Acer Laptop Cleanup
Mar 15, 2014
A friend’s Acer laptop was slow and she asked me to look into it. The approach I took is similar to the one for Asus but since this was Acer, I had to do research on Acer specific ‘bloatware’/‘crapware’.
Microsoft sells computers with the “Signature Experience" that comes without any ‘bloatware’/‘crapware’ (what they call 'junk ware'/'trialware'). If you are buying a new Windows computer, I recommend Microsoft Store.
Below is a partial summary of work done to get Windows 7 working responsively again.
Work done
- Reset Internet Explorer
- Reset Google Chrome
- Make Google Chrome default
- Setup Power button to Hibernate instead of Shutdown (to reduce startup time)
Removed
- Acer Backup Manager
- Bing Bar
- Rogers Online Protection (subscription service)
- Rogers Servicepoint Agent
- Norton Online Backup
- MyWinLocker Suite
- Acer Registration
- eBay
Installed:
Microsoft Security Essentials & run a Quick scan.
Finally, I reviewed logs and investigated and resolved the errors. One of these was a DHCP error which was causing the Wireless connections at startup to run very slow. I disabled the unused Intel Wireless Display network components and this was resolved.
What I started but could not complete:
Spinrite maintenance (would have taken days to scan 700GB)
What I should have done but missed:
- Run Malicious Software Removal Tool first thing
- Run Secunia PSI to find out if all programs are updated or not.
Other resources:
Acer Driver website: http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/drivers
Website with info about Acer programs: http://shouldiremoveit.com