[RICHNVOM]

you may also want to add 'wise registry cleaner' to this
a simple little program that sorts out mishmashed files - beter than defragging - i dont care what you say

also - free firewalls like zone alarm - get rid if your router has inbuilt firewall - use it
hardware>software anyday
limewire - get rid - its crap - you will download stuff that harms your pc
the amount of machines i fix on a weekly basis because of limewire is stupid

your computer runs best when windows has just been installed - so the less crap you put on there the faster it goes

my windows has office/nero/itunes installed on my main drive

everything else /games/music/data/pictures/video
all on organised seperate drives

because if you see what is being installed - you get

less chance of malware
less chance of viruses
less chance of headaches

if you know what is on your pc - then you wont need to ask questions about it

oh and if you can - clean and update latest drivers for your hardware at least every two months

i do this every two weeks