Is your PC running slow

Is your PC clean?

And by that I mean – is it free from dust and dirt? Dust and dirt builds up inside a computer and this can affect your cooling fans, reducing the amount of airflow. Reduced airflow can cause your processor to overheat resulting in slow operation or even unexpected shutdowns. Many of today’s processors have the ability to “throttle back” (slow down) if the core temperature reaches a certain threshold. Cleaning the inside of your system is relatively easy – you just need to take some sensible precautions.


Clear out your Temp files.

Why? Well temp files can build up over time and eat into your precious disk space. When you install programmes, the installer uses temp (temporary) files as part of the set up process. Some programmes also use temp files when in use. These temp files should be removed when the installer or programme is finished, but this does not always happen. And, of course, your browser will collect temp files as well. A build up of temp files could leave Windows struggling to find room for its swap file (see below) – so everything slows down.

How do you clean out temp files? There are two easy ways – manually or by using a proprietary cleaning programme. Note that the cleaning programmes will often offer the option to clear out Temporary files created by your browser.

Manually (XP & Vista) – Firstly, exit all programmes, including browsers and AVs. Go to Start > Run and type %Temp% in the Run box and click OK. A folder will appear – it will contain temp files and temp folders. If you want to delete everything, press Ctrl+A (to select all) and then press the delete key. If you want to keep any files then hold down the Ctrl key and left click the file or folder. Then press the delete key. Click OK to confirm deletion. Once done, remember to go to your Recycle Bin and empty the bin.

Don’t forget XP does have it’s own utility for cleaning – it can be found via Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.


Any old programmes?

Do you still have some old programmes installed? When did you last use them? Remember that ‘trial’ software you installed? Has the trial period expired? Could you perhaps uninstall it (assuming you have the original installation disks)? Uninstalling such programmes will help free vital disk space. Oh, always re-boot after uninstalling – it helps to clear away the final remnants of an uninstalled programme.


Are you using unnecessary programmes?

By this I mean some of the numerous “enhancement” programmes available, that, while they may make your desktop look terribly exciting, are actually eating up precious resources. Things like third party screensavers and fancy wallpapers, Windows Taskbar replacements, WindowBlinds, Actual Transparent Window, XP Visual Styles, Stardock Theme Manager and so on. Nothing wrong with using them – they are all respected legitimate applications – but they may be contributing towards the slow down of your system.


Reduce the number of programmes loading at start up

Many applications insist on starting either the complete programme or a component of the programme whenever Windows starts. Many of these start ups are unnecessary and can be stopped. A good way to review the number of start up programmes is by using a start up manager utility, such as Spybot 1.5, StartUpLite or Autoruns. In Spybot, you’ll need to click Mode > Advanced to ensure you have access to the Tools section, then select System Startup in the left pane. A list of programmes that start when you boot up will be displayed in the right pane. You simply uncheck the ones you don’t need.

StartUpLite is very easy – just download the small file and double click StartUpLite.exe. A box appears showing programmes that don’t need to startup at boot. Choose whichever options you prefer and click Continue.

Autoruns gives you similar information, although presented in a slightly different way, and with more detail. Again, you simply uncheck a box beside the entry you wish to disable.

Remember to research a start up if you are not sure what it is – some of the entries that may appear and which can safely be disabled are things like Update Schedule entries for Adobe Acrobat, Sun Java, QuickTime and so on. If in doubt, post in our Forums, choosing the Forum that’s relevant to your Operating System. Alternatively, you can check Startup items here.

Note: You should NOT use MSConfig to permanently disable programmes from automatically starting at boot up. This utility is meant as a trouble-shooter – not a long term solution. If you uninstall a programme that has already been disabled using MSConfig, then it’s likely there will be orphaned Registry entries left behind. These could cause potential problems when trying to start your system. Use one of the start up managers mentioned above.


Do you have enough RAM?

Lack of memory can be a real issue, especially with today’s high performance machines and Operating Systems (OS). If you’re using Windows (and let’s face it, most of us are) then you need to ensure you have the appropriate amount of RAM for your system. Microsoft list “minimum requirements” with each OS – but they are in the business of selling software. That’s why their “minimum requirements” are always at the lower end of the scale. There are numerous sites around that will advise you need “x” amount for XP and “y” amount for Vista. As a general rule, Vista works well with 2GB and XP with 1GB. You can use more, of course, but as a minimum these figures are accurate.

If you don’t have very much RAM, what happens? Well, Windows loads programmes into memory to allow fast access. When it has no more memory left, it will start using your hard disk. This is much slower than using RAM, so your programmes will appear to run more slowly. The part of the hard disk used by Windows is called a swap file. So, a lack of RAM can also eat into your hard disk space as well.

RAM is not terribly expensive at the moment, so it makes sense to upgrade. You can find out what type of RAM you need by downloading PCWizard – a system analyser (it’s free!) or going to one of the manufacturer’s sites such as Crucial and using their memory advisor tool. Once you know the type of RAM you need, there are plenty of online stores to choose from.

See here for a guide to installing your RAM.

Defrag your hard disk

Over a period of time, data written to your hard disk becomes fragmented or scattered all over the disk. This makes it harder for the system to find the data it needs. By defragging your disk, or putting the data in a more logical sequence, your system performance will improve. NOTE: Windows will not let you defrag a drive if there is less than 15% free space available. Keep an eye on your free space!

You could use a defragging utility such as Sysinternals PageDefrag – this is free and easy to use.

For a guide to defragging see
here for XP
here for Vista



What about my swap file?

You can change the settings on your swap file to allow Windows to have more disk space to play with. This disk space is also known as Virtual Memory. For a 32 bit Operating System (which most users will have) set any amount up to a maximum of 4Gb. Try and at least match the amount of RAM in your system. Of course, you will need to have enough free disk space for this swap file.

Useful step-by-step guides can be found
here for Win98 and XP
here for Vista

Something else to consider is that the swap file should not be fragmented in order to obtain the best results. This can be done by selecting ‘No swap file’, rebooting (you have to do this, to apply the changes), defragging the drive and then resetting the swap file to a size of your choosing. The swap file will now be an area of the maximum contiguous (uninterrupted) free space – and therefore optimum performance.

Note: When choosing a value it is often suggested to set a static size swap file – set the Initial and Maximum amounts to the same value. This saves Windows from using resources to manage a dynamic swap file.



Does your hard disk contain errors?

A hard disk will not last forever. Even a new hard disk can have problems. However, many problems can be fixed, simply by running a Windows utility called ChkDsk. This will scan your hard disk and repair any file system errors while verifying the integrity of the drive. Guides from Microsoft on using ChkDsk can be found

here for XP
here for Vista



Do your System Files contain errors?

Sometimes critical system files may become damaged or corrupt. This will obviously affect your computer’s performance. However, Windows has the ability to replace any damaged files on its own – this facility is called Windows File Protection. It can be started manually by typing a simple command into the Run box - sfc /scannow. This command immediately starts the Windows File Protection utility and it then checks and scans all system files to ensure their integrity.

For users with a pre-installed version of XP, sfc may ask you for your Windows CD in order to copy the relevant files. If you don’t have a Windows CD or if sfc cannot find the files it needs, please refer to Marc Liron’s article below.

For users who installed Service Pack 2 for XP by downloading from the internet, sfc may ask you for an XP SP2 CD – which you won’t have. You may need to create a slipstreamed CD to ensure sfc works correctly. Slipstreaming is simply a way of incorporating SP2 into your Windows installation – you create a new disk with Windows and SP2 all in one. Guides to slipstreaming can be found here and here, and a useful programme called Autostreamer, which does most of the work for you, can be downloaded here.

A detailed guide to using Windows File Protection with XP can be found here – it’s written by Microsoft MVP Marc Liron.


Note that Windows File Protection in Vista is now called Windows Resource Protection which, as well as protecting critical files, also protects the Registry. However, the basic principles are the same. To run the sfc command in Vista, you must be logged in as an Administrator.

A guide to using WRP in Vista can be found here.



Stopping unnecessary services

Windows generally comes with a raft of running services, many of which are not really required. You can safely stop some of these services and improve the boot time and speed of your system. Many installed programmes make themselves start up as soon as you boot the PC. They just run in the background, even although you don’t actually use them. Usually these programmes can be stopped from automatically loading – if you need to start them, you can do this manually.

One service that often causes a system to slow down is the Indexing Service – this can be turned off – see here for a guide.

For services guides see

here for Windows 2000
here for XP SP2
here for Vista



Driver/Device Conflicts

Are all your hardware drivers up to date? Using an out of date driver could cause hardware conflicts and crash your system. Have a look at Microsoft’s suggestions on troubleshooting driver/device conflicts here.



Internet Explorer

IE 7 includes a phishing filter – very useful indeed. But it can slow down your browsing as the filter checks each web page. Have a look at Microsoft’s suggestions on this here.



Anti Virus Programmes

Never use more than one Anti Virus. Although it might sound like a great idea to run two or more, in reality it’s not. AVs usually have a ‘real time’ monitor that helps protect your system. This monitor will want to have a look at any file that changes or has been added to the system. If you have 2 AVs then every time one looks at a file, the other AV will think that file has changed so it will want to take a look as well. Now the second AV thinks that file has changed so it wants another look. So, of course, the first AV thinks that file has changed….you get the idea. You could end up with an unstable system, a really slow system or unexplained crashes.


And finally…

Having done all your tweaks and clean ups, create a new System Restore point – this gives you a ‘fall back’ position with all your new changes.

A guide to manually creating a System Restore point in XP can be found here and one for Vista can be found here.


No more problems? Excellent – be sure to revisit this article to help keep your system running smoothly.

Maximize your Rapidshare downloads

This tutorial will help you get the most out of your connection while downloading from rapidshare premium account. As I see a lot of user are not downloading at full speed.

Now there are alot of download accelerator out there but I found that this one works the best.

Download Internet Download Manager 512 latest release:

http://rapidshare.com/files/92721910/IDM512.7z

~1st
Install the program and patch/crack it.
Launch the program.

~2nd
Now we need to tweak it a bit.
Go to DOWNLOADS > OPTIONS


GENERAL:
You can setup anyway you want it. From monitoring your browser to not at all. This is the way i set mine up as it gives me fast access to the download links which I will explain through out this tutorial. So I suggest you copy my settings and see how it works first then you can play around once you get the hang of it.

FILE TYPE:
I set mine to default. Here you can set which file type the download manager will catch when you click download.

SAVE TO:
Set the directory where your file will be saved.


DOWNLOADS:
Now this is important. Make sure you check "Start downloading immediately while display.... " You want this because when you start a link, the manager will check and see if it's broken or not. If it's broken you will get a dialog that shows a broken .html link. If the link is good then you get the file type and size. More on this a little later on...


CONNECTION:
This will determine how fast you will download. Make you sure you select your correct Connection speed. I have mine on Lan/10mb because I'm on a 10mb connection. Set your approriate speed. If you don't know your speed then run a test here at speedtest.net. Next set the "Default Max Conn. number to 16. If you have connection issue with 16 then set it to 8. But so far I have found no problem. 16 will defenitly be your best bet for a fast download speed.

PROXY:
No need to set proxy since we have a premium account already.


SITE LOG IN:
Here you will enter your username and password. Click on NEW then select http , enter rapidshare.com and enter your login info

DIAL UP:
Who the hell is still on Dial Up? I left this tab untouch.

SOUNDS
I don't care too much about sounds. But you can customize your own if you like.

Ok you're ready to start downloading. Lauch IE or Firefox

~3rd
Now for the downloading part. Highlight all the links then right-click and select Download with IDM

Next you will get a window like this. Remember how I said Make sure you check "Start downloading immediately while display.... ". This now acts as your broken link checker. If the link is dead then you'll get that 512kb of html document. If the link is good then you should get the size of all the files. It should look something like this.

Now Select where you want it to download and check select all or just the file that you need.

Now click ok and your download manager will look like this:

Ok we are ready to download...almost. Click on the "Schedule" icon at the top and go to the "File in queue" tab. Here you can select how many files can be downloaded at the same time. The Ideal setting is 2-3 since 1 connection won't always use all the bandwidth. But you should select 1 first to see how fast it's downloading compare to your regular download speed. Click Apply and close when you're done.

Alright let's start downloading at MAX speed! Click on the Start Queue Icon and BAM! You're downloading as fast as your connection can give you!

I hope this tutorial will help some of you get the best out of your connection. I normally get 250-500k kb/sec while downloading regular. But with IDM I get a stable 1.3MB Kb/sec on a 10mb cable.

Restart Windows without restarting the Computer

When you click on the SHUTDOWN button, make sure to simultaneous press SHIFT Button. If you hold the Shift key down while clicking on SHUTDOWN button, you computer would restart without restarting the Computer. This is equivalent to term "HOT REBOOT".

Windows Xp Speed Up Your, Speed Up Your Network and Internet Access

I have a dial up connection and it improve my speeds about 25% in surfing the internet. give it a try. Im IT , only do it if you feel comfortable with changing registry.


Increasing network browsing speed
-------------------------------------------------
Does your computer slow down when you browse your local area network and connect to other computers that are sharing data? One of the most common causes of this slowdown is a feature of Windows Explorer that looks for scheduled tasks on remote computers. This effort can take some time on some computers and can really slow down your browsing. The window with which you are browsing the network may appear to freeze momentarily, as the system is waiting for a response from the remote computer.


Windows XP: Speeding Disk Access
-------------------------------------------------
Although this problem is a complex one, the solution is very simple. Instead of having to wait for the remote scheduled tasks, which is useless information to anyone who is not a system administrator remotely configuring scheduled tasks, you can disable this feature.

In order to do this, you will have to change the System Registry and delete a reference to a key so that this feature will not be loaded. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open up the Registry Editor by clicking the Start Menu and selecting Run. Then type regedit in the text box and click the OK button.

2. Once the Registry Editor has loaded, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key.

3. Next, expand Software and then Microsoft.

4. Locate Windows and expand that as well.

5. You will want to be editing the main system files, so expand CurrentVersion.

6. Because this feature is a feature of the Windows component known as Explorer, expand the Explorer key.

7. Next, you will want to modify the remote computer settings, so expand the RemoteComputer key and then expand the NameSpace key to show all of the features that are enabled when you browse to a remote computer.

8. In the NameSpace folder you will find two entries. One is "{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}" which tells Explorer to show printers shared on the remote machine. The other, "{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}," tells Explorer to show remote scheduled tasks. This is the one that you should delete. This can be done by right-clicking the name of the key and selecting Delete.

Tip:
If you have no use for viewing remote shared printers and are really only interested in shared files, consider deleting the printers key, "{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}", as well. This will also boost your browsing speed.

Once you have deleted the key, you just need to restart and the changes will be in effect. Now your network computer browsing will be without needless delays