From Book News, Inc.
When "gunk" builds up in a Windows PC, the PC runs more slowly, applications crash, and spam gets through. This guide for general readers details simple steps for "degunking" a Windows PC, using plain language to show how to clean up files, improve hard drive performance, uninstall programs, and enhance anti-virus and firewall security. Ballew has written other books on Windows. Duntemann is a technology columnist. The book is distributed by O'Reilly.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Brian's Buzz (Brian Livingston) FEBRUARY 12, 2004 - Issue 23
"Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann have compiled an entire book on the subject [Windows arthritis], and it's a good one."

Goldon Triangle PC Club Review (February 2004) by Dale Farris
"Just follow this book, chapter by chapter and you'll be amazed at how you can improve your PC."

Parade Magazine, July 4, 2004
A great new book that explains why computers lose their vigor over time.

Miami Herald
The cheapest infusion of power to a Windows XP computer is a well-done book titled Degunking Windows.

Chicago Tribune
The advice [in Degunking Windows] is elegantly presented with superb hand-holding from coauthors Joli Bellew and Jeff Duntemann.

Bits & Bytes, March 2004
I can heartily recommend Degunking Windows to any PC user and only wished it had been published sooner.

Todd Hawley
Some PC 'fixit books' tend to get 'too techy,' whereas I found this one to be informative and enjoyable.

Book Description
Degunking Windows covers the basics to help users quickly get their PCs back to top performance. The unique thing about Degunking Windows is that it's organized according to the special "cleaning" process that will improve the performance of your computer. Shortcut and time calculation charts are provided at the beginning of the book to help readers determine how much time is required to perform different degunking tasks. The book provides proven degunking maintenance tasks that users should perform on a regular basis to keep their machines running at optimum levels. Topics covered include the basics of degunking ("Why is my computer all gunked up in the first place?"), cleaning files, hard drives, and making space, uninstalling programs you don't need, fixing your desktop and start menus, degunking email and dealing with spam, improving and cleaning the registry, hardware stuff to help with degunking, improving security, backing up precious files, doing a clean install when you really have to, and much more.

From the Publisher
Degunking Windows covers the basics to help users quickly get their PCs back to top performance. The unique thing about Degunking Windows is that it's organized according to the special cleaning process that will improve the performance of your computer. Shortcut and time calculation charts are provided at the beginning of the book to help readers determine how much time is required to perform different degunking tasks. The book provides proven degunking maintenance tasks that users should perform on a regular basis to keep their machines running at optimum levels. Topics covered include the basics of degunking (Why is my computer all gunked up in the first place?), cleaning files, hard drives, and making space, uninstalling programs you don't need, fixing your desktop and start menus, degunking email and dealing with spam, improving and cleaning the registry, hardware stuff to help with degunking, improving security, backing up precious files, doing a clean install when you really have to, and much more.

From the Author
Explains the importance of degunking and why operating systems like Windows XP require degunking on a regular basis to run smoothly. Treats everyday computer chores with a lighthearted and breezy style that makes it perfect for all users with any experience level. Teaches how to easily fix problems, in plain English With a low page count and affordable price, this book is one of the best investments a PC user can make to save time and money. Learn to quickly clean a machine, speed it up, secure it from dangerous hackers, and make it work as efficiently as it did when its operating system, such as Windows XP, was first installed. Extensive coverage of e-mail problems, spam, and anti-virus and firewall software packages

From the Inside Flap
Lets face it; you get a new install of Windows and it runs beautifully for about six months, if you¡¦re really lucky. You tell all of your friends how wonderful Windows is and how fast your new machine is. Then weird things start to happen. Your machine starts getting a little slower. It starts crashing now and then in situations where it never crashed before. Another month goes by and it gets even slower. Then it becomes so slow and so gunked up you wished you had a new computer. Of course, you don't really need a new computer - you just need to degunk the one you have! Ideally, a clean install would be the best thing to do, but this could take many hours. You could even spend days backing up all of your files, reinstalling Windows, and reinstalling all of your important applications, many of which reside on CDs that you can't even find. If you're really loaded, you could hire one of those high-priced consultants to come over your house and clean the gunk out of your machine. Most people can't afford a consultant for their home computer. Degunking Windows is the fast, affordable way to keep your computer running quickly and efficiently, eliminating the need for a consultant or, worse, a new system.

About the Author
Joli Ballew (Garland, TX) is a professional writer, technology trainer, and network consultant in the Dallas area, and she is a Microsoft Windows Expert Zone Columnist. Some of her previous jobs include technical writing, education content consulting, PC technician, network administrator, high school algebra teacher, and MCSE instructor. She earned her MCSE, MCT and A+ certifications in less than 14 months. She is the author of Windows XP Professional: The Ultimate User's Guide and, Windows XP Professional: The Ultimate User's Guide Second Edition published by Paraglyph Press. Jeff Duntemann (Colorado Springs, CO) is a well-known technical magazine editor, award-winning writer, and best-selling author of numerous computer books including Assembly Language Step By Step, Delphi Programming Explorer, The PowerPC Revolution, Jeff Duntemann's Wi-Fi Guide (2nd Ed.), published by Paraglyph Press, and many more. Jeff has been nominated for a Hugo award on several occasions for his popular Science Fiction short stories. He is also a well-known speaker on general technology issues, software development, and specific topics such as wireless computing. He lives with his wife Carol and a garage full of radios and loose electronic parts.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Windows running too slow, or too unreliably? Don￯﾿ﾽt buy a new PC. Just ￯﾿ﾽde-gunk￯﾿ﾽ the one you￯﾿ﾽve got. This book shows you how.

What￯﾿ﾽs gunking up your computer? Temp files that fill your hard drive with crud. Programs that run at start-up without asking permission. Spyware you never even knew you installed. Programs you never use. Stray icons. Web favorites that no longer work. Spam. And lots more. One step at a time, this book helps you clean it all out. And while you￯﾿ﾽre at it, you￯﾿ﾽll organize your files so you can actually find stuff.

Degunking Windows won￯﾿ﾽt just make your PC faster. It￯﾿ﾽll make it less aggravating, too. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

All Windows users know that their PCs slowly develop problems--nasty gunk build-up that plagues their PCs. Here are some of the common symptoms: your PC starts to run slower, your applications will crash without warning, you can￯﾿ﾽt easily find your files and folders, you start getting tons of spam, and you encounter a host of other minor annoyances.

If you have these problems, then you need Degunking Windows--a unique guide that will save you tons of time and a pile of cash by showing you how to keep your Windows PC running quickly and efficiently. Organized according to our special "cleaning" process that will improve the performance of your computer, Degunking Windows can be used by all computer users. There￯﾿ﾽs no jargon, no subscriptions to sign up for--just follow the book, chapter by chapter. We cover all the critical topics you need to know about, including the basics of cleaning up your files, improving the performance of your hard drive(s), uninstalling programs and other gunk you don ￯﾿ﾽt need, fixing your Desktop and Start menus, degunking e-mail and reducing spam, improving and cleaning the Registry, hardware stuff to help you with degunking, anti-virus and firewall security, and much more.The Degunking Sheet in the front of the book shows you how you can degunk your computer, regardless of whether you have ten minutes, one hour, or all day.

This book is written for:
This book is written for anyone who just bought a new machine and is disappointed with its performance, anyone who has problems with their Windows PC, anyone who has an old Windows machine and can ￯﾿ﾽt afford an upgrade, a new PC, or an expensive computer doctor, or anyone who has to support Windows PCs in a corporate environment.

SYNOPSIS