6 replies to this topic

[Claw]

I'm installing updates on a Windows Vista while  I'm on this computer,,but it seems like it is taking forever!!!! Everything I have installed on it took so damn long,,including software to try and help speed it up!! I guess that explains why some friends want to sell them cheap,,even to me!!!!

[Apokalipsys]

Do you have some SP installed on it, or it is the original release? Vista is really "BAD" if no SP is installed. Try with SP-1 or better with SP-2 and keep it updated. The updates, most of the time, can help speed up things a little; but don't expect too much of it. I don't know what Microsoft was thinking when they got this "thing" out. I prefer Windows 7 Pro but I have to keep a VM with it just for tech support.

Also it will be a good idea to defragment your HDD and to trim off some stuff in the boot process. You can also deactivate all those services and fancy stuff of the OS that you will not be needing.  

[Claw]

Been there , done that,,has SP-2. A former programmer for local business here may be getting me a still sealed in box copy of Windows Longhorn. He is  now a software collector. He also has an old Hard Drive that is the size of a very large microwave oven,,I mean this thing is huge,,and only like a Gigabyte or something like that!!!!Have to go check the Vista!!!!

[Apokalipsys]

I almost forget... try to clean and defragment your registry. This usually improves overall system speed and you can "actually feel" it...! Good luck! (The max speed of the system will be determined by its slowest component so tell your friend to get something better, ha, ha, ha...   )

[Claw]

Well buddy , I just installed Wise Disk Cleaner that I downloaded from here at Freewarebb.com and got myself 1gig of space back. She's running faster already but it don't run like my old XP!!!! If Vista was a person,,they would be confused, like they're not sure what to do next!!!!

[Apokalipsys]

Talking about disk space, try also CCleaner, you can use it to squeeze out some more space and to fix some registry errors too (along with some other goodies...). You can also try to free more space by  deleting unnecessary or too old system restore points, for that you can use the build-in utility of the OS (which can also free a little more space) or you can look up for a small free utility called "System Restore Manager"; yes, CCleaner can also do that, but I think this is better on that field.

It is a good idea to verify the amount of free HDD that you have and keep an eye on it constantly; the OS and some apps (many more than we would like) create temporary files that are not always removed as they are supposed (and some can grow really huge). As a rule, specially on small drives, it is a good idea to keep always more or less 10% of the HDD space free because of that; for large drives this can vary (..but always leave a few "free" GBs). If the HDD does not have enough space to create those temporary files, the OS will run slow, you will have trouble loading and running apps and opening or creating files, you could get ugly crashes and stop errors, even browsing the Internet could become a drag, the virtual memory of the system will not be enough, you will get slow performance sending docs to your printers or you will not be able to print at all, you might get problems when creating system restore points, and many other annoyances.   (If you do not use the hibernation feature of the OS, you can free up more space by disabling it.)

There is other free small utility called "SpaceSniffer" that you can use to get an idea on how your disk space is being used. Another good freeware app that you can use to repair and defragment your registry is "Glary Utilities".

Don't forget to defragment your drive. Although a registry defrag procedure is not always needed or recommended, a well defragmented drive can do wonders. For that matter you can try "Auslogics Disk Defrag" although another good alternative could be "Smart Defrag v2" but this last one is from IOBits. You should defragment your drive regularly to keep it in good shape. If you have never defragmented the drive before, the first time could take a very long time. Subsequent defrag procedures should be a lot faster.

Anyway, do a search on these apps directly from this site and you will get not only the apps, but useful info along with them too.

Something else that can speed up your system, if it has more than one HDD, could be moving the "swap file" or "page file" to the faster drive.

Cheers buddy!

[Claw]

Hey Apok,,you sound like a software advertisment,lol. I use" Glary Utilities","CCleaner",and " Auslogics Disk Defrag" on my personal computers! I also have installed "Wise Disk Cleaner" and "Acebytes"!!!! Apok,,I always get my Freeware here at "FreewareBB.com". You can run to Filhippo,Cnet ,MG,or Gizmos,,BUT WHY? If you don't see it, look in the corner of your screen,,and use the search and ABRACADABRA!!!! there it is!!!!
Now you have me sounding like one,Lol!!!! Gotta run, later buddy!