Community Newsletter: Q&A: 7/15/05 Simple tasks to help boost PC performance
- 7/14/05 2:27 PM
Simple tasks to help boost PC performance
by hi_partha - 7/15/05 5:46 AM In reply to: Winning answer by Dana H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi
Ur illustration was really informative...I just want to know, how to uninstall Junk Programs wch do not hv uninstaller nor do they appear in the add/remove program list.
Brgds/Partha
Junk programs
by MarkFlax - 7/15/05 6:04 AM
In reply to: Simple tasks to help boost PC performance by hi_partha
Hi Partha,
Difficult to give a proper answer here without knowing what sort of junk programs you have, and how you know that they have been installed on your computer.
One method you can try, (with caution), is to rename the folder the program is installed in, and see if any strange effects happen on your computer afterwards, especially after you have re-started it.
eg; Say you have a program called, ''MyGame'' installed on your computer. If the program files are stored in a folder called ''MyGame'', you can right click the folder, select ''Rename'' and give the folder a new name, for example, ''OldMyGame''. If anything on your computer is looking for files in the old MyGame folder, it will not be able to find it, and an error message or warning message will be displayed.
Restart the computer and see if anything happens that should not do. Then try out some of your usual applications, like email, internet browsing, games, Instant Chat programs, word processor, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, etc, and see if they all still work. Then try out some of your music, videos, important documents, etc to see if you can still play, view, access them.
If everything seems fine, then you can return to the OldMyGame folder and delete it. But personally I would wait a few days to see if any hidden problems arise. If there are no problems, delete the folder ''into'' the Recycle Bin, (that is, do not delete it with the Shift button held down which bypasses the bin). Then keep it in the Recycle Bin for a few more days, then delete it from there.
If at any time you do come across problems you can reconsider what you have done, and either rename the folder back to its proper name, or restore the folder, (and its contents), from the Recycle Bin, then rename it back.
I hope this helps.
Mark
How to delete junk files from your system
by Laurent Piquette - 7/15/05 8:00 AM In reply to: Simple tasks to help boost PC performance by hi_parthaPersonally I use System Mechanic and it is working very well, I am very satisfied with it.
Laurent
System Mechanic
by BillOliver - 7/19/05 12:08 PM In reply to: How to delete junk files from your system by Laurent PiquetteLaurent, What is System Mechanic. How do I get it, and use it. Does it work with Windows 98? Bill Oliver
System Mechanic 06
by ghost777 - 12/15/05 5:08 PM In reply to: System Mechanic by BillOliverI used System mechanic Pro 04 was good had a lot of trouble with their rebates and now I have 06 had nothing but trouble with the program and the rebate is a joke Good Luck , I have had enought with iolo products. I dont care what the rating is, I wished I hadnt bought it .
I see I have competition,
by MarkFlax - 7/15/05 5:48 AM
In reply to: Winning answer by Dana H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
And very good competition as well. I think I prefer your reply to mine Dana. Very well done!
In reply to a question posted just above, the download link should be;
http://www.download.com
I'm amazed my submission got through, having read it again! Too many grammar and spelling mistakes, and I used an existing article I have that I had done for 2 friends of mine a couple of months ago, hence the rather odd references to computer(s), and other plural terms, as well as first names.
Ohh well. nevermind.
Good work Dana.
Mark
Additional info to help speed up your PC
by Rojane2k1 - 7/15/05 5:54 AM In reply to: Winning answer by Dana H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would like to add a few other checks that will help your readers. The Windows 'hidden' files that can be removed to speed up your pc are as follows:
1. DOWNLOADED FILES:
Open a web page, Click TOOLS > INTERNET OPTIONS Click SETTINGS > VIEW OBJECTS
You can safely delete all these, but keep the ones you need. e.g. any anti virus updates, Java, Microsoft updates etc
Any with just letters and numbers e.g . . . . ASAS898977SDSD67686DF867D - Delete!
2.DISABLE START UP PROGRAMS - EXPERIENCED USERS ONLY!!
START> RUN > MSCONFIG (stop programs from running at start up)
3. Close all programs, Click START > RUN > %temp%
It is safe to delete all the files in this folder, they are just temp files left over from installations, open programs etc. Don't worry if some cannot be deleted. That will be due to a program using this file.
4. Cleaning the Prefetch Directory
WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs.
However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs.
To clean this periodically go to:
1. Star / Run / Prefetch
2. Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts
3. Delete them
5.Increasing File System Caching
To increase the amount of memory Windows will locked for I/O operations:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
3. Edit the key IoPageLockLimit
4096 - 32megs of memory or less
8192 - 32+ megs of memory
16384 - 64+ megs of memory
32768 - 128+ megs of memory
65536 - 256+ megs of memory
Hope that helps to boost your PC.
Don't forget the registry!
by THHinc - 7/15/05 6:09 AM In reply to: Additional info to help speed up your PC by Rojane2k1Did a quick look over everything everyone had posted and I'm amazed that nobody mentioned using Registry Mechanic!
Registry Mechanic is a great program that will clean out your registry file from all the junk that is left over from any uninstalling you have done. It also can correct many errors your registry may have. I've used it for 2 years now with excellent results.
Registry is key
by jkup31 - 7/15/05 6:31 AM In reply to: Don't forget the registry! by THHincI have a 5 year old Pentium 3 laptop that has 10 Gb hard disk space, 128 mb ram, and has had more programs installed, uninstalled, partially deleted, and other nightmarish things go through it than most computers out there. I performed all of the maintenenace items that I knew about, and it was still running very poorly. I just found out about cleaning the registry, and the computer runs like new.
Of the programs you can download and try for free, many of them have a limit on how many items you can clean (~10). Most users will find 100+ (I found over 400) registry errors, so you should try one that has a 30 day limit that will remove all problems to see more accurately if you like it before you purchase it.
Registry Mechanic
by cesareDH - 7/15/05 6:59 AM In reply to: Registry is key by jkup31is a good one.
Registry Mechanic
by Me Hertsey - 7/15/05 7:29 AM In reply to: Registry Mechanic by cesareDHI too am a satisfied user of Registry Mechanic. The latest version is even better. It now includes a separate Registry scanner and provision for compacting your Registry.
The are also a nice Company to deal with. I found them very helpful when I needed a problem of my own making sorted out.
Defragging
by mccallw - 7/15/05 6:01 AM In reply to: Winning answer by Dana H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
How much help is defragging these days? A majority of my customers are running 80 gb+ drives with around 10gb of data on them. Of course there is the music/movie downloader, but I seldome see defragging as the issue it was in the 80's and 90's
re: defragging
by DH1 - 7/15/05 2:56 PM In reply to: Defragging by mccallwI, too, wonder about the benefits of defragging.
I now have WinXP -- Win98 (and 95) previously.
A (so-called) tech once told me I should NEVER defrag because Windows does a good enough job by itself and defragging just 'messes things up.'
As I believe Dana stated in her winning answer, how often one should defrag depends on how much a user adds/removes stuff (large files/programs) from one's hard drive.
If you download tons of huge files (music, video. etc.), listen or view, and then delete them, you would benefit by defragging occasionally.
I defrag about once a month. But even while I'm doing it, I wonder why. I think the average person can easily go a year between running defrag.
BTW - I liked the defrag window of Win98 much better than the one of XP. I just loved watching those little clusters moving about for hours and hours. <g>
Defragging is very important
by Recycle_Bin - 8/9/05 12:01 AM In reply to: Defragging by mccallwIf your customers are downloading music, I think it is important to defrag the drive. Defragging will make optimize their computer's performance. Along with defragging, they should be deleting temp files. Third party defrag program will automate the process for them so they don't have to worry about forgetting to defrag. Defrag will also run in the background while they are doing other things.
Check out this article from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/getstarted/speed.mspx/
Good answer...
by vensires - 7/15/05 6:24 AM In reply to: Winning answer by Dana H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
...but you really forgot something. The base of the whole Windows OS is the Registry.
About 2 years ago,I had only 500 MB of free space out of 9,89 GB hard disk space and I couln't understand how this had happened. As I finally learned(using TweakNow RegCleaner),after installing and uninstalling software(lots of programs)1,9 GB were occupied by useless Windows Registry entries.
I want to say by this that repairing/deleting the wrong entries is also a must,in my opinion, for the best performance of a computer. Keep up the good work Dana
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