Optimizing Programs, how many is too many and do they realy work?

i've never used any clean-up utility that i had to purchase.
the software i have to keep my computer clean is
mcafee firewall, mcafee viruscan, and i run a monthly free scan for spyware from this site.
http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php

windows firewall forks sufficient if you aren't aware how to use a more complex firewall.
there isn't any one viruscan program that will detect all virus's, but i am an EPO admin for mcafee, so i use theirs.
pay attention to what you're doing and you'll not get all these 'errors' you aparently have.

when in doubt, ask.. we're here to help.

some suggestions:

start- run - msconfig - startup tab
remove anything that you don't know the name of
or post the list here and we'll tell you what to remove.

give us a problem and we'll give you a fix.. it is a lot cheaper than buying a shiny new program.

here are some basic maintenance steps to familiarize yourself with
http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/basics.htm

Hi Ded9,
Thank you for your fast response. Neither on of my computers is running slow or giving me any real trouble. My thinking on the subject was preventative maintenance. So are you saying they don't do anything and I'm wasting my money? Are they doing any harm to my system and should I remove them? My first computer was a middle of the line hp and found out it wasn't what I wanted since I had nothing to compare it to. I put this one together from scratch and spent several thousand dollars on it buying top of the line hardware for it. The last thing I want is is a serious problem with it that could of been avoided.
Thanks, Rick.

Hi weellio and Ded9,
That sounds like a straight answer to me. I thank both of you for your help and if I run into any problems down the road I'll know where to find the answers. I do back up everything often. One of those things I learned the hard way. Learning how to use a computer and taking advantage of all the bennifits it can offer don't always come easy to an old man in his 50's. Thanks again.
Rick

If you're looking for a good optimizing program, my personal favorite is TuneUp Utilities (http://www.tune-up.com/) And check:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/XPMyths.html
if you're wondering if they really work. It says registry cleaners don't improve performance but I don't believe that's entirely true. I don't really like RegCure because it is way over advertised and the product is only average in my opinion. PC Pitstop is slightly below average and the UniBlue product is probably average. A popular free optimizing program here is CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/)

some notes :
The errors found by those programs, often refer to "leftovers" of sites you went to, programs you installed and deleted, etc.   They are no real errors;  Real errors would produce a kind of problem.
so my advise is : if you do NOT have problems, don't install cleaners or other software.
what you can do to keep your system running normally, is doing a bit of "housekeeping" on your disk drive, by running once every 2-3 months a disk scan for errors, and when it comes back clean, a defragmentation.

Also, if you have programs installed, and do not plan on using it anymore, just uninstall it. - Every installed program will take up startup time, and disk space
This, together with a good AV like AVG free, a spybot detector, and a adaware cleaner, should keep your system running well. Links :
     adaware :      http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
     Spybot :        http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/                                                               online scan for trojans
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html                                   download
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?langselect=english                                check the log

Wow, It looks like I found a gold mine of useful information. I realy appreciate all the help. I'm running Webroot Spy Sweeper with antivirus and I run a sweep once a week. Is this sufficiant for me? Should I uninstall any or all of the optimizing programs? Uniblue Registry Booster has a registry defrag that I have been running. Is this a good thing to do? Thanks