Categories: PC

How to Remove Junk Files on PCs with CCleaner Software [Review]

PC optimization is something we do from time to time. It can come in the form of disk Defragmentation, virus scanning, registry cleaning and etc.

Honestly, I feel wistful whenever my PC performs slowly while am operating it. It’s really vexatious! Although the processing speed of a computer is determined mainly by the RAM size and CPU power, there are some reasons for your PC to perform slow and sluggishly.

As a bonus to this short review, I’ll highlight the possible cause(s) of slow performance or reasons why your PC hangs and/or performs tasks sluggishly.

Why does my PC perform Tasks Sluggishly?

  • RAM size or memory resources.

  • Cache memory space.
  • CPU generation power (the system clock).

Listed above are the core possible reasons which can affect your computer’s performance and overall productivity. If you’ve been a victim of a sluggish computer I’ve got an option for optimizing your PC performance.

The CCleaner software which is the tool I am writing this review for does PC optimization for desktop, laptop, and notebook computers.

CCleaner is a software owned by Piriform and has so far been downloaded by over 2 billion users. It erases temporal and unused files from your PC, making it run faster, efficiently and leaves more storage space for your other programs.

It is available for use on various operating systems (OS) and/or mobile devices. There is the Home edition, Cloud Edition, Mobile Version, and Business Edition of  CCleaner software.

Today, We’ll be looking at the PC version of CCleaner software. The free and pro versions of it was tested and would be used for this short review.

CCleaner Pro Overview

As already stated, CCleaner software (irrespective of free or paid) can be used to boost your PC’s performance and productivity level. It lets you free up your registry, clean browser’s history, optimize HDD and etc.

As a PC Sanitizer

This Pro version of CCleaner will carry out a thorough clean up on your PC. It accesses all other software applications and clears their cache/cookies/unused data which are likely to hinder the effectiveness of your PC.

You can toggle between windows (.exe) files and other software types before running the cleaning process. Also, you can select/deselect the sub-directories where the cleaning should be carried out.

To avoid mistakes or deleting important files from your PC, I’ll suggest you first click on “Analyze” button to run an analytics test before triggering the “Run Cleaner” button. Through this process, you’ll see all the files and applications to be trashed from your PC system.

Note: Before CCleaner will perform its cleaning process, all active windows/applications should be closed unless it is not among the selected directories to be scanned, otherwise, the window/application will be skipped.

As a Registry Cleaner

CCleaner also comes with a registry scanner that scans for invalid references (advanced users). Registry cleaner plays a very important role in PC Maintenance, it tidies up your windows and lets application(s) run without hitches. They remove entries left by non-existing apps, and correct/fix the infected/corrupted entries.

Whenever you install/uninstall apps on your PC, it leaves the registry littered with lots of entries. This may slow down one’s PC performance, or lead to the display of error messages. Windows do keep Registries up-to-date but doesn’t clean it up perfectly.

When your Registry is clean and neat, there is likely a boost in the performance of your PC and if there was an error message(s) popping up prior to the time you cleaned your registry, it will be gone.

As a tool to tweak your PC and Internet Browsers

CCleaner can be used as a tool to customize your browser plugins; you can choose to disable a particular browser plugin/add-on and/or select the ones to run once your browser is launched.

Another good feature in this software is the disk analyzer feature. This feature scans your PC thoroughly to find out which file(s) are using up your disk space.

There is also a duplicate finder in this directory (tools section). It scans your PC, looking for duplicate files. After this operation, you can choose to delete the clones or save them as .txt files.

One can also uninstall/repair/rename program(s) completely using the CCleaner software.

As a Disk Drive Wiper

This function will totally erase all the contents of your drive(s). The “Drive Wiper” erases all the data/documents available in a particular drive on one’s PC.

It can be used to completely wipe data files from USB flash disk, memory cards, external hard disk drives, PDAs and other storage drive types.

How to Use CCleaner Software

  • Download and Install the CCleaner software from their official download page and install same on your PC.
  • Launch the app and enter the registration code (for pro users).
  • From the left side-bar, find any of these options “Clean, Registry, Tools and etc.” and use accordingly.

Automatically, the Clean category will be active on the screen; select the directories where the cleaning should be used on by ticking the little check boxes beside them.

Click on Analyze to proceed: this process lets you see the junk files to be trashed out and for you to  check if any important files/documents were included.

Proceed to trash off the discovered Junks by clicking on the “Run Cleaner” button ( assuming that you’re satisfied with the analytics test).

CClearner is a decent enough app to clean up your registry, click on the Registry category at the left side bar, click on “scan issues” after you must have selected your targeted directories, and then click on “Fix Issues”.

You will be prompted to save a backup for this operation, click YES if you wish to save a BackUp and NO if you don’t.

My Review Summary

CCleaner is a good software to boost one’s PC performance. Its very light with a friendly user interface. The tools included in this software worked perfectly fine on my PC without any bugs and/or complications.

I tested the app with my Dell Inspiron 5040 PC with the following specs: Windows 7 Ultimate 32-Bit, Intel Pentium P6200 (2,13GHz) C.P.U, 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM.

There was a noticeable change in the  performance of the PC after running the registry cleaning tool. These simple points sum up my experiences with this registry cleaning tool.

  • Worked as expected.
  • Has a friendly User Interface (UI).
  • A great tool for optimizing PCs.

Pricing & Availability

CCleaner Pro is sold for $24.95 while the CCleaner Pro Plus costs $39.95. It can be bought from the company’s official website at – http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner.

There’s also a completely free version of this software that works, but comes with limited functions. All can be gotten from their official page (linked above).

Your turn

Have you used CClearner PC registry optimization software in the past? or would like to share your favorite PC optimization tool with us?

Please do use the comment section below to convey your messages.

Samuel Ebuka Odamah

I'm a dedicated writer, an Android freak, a Tech ardent and a fashionista. I love playing around with gadgets, loves football and teamwork in everything I do. You can follow my updates here or on Twitter (@fwesh_finnest).

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Samuel Ebuka Odamah