Tag: Performance
January 14, 2009 by
Jason
Update Vista’s DirectX9 files for better game compatibility
One of the fixes for getting games to run in Vista that do not normally (such as FEAR and 3Dmark06 as two examples) is relatively simple. These games require the latest version of Directx 9. Vista does not actually contain a full installation of Directx 9, just some elements for compatibility purposes. So, install Directx 9.
To install Directx 9c on Windows Vista:
step 1: Download the latest DirectX 9 redistributable file from Microsoft.com here.
step 2: Unzip the file into a folder on your desktop or in your documents.
step 3: Run the DXSETUP file.
step 4: You can delete the folder after the install has finished.
Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
January 13, 2009 by
Jason Mozilla introduced Firefox Snowl in the first half of August 2008, and the open source project evolved into its next stage as of January 12, 2009. Mozilla Labs unveiled Firefox Snowl 0.2, moving onward with the development of the solution, from the initial release, which was, by all means, an extremely primitive prototype. With version 0.2 of its experiment with messaging in the browser, Mozilla Labs has in fact taken the conversing capabilities of the project a step further.
“We’re pleased to announce Snowl 0.2. This version of the messaging-in-the-browser experiment builds on the first release with an updated river view, a new stream view for keeping track of messages in a sidebar while you do other things, the ability to send tweets, and support for multiple Twitter accounts,” Mozilla’s Myk Melez revealed.
Users should make no mistake about it, as even at version 0.2 Snowl is still in very early development stages, making them more testers than actual users. However, the program does increase the level of Twitter integration. The solution now supports sending messages through Twitter, but also the ability for users to both receive and send Tweets from multiple accounts that they first need to subscribe to. Read More»
Posted in Firefox | No Comments »
January 09, 2009 by
Jason While Outlook 2007 offers many new features that do indeed offer real benefits it can come at a price – performance.
On my Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM Outlook 2007 originally took a good 20 seconds to fire up from a fully booted PC and appeared to be constantly sluggish. So what can be done about it?
Tip 1: Delete attachments
A little-known feature in Outlook is the ability to keep an email but delete one or several attachment. Firstly, sort your inbox by file size (descending) and open a message (by double clicking so it opens in a new window) where you no longer wish to keep the attachment. Right click over the attachment and select Remove. Now save the email, repeat with all relevant emails in this mailbox and then repeat in any other mailboxes (including your sent items). Read More»
Posted in Office | 3 Comments »
January 08, 2009 by
Jason Forget about the leaked Windows 7 Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, as the official fully-fledged Beta of the next iteration of the Windows client is now available for download straight from Microsoft. In the opening keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show 2009 (CES 2009) in Las Vegas, Microsoft Chief Executive Office Steve Ballmer informed that the company had given Windows 7 Beta 1 downloads the green light. “I’m excited to announce that we are releasing the beta of Windows 7. Our TechNet and MSEN customers can get Windows 7 right now,” Ballmer stated. However, for the time being only TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers can grab the Windows 7. As previously announced, the public release of Windows 7 Beta 1 will be made available for download on January 9, 2009.
“If you are [a] MSDN Subscriber, you can download Windows 7 Beta right now,” a member of the Microsoft team focused on developers revealed. “By making Windows 7 Beta publicly available, we are hoping developers and enthusiasts will download it and the SDK, and will start testing this new Microsoft OS – Windows 7. Now that the beta is out and available, we can start engaging developers and can provide them with technical content, so they can test and experiment with Windows 7.” Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
January 06, 2009 by
Jason
Microsoft is optimizing Windows 7 in order to increase performance, and, in this context, the dispatcher lock is one of the components that has got cut off . According to the Redmond company, fewer hardware locks are synonymous with boosted parallelism, namely a new level of efficiency when it comes down to taking advantage of modern processing architectures. This is valid for Windows Server 2008 R2, namely Windows 7 Server, and, naturally, also for the Windows 7 client, since the two operating systems share the same code base.
“With Windows 7, the dispatcher lock is replaced with several finer-grained synchronization techniques, thus effectively distributing resource contention. The main benefits for applications include increased system performance and more optimal use of available hardware resources,” Phil Pennington, Windows Server Technical Evangelism, revealed.
Evolving from Windows Vista, Windows 7 is embracing the many core CPU world, delivering the promise of enhanced performance through the advantage represented by parallel computing. However, in order for Win7 to be tailored to many core processors, the platform’s kernel had to be freed from past relics such as the dispatcher lock. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
December 23, 2008 by
Jason You’ve read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it’s time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP’s secrets.
1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ’systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type ’systeminfo > info.txt’. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).
2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run… and type ‘gpedit.msc’; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only). Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | 3 Comments »
December 07, 2008 by
Jason Vista SP1 did not do the trick for your RTM copy of the operating system? While such a scenario is highly unlikely, Microsoft is getting closer and closer to taking Windows Vista to the next level, again. Until Window 7 drops, users will be able to get their hands on Windows Vista Service Pack 2, currently planned for release in the first half of 2009. The first public taste of Vista SP2 is, in fact, already available for download, via the bits released as a part of the Customer Preview Program for Vista SP2 Beta and the Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta, which debuted for MSDN and TechNet subscribers on December 2.
“Windows Vista SP2 is a traditional service pack release with all cumulative released security updates available since the SP1 release in March 2008. In addition, Windows Vista SP2 includes support for new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in coming months, along with fixes discovered via automated error reporting as part of our Customer Experience Improvement program,” stated Celine Allee, director, Windows Client, on December 2, 2008. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
December 04, 2008 by
Jason One of the several things I like to do to keep my Windows computer running efficiently as possible is to remove unnecessary programs or processes from running that I really don’t need (such as crapware).
The next type of optimization I usually perform is to see if there are processes that I do need, but don’t want them running all the time and wasting valuable resources that can slow down performance. The first place I usually look for these types of processes is Windows Services that are set to auto start during boot up.
Once I identify which service or set of services I don’t need running constantly in the background, I’ll create a simple batch file that can be clicked on to start them up quickly…when I need to have them running.
If you are not familiar where to look for Windows services, there are several ways to access the services console window. The quickest way is to click on Start \ Run and enter services.msc from the run box. Read More»
Posted in Computer | No Comments »
November 30, 2008 by
Jason The moment has come once again to pimp your Windows XP with the skills of a power user and the tool that will always be at your disposal, Notepad. This article, along with the previous ones (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5), will allow you to enhance and customize your operating system with advanced IT knowledge. Are there advantages to it? Of course there are. For one, the procedure is very fast, easy to perform and, in most cases, the result cannot be obtained through the “standard procedure” – Control Panel, Folder Options, Performance Options etc.
However, before getting started, if what we’re talking here is not something that you’re familiar with, or if you have not read yet the first article in the tweaking series, please do so now, because, otherwise, what is about to follow may not make any sense at all. Without a single trace of a doubt, that’s not something that we would want, is it now? This is all the more true since, as long as we are here, you will probably notice that, as promised above, the tweaks I’m about to present cannot be made using the old-school methods. It would be a pity to pass up this chance just because you’re not familiar with a few basic rules. Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | 1 Comment »
November 26, 2008 by
Jason
Firefox has been outperforming IE in every department for years, and version 3 is speedier than ever.
But tweak the right settings and you could make it faster still, more than doubling your speed in some situations, all for about five minutes work and for the cost of precisely nothing at all. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Enable pipelining
Browsers are normally very polite, sending a request to a server then waiting for a response before continuing. Pipelining is a more aggressive technique that lets them send multiple requests before any responses are received, often reducing page download times. To enable it, type about:config in the address bar, double-click network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining so their values are set to true, then double-click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set this to 8.
Keep in mind that some servers don’t support pipelining, though, and if you regularly visit a lot of these then the tweak can actually reduce performance. Set network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining to false again if you have any problems. Read More»
Posted in Firefox | 1 Comment »
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