A fresh installation of Windows with all its updates and tweaks run's fantastic for most people. Then, we start throwing gunk into the system, including antivirus programs, firewalls, etc. and all the garbage we collect from the slumasphere: the dreggs of the public internet.

It is possible to run a faster, cleaner PC. It's also possible to keep it that way, even if you're not a computer genius. Just a few commercial tools and a little planning will make it an easy process - and your PC much more useful for much longer.

One of the first things I do when I install a fresh OS and start putting all my tools and toys on my PC is make a checklist of software I need, want, and prefer. Obviously, we all use some commercial software packages, but it's a good idea to get a staple of reliable open source and free software. That's because they aren't selling anything. They stick to the useable features and leave off advertising or unecessary flash to justify a new shiny version [purchase].

Just look at all the complaints about the two biggest antivirus companies. You'll find no shortage of geeks complaining these tools mostly just steal system resources and provide little or no protection.

Remember, the enemy is junk that steals resources. One of the things I strongly encourage people to do is free themselves of the resource hogs known as Norton and McAfee.

Antivir is free, but they do offer a commercial version for about twenty bucks. It's cheaper and faster than the three big brands. I've never experienced any real resource loss because of this product. It's just a good clean antivirus program. I've also never been infected while running it. I can't say that for either McAfee or Norton.

One thing I also suggest is create an image of your system once you get it installed, updated, and configured. There are system imaging tools out there, if you're uptight about wasting your time should you be required to reload it again because of the common wear and tear on XP.

Acronis True Image comes highly recommended.

When your system starts getting sluggish, you can easily throw a known good image (an exact replica of your computer's operating system and programs) back on and run fresh and clean just like the day you installed your operating system and programs. If you create the image after registering Windows, you won't even have to repeat that tedious task.

Avoid running unnecessary system services, and update often.