Everything You Can Do to Make Your Computer Faster
Aug 27 '01 (Updated Sep 16 '06)
The Bottom Line Everything the title says. Really.
What follows is an enormous array of tweaks to boost system performance. I’ve split your options into 3 categories:
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COMMENTS as of late 2006:
One of the most useful programs I've discovered, ever, is Ad Muncher.
http://www.admuncher.com/beta.pl/
It's a webpage filter that removes all types of ads; popups, banners, Google text ads, and the like. It's also leagues more capable than any other similar program.
Most of the nasty things that can slow down your system come from the internet, and usually obtained during the course of browsing. So you're running into two problems:
1) Annoying advertising.
2) Potentially malicious auto-downloading programs.
Running Firefox is a great boon to correcting the second. It isn't perfect though, and it doesn't help at all for the first.
I've used Ad Muncher for three years. In that time, I have never had spyware or a virus. Ad Muncher filters it all before I ever see it, regardless of the page.
The entire program is 75 KB. It's the size of an MS Word document. It was programmed by one man, not by committee. It takes up no system resources, and I can think of no other program I use more regularly, or could more highly recommend.
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COMMENTS as of early 2006:
Content though I'd like to be with this article, I've discovered another excellent guide here:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/
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COMMENTS as of late 2005:
Upon rereading this, nearly all of it continues to be accurate even today. Certain parts are dated; back in 2001, improving performance in Windows 98 was of far more importance than it is today. The main difference is that Windows XP is far more capable of managing itself without interference than Win98, or even 2000, have ever been.
Tips like enabling DMA, changing the system role, changing the file system, and setting a fixed swap file aren't really applicable to the current generation of systems. They're either too much of a headache, or already implemented satisfactorily. Much of today's optimization is merely a matter of freeing the system from viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
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Simple: Minimal effort, significant performance improvements likely
Advanced: Enhancement by software/driver download & installation
Expert: Requires PC knowledge, time, money, or a combination
Over the Edge: If you’ve trashed your system or would otherwise like to wipe the slate clean
I initially wrote this with an advanced audience in mind. Please apply good judgement below; if you are completely unfamiliar with what I describe, save that tweak for another day.
Simple Solutions
Disable TSRs
Look at the bottom right corner of your screen. How many icons do you see? More than 5? Every icon between the miniature speaker and the clock of your taskbar symbolizes a program that runs in the background. By shutting them off, you free processor time and memory.
Start ~ Run ~ Msconfig.exe ~ Startup
Windows 2000 has no such utility. Pick up 'Startup Control Panel' at Download.com.
The only absolutely necessary program is Systray, your system tray. Everything else can be unchecked. I recommend that you stick to switching off installed programs. Antivirus applications like McAfee and Norton Utilities use a fair amount of resources; if you feel confident in your ability not to run unknown programs, they can be switched off.
Uninstall Unneeded Applications
Unchecking programs with MsConfig doesn’t remove them from your system; it’s simply a way to have them run on demand instead of all the time. The programs still reside on your hard drive, registry, and System folder. The more programs you have installed, the more cluttered each area becomes, and the slower your computer as a result. The upshot? Uninstall everything you don’t use or need and you will boost performance significantly.
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel
Add/Remove Programs
Note that you MUST uninstall the program to notice any effect. Deleting the folder alone leaves unused registry keys and DLLs that defeat the purpose.
Delete Large Files
Remove excessively large media, movies, and games. The inside tracks of a hard drive are slower than those initially used near the outside; by leaving only a small portion of the drive to free space, you force Windows to place the swap file within a slow section. Used space also takes significantly longer to defragment and keep defragmented than free space.
Enable DMA
DMA is short for Direct Memory Access, a process by which data is transferred directly from the hard drive to main memory (RAM) without using the CPU. It's quite a bit faster than other methods, but often isn't enabled by default.
To enable it in Windows 98:
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ System ~ Device Manager
Expand 'Disk Drives' and select your IDE disk. Click Properties, then Settings. Enable DMA if it isn't already checked.
Windows 2000/XP instructions are similar, but the option will be under 'Hard disk Controller' or the like, not the drive itself.
Change Your System Role
Change the role of your system to Network Server. Windows 98's default memory caching scheme is not quite as efficient as it could be. By using the Network Server setting, Windows will allot more RAM to opening programs quickly.
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ System ~ Performance ~ File System ~ Typical Role
Aftermarket utilities are available to achieve a similar effect, if more customizable. Cacheman 5.1 will monitor your system and help you choose optimal cache settings for any optical or hard disk.
http://www.outertech.com/
Run Scandisk & Defrag
By far the most commonly recommended procedures, and with good reason. A well-worn system will often have data scattered non-sequentially all over the drive, like a messy floor. A power outage, unruly program, or anything that bypasses normal shutdown routines can cause low-level file errors.
Scandisk will correct any errors in the data stored on your drive. Defrag will efficiently reorganize said data to suit your usage patterns. As hard drives are much quicker accessing data sequentially than at random, your performance will increase as a result. You may have to run Defrag multiple times to completely collate a severely fragmented hard drive.
Start ~ Run ~ Scandisk.exe
Start ~ Run ~ Defrag.exe
In WinNT/2000/XP:
Start ~ Run ~ Chkdsk.exe
Disable anything in the system tray and run scandisk before defragging. The latter will restart if it finds an error on the drive or if it detects disk usage.
I've discovered through experience that MS Defrag isn't nearly as effective as it could be. The best program available is Raxco Software's PerfectDisk 2000 4.0, downloadable as a 30 day trial. PerfectDisk allows for full defragmentation in a single pass, including metadata and page files, even with minimal space free. It's done wonders to improve performance with my 120 GB NTFS RAID array.
ftp://ftp.raxco.com/pub/download/pd60/PD_Demo.exe
Remove Backgrounds, Screensavers, & Excess Fonts
Remove your background image and any particularly complex screensavers. Both occupy memory that could be better used elsewhere. Screensavers in particular take awhile to unload themselves from your RAM. On the same token, disable Active Desktop, fading transition effects, and animated mouse cursors.
Although it's nice to acquire a variety of interesting fonts, the more you have, the longer it'll take your system to boot. Remove or archive those you don't use.
X:\Windows\Fonts
X:\WinNT\Fonts
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ Display
Disable Windows ME/XP System Restore
Windows ME has an additional safety net for new users beyond the traditional hiding of system files. System Restore saves an original copy of all files and settings modified, in essence providing restore points to recall if changes go awry. A hidden folder in your root (likely C:\) directory named '_Restore' provides space.
As you can imagine, constant monitoring is a terrible burden on some systems.
To make ME perform like 98 SE and recover lost disk space:
Regedit ~ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\PerUser_PCHealth
Open the PerUser_PCHealth key. Change the first '01' to '00'. Reboot.
Windows Explorer ~ Tools ~ Folder Options ~ View
Select 'Show hidden files and folders'. Uncheck 'Hide protected operating system files'. Now delete _Restore from your C drive.
For Windows XP, you can disable system restore by right-clicking My Computer, and then clicking Properties. Within the System Restore tab, check Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore on all drives.
Perform a Virus Scan
Sudden and inexplicable performance changes can indicate the presence of a virus. These rogue bits of malicious code can wreak havoc, clogging an otherwise functional PC with syrup or forwarding e-mail at random. I once cleaned a system that paused for 20 seconds with every mouse click.
Literally dozens of antivirus programs are available. If I suspect a computer is infected, Trend Micro's online scanner is my first stop. It runs in a browser window and doesn't require traditional installation. Modem users may want to skip this one.
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
If your browser of choice happens to be infected, Housecall's fresh out of luck. Which is when I'd resort to F-Prot.
F-Prot is far and away my favorite scanner. The bootable DOS version (not really DOS; capable of scanning NTFS drives) is a free download. It's quite good at cleaning partitions, a task certain AV scanners muck up. The commercial Windows version is similarly exceptional.
BUT it does have a price tag. And like any save-your-behind product, it may be tough to justify until the need arises.
Enter AVG Antivirus and Avast. Home versions are provided free of charge; no nag screens, no shareware. Choose whichever boasts the interface that you prefer.
http://www.grisoft.com/
http://www.avast.com/
Both are updated at least bi-monthly. And on that note..
It's vitally important that whatever scanner you choose has recent virus definitions. Hundreds of new viruses and variants proliferate daily. Most don't make it far, but it only takes one to slip past outdated defenses and wreck your day.
Remove Spyware
Installed Kazaa, did you? What about the four additional programs that now call your hard disk 'home'?
Spyware, to crib a definition from Whatis.com, is 'any technology that aids in gathering information about a person without their knowledge.' Similar brethren Adware forces unsolicited advertisements, as popups or otherwise, on the host PC.
In short, both suck. Only viruses are reviled more. So let's remove them.
Spybot and SpywareBlaster, both available at Download.com, cover all bases. The first obliterates existing spyware in three clicks. The second bulletproofs your browser against known malicious malware; you don't see the download popup, and it doesn't install. How cool.
Even if you're a savvy guru with firewall software, take note. Certain recent spyware automatically affirm 'yes' in the firewall permission box; on a fast system, this happens so quickly it may not appear at all, and your system then gives only an illusion of protection.
Advanced Solutions
Clean the Registry
The registry stores settings and information required by Windows and many installed programs. Registry management within Windows 98/SE/ME is weak; even uninstalled programs often leave a paper trail. Run the operating system for 6 months and even the most beefy system can be brought to its knees with unnecessary clutter. Windows 2000/XP suffer to a lesser, but still apparent, extent. Fortunately, there are two utilities that can significantly reduce the number of useless registry entries.
From MS, we have RegClean, a simple and conservative acknowledgment that Windows needs help from time to time. Operation couldn’t be simpler, although the program deletes only those extensions that contain erroneous data. It doesn’t check to see if the extension is actually used.
For that, download Registry Mechanic. On my own system, this application dramatically improved startup times and overall response. It was definitely worth the registration fee.
http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/
http://download.cnet.com/
Create A Fixed Swap File
Every generation of Windows uses some form of paging file stored on the hard drive. When your system has used all available RAM, it will begin to load data into this paging file. The file size is not static; when you’ve used both the RAM and the allotted paging space, Windows will increase the size of the allotment. If this happens, your system will momentarily slow to a crawl as your CPU and hard drive devote themselves to the task.
Windows allows you to circumvent OS control and set this swap file to the largest fixed size you think is needed to bolster system RAM. There are four pitfalls to setting a fixed paging file:
1. Varying disk usage prevents an accurate estimation of maximum size
2. Fixed paging files tend to fragment over time, but aren’t defragmented with defrag.exe
3. Uses excess hard drive space often unnecessarily
4. If you need more memory than your fixed file allows, your system may bluescreen.
BUT, if you want to avoid the momentary stall when Windows begins to play with your memory:
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ System ~ Performance ~ Virtual Memory
Set the maximum and minimum to the same size, say 300 MB. If you want a mostly static paging file, set the minimum to a high number, say 250 MB, and the maximum to 1000 MB.
If you want to monitor your swap file within Windows 98/SE/ME, run Sysmon.exe and add a window for swap file size. In 2000/XP, press CTRL-ALT-DEL, pull up task manager, and pull your way into the 'Performance' tab to evaluate memory use.
ADDENDUM, 2005:
As of late 2005, memory is extraordinarily cheap, and a standard Windows XP installation needs only about 512 MB to function smoothly with most applications. If the system is starved for memory, buying more will help to a much greater extent than messing with the swap file.
Disable Acoustic Management for Hard Disks
By default, most drives have a feature in place that reduces noise at the expense of lengthening the time it takes to find data. On a heavily fragmented or 5400 RPM drive, any rise in such seek times can be noticeable.
This doesn't rank as a particularly impressive tweak, but benchmarking extraordinaries should take note. To disable acoustic management, visit your drive manufacturer's website and download the appropriate utility. If you can't find it A) Look harder, B) Don't change anything, or C) Fall back on IBM's 'Feature Tool'.
Maxtor:
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/setacm.htm
IBM/Hitachi:
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#FeatureTool
Samsung:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/utilities/hutil.htm
Update System Drivers
To be more specific, update the drivers for your video card and IDE controller. If everything else works, it isn’t worth the hassle, but those two in particular should be updated.
If you have a video card capable of handling 3D games, the drivers have likely been significantly improved upon. OEM drivers are rarely up to date.
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ Display ~ Settings ~ Advanced
Your video card is the listed display adapter. Type the name into Google. If updated drivers exist, you’ll find them.
If you have a recent Intel motherboard (i8XX), download and install Intel’s Ultra ATA storage driver. With the proper driver, today’s hard drives can push 100 MB/sec in burst transfer rates. But not without it.
Via's 4-in-1 driver will have a similar effect on PCs with recent Via motherboards. Compatibility with Windows XP is also improved upon.
http://www.viahardware.com/download/index.shtm
If you haven't yet been to Microsoft's Windows Update website, do so. Not even MS can make perfect software the first time out; Windows Update allows them to correct mistakes after the application has been released. Stability generally improves after the installation of service packs available for free on the site.
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/storagedrivers/ultraATA/
To find out which motherboard you have:
http://www.biosworld.com/ctbios.htm
Run ctbios.exe. WinNT/2000/XP must open it from a command prompt; Start -> Run -> CMD.exe
For Cable Modems / DSL / LAN
By default, Windows is not optimized for high bandwidth connections. If you want to boost response times and maximize your bandwidth, head over to http://www.speedguide.net. Download the two tweaked registry/INF files for your operating system. Run the registry file, right click and ?Install? the INF. The default settings will be improved upon.
Expert
Disable Unnecessary Services
This is an extension of the very first thing I wrote about TSRs, and relevant only for those of you with Win2K/XP.
A service is the equivalent of a low-level background program. You can see most all of them under Task Manager/Processes. Like TSRs, they consume memory and resources. The difference, and the reason this tip resides in the expert category, is that some are essential to Windows and should NOT be disabled.
So, let's get started. Start ~ Run ~ services.msc
Sort by 'Status.' Everything with the phrase 'Started' is running in the background. You can stop or disable any service within the right-click context menu.
But what to disable?
http://www.blkviper.com/WIN2K/servicecfg.htm
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
As ever, the standard disclaimers apply.
Purchase More RAM and a 7200 RPM Hard Drive
If you have Windows 98/SE/ME, the minimum for decent performance is 128 MB. Double that if you run Windows 2000/XP, and quadruple it if you play games. RAM has hit an all-time pricing low; with 512 MB DIMMs going for some $25, there is little reason to have less than 256 MB in any system. My current Win2000 gaming/CAD machine has hit a motherboard-imposed limit of 1.5 GB.
The slowest part of any computer is the memory subsystem. In digital terms, RAM is sluggish and hard drives are the equivalent of delivering your mail to Europe by swimming the Atlantic. Even a seemingly modest bump in RPM from 5400 to 7200 represents a huge increase in performance. If your main drive runs at 5400 RPM, consider upgrading to a 7200 RPM model with a large 8-16 MB memory cache.
File System Conversion
If your original OS was Windows 95, there is a good chance that you’re still using a FAT16 file system. Converting to FAT32 won’t yield a speed increase, but it will enable large disk support and free up space, especially if you have a number of small files.
NTFS is a different story. If you have Windows 2000/XP, upgrading from FAT16/32 will significantly improve efficiency, performance, and security. However, once you convert, you can't go back. Windows 95/98/SE/ME won't read NTFS, so if you're dual-booting or sharing the drive between more than one OS, it may be best to stick with FAT32.
Win95/98/ME can access NTFS drives over a network, however.
BIOS Optimization
The detail required to cover this topic would fill at least 3 Epinions in and of itself. Just know that there are a number of settings that you can tweak for marginal performance increases across the board. It’s all very low-level though, so if you’re uncomfortable at all in Windows, don’t bother with playing with the BIOS.
Still reading? For the skinny on everything, click here:
http://www.adriansrojakpot.com/Speed_Demonz/BIOS_Guide/BIOS_Guide_Index.htm
Adrian's site occasionally goes down. A few substitutes:
http://www.electrocution.com/biosc.htm#The BIOS
http://burks.bton.ac.uk/burks/pcinfo/hardware/bios_sg/bios_sg.htm
http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/cpu/
RAID Arrays
Sounds a bit like the stuff mom used to use to kill cockroaches, doesn't it? In this context, RAID is a method to dramatically improve your hard disk performance under Windows 2000.
Credit to Tom Pabst of Tom's Hardware for this idea, for I would not have otherwise known of Windows 2000 RAID support. www.TomsHardware.com
RAID, or Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, is a way of storing data in different places at the same time. There are at least 10 levels of RAID, but the focus of this section will be RAID 0. As a corporate storage method, RAID 1 provides data redundancy by duplicating the same data over multiple drives. For home use where hard disk failure is a rare event, RAID 0 disk striping is the performance alternative. Disk striping allows discrete data to be read or written from two or more drives simultaneously, maximizing available I/O bandwidth. No space is lost; two 30 GB drives striped together would appear as a single 60 GB drive to Windows.
The Good:
1. Serious (30%-85%) performance boost in disk-intensive applications. Anything that modifies large files or copies/writes/reads to the drive often will see the most improvement. Think media editing (Adobe Photoshop/Premiere, WAV conversion) and the like. Load times will be reduced, although most office applications will not be significantly affected.
The Bad:
1. You need at least two individual hard drives (not just partitions!), preferably of similar size and speed.
2. Performance hit in slower systems. IDE is still controlled by the CPU; using multiple drives at once will strain older processors.
3. Drives do fail on occasion. RAID 0 stripes data like a peppermint stick; if your drive breaks, all data will be unrecoverable. RAID 5 includes parity bits that allow for data recovery and data striping, but it requires at least 3 drives and doesn't perform as well. Chances are slim that hardware will fail at a given time, but you're effectively doubling your bet with RAID 0.
4. RAID doesn't require that two drives be of equal size for striping, but it does automatically scale to the smaller drive. Excess space on the larger drive will not be used. To retain this space, you must partition the drive. (See below)
5. Windows 2000 will not allow itself to be placed on a software RAID drive.
Until recently, a RAID IDE controller was required to run a RAID configuration. Windows 2000/XP now allows for the same task to be performed entirely in software; no PCI card necessary.
To create your own RAID array within Windows 2000:
(Paraphrased from Tom Pabst)
Open the Storage section of the Computer Management console.
Start ~ Run ~ compmgmt.msc
Click disk management. All active drives will be listed in the bottom right windows. Remove the partitions by right-clicking the drive and selecting 'Delete Partition'.
This will delete all data on the drive! Backup whatever you want to keep BEFORE you remove the partition!
Convert each drive to a dynamic drive by right clicking and selecting 'Convert to Dynamic Drive'. Reboot.
Now, go back into disk management. Use the partition wizard to create a new RAID 0 partition over the two dynamic drives. When you finish, any leftover space on a larger drive can be partitioned into a logical drive for use.
Overclocking
I've already written an overclocking article in a different forum, but to recap:
Overclocking is the process of increasing frequency to boost performance. Modern chips are speed-binned; if it runs at XXXX MHz reliably, then it'll likely be sold at that frequency. Sometimes a chip manufacturer is forced to underclock quicker CPUs to meet demand in the budget PC arena. AMD has been doing this for quite some time with their Duron line, as had Intel with early Pentium III chips. If you should happen upon such a chip, it may be possible to boost performance considerably.
http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-2364-43866C41-3A46EAD4-prod3
SpeedGuide.net is a particularly comprehensive tweaking site, although more focused on internet connections than hardware. Their overclocking guide is excellent, if general.
http://www.speedguide.net/Overclocking/overclocking.shtml
Tom Pabst assembled a detailed how-to for bumping the clock frequency of older chips some time ago. If you have an original Pentium or AMD K6 processor, check it out.
http://www4.tomshardware.com/guides/overclocking/
Anand's guide below is exclusively for early Athlon chips.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1142
Ars has assembled a well-written collection concerning both theory and practice. Much of the information is timeless and quite useful for background.
http://www.arstechnica.com/paedia/overclocking.html
And finally, SysOpt's database of mean speeds attained for a given chip.
http://www.sysopt.com/ocdatabase.html
Overclocking is a risky proposition. Most processors have a bit of headroom, but it isn't a given. You risk permanent physical damage to the chip, but performance gains in an otherwise unlimited system can be substantial.
Unfortunately, current overclocking guides are few and far between. The vast array of available hardware precludes the creation of a truly comprehensive reference; thus, the best resource is often the overclockers themselves. Read through ArsTechnica's articles above and then supplement your knowledge with details from overclocking forums. You'll do fine.
Over the Edge
Reinstall the Operating System
If you’re still reading, I’m going to assume something is seriously lacking with your system and that you’ve hit a wall with aforementioned solutions. Whether it be sluggish everything, boot errors, or general instability, there is little an OS reinstall won’t fix. You have a couple of choices if you do choose this route:
1. Reboot into MS-DOS, delete your Windows directory, reinstall Windows 98/SE/ME with minimal settings.
If you do this, any program that requires registry information, especially those by MS, will have to be reinstalled. Simple programs may only require you to reinput registration numbers. Most every game will work fine. Your system will be as quick as it has ever been and you won’t use most of what you considered necessary before. Because your registry and System folder will be devoid of non-Windows components, any pre-existing program that stops working can simply be deleted instead of uninstalled.
Note that exporting your registry of the initial installation and importing it into the new one defeats the purpose of reinstalling the OS.
2. Reboot into MS-DOS, reformat your hard drive, and reinstall Windows.
I don’t recommend you do this unless you’ve completely trashed your existing installation. Backing up data and programs takes far too long to justify the completely clean Windows installation. Everything you use will have to be reinstalled.
The procedure itself isn't too bad:
a. Create a boot disk.
Start ~ Settings ~ Control Panel ~ Add/Remove Programs ~ Create Startup Disk
b. Reboot into DOS, type 'format X:', X the Windows drive. Follow the prompts, enable large disk support.
c. If you intend to install Win2000/XP, reboot and enter your BIOS. Make sure the first boot device is the CD-ROM. Save settings and exit. Now reboot. Windows will guide you through the rest of the setup.
If Win95/98/ME is more your preference, insert the floppy boot disk and reboot. Choose the option labeled 'Start PC with CD-ROM Support'. When DOS finishes loading, type 'X:' where X is the CD-ROM drive, likely D. Run Setup.exe. As in 2K/XP, Windows will take it from here.
3. Upgrade from Windows 98/98SE/ME to Windows 2000/XP from within Windows
Of the 3, this option will produce the best results in the long term. Windows 2000/XP is at least 10X as stable as Windows 98/SE/ME, much more robust, and much better at memory management. Whereas a reinstall of Windows 98 will be quick for the first month and slow thereafter, Windows 2000/XP offers consistently good performance in the long term.
Advanced Tweaking
Much of what I've listed above applies to every Windows operating system. There are a plethora of otherworldly OS-specific tweaks you can use to pull even more from your system available online.
Tweak3D is the most comprehensive site online for this purpose. Nothing is off-limits; monitors, speakers, video cards, DSL, an '86 Ford Taurus, you name it, they've messed with it. I strongly recommend a visit.
http://www.Tweak3D.net
An Ounce of Prevention
Jkkelley's highly amusing 'roving computer shaman' piece below will help you keep your lean, mean, and fresh machine exactly that. Check it out!
http://www.epinions.com/content_1309319300
Above, I've listed everything you can do to significantly improve system performance. If you have any questions, comments, or methods I may have missed, I'd love to hear feedback!
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