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CleanSweep 95 2.0 
review by Jim Griffith, Alamo PC

[CleanSweep logo] Estimated price $29.95 (Quarterdeck Corporation, Marina del Rey, CA).

 Gone are the days of 10 MB hard drives,along with the days when you could pop the plastic on a new software package and expect that, even if the program didn't live up to all the hype, it would perform the basic advertised functions. Sometimes, it ain't necessarily so.

 CleanSweep95 from Quarterdeck is the first 32-bit uninstaller designed for Windows95. It is packaged on three 3 diskettes: one disk containing CleanSweep version 1.0 for Windows 3.1 and two disks for CleanSweep 2.0, the Windows95 version. Coupons are included for free copies of the Windows NT version (though the box advertises that it is included) and Quarterdeck Mosaic.
 
 

Installation

System requirements are simple: Microsoft Win95 (Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT), 4MB RAM and 5 MB hard disk space. Setup instructions do not require the manual. The screen graphics are more sophisticated than the manual illustrations.
 
 

The Trial Run

I installed CleanSweep95 on a Pentium-100 operating on Windows95 with Symantec's Norton Utilities active. I opted for the Usage Monitor and Install Monitor to load as startup options and set out to complete this review. Then everything became complicated or, more correctly, the program hung up, claiming that a specific VxD file was not current, or there was an "invalid page fault in module csdvmp32.dll," among other comments. By disabling the Usage Monitor function I was able to work around some of the bugs, at the expense of a removing major component of the program.

 A search of the Internet revealed that this was one of numerous identified problems, and that a patch was available from Quarterdeck. I must congratulate the manufacturer for printing phone and FAX numbers, e-mail and World Wide Web addresses in an easily accessible place on the box.
 
 

The Application Works

Central to the application is a spry utility that wipes unwanted programs from the hard disk as easily as a wave smooths the shoreline. Like a schoolteacher it constantly nags you to make a backup of the deleted files. This feature is helpful during the learning curve for the program, but the backups I created were compressed only 10-30%.

 CleanSweep95 conserves space because it does not keep a resident database. Upon execution it rapidly scans the disk (17 seconds for 1.2 GB on a Pentium-100) and then moves into delete old archives mode to prompt you to erase prior backups after a user-preset delay.

 The presentation interface is extremely intuitive, offering "Wizards" to uninstall, archive, backup, move or transport files to another machine. Choosing the Uninstall Wizard defaults to the Windows 95 Start Menu display and you have to Browse to access a more useful display of drives and folders.

 CleanSweep95 is most useful in removing programs whose installation it has, itself, monitored, but like all uninstallers, it isn't perfect. The Install monitor system layers over the install/setup programs of other programs, allowing for a more complete uninstall. Windows95 32-bit and 16-bit applications are easily removed. The Installation Monitor continues to have problems with Microsoft Plus Pack and similar software, which requires a system reboot before completing the installation process.

 Changes made to the system are kept in a running report.txt file that can be accessed easily to find the fate of that obscure file that you shouldn't have removed.

 The system cleanup options aggressively found many unused, abandoned and duplicate files on the system. Redundant DLL's were accurately located, and with the View feature you can see if other programs were accessing the DLL's scheduled for deletion.
 
 

Conclusion

Overall, with the supplemental patches and on-line upgrades, CleanSweep95 proves to be a robust utility which quickly and effectively removes unwanted programs from your computer while retaining an appropriate measure of safety.

 For those Alamo PC members who are stranded with CleanSweep95 (ver 2.0 9/22/95) I have uploaded the patch to version 2.0 (clnpat2.exe 12/16/95) and the upgrade to version 2.02 (cs202.exe 2/18/96) on the BBS. A trialware version of CleanSweep95 is available from the manufacturer's World Wide Web site (http://www.qdeck.com) which allows you to preview space savings on your system without the option of actually removing or modifying the files.