| Mr. Fixit's PC Upgrade and Repair |
| Improve Windows Vista's Performance |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Windows. Back up all of you're data or create a system restore point in case of a mishap. Before tinkering with the Registry,
Free up Memory:
Force Windows to unload DLLs
The most important thing in performance is the available memory to the system. When a program starts, it's loaded into system memory including resources the
program may need such as Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL). When the program shuts down, not all DLL's are removed from the memory. This is due to the way
the OS operates. It keeps the DLL in memory in case the program starts again. This take up valuable system memory which will hinder performance on
computers with little memory. To force Windows to remove unused DLL's from memory, start the Registry editor by clicking START, then Run. Type REGEDIT
and press enter. When the Registry editor starts, Double-click on COMPUTER. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and on the right change AlwaysUnloadDll's value to 1. If the key
AlwaysUnloadDll is not listed, then create it as a DWORD and give it a value of 1.
NOTE: If running older DOS programs or 16-bit programs, you may experience errors using this setting. If you are receiving errors with this setting, go back and
delete the entry or give it a value of 0.
Reduce visual effects
Another way you can free up memory is by reducing the amount of colors from 32-bit to16-bit. Click Start > Control Panel > Display. In the lower right hand
corner, change colors to 16-bit. Reducing the resolution, will also reduce memory usage. Turn off XP's appearance features by clicking Start > Control Panel
> System > Advanced > Performance Settings. Under Visual Effects, choose Adjust for best performance or you can choose Custom to select specific
features like Show Thumbnails.
Avoid DOS programs
DOS programs do not allow Windows to manage the memory properly. DOS programs hold on to the memory they use preventing Windows from swapping
them to the Page File to free memory for other programs.
Remove unwanted or unused icons from the desktop
For the computer to keep track each icon requires more memory usage. Clean up the desktop by right clicking on the desktop, choose Properties > Desktop
> Customize Desktop > Clean Desktop Now. Follow the instructions. By checking Run every 60 days, will help keep the clutter to a minimum.
Turn off services and programs you do not need or use
By default, Windows runs every service and program known, whether you use them or not, that takes up unnecessary memory. Click Start > All Programs >
then Startup. This folder shows some of the programs that startup when Windows starts. Remove the programs from the folder or hold the SHIFT key down
while Windows is starting will prevent the programs from starting. Next, Click Start, then Run. Type msconfig and press enter. Click on the Startup tab.
These programs also start when Windows is starting. Un-check programs you do not want to run during startup, choose OK and reboot. You can also use this
technique to find a problem causing program. If you're not sure what the program does you can go on the internet and search for the program for more
information as to what it does. Finally, if you click on the Services tab, will show Windows services that run in the background. Msconfig doesn't show the
description to what a particular service do. To see the description for a service, click Start > Run > type services.msc > press enter. Select a service to see
it's description. Services like Smart Card can be disabled unless you require a card to access your computer. If using Wi-Fi, Windows uses the Wireless Zero
Configuration service, but if you are using adapters like Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin, this service is not required since these adapters use their own
configuration program. Disable this service if you are using a wired Ethernet connection. To disable a service, right click the service then choose Properties.
Under the General tab choose Disable for Startup Type.
Speed up Vista:
Prevent Windows from being sent to the pagefile
Windows often sends part of itself to the pagefile to free up memory to allow other programs to run faster. This feature can slow down Windows. If your
computer has more than 256MB of system memory, you can keep Windows resident in memory by starting regedit, go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive and change the
value to 1.
Optimize Prefetch and SuperFetch
Prefetch and Superfetch monitor all the files that are accessed on your PC. Prefetch is the original feature that was introduced in XP which preloads commonly
used files and programs into memory to improve a programs startup time. Superfetch is an advanced version of Prefetch. It generates a profile over time for
each file that is accessed to better calculate the likely hood of which programs and files you will use on the next startup.
Both Prefetch and SuperFetch can use the following values: a 1 will set fetching to applications only, a 2 will set fetching to boot files only, and a 3 will set
fetching to both applications and boot files (DEFAULT). Click 'Start', then 'Run'. Type 'regedit' then press enter.
Prefetch Registry key is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher
SuperFetch Registry key is: (below the Prefetch key)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnableSuperFetch
Optimizing Virtual Memory
Virtual Memory (pagefile.sys) uses a portion of the hard drive as 'memory'. The purpose is to free up system memory to allow more intensive programs to run
while less active programs, including Windows itself, are sent to 'Virtual Memory'. If your computer has 2 or more physical hard drives, use the hard drive with
the fastest access time and most free space. DO NOT use an encrypted or a compressed drive as this will reduce performance. The page file can also be split
on 2 or more hard drives, however, this only works with SATA drives. Unlike PATA drives (IDE drives), SATA drives can be access simultaneously where as
IDE drives can only have one drive active at a time.
To set Virtual Memory, Click 'Start', 'Control Panel', then 'System'. Under 'Tasks' (top left corner), click 'Advanced system settings'. Under 'Performance', click
'Settings' then Click the 'Advanced' tab. Under 'Virtual Memory' shows current size allocated to Virtual memory. Click 'Change'.
The more memory you have the less likely the page file is used. Therefore if you have more than 2GB of system memory, select desired drive and select
'custom size and set the 'Inital Size (MB)' to 1/2 the system memory and the 'Maximum size (MB)' to 1.5 times the system memory. This will prevent wasted disk
space since Windows can adjust the size when needed. If splitting the page file, set each drive size separately. Windows will show the combined total.
Disable 8.3 filenames
Older legacy programs, before Windows XP, do not understand long filenames. NTFS file system keeps track of 8.3 format used by 16-bit and 32-bit legacy
programs. A few of these will not hurt performance, but a few thousand of them can hinder performance. If you do not use legacy programs, you can disable 8.3
tracking by changing the NtfsDisable8Dot3NameCreation key value to [ 1 ].
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisable8Dot3NameCreation
Disable Last Access Time Stamp
The NTFS file system records and updates an attribute called Last Access Time Stamp for every file and folder it tracks. This indicates the last time the folder
or file was last accessed. This is different than the time a file or folder was created. Having 10s of thousands of folders and files can somewhat hinder
performance, but some softwares such as defraging programs use this attribute when optimizing the hard drive. To disable Last Access Time Stamp, change
the key NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate value to [ 1 ].
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate
Decrease Vista's startup time
To speed up Vista's startup, have Vista perform a boot defragment everytime it starts. This will put all of the boot files next to each other which will provide
faster, startup times. Not all computers have this feature turned on. You can check the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction to see if the Enable string value is Y. If it isn't, change or add the key.
Decrease Vista's shutdown time
To speed up Vista's shutdown, don't have Vista clear the page file. For Security reasons, Vista clears the page file before shutting down which can take some
time depending on different variables. The page file stores temporary data to free up the system memory for other programs. Some people would rather have
the page file cleared upon shut down due to sensitive data they were working on. If security isn't an issue, change the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown value to 0
Use ClearType:
ClearType is a feature which allows users with LCD (or Flat screens) and laptops to better read the text on high resolutions like 1440x900 that my laptop uses.
To turn on Microsoft's ClearType technology, right-click the Desktop > choose Properties > Appearance > Effects. When the Effects dialog box appears,
click the box next to Use the following notice a difference in legibility of the fonts. I do not recommend using ClearType on standard monitors since they make
it worse and cause headaches to arise. Once enabled, ClearType only works after you log on to Windows. To make ClearType work before the log on to
Windows, open the Registry Editor and change the key
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\ControlPanel\Desktop\FontSmoothingType value to 2. Exit the editor and reboot.
Free up Memory:
Force Windows to unload DLLs
The most important thing in performance is the available memory to the system. When a program starts, it's loaded into system memory including resources the
program may need such as Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL). When the program shuts down, not all DLL's are removed from the memory. This is due to the way
the OS operates. It keeps the DLL in memory in case the program starts again. This take up valuable system memory which will hinder performance on
computers with little memory. To force Windows to remove unused DLL's from memory, start the Registry editor by clicking START, then Run. Type REGEDIT
and press enter. When the Registry editor starts, Double-click on COMPUTER. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and on the right change AlwaysUnloadDll's value to 1. If the key
AlwaysUnloadDll is not listed, then create it as a DWORD and give it a value of 1.
NOTE: If running older DOS programs or 16-bit programs, you may experience errors using this setting. If you are receiving errors with this setting, go back and
delete the entry or give it a value of 0.
Reduce visual effects
Another way you can free up memory is by reducing the amount of colors from 32-bit to16-bit. Click Start > Control Panel > Display. In the lower right hand
corner, change colors to 16-bit. Reducing the resolution, will also reduce memory usage. Turn off XP's appearance features by clicking Start > Control Panel
> System > Advanced > Performance Settings. Under Visual Effects, choose Adjust for best performance or you can choose Custom to select specific
features like Show Thumbnails.
Avoid DOS programs
DOS programs do not allow Windows to manage the memory properly. DOS programs hold on to the memory they use preventing Windows from swapping
them to the Page File to free memory for other programs.
Remove unwanted or unused icons from the desktop
For the computer to keep track each icon requires more memory usage. Clean up the desktop by right clicking on the desktop, choose Properties > Desktop
> Customize Desktop > Clean Desktop Now. Follow the instructions. By checking Run every 60 days, will help keep the clutter to a minimum.
Turn off services and programs you do not need or use
By default, Windows runs every service and program known, whether you use them or not, that takes up unnecessary memory. Click Start > All Programs >
then Startup. This folder shows some of the programs that startup when Windows starts. Remove the programs from the folder or hold the SHIFT key down
while Windows is starting will prevent the programs from starting. Next, Click Start, then Run. Type msconfig and press enter. Click on the Startup tab.
These programs also start when Windows is starting. Un-check programs you do not want to run during startup, choose OK and reboot. You can also use this
technique to find a problem causing program. If you're not sure what the program does you can go on the internet and search for the program for more
information as to what it does. Finally, if you click on the Services tab, will show Windows services that run in the background. Msconfig doesn't show the
description to what a particular service do. To see the description for a service, click Start > Run > type services.msc > press enter. Select a service to see
it's description. Services like Smart Card can be disabled unless you require a card to access your computer. If using Wi-Fi, Windows uses the Wireless Zero
Configuration service, but if you are using adapters like Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin, this service is not required since these adapters use their own
configuration program. Disable this service if you are using a wired Ethernet connection. To disable a service, right click the service then choose Properties.
Under the General tab choose Disable for Startup Type.
Speed up Vista:
Prevent Windows from being sent to the pagefile
Windows often sends part of itself to the pagefile to free up memory to allow other programs to run faster. This feature can slow down Windows. If your
computer has more than 256MB of system memory, you can keep Windows resident in memory by starting regedit, go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive and change the
value to 1.
Optimize Prefetch and SuperFetch
Prefetch and Superfetch monitor all the files that are accessed on your PC. Prefetch is the original feature that was introduced in XP which preloads commonly
used files and programs into memory to improve a programs startup time. Superfetch is an advanced version of Prefetch. It generates a profile over time for
each file that is accessed to better calculate the likely hood of which programs and files you will use on the next startup.
Both Prefetch and SuperFetch can use the following values: a 1 will set fetching to applications only, a 2 will set fetching to boot files only, and a 3 will set
fetching to both applications and boot files (DEFAULT). Click 'Start', then 'Run'. Type 'regedit' then press enter.
Prefetch Registry key is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher
SuperFetch Registry key is: (below the Prefetch key)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnableSuperFetch
Optimizing Virtual Memory
Virtual Memory (pagefile.sys) uses a portion of the hard drive as 'memory'. The purpose is to free up system memory to allow more intensive programs to run
while less active programs, including Windows itself, are sent to 'Virtual Memory'. If your computer has 2 or more physical hard drives, use the hard drive with
the fastest access time and most free space. DO NOT use an encrypted or a compressed drive as this will reduce performance. The page file can also be split
on 2 or more hard drives, however, this only works with SATA drives. Unlike PATA drives (IDE drives), SATA drives can be access simultaneously where as
IDE drives can only have one drive active at a time.
To set Virtual Memory, Click 'Start', 'Control Panel', then 'System'. Under 'Tasks' (top left corner), click 'Advanced system settings'. Under 'Performance', click
'Settings' then Click the 'Advanced' tab. Under 'Virtual Memory' shows current size allocated to Virtual memory. Click 'Change'.
The more memory you have the less likely the page file is used. Therefore if you have more than 2GB of system memory, select desired drive and select
'custom size and set the 'Inital Size (MB)' to 1/2 the system memory and the 'Maximum size (MB)' to 1.5 times the system memory. This will prevent wasted disk
space since Windows can adjust the size when needed. If splitting the page file, set each drive size separately. Windows will show the combined total.
Disable 8.3 filenames
Older legacy programs, before Windows XP, do not understand long filenames. NTFS file system keeps track of 8.3 format used by 16-bit and 32-bit legacy
programs. A few of these will not hurt performance, but a few thousand of them can hinder performance. If you do not use legacy programs, you can disable 8.3
tracking by changing the NtfsDisable8Dot3NameCreation key value to [ 1 ].
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisable8Dot3NameCreation
Disable Last Access Time Stamp
The NTFS file system records and updates an attribute called Last Access Time Stamp for every file and folder it tracks. This indicates the last time the folder
or file was last accessed. This is different than the time a file or folder was created. Having 10s of thousands of folders and files can somewhat hinder
performance, but some softwares such as defraging programs use this attribute when optimizing the hard drive. To disable Last Access Time Stamp, change
the key NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate value to [ 1 ].
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate
Decrease Vista's startup time
To speed up Vista's startup, have Vista perform a boot defragment everytime it starts. This will put all of the boot files next to each other which will provide
faster, startup times. Not all computers have this feature turned on. You can check the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction to see if the Enable string value is Y. If it isn't, change or add the key.
Decrease Vista's shutdown time
To speed up Vista's shutdown, don't have Vista clear the page file. For Security reasons, Vista clears the page file before shutting down which can take some
time depending on different variables. The page file stores temporary data to free up the system memory for other programs. Some people would rather have
the page file cleared upon shut down due to sensitive data they were working on. If security isn't an issue, change the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown value to 0
Use ClearType:
ClearType is a feature which allows users with LCD (or Flat screens) and laptops to better read the text on high resolutions like 1440x900 that my laptop uses.
To turn on Microsoft's ClearType technology, right-click the Desktop > choose Properties > Appearance > Effects. When the Effects dialog box appears,
click the box next to Use the following notice a difference in legibility of the fonts. I do not recommend using ClearType on standard monitors since they make
it worse and cause headaches to arise. Once enabled, ClearType only works after you log on to Windows. To make ClearType work before the log on to
Windows, open the Registry Editor and change the key
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\ControlPanel\Desktop\FontSmoothingType value to 2. Exit the editor and reboot.