William A. Leonard

General Computer Consulting
for
Individuals and Small Businesses

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Here's what I do to your computer if you have me clean it up. It's like sending your computer to a spa.

• I blow out the dust from your computer.
• I remove the hard drive and attach it to my computer.
     I create a backup image of your whole drive,
  (I don't want to mislead: this backup is for me but it's available to you. I hold on to this until I need space for someone else - at least a week. It protects your stuff in case I get a little over-aggresive removing something I shouldn't.)
     I run an antivirus scan on your drive using my computer.
• I restore the drive to your computer and run a disk diagnostics program.
• I remove temporary/junk files, temporary Internet files and Flash cookies.
• I check for malware.
    I update your antivirus/antispyware software & scan.
     I check for hijacks.
    I download and install HOSTS file to cut down on ads and avoid hijacks.
• I check for Windows Updates and Microsoft Updates.
• I check the Windows Events Log for problems.
• I clean up your registry.
• I trim startup programs and services and remove unused programs.
• I backup your device drivers and check for driver updates.
• I check for program updates.
• I check for security updates.
• I remove redundant restore points.
• I defragment your hard drive.

The tools I install and use on your computer are free and I leave them in place so you can use them yourself to maintain your system.

To do the whole treatment, I take your computer for about 24-48 hours. It generally takes several hours because of all the scanning but I don't sit and watch it scan and I don't charge for time I'm not actually working on your machine. This typically nets out to about 3 to 4 hours or so.
The time varies depending on several factors like the volume of files, number of user accounts, the amount of catchup required for updates. I assume that the computer is in generally good physical condition. This page is not about fixing a broken computer... it's about rejeuvenating a tired one.

If you have a computer that you want to pass along to family, friend, stranger or organization, I can clean it up as above plus securely erase documents, pictures, favorites, emails and email accounts.

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