windows Updates and keep up to date.
   In spite of what people say about Windows Updates screwing everything up, it's inadvisable to stay behind; if things do go wrong in an update, you should roll back immediately.
4. Install virus protection.
5. Install as little software as possible!
   Only install trusted software, not every piece of software you can download. Do not install lots of toolbars in your browser! Do not have lots of things sitting on your desktop; get rid of the junk - put it in folders. Do not put files in the top-level C:\ directory; put all your files under "My Documents" or similar.
   The less programs you have wanting to be started up when you log in, the faster your PC will run, so keep your installed software to a minimum.
   Don't fill up the PC with junk; you should have at least 10% or 1Gb free disk space for the operating system to work with, whichever is smaller.
6. For normal day-to-day use, do not run as an administrator.
   This is a big problem with Windows XP that was addressed somewhat in Windows Vista and 7 - users should NOT normally have administrator privileges; that is just asking for trouble.

8 simple steps to fix your PC running slow

If your PC is running slow, do these basic steps first:

1. Do a backup.
2. Remove files not needed - especially off your desktop; the fewer files on your desktop, the faster it will run.
3. Uninstall unwanted programs.
4. Uninstall unwanted toolbars from your browsers.
5. Run a reputable registry cleaner program. CC-Cleaner is alright. Watch out for others; there are many that look like they are loaded with malware.
6. Get rid of programs that start up when you log in but don't need to be running.
7. Empty the trash can.
8. Defrag your hard disk.

Can't find disabled task in Windows Task Scheduler - solution

To find your disabled task in Windows Task Scheduler in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 or later, click on Task Scheduler Library; then it will be visisble.

How to fix "Revocation information for the security certificate for this site is not available" when Java updates

Whenever Java updates itself on your PC, you may get this message:

"Revocation information for the security certificate for this site is not available. Do you want to proceed?"

The answer comes from https://community.oracle.com/thread/2362172?start=60&tstart=0, but is buried in message 65 on page 5, so here is the answer:

For those of you still getting the error message: "Revocation information for the security certificate for this site is not available. Do you want to proceed?" whenever the java updater runs, I managed to get it fixed on my system. Obviously I didn't want to turn off revocation verification in my browser or in the Java settings (This is a bad idea, all the people saying to do this all around the web are morons). I tried installing the javadl-esd.secure.oracle.com certificate, but it still wasn't working. The revocation information was all there, but when I viewed the certificate, IE/Windows was still saying it did not have enough information to verify the certificate.

However, if you simply open IE, put this URL into the location bar: http://crt.usertrust.com/USERTrustLegacySecureServerCA.crt and install the certificate (Let it pick the store automatically, it will properly install it as an intermediate certificate, which it is), Windows is able to verify the javadl-esd.secure.oracle.com certificate as it now has its issuer's certificate (USERTrust Legacy Secure Server CA) and can link the certificate all the way back to the Ensign root CA.

The updater will no longer nag you every time it runs.