I am interested in hearing what software you use to keep your Mac and/or Windows operating systems running well. I describe two utilities I use below.
To keep my iMac running smooth, I use a free utility that has a lot of features: Onyx. Although my iMac is the most stable and reliable system I have ever owned, it does use caches and it is worthwhile to occasionally clean those out. I typically run Oynx once a month or every other month. This little utility has worked great and I have never felt the need to look for an alternative to it, although I am interested to know if you have found one as good or better.
For my Windows XP machines, I use System Mechanic. I have used a lot of Windows system maintenance utilities over the years, and finally settled on System Mechanic a few years ago. It does not hog resources (like Norton’s products have done on my systems), yet it is thorough in identifying ways to improve system performance.
I generally let it make recommendations, as shown above, and then I choose the Manual Repair option. I do this because I look to look at everything it is proposing to delete. Its proposals are generally spot on, but there have been times when I have unselected a registry setting because it incorrectly identified one as needing deletion. (This is rare for it, though.)
This is an opportunity for us to all share what works best for us, so let’s hear from you in the comments.