If you are Vista user, you sure will know about the problem of Vista. Vista seem like the memory a lot, 1G ram is the minimum requirement for running Vista, else you will found the speed is not satisfied. This is the major problem occur since the Vista launched.
However, one good news here:
Microsoft already develop the Services Pack 1(SP1) to re-cover the weakness of Vista. What you need to do is just update the SP1 into your Vista. Please note that this SP1 can not be automatically updated due to some technical problem. In this case, you might need to update it manually. Do not worry about the cost, this is totally free.
If you do not know how to update the SP1, you can go for below link which showing you step by step.
Blog Blogging: SP1 - Update Tutorial
Showing posts with label Windows Operating System. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Operating System. Show all posts
Disk space
Here are the top consumers of disk space and what you can do about it:
1.) After extraction, Vista itself can take over 5GB for a clean installation, and upwards of 10GB if it is a pre-installed copy from the manufacturer. This is normal.
2.) If you are upgrading from a previous version or installing another copy of Windows on the same partition, look for a WINDOWS.OLD folder in the local drive. (Usually C:\) That will contain previously-installed programs, documents, etc. that had to be moved for the installation. Copy out what you need/want and delete the rest.
3.) System Restore can reserve a considerable amount of space (up to 15% of the drive’s capacity) for saving restore points, particularly if your copy of Vista supports Shadow Copies. Unlike with XP, there is no easy slider option to adjust the maximum space used, but you can still do so using the command line. (Press ctrl + R and type in cmd followed by pressing enter.) When the command prompt appears, type in the following, entering the correct drive letters and intended size: vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=5GB (this is just an example).
4.) IBM and Lenovo include a feature called Rescue and Recovery, which automatically backs up key files similarly to System Restore. While this is designed to protect you from data loss it can take up considerable space on your hard drive, in excess of 50GB in some cases. If this proves to be problematic you can disable the feature by accessing the ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery utility and unchecking the "Schedule Your Backups" box under Set Schedule and Preferences. You can then recover the lost space by going into the Advanced preferences and using the "Delete Backups" option. A special thanks to rimb1172 for bringing this issue to our attention.
5.) The Recycle Bin can take up space as well, so right-click it, select Properties, and adjust the permitted capacity as needed.
6.) The system paging file (also known as Virtual Memory or the ‘swap’ file) also takes up space on the hard disk, though it is recommended that you let Windows continue to manage it as it sees fit. Restricting it can reduce system performance and cause ‘virtual memory’ error messages.
7.) A lesser-known fact is that there are two different definitions of the terms megabyte, gigabyte, etc. In short, hard drive manufacturers say 1GB is equal to 10^9 bytes, whereas Windows is based on the idea that 1GB equals 2^30 bytes (technically a gibibyte, not a gigabyte). Thus, a 100GB hard drive will be reported as being 93GB by Windows. You were not cheated, it’s simply a difference in definition.
8.) Last, but certainly not least, personal files, downloads, etc. can take up hundreds of GBs. To identify the areas in which most of the space is being used I suggest the free program TreeSize. With a few clicks you should be able to find the source, and delete it if you desire.
1.) After extraction, Vista itself can take over 5GB for a clean installation, and upwards of 10GB if it is a pre-installed copy from the manufacturer. This is normal.
2.) If you are upgrading from a previous version or installing another copy of Windows on the same partition, look for a WINDOWS.OLD folder in the local drive. (Usually C:\) That will contain previously-installed programs, documents, etc. that had to be moved for the installation. Copy out what you need/want and delete the rest.
3.) System Restore can reserve a considerable amount of space (up to 15% of the drive’s capacity) for saving restore points, particularly if your copy of Vista supports Shadow Copies. Unlike with XP, there is no easy slider option to adjust the maximum space used, but you can still do so using the command line. (Press ctrl + R and type in cmd followed by pressing enter.) When the command prompt appears, type in the following, entering the correct drive letters and intended size: vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=5GB (this is just an example).
4.) IBM and Lenovo include a feature called Rescue and Recovery, which automatically backs up key files similarly to System Restore. While this is designed to protect you from data loss it can take up considerable space on your hard drive, in excess of 50GB in some cases. If this proves to be problematic you can disable the feature by accessing the ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery utility and unchecking the "Schedule Your Backups" box under Set Schedule and Preferences. You can then recover the lost space by going into the Advanced preferences and using the "Delete Backups" option. A special thanks to rimb1172 for bringing this issue to our attention.
5.) The Recycle Bin can take up space as well, so right-click it, select Properties, and adjust the permitted capacity as needed.
6.) The system paging file (also known as Virtual Memory or the ‘swap’ file) also takes up space on the hard disk, though it is recommended that you let Windows continue to manage it as it sees fit. Restricting it can reduce system performance and cause ‘virtual memory’ error messages.
7.) A lesser-known fact is that there are two different definitions of the terms megabyte, gigabyte, etc. In short, hard drive manufacturers say 1GB is equal to 10^9 bytes, whereas Windows is based on the idea that 1GB equals 2^30 bytes (technically a gibibyte, not a gigabyte). Thus, a 100GB hard drive will be reported as being 93GB by Windows. You were not cheated, it’s simply a difference in definition.
8.) Last, but certainly not least, personal files, downloads, etc. can take up hundreds of GBs. To identify the areas in which most of the space is being used I suggest the free program TreeSize. With a few clicks you should be able to find the source, and delete it if you desire.
Reverting Vista to Windows XP
Given the number of people looking to remove Vista from their systems, I would like to offer a few notes:
1.) Microsoft does not support ‘downgrading’ Windows, so if you wish to revert to Windows XP you must format the drive, which means you will lose all personal files and settings. Please back everything up before reverting.
2.) Most manufacturers are no longer shipping recovery system CDs/DVDs with new computers, so if Vista was preinstalled I would strongly recommend burning the CDs/DVDs yourself from the hidden partition the manufacturer created on your hard drive. To do this you should find an option in the Start Menu along the lines of ‘burning system restore discs.’ Without these discs you will be unable to reinstall Vista at a later date, if you so choose.
3.) Many people have reported being unable to install XP on the same drive/partition as the current Vista installation. If you find yourself unable to reformat or delete the partition using the XP CD, you can use the free utility DBAN to wipe your hard drive and give you a clean start. If creating a bootable floppy or flash drive, please note that you need to run the executable you download in order to create the bootable disk…you cannot simply copy the .EXE onto the disk. On the other hand, if you are creating a bootable CD/DVD please note that you must burn the ISO as an image file, not just as a data file.
4.) If Vista was preinstalled understand that the computer manufacturer most likely will not support your installation of XP, meaning they will neither provide full technical support nor provide all of the required drivers. Make sure such drivers are available from the third-party manufacturers (ATI, Nvidia, Realtek, C-Media, Lucent, etc) before reverting to XP.
5.) Please note that if you have an OEM copy of Windows XP from another computer you can not install it on your new computer. OEM and otherwise preinstalled copies of Windows are tied to the specific computer and cannot be legally moved. You can only transfer the license to the new computer if it was a full retail copy.
6.) You may also consider dual-booting Vista with another operating system, such as Windows XP, letting you switch back and forth between the two at will. Have a look at the above tips to get started.
1.) Microsoft does not support ‘downgrading’ Windows, so if you wish to revert to Windows XP you must format the drive, which means you will lose all personal files and settings. Please back everything up before reverting.
2.) Most manufacturers are no longer shipping recovery system CDs/DVDs with new computers, so if Vista was preinstalled I would strongly recommend burning the CDs/DVDs yourself from the hidden partition the manufacturer created on your hard drive. To do this you should find an option in the Start Menu along the lines of ‘burning system restore discs.’ Without these discs you will be unable to reinstall Vista at a later date, if you so choose.
3.) Many people have reported being unable to install XP on the same drive/partition as the current Vista installation. If you find yourself unable to reformat or delete the partition using the XP CD, you can use the free utility DBAN to wipe your hard drive and give you a clean start. If creating a bootable floppy or flash drive, please note that you need to run the executable you download in order to create the bootable disk…you cannot simply copy the .EXE onto the disk. On the other hand, if you are creating a bootable CD/DVD please note that you must burn the ISO as an image file, not just as a data file.
4.) If Vista was preinstalled understand that the computer manufacturer most likely will not support your installation of XP, meaning they will neither provide full technical support nor provide all of the required drivers. Make sure such drivers are available from the third-party manufacturers (ATI, Nvidia, Realtek, C-Media, Lucent, etc) before reverting to XP.
5.) Please note that if you have an OEM copy of Windows XP from another computer you can not install it on your new computer. OEM and otherwise preinstalled copies of Windows are tied to the specific computer and cannot be legally moved. You can only transfer the license to the new computer if it was a full retail copy.
6.) You may also consider dual-booting Vista with another operating system, such as Windows XP, letting you switch back and forth between the two at will. Have a look at the above tips to get started.
What Do I Do When Scandisk and Defrag Won't Run In Win9.x/ME
If you review past posts, many people have this same problem. Prior to running Scandisk or Defrag, be sure to shut down all programs running in the background by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete (at the same time)and "End Task" on each program listed except for Explorer and Systray. It's usually best to do the Scandisk first, then Defrag. Virus Scanning programs and Find-fast can make your Scandisk loop over and over again. If it's any consolation, if you do it frequently (once every week or two), it goes much faster. Also make sure you delete all the unneeded files (Cookies, History, and Temporary Internet Files) prior to doing the above. No need to scan and defrag all those extra files. Shut down your screen saver temporarily as this can also freeze scandisk and defrag.
After opening Scandisk, place a CHECK mark in “Automatically Fix Errors. Click on the "Advanced" button, then make sure the settings look like this:
Display Summary=Always
Log File=Replace Log
Cross-linked File=Delete
Lost File Fragments=Free
Check Valid Files For=Place a check in ALL of the options
Check Host Drive First
If for some reason, it still doesn't work, run both programs in "Safe Mode". Restart the computer, pressing the F8 key once per second, till it loads a selection screen. Use the up and down arrows to select "Safe Mode", press enter, and the computer will load into a safe mode. It looks like a normal screen but with Safe Mode in each of the four corners. The various drivers don't work in Safe Mode but it allows you to Scandisk and Defrag. When you’re done, restart the machine and it will boot normally.
If all else fails, run Scandisk in DOS. For Win95/98 users: Reboot the computer, pressing F8, once per second, till the selection screen loads. Use the up/down/left/right arrows to navigate to the MS DOS Command prompt section, then press enter. When the DOS prompt loads, type "scandisk" (without the quotes). Press enter. After it runs in the standard mode, it will then ask you if you want to run the "thorough" version. Choose yes or no. “Thorough” takes a very long time, but does check your hard drive sectors. When you’re done, navigate to the “Exit” selection, press “Enter”, then press the power button to turn off the puter. Restart the computer and it will boot into Windows normally. Gain access to a Command Prompt in Windows ME this way: Shut down the puter, place the Windows ME start up disk in the floppy drive, start the machine. When the menu appears choose "Minimum Boot". Press Enter. When the command prompt appears, type "scandisk", then press enter.
After opening Scandisk, place a CHECK mark in “Automatically Fix Errors. Click on the "Advanced" button, then make sure the settings look like this:
Display Summary=Always
Log File=Replace Log
Cross-linked File=Delete
Lost File Fragments=Free
Check Valid Files For=Place a check in ALL of the options
Check Host Drive First
If for some reason, it still doesn't work, run both programs in "Safe Mode". Restart the computer, pressing the F8 key once per second, till it loads a selection screen. Use the up and down arrows to select "Safe Mode", press enter, and the computer will load into a safe mode. It looks like a normal screen but with Safe Mode in each of the four corners. The various drivers don't work in Safe Mode but it allows you to Scandisk and Defrag. When you’re done, restart the machine and it will boot normally.
If all else fails, run Scandisk in DOS. For Win95/98 users: Reboot the computer, pressing F8, once per second, till the selection screen loads. Use the up/down/left/right arrows to navigate to the MS DOS Command prompt section, then press enter. When the DOS prompt loads, type "scandisk" (without the quotes). Press enter. After it runs in the standard mode, it will then ask you if you want to run the "thorough" version. Choose yes or no. “Thorough” takes a very long time, but does check your hard drive sectors. When you’re done, navigate to the “Exit” selection, press “Enter”, then press the power button to turn off the puter. Restart the computer and it will boot into Windows normally. Gain access to a Command Prompt in Windows ME this way: Shut down the puter, place the Windows ME start up disk in the floppy drive, start the machine. When the menu appears choose "Minimum Boot". Press Enter. When the command prompt appears, type "scandisk", then press enter.
To make you Windows 95/98 faster
1. Wallpapers: They slow your whole system down, so if you're willing to compromise, have a basic plain one instead!
2. Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible. New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!
3. Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using. This helps reduce the overload on RAM.
4. Boot Faster: The 'starting Windows'message on startup can delay your booting for a couple of seconds. To get rid of this message go to c:\ and find the file Msdos.sys. Remove the Read-Only option. Next, open it in Notepad or any other text editor. Finally, go to the text 'Options' within the file and make the following changes: Add BootDelay=0. To make your booting even faster, set add Logo=0 to remove the Windows logo at startup.
5. Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.
6. Turn Off Animations: Go to Display Settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects Tab. Now turn off Show Windows Content While Dragging and Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts. This tip is also helpful with Windows XP because of the various fade/scroll effects.
7. Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run. Now type Regedit and hit Enter. The Registry Editor will appear on the screen. Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You should see a MenuShowDelay value. If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String. Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay. Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field. This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.
8. Resolutions: If you are willing to do anything for faster performance from your PC, then try lowering your display resolution. The lower it is, the faster your PC.
9. Turn off Active Desktop: Go to your Display Properties and switch to the Web tab. Uncheck View My Active Desktop As a Web Page. Since the Active Desktop option under Windows 98 uses a lot of system resources, this option can have a dramatic effect on the speed of the whole system.
10. Defragment Often: Windows 98's Defrag tool uses Application Acceleration from Intel which means that when you defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.
11. Take your PC to Bed: Using the Advanced Power Management feature under Windows 98 gives you the option to use the sleep command. That way, you can send your PC to sleep instead of shutting it down and then restarting it. It's as simple as pressing a button and then pressing the same button to wake it up. You can tell Windows after how many minutes/hours of inactivity to automatically sleep the machine in the Advanced Power Management section of the Control Panel.
12. Faster Internet Access: If you use the internet for reference and the sites you visit are rarely updated then try the following. In IE (the same can be done in Netscape) go to Tools, Internet Options. Next, click on Settings... in the Temporary Internet Files section. Finally, select Never for the first option and double the amount of storage space to use, click OK!
13. Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be very useful when run frequently. It can tell you how your PC's components are performing and then compare them to other machines like yours. For example, when you overclock your PC, you want to know how much more speed you have and whether it is stable. All this and more can be discovered using benchmarking. An excellent piece of software for doing this job is SiSoft Sandra which can be found in the Downloads File Archive!
14. Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting. Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer. Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows. This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.
15. Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject. This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive.
16. Start Up Programs: Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up. To eliminate this, check your Start up folder. You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up. Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run. Type msconfig. It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs. They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!
17. Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder. Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process. To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want. Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.
18. Stretching Wallpapers: Don't "stretch" your wallpaper in Windows 98 since it actually slows Windows down when you drag icons around on the desktop.
19. RAM Matters: If you have less than 32MB then you should seriously think of upgrading it to at least 64MB. Windows runs much more smoothly with 64MB or higher and tends to use less hard disk space for virtual memory.
20. Partitioning: A very nice little thing you can do to boost system performance. By partitioning your hard drive, splitting one physical drive into several logical ones, you can gain several advantages.
1. If you get a virus or you accidentally format a drive, not all will be lost.
2. By placing the swap file (Win386.swp) on a separate drive, The swap file will be less fragmented and thus, faster.
3. Place Windows on a separate drive and whenever you need to reinstall it, you rest assured that your data is safe on a separate drive. Partitioning can be done using a few programs such as FDisk which comes with DOS. However, FDisk formats everything on the hard disk before partitioning. Alternatively, you can use Partition Magic from Power Quest to partition your hard disk without losing your data.
2. Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible. New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!
3. Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using. This helps reduce the overload on RAM.
4. Boot Faster: The 'starting Windows'message on startup can delay your booting for a couple of seconds. To get rid of this message go to c:\ and find the file Msdos.sys. Remove the Read-Only option. Next, open it in Notepad or any other text editor. Finally, go to the text 'Options' within the file and make the following changes: Add BootDelay=0. To make your booting even faster, set add Logo=0 to remove the Windows logo at startup.
5. Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.
6. Turn Off Animations: Go to Display Settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects Tab. Now turn off Show Windows Content While Dragging and Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts. This tip is also helpful with Windows XP because of the various fade/scroll effects.
7. Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run. Now type Regedit and hit Enter. The Registry Editor will appear on the screen. Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You should see a MenuShowDelay value. If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String. Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay. Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field. This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.
8. Resolutions: If you are willing to do anything for faster performance from your PC, then try lowering your display resolution. The lower it is, the faster your PC.
9. Turn off Active Desktop: Go to your Display Properties and switch to the Web tab. Uncheck View My Active Desktop As a Web Page. Since the Active Desktop option under Windows 98 uses a lot of system resources, this option can have a dramatic effect on the speed of the whole system.
10. Defragment Often: Windows 98's Defrag tool uses Application Acceleration from Intel which means that when you defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.
11. Take your PC to Bed: Using the Advanced Power Management feature under Windows 98 gives you the option to use the sleep command. That way, you can send your PC to sleep instead of shutting it down and then restarting it. It's as simple as pressing a button and then pressing the same button to wake it up. You can tell Windows after how many minutes/hours of inactivity to automatically sleep the machine in the Advanced Power Management section of the Control Panel.
12. Faster Internet Access: If you use the internet for reference and the sites you visit are rarely updated then try the following. In IE (the same can be done in Netscape) go to Tools, Internet Options. Next, click on Settings... in the Temporary Internet Files section. Finally, select Never for the first option and double the amount of storage space to use, click OK!
13. Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be very useful when run frequently. It can tell you how your PC's components are performing and then compare them to other machines like yours. For example, when you overclock your PC, you want to know how much more speed you have and whether it is stable. All this and more can be discovered using benchmarking. An excellent piece of software for doing this job is SiSoft Sandra which can be found in the Downloads File Archive!
14. Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting. Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer. Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows. This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.
15. Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject. This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive.
16. Start Up Programs: Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up. To eliminate this, check your Start up folder. You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up. Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run. Type msconfig. It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs. They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!
17. Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder. Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process. To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want. Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.
18. Stretching Wallpapers: Don't "stretch" your wallpaper in Windows 98 since it actually slows Windows down when you drag icons around on the desktop.
19. RAM Matters: If you have less than 32MB then you should seriously think of upgrading it to at least 64MB. Windows runs much more smoothly with 64MB or higher and tends to use less hard disk space for virtual memory.
20. Partitioning: A very nice little thing you can do to boost system performance. By partitioning your hard drive, splitting one physical drive into several logical ones, you can gain several advantages.
1. If you get a virus or you accidentally format a drive, not all will be lost.
2. By placing the swap file (Win386.swp) on a separate drive, The swap file will be less fragmented and thus, faster.
3. Place Windows on a separate drive and whenever you need to reinstall it, you rest assured that your data is safe on a separate drive. Partitioning can be done using a few programs such as FDisk which comes with DOS. However, FDisk formats everything on the hard disk before partitioning. Alternatively, you can use Partition Magic from Power Quest to partition your hard disk without losing your data.
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