novice questions

K

kev1

New Member
hi group - I'm a bit of a newbie with pc's although i do have a little know how...but not much

my pc is just over two years old, uses windows xp and i just installed eraser...it seems to work on the unused disk space task but I was wondering why it takes so long - seems to need about 5 hours.

so far i havent been able to let run past 50 per cent before having to stop the process - will the job be partly done?
 
Hello, kev1, and welcome to the forum.

Actually, how fast Eraser does a free-space wipe is dependant on several different things, at least -

Processor speed, amount of free-space to be cleaned; whether you've shut down all un-neccessary running background programs; whether you're actually still trying to do things on the computer while Eraser's actually running.

You really shouldn't run an Eraser free-space wipe until:
(a) you've made sure you've got all un-needed garbage files ready for erasure by cleaning out junk with something like CCleaner
(b) you're sure you're not going to be using the computer until after it fully completes (which is why people generally schedule free-space runs for late at night, when no one's on the computer)
(c) you've shut down all those un-neccessary programs in SYSTRAY prior to starting the Eraser free-space wipe.

I'm amazed that your HD isn't cluttered up with Eraser "temp" files from stopping the runs before they were actually finished.

How many passes have you got Eraser set to make on the free-space? (Edit/Preferences/Erasing/Un-used Disk Space) Pete
 
spy1 said:
Hello, kev1, and welcome to the forum.

Actually, how fast Eraser does a free-space wipe is dependant on several different things, at least -

Processor speed, amount of free-space to be cleaned; whether you've shut down all un-neccessary running background programs; whether you're actually still trying to do things on the computer while Eraser's actually running.

You really shouldn't run an Eraser free-space wipe until:
(a) you've made sure you've got all un-needed garbage files ready for erasure by cleaning out junk with something like CCleaner
(b) you're sure you're not going to be using the computer until after it fully completes (which is why people generally schedule free-space runs for late at night, when no one's on the computer)
(c) you've shut down all those un-neccessary programs in SYSTRAY prior to starting the Eraser free-space wipe.

I'm amazed that your HD isn't cluttered up with Eraser "temp" files from stopping the runs before they were actually finished.

How many passes have you got Eraser set to make on the free-space? (Edit/Preferences/Erasing/Un-used Disk Space) Pete
Click to expand...

the last point first - havent got a clue
This is where my lack of knowledge is a hindrance...Im also a very slow learner and a total dork.
my HD might well be cluttered up with temp files - Im assuming these will be got rid of when a complete run is done?
I last let it run this afternoon (Sunday) from 1pm to 4 pm, after which i needed to use the pc, so had to stop it running...it was just over 50% done.
CCleaner I dont have - anything that costs I cant affiord.
SYSTRAY - sorry but I dont know what you mean

I've never left my pc on overnight - is it ok to start eraser befiore i go to bed and leave it to get on with it?

thanks for the help
 
Shutting down un-neccessary programs running in SYSTRAY (the very lowermost, right-hand corner of your screen) simply involves right-clicking on all of the icons down there and choosing "Exit" (you can skip your anti-virus program, it won't really matter). And, of course, you won't have anything running like a browser, or a P2P program or the like.

Yes, if there are any temp files around from aborted Eraser runs, letting Eraser finsh its' task will remove them at the very end.

Yes, it's all right to leave your computer on all night while Eraser works.

CCleaner is "donationware", meaning you can use it for free until such time as you can actually make a "donation" to cover your use of it (if ever). You can get it here: http://www.ccleaner.com/ Read and try to understand all the various options so you can get the most out of running it. Pete
 
spy1 said:
Shutting down un-neccessary programs running in SYSTRAY (the very lowermost, right-hand corner of your screen) simply involves right-clicking on all of the icons down there and choosing "Exit" (you can skip your anti-virus program, it won't really matter). And, of course, you won't have anything running like a browser, or a P2P program or the like.

Yes, if there are any temp files around from aborted Eraser runs, letting Eraser finsh its' task will remove them at the very end.

Yes, it's all right to leave your computer on all night while Eraser works.

CCleaner is "donationware", meaning you can use it for free until such time as you can actually make a "donation" to cover your use of it (if ever). You can get it here: http://www.ccleaner.com/ Read and try to understand all the various options so you can get the most out of running it. Pete
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - as it happens, I do routinely empty my temp internet folder, temp files, history, cookies, recent and recycler folders almost daily.

The icons at the bottom right - like yahoo messnger for example....its not running at the moment - none of them are.
Or is the presence of those icons indicating tney are running even though Im not actually using them?
I downloaded the latest version of ccleaner but not installed it yet.....this might seem like a silly question but I am a little wary of installing things I know nothing about, especially when my pop-up blocker goes off when I logged on to the site - so it is safe ??
 
Yes, the presence of those icons in SYSTRAY mean that there's a running process behind them whether or not whatever program it is is itself actually actively running. Check Task Manager and you'll see.

As far as the CCleaner site goes, I don't get any "popups" there in either IE or FireFox, since I have both those browsers set to block pop-ups.

The only caveat with installing CCleaner is to make sure that - during the installation process - you don't let it install the Yahoo toolbar if you don't desire it to do so (that's part of how the developer covers the cost of developing/distributing the program, since so pitifully few people ever actually get around to "donating" something in thanks for its' efficiency and their use of it. I'm not aiming that remark at you, by the way, it's just a general statement that explains why the developer has to do that to cover his costs).

All you have to do is de-select that check box during the installation, and it won't install the toolbar. Pete
 
thanks again for the help.....I ought to point out that I do have a LOT of questions, mostly becasue, although I have a little know-how (and I mean a little), I am eager to learn.

Just takes me a while sometimes.

So if I click on exit on each icon in the SYSTRAY....those progs stop running....how do they get put back?
 
They'll re-start themselves after you re-start the computer (in this case, the next morning when you get up after Eraser has totally finished its' free-space wipe).

I always re-start the computer first thing in the morning.

By the way, you never answered my question as to what setting you were using for the free-space wipe - how many passes have you got selected? All you really need to have selected is Option #4 - Pseudorandom Data in (Edit/Preferences/Erasing/Unused Disk Space).

Also, please confirm for me that you're using the latest version of Eraser (v.5.82 ) - if you're not, then un-install whatever version you have from Add/Remove Programs, down-load 5.82, re-start the computer and install 5.82. Pete
 
ok...well its been a couple of days now and re-reading this, Im afraid Im totally lost
The ccleaner thing doesnt seem to work at all and I cant for the life of me remember how i got eraser to work either
As to what setting its on i havent got a clue
 
kev1 - Truthfully, if you can't understand how to use the programs after reading both this thread and the "Help" and "FAQ's" sections, your best bet would be to un-install both programs (before you screw something up really big-time) and not worry about what's on your computer.

Eraser FAQ's page: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/faq.php ( "Help" topics are in the main Eraser program under "Help"/"Help Topics").

I'm not trying to be harsh, simply truthful. You can cause your computer serious harm by not knowing what you're doing with any software. Pete
 
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