1-Partition your hard drive in two drives

What:
Partition your hard drive in two drives. In the first partition (C:) install Windows and all the programs (Excel, Word, Adobe, etc); and in the second (D:) put your home directory A.K.A My Documents folder (your documents, your music, your pictures, etc).

How:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial116.html

Why:
it is highly probable that you will need to format your hard disk, because Windows suddenly stopped working or a system file got damaged or simply because Windows gets too slow after a few months. So you will need to format your hard drive, having this partition layout you will avoid losing or backing up all your data because you will be formatting and reinstalling Windows on the C: drive. Once you get the OS up again, you will find your data intact on D: drive.

2-Keep Windows updated

What:
Install every patch and security updates available.

How:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/learn/windowsxp.mspx#ELB

Why:
Windows is really unstable, unsecure and unreliable yet the most used desktop OS (for now. he he). That’s why probably more than 90% of viruses, trojans and malware target Windows. That lead us to step #3…with capital letters.

3-INSTALL AN ANTI-VIRUS!!!

What:
Install an anti-virus. Keep it updated on daily basis. Run it every 10 days.

How:
I will recommend two of the best anti-virus available for free:
Avira http://www.free-av.com/
Avast! http://www.avast.com
I recommend (if you can) go and get the paid versions of these which have a few more features. Or get a paid anti-virus such as Kaspersky (http://www.kaspersky.com/) or NOD32 (http://www.eset.com)

Why:
Here you will find independent comparatives of Anti-Virus software: http://www.av-comparatives.org/
And I repeat: “Windows is really unstable, unsecure and unreliable yet the most used desktop OS (for now. he he). That’s why probably more than 90% of viruses, trojans and malware target Windows.”

4-Don’t use Internet Explorer

What:
Don’t use Internet Explorer instead use another web browser.

How:
Get Firefox!

Why:
Internet Explorer might be the worst software created ever! Is buggy, slow, insecure, it uses ActiveX (which is one of the many ways of getting infected) and it doesn’t follows any of the standards of HTML, CSS, JavaScript,…

5-Install a few admin tools

What:
Install a few admin tools to keep your system as fast and clean as you can.

How:
Download and install CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/):”…CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner…”. Run it once per month approx.

Download and install Defraggler (http://www.defraggler.com/). This is a tool similar to Windows Defrag, but it is better, faster, light on resources and it lets you decide what files to defrag. Run it once every 3 or 4 months.

Why:
Windows registry sucks! Apps add a lot of data to the registry but they don’t control it, leaving it there even if it is unused (f.i. when the app is uninstalled).
Windows file system sucks! After a few months of use, files get fragmented everywhere and this slows your computer down.
Windows temp files sucks! Windows Automatic Updates will generate hundreds of megabytes of temporary files that are not used after installation. Some apps do this as well.

6-After a year start with step #1

What:
After a year or so start with step #1.

How:
Read this post.

Why:
No matter what precautions you take or how careful you treat Windows, it will simply get slower, slower and slower…