Comments on: 5 Tips To Make Windows Faster And More Reliable

By: McKenzie

McKenzie — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:29:32 +0000

Good tips Nik however here’s a few little things I’ve discovered working with computers over the years to also consider. 1st regarding VirtualRAM or PageFile I’ve always found for best performance (assuming you’ve got enough RAM which you should if you’re running XP or Vista) your PageFile size should be equal to 1 1/2 times your actual RAM. Also this value should be the same in both initial and maximum values. Further I’ve also found that by creating a small hard disc partition (slightly larger than the size of your PageFile) which I’ll usually assign as drive “V” (for virtual memory) and I’ll usually name it something like “PageFile” then create a PageFile on this partition and eliminate all other PageFiles (check every drive installed on your machine as you don’t need more than 1.) If you like you can also do the same thing for your “Temp” files. Just create another partition assigned as “T” and name it temp, however if you do so just remember to edit your Environment Variables to reflect this change. In doing so you will find a great deal less drive fragmentation and this is very similar to the way Linux/Unix systems handle Virtual Memory or PageFiles. Now regarding your recommendations for the Registry you are right on the money however you failed to offer any solutions, of which my personal favorite at this time is the free program C Cleaner which does a pretty good job of general drive/registry maintenance (just remember to uncheck the little box when installing as you really don’t need the “Toolbar” it likes to install.) Last, while I’ve never used “Miranda” and in no way saying there’s anything wrong with this program I just wanted to mention another great program I’ve been using for years now called “Trillian” from Cerulean Studios. They offer both a very capable “free” version and a very reasonably priced “pro” version with additional audio/video capability. Anyway hopes this might be of help to some Lockernomies out there. Peace.

By: leftystrat

leftystrat — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:26:33 +0000

Good tips.

Your virtual mem tip runs counter to most advice I’ve read (not that I’m disputing your results).

You make a tremendous point about shutting down graphics. The reason Windows is so slow in general is graphics. Don’t forget - it was built on top of DOS. Vista is a nightmare because of graphics (and hiding).

Some other ways to speed up:
1. don’t use a ton of desktop shortcuts
2. don’t use fancy wallpaper, pictures or web pages for your desktop
3. clean up junk regularly (Ccleaner)
4. Revo Uninstaller removes the program and the assorted junk it leaves behind
5. Opera and K-Meleon are fast, small browsers. Firefox3 is faster than Firefox2. There are few, if any, reasons to use IE.
6. Microsoft’s TweakUI can slim down any version of Windows

Windows is known for eating every resource you throw at it. I mention this because I can run Windows as a virtual machine under linux, with limited resources, and it’s much better behaved.

By: cerberus

cerberus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:41:01 +0000

Helpful tips! Thanks, Nik.

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