How To Uptomize System Performance

[tyger_claw]

Hey All,

Here's a guide to help those out with slow or sluggish computers.
Any additions, suggestions or mistakes, please let me know.

1.First thing to do is clean out the system tray (icons by the clock on taskbar )

Disable all programs that are not required on boot.
These mainly include media programs like Winamp Agent, RealPlayer, etc....
But can include CD programs like CloneCD Agent (For CD Auto-Insert)
*Disable only what you don't use. Media programs are not needed.

2.Clean out the Startup Folder (Start->Program Files->Start Up)

Remove anything that's not required.
Programs like Wordperfect will place Reminder programs when you don't register (ie: reminder32.exe)
Some programs will place monitoring programs as well, such as Epson 1-touch scan (Which *most* people don't use)

3.Clean out the Taskmanager. (Ctrl+Alt+Delete)

Most of these things running in the background should be disabled or removed.
First thing to consult sites like these:
azpchelp.com or Answers That Work for the running application. (ie: Taskmon.exe *leave on*)
These sites will list most common background applications and suggest what to do.
You'll want to see the full list by going into the System Configuration Utility by going to Start->Run and entering msconfig and going to the Startup Tab.
Uncheck anything that these, or other, sites recommend are safe to uncheck.

You can also use a StartUp Manager to delete startup entries that are Rock Solid sure to be removed. You can download a manager here at BusterBoy
*Remember that you should uncheck first to see what effect it has on your computer before permanetly removing the entry.

If you are unsure about editing something, then don't. Always sway in the air of caution.

Hope this helps, any questions or concerns, post em' here.

[Conf1rm3d_K1ll]

A simple defrag can often do wonders for a slow system.

Deleting all the TEMP files in DOS can also improve speed and add stability to IE. With earlier versions of IE the browser had a tendancy to crash when the cache reached 200MB mark...

DELTREE/Y TEMP
CD WINDOWS
DELTREE/Y COOKIES
DELTREE/Y TEMP DELTREE/Y HISTORY
DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1


Obviously, these DOS commands aren't my brainchild and can be found all over the net.


Also, tweaking the vcache can greatly increase speed. Click on Start|Run and type sysedit. Click on the system.ini window and edit the vcache entries.

A good all round figure is MaxFileCache=24576, MinFileCache=24576. Playing around with different figures could greatly improve performance. Any tweak site worth it's HTML can give you different suggestions for any amount of RAM....

[dspeidel]

As a follow up to

Deleting all the TEMP files in DOS can also improve speed and add stability to IE. With earlier versions of IE the browser had a tendancy to crash when the cache reached 200MB mark...
DELTREE/Y TEMP
CD WINDOWS
DELTREE/Y COOKIES
DELTREE/Y TEMP DELTREE/Y HISTORY
DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1

-Conf1rm3d_K1ll

I wrote a script to automate the removal of temp files, trace file and log files. I put it in a directory included in the path statement. I only every tested it on w2k and NT 4 (I don't think it works for w9x).

It contains only 3 lines:
echo off
cd\
del *.trc *.tmp *.log /s /f

/s = search from the directory your in
/f = force -ignore read only attribute

Cheers,
-D

[noODle]

Clearing out unneccesary services and spreading your paging file accross multiple disks will help you improve your system speed.