Server based PC cleaner

[jeffpoulsen]

I am looking for a PC cleaning program to clean XP clients that could be put on a server so it could be accessed when needed. Currently there are 12 clients. I know of no products that I know of at this point that do that. In the past I used a product called WinCleaner and it would work from a CD (without updates). I also have used Fix-It utilities and PC Mechanic. Both are fine but are not intended for office environments. Could someone suggest a product? Thanks, jeff

 

[berry120]

What's the issue you're having with these systems? The reason you won't find any (or many) such tools intended for office environments is because these tools generally just aren't used in an office environment. If all your data is stored elsewhere on a central server and your clients are all just copies of an image (and if not, why not?) then such tools are rarely worth the hassle when you can restore the entire system in a few clicks. Time is often money in these situations - and trying all manner of tools before most likely restoring anyway really isn't the best use of it!

 

[jeffpoulsen]

Barry120,

Most computers are running fine after a couple of years. There is no problem, however with MS updates as well as other software updates the registry can get fragmented. Removal of unwanted stuff such as old links to dll's, cab files etc can not hurt. Windows does a terrible job of cleaning up after itself not to mention software such as HP products and so on. The problem is I don't want to install it on every machine. There must be a solution to that runs from a shared directory. As I mentioned I used to do this with older software but that is now outdated and windows XP is on its 3rd service pack as well as applications like IE that evolve monthly. I hope this explains the need.

 

[berry120]

Well, I don't know of a product that does that but I'd still debate the use of having it in the first place. It might seem like a great idea theoretically to remove all those old dlls, redundant registry entries and suchlike - but I REALLY wouldn't recommend it unless you're having issues that you think that will resolve.

Why? It boils down to this:

Removal of unwanted stuff such as old links to dll's, cab files etc can not hurt. Windows does a terrible job of cleaning up after itself not to mention software such as HP products and so on.

...but it CAN hurt if the software you're running sees something that it thinks is dead, removes it and it subsequently turns out it's actually needed by something that the cleaner program couldn't see for some reason.
I'd also say Windows does a better job of removing old, unwanted stuff than you're giving it credit for (well, it depends what version we're talking but XP certainly doesn't do too bad a job.)

In short, if there's no problem I really don't see the point? These tools are great for when you have problems, but just running them for the sake of it seems like a bad idea to me. Essentially, you're spending time and effort running a program that gives no noticeable benefit in performance, yet might muck everything up...!