PC Check UP

This page is designed for those who need to tidy up their Java installation or who don't have a Java installed. In general you can always improve your PC's performance by installing the updates from Microsoft and by removing any bits of software you no longer need.

In this tutorial we are going to install Firefox to get a fast, small and clean web browser without all the annoying toolbars that sometimes accompany Internet Explorer. We will remove all the Java installs and re-install the latest version to make sure that the old editions of Java do not interfere with the WebCT appletts. We will also upgrade the anti-virus software to the latest release which fixes a number of problems with the old release.

Installing the latest version of the anti-virus software

If you are using a campus based PC licensed for F-Secure then installing the latest version of f-secure will correct a number of problems with the older releases. First make sure that you are running f-secure anti-virus and not another anti-virus package. If you can see a blue or purple icon like the one above in the bottom right of your screen then you are running f-secure and you can follow these instructions for upgrading. if you don't see this icon then you need to check with your technical support (or the helpdesk on 3636) to make sure that you have some anti-virus installed.

The installtion or upgrading of f-secure is very simple. First open the f-secure download and installation page

F-Secure download (pop-up window)

The installation is automatic but will take many minutes. The video below shows the process starting from the Keele homepage and with some of the longer pauses in the process having been removed.

Installing f-secure

Once the installation is complete you will need to reboot your PC.

Removing Old Copies of Java

The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) has a habit of only ever installation new versions and not tidying up the older versions. There is no need for the old versions (unless you are using the finance system) and removing the old editions has made some Java appletts in WebCT run faster and without crashing.

To remove the old editions you need to use the "Add and Remove Programs" icon in the windows control panel. The simplest method removing the old editions is to actually remove all the editions of Java and then re-install the latest version.

The video below shows how to remove all the Java installations. In the example there are only two installations. You may have many more if you have bee using Java for any length of time. Simply carry on removing Java applications until none are left.

Removing old copies of Java

After removing all the Java installations it is still worth rebooting your PC to allow the running Java applications to be stopped.

Installing Firefox

If you don't already have firefox installed then this is an ideal moment to do so. Internet Explorer is fully supported by WebCT but does have some stability issues and is often inflicted with extra toolbars which only get in the way and in some cases they are designed to stop WebCT from working properly. Mozilla can be downloaded from its home page using this link.

This video below shows the installation of firefox. When firefox is started for the first time it will ask if you want to import your settings from other web browsers. Firefox will work perfectly well if you import nothing at all and that is the best option if Internet Explorer isn't working well for you. However if you have a large collection of bookmarks you may wish to allw firefox to import them.

Installing Firefox

Installing Java

Having removed all the Java installations we now need to install the latest version of Java. This should be done after installing firefox as that will allow the Java installer to include the Java plugin into Firefox as well as Internet Explorer.

Java can be downloaded from the Sun Microsystems Java download site

The video below shows the entire process using the Firefox web browser.

Installing Java

Removing Java Cache Files

One final speed improvement that is worth doing periodically is to tidy the Java cache file area. This can sometimes become clogged with a large number of temporary files which will slow down the time it takes to start Java.

Start the Java control panel and from the General tab click the "Settings..." button for the temporary internet files. You can then clear the old files using the "Delete Files..." button.

The video below demonstrates how this is done.

Deleting Java Temporary Files