BOOT CAMP 513 (26/02/08) – More Vista Tuning Tips pt 2
If you followed last week’s introduction to
re-invigorating your Vista PC you will have established how long it takes for
it to boot up and identified and fixed any long-term stability problems using
the Performance and Reliability Monitor utility. It’s now time to get down to
business and we’ll begin with some quick, simple and safe tuning tips that are
ideal for novice users.
However, before you do anything get into the habit of
setting a new System Restore Point (RP) every time you make changes to your
computer’s configuration so that if -- heaven forefend -- anything should go
wrong you stand a very decent chance of returning your PC to its pre-fiddled
state.
To set an RP press Winkey + Break then go to Advanced System Settings > System
Protection tab and click Create. Give the RP a name (the day’s date) and click
OK. If a problem arises after boot up go to Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. If Windows won’t boot press
F8 at start-up to access System Restore and the option to Start Windows using
last known good configuration.
Now that’s out
of the way we can get started with a spot of Spring-cleaning, removing clutter
and the dead wood that has accumulated since you bought your computer. Like XP
before it Vista has a tool called Disk Cleanup and you’ll find it by going to
Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. But
that’s all a bit long-winded; there is a faster, more elegant way to get to
most things in Vista using the excellent Search facility. Just start typing the
word ‘clean’ and after the first two or three letters Disk Cleanup will appear
at the top of the list.
Click on it and a dialogue box opens showing a progress
bar as Vista seeks out the detritus. After a few moments you’ll see a list of
items that can be deleted, like download files you no longer need, temporary
files, junk in the Recycle Bin and so on. A tally of how much disc space you
can reclaim is shown at the top of the box. Not all of the items are ticked but
the ones that can be safely zapped are, so if you don’t want to take any
chances just click OK and the files will be removed. Once it has finished open
Disk Cleanup again but this time select the More Options Tab. Under Programs
and Features click the Clean Up button and this opens the Vista version of the
Add/Remove Programs utility in XP, which you can also get to by typing
‘Features’ in Search and from Control Panel on the Start menu.
This displays a list of the programs installed on your
computer and I suspect there’s a few leftover applications that were installed
by the manufacturer. Some of them will be time-limited trial and demo versions
and if you’re not using them they are just wasting space and should be removed.
By the way, if you are thinking about buying a new PC in the near future you
should take a look at this week’s Top Tip.
Work your way down the list and highlight a program that
you want to get rid of and click Uninstall/Change. Only remove one item at a
time and afterwards reboot the PC; watch out for error messages and make sure
that everything is still working properly (particularly your Internet
connection if you are removing any programs involved with security or the
Internet). Once again play it safe, only uninstall programs that you are
absolutely sure about and I advise novices not to touch anything with
Microsoft, Windows or Security Update in the name.
If you have deleted several large programs then you might
need to ‘defrag’ your hard drive. It may also be worth doing if your PC is more
than six months old and you haven’t done it before. Disk defragmenting is a
much overrated and vastly over-used performance tool and on most PCs it only
needs to be done once or twice a year. Exceptions include PCs that are used for
demanding applications like video editing, which create lots of very large data
files and depend on a smooth, fast transfer of data. To find out if you need to
defrag open Computer/Windows Explorer then right-click on your system hard
drive icon (usually drive C:). Select Properties then the Tools tab and click
Defragment Now. After analysing your drive it will tell you if you need to run
defrag. If it says ‘Your file system performance is good’, don’t be tempted to
defrag anyway, it’s just a waste of time, it won’t make your PC run any faster
or fix and problems with your computer’s filing system, it might even make
things worse…
Next Week – More Vista Tuning Tips pt 3
JARGON FILTER
DEFRAG
Over time the files on a
PC's hard disc drive become disorganized - 'defragging' the drive can restore
order and speed up data transfer
SYSTEM
RESTORE
Facility
in Windows ME, 2000, XP and Vista that stores and records changes to key system
files, which can be used in the event of a crash or serious problem to restore
Windows to a previous known good configuration
TEMPORARY
FILES
Temporary
files are created by Windows and other programs and normally deleted
automatically though some will remain if Windows crashes or is not shut down
properly
TOP TIP
I dread to think how many
hours I have wasted uninstalling demo, trial and just plain unwanted programs
on new PCs, and it seems the cheaper they are the more of this rubbish you have
to get rid of. Yes, I know it’s one of the reasons why PCs and laptops are so
affordable these days but I still don’t want it and I only wish I’d had
something like the PC Decrapifier to save me from this onerous chore. The name says it all, just download
and install the program on your shiny new PC, it identifies the junk then
offers to get rid of it for you. It’s easy to use and nothing disappears
without your permission. Best of all it’s free, but as always the authors are
not averse to a small donation, to show your appreciation!
Don't forget, there's a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.pctoptips.co.uk
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© R. Maybury 2008, 1302
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