November 10, 2008 – 8:00 pm
The registry is a very powerful tool. You can tweak it to make your computer behave the way you want, or you can screw up and destroy your installation of Windows. It is important to know what you are doing before you change anything in the registry. The affects could be a minor annoyance, a broken application, or a complete system meltdown.
Before the release of Windows 95, Microsoft decided it was time to do away with the user-specific INI files scattered throughout the hard drive. They wasted valuable space and made it much harder for users to delete excess files. This solution seemed to make sense. Developers could store their application settings in a centralized place. Microsoft made it easy for developers to set certain settings to be global (that is, they were the same for every user on the computer) or user-specific. With the advent of the registry, the file system could remain clean, decreasing the chance a user would accidentally delete a system-critical INI file.
For people who want to tweak every aspect of their system, the registry can, with a high price. Instead of editing every setting in plain text (this means everything can be edited in Notepad), all the important settings were stored in a binary blob. Though Microsoft does provide the tools to edit everything in the registry, it is all very cryptic. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for (and where it is), you are unlikely to be able to do anything useful inside the editor. To be fair, INI files had a similar problem, but the settings inside an INI file are much easier to read than those stored in the registry.
There is no doubt the registry is a dangerous playground. You never know what will happen after you change a random key. If you get lucky, it will make your computer run faster and more efficient, but that is unlikely to happen. More likely it will result in a problem with one of your applications which is nearly impossible to fix. When editing the registry, it is advisable to use a program specifically designed to only remove keys which are safe. You must be careful about which program you use as shady developers have no qualms about placing spyware in your registry. Only download software from developers you trust. When in doubt about a program, don’t download it. The risk is too great.
Whether or not the registry was a good design decision is open to debate, but one thing is certain. Don’t change the registry without good reason and without taking proper safety precautions. Never change the registry without backing up both your current registry configuration and all your important files. When making a mistake could mean losing data, no preparation is too great.
October 16, 2008 – 10:19 pm
The registry gets larger as your Windows installation grows older. Nearly every program in existence uses the registry, and each new key added increase the size of your registry. As your registry grows larger, the time it takes for programs to search through it grows longer, slowing down your computer. Cleaning out the registry with a registry cleaner gives the system a worthwhile boost while helping to keep the spyware which hides itself in the registry at bay.
As we all know, the registry is not a safe place to be deleting files. Manually cleaning the registry is not a good idea. There is far too much potential to permanently destroy your operating system. Using an automated tool - registry cleaner is the best way to keep your computer safe and speedy. You may get the best results with manual editing, but only if you are an expert. The majority of people – even those who consider themselves experts – will not do it right. When the slightest mistake can spell death for your machine, don’t risk manual cleaning.
The most important thing when choosing a registry cleaner is the trustworthiness of the creators. If you can’t depend on the creators to make software which doesn’t ruin your computer, don’t install it. It is better to have a slow system than a broken one. There are many shady developers who would be more than happy to install spyware on your system while pretending to clean your registry. If you find a registry cleaner made by a less-than-reputable company, be warned that it is unlikely to do good things to your system. On the flip side, a good registry cleaner can remove hundreds (or thousands, depending on how ‘dirty’ your registry is) of unneeded registry keys. Care is needed when selecting the cleaning software as there is a significant difference between the good software and the harmful software.
Compare Registry Cleaning Tools Here
October 9, 2008 – 10:20 am
The fast track way to make your computer start up faster is by eliminating unnecessary programs that load when you start your pc. These programs once loaded tend to run silently in the background taking resources away from other applications that you use on a regular basis. Not every application needs to load when you start your computer – limiting the number of programs that load upon start up will improve your overall pc performance and also make your computer shut down faster.
You can get a glimpse of the programs running on your computer by using the RUN command to launch the MISCONFIG utility (start-run-MISCONFIG). Clicking on the start up tab displays all the programs that run at start up. Go through the list and un-check the boxes next to programs you don’t really require to load and run every time you start your pc. Save your new settings and re-boot your computer. You should see a noticeable difference upon restart.
Note: Not all programs can be disabled permanently using the MISCONFIG utility. Some programs when disabled this way simply create a duplicate entry in the start up list upon restart and continue to run taking you back to square one. The best way to get around this is to either remove the program completely from your computer or use a third party tool to disable the program permanently.
Disabling unnecessary programs and applications that load at start up is just one of the ways you can make your computer run faster including faster start up and shut down. For overall improved pc performance additionally cleaning and optimizing your pc registry, freeing up disk space and regular defragmentation of your hard drive are required.
A tool such as Regcure makes it easy for you to manage all aspects of your pc optimization from one interface. You‘ll find the process of managing your start up programs much easier and effective with tools start up manager. Simply specify your preferred settings the first time you run the program and the rest is automated.
Give Regcure a try now
October 6, 2008 – 11:38 am
The pc registry houses an amazing amount of power to change Windows to look and behave the way you want. There are hundreds, if not thousands of tweaks to change the way Windows works. Here are my top five tweaks; how to apply them, and what they do. In some cases the specified key may not be available. If this is the case, create the key and insert the value.
- Disable Autoplay – Whenever you insert a CD or plug in a USB drive, Windows gives you a list of actions you can do with that device. If this annoys you, the registry gives you the ability to turn it off permanently.
Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\DisableAutoplay
Value: 00000001
Type: dword
- Prioritize foreground task –In order to determine what process should get the most CPU time the computer gives each program a priority. Programs with higher priority get to take over as much of the system as they need, allowing them to run faster. This tweak will cause the program in the foreground (i.e., the one you are using) to have the highest priority. This will stop background programs from taking over your comptuer.
Key: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl\Win32PrioritySeparation
Value: 1
Type: dword
- Show full filenames on Desktop – By default Windows will ‘wrap’ the names of long files you place on the desktop. When you have a large number of icons this can be convenient, but those of us who have only a few icons like to see the entire name of the file. This registry tweak forces Windows to show the full filename for icons on your desktop.
Key: HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics\IconTitleWrap
Value: 0
Type: String
- Defrag System Files on Start – To keep your system running smoothly it is necessary to keep your hard drive defragmented. To help combat excessive fragmentation, you can tell Windows to defrag your system files each time your computer is turned on.
Key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction\Enable
Value: Y
Type: String
- Speed up your Start Menu – To help avoid users opening menus mistakently, Microsoft has implemented a slight delay between placing your mouse over a folder in the start menu and when the contents of the folder are shown. You can remove this delay with the following registry tweak.
Key: HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\MenuShowDelay
Value: 0
Type: String
There you have it! After applying these tweaks you should restart your computer for them to take full affect, then enjoy your speedier computer. There are many other tweaks available on the internet. Though I have tested each of these tweaks and can say definitively that they worked on my computer without negative consequences, you should back up your registry before attempting to change anything. A lot can go wrong if you accidentally change the wrong key, and without a backup you will need to reinstall Windows.
October 5, 2008 – 4:54 pm
With advancements made in computer hardware, operating systems have integrated advanced theme engines to help lure users by creating prettier interfaces for their features. Though it can look attractive, using themes to beautify Windows takes extra CPU cycles from your computer. If you find your computer running too slow for your tastes, disabling the themes can enable you enjoy a faster computer.
With Windows XP, Microsoft added the ability to run special themes in order to change the look of the Windows interface. Since XP was introduced, programmers have managed to unlock the files necessary to allow third parties to create their own themes. The third party theme market has flourished, giving rise to some excellent Windows themes. Regardless of the theme you choose, Windows will need to devote extra memory and CPU cycles to render your theme correctly. Those with extremely slow computers or gamers who need to squeeze every possible ounce of performance out of their computer should disable the themes to devote those resources to their applications.
Windows Vista has only aggravated the theming situation. Because computers have become exponentially more powerful in the six years it took for Windows Vista to be released, Microsoft decided to put some of the unused graphics resources into powering a completely new look. Though many people enjoy the new look, it is a well established fact that it is a tremendous resource hog. Vista is aware of this, and when any 3D application (such as games) is started, the theming engine is shut down to give your application as much power as possible. Vista also attempts to disable the theming engine if it determines your computer is now fast enough to properly display the themes. In theory this is good, but in practice Windows has an optimistic view of what hardware can properly run its themes.
Disabling themes is extremely simple. In Windows XP, right click anywhere on your desktop and press Properties. Once a small window has appeared, go to the Appearances tab. Select the Windows Classic Style. It does not matter what color scheme or font size you choose – Windows can render a blue title bar just as quickly as it can render a red title bar. Once you press the OK button your screen will briefly show a Please Wait… dialog. Do not worry if your screen turns black and white while this happens. It is normal – this is Windows’ way of showing that you can not use your screen. Once all the dialogs have disappeared, you should notice your new (and rather spartan) interface. Without themes, Windows XP and Vista look very similar to previous versions of Windows.
If you purchased a computer with no more than integrated graphics, turning off the theming engine of your operating system can give your system a boost which will turn your slug into a sprinting cheetah. In no way will this configuration change give you the ability to run new games at high settings, but it can take standard usage from bearable and raise it to the point where it is fun to use.
