Tag: system
February 05, 2009 by
Jason
Although a PC used for writing doesn’t need to be a high-performance computer, its performance can be improved by a good partitioning scheme. The biggest boost comes from my Paging partition on drive H, which is found on my second physical disk. I use this partition to boost performance in the following ways:
Move the paging file there. A well-known method for improving performance on a Windows-based computer is to move the paging file (pagefile.sys) from its usual location on drive C to its own separate partition on a separate physical drive.
Keep the Paging partition small (4 GB). By default the initial size of your paging file is 1.5 Ă— RAM and its maximum size is 3 Ă— RAM. So if your computer has 1 GB of RAM, which is pretty good for a desktop productivity computer, then setting your Paging partition to 4 GB gives you more than enough room for your paging file without wasting disk space that could be used for other purposes like storing data. Read More»
Posted in Computer | No Comments »
January 18, 2009 by
Jason Accompanying the public release of Windows 7 Beta Build 7000, Microsoft made available additional downloads, including the Language Interface Pack for the operating system, as well as the Windows Automated Installation Kit. The WAIK went live at the end of the past week, almost concomitantly with the Windows 7 Beta downloads, with the Redmond company emphasizing the connection between the solution and the next iteration of the Windows client. Serving a collection of resources aimed at streamlining the process of installing and customizing Windows installations, the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows 7 Beta) weighs in at 1376.1 MB and is packaged as an ISO DVD image.
“The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is a set of tools and documentation that support the configuration and deployment of Microsoft Windows operating systems. By using Windows AIK, you can automate Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, configure and modify images using Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management (DISM), create Windows PE images, and migrate user profiles and data with the User State Migration Tool (USMT),” Microsoft explained. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 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 As of November 2008, Microsoft is delivering the first taste of DirectX 11 for Windows 7 for download. A release aimed at developers, The November 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit, brings to the table the successor of Direct3D 10.1, namely Direct3D 11. In the SDK package, the Redmond company is offering a technical preview of Direct3D 11, but also the adjacent components and tools. Backwards compatible, content developed for Direct3D 11 hardware will also be compatible with earlier products supporting Direct3D 10 and 10.1 (in Vista SP1). Via the Windows 7 Developer Guide, Microsoft provides an insight into the new features made available by Direct3D 11.
“Geometry and high-order surfaces can now be tessellated to support scalable, dynamic content in patch and subdivision surface representations. To make good use of the parallel processing power available from multiple CPU cores, multithreading increases the number of potential rendering calls per frame by distributing the application, runtime, and driver calls across multiple cores. In addition, resource creation and management has been optimized for multithreaded use, enabling more efficient dynamic texture management for streaming,” Microsoft revealed. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 2 Comments »
November 27, 2008 by
Jason
Once again, it’s time to enhance your Windows XP operating system exactly the way you want and without paying a cent on expensive programs that do something so simple that even a kid could handle it. This series allows you to make important changes to the look, feel and behavior of your Microsoft Windows XP with just the help of the good ol’ Notepad. These tweaks, performed on the Windows Registry, can be undone, but it’s very important that you follow a few steps and remember that the lines you are about to copy must be carefully selected and/or copied, because a single misplaced / missing / added character may seriously damage your OS.
So, before continuing our journey into the land of magical tweaks, it’s imperative that you read the first article in the series to understand not only the basic rules that must be followed in order to get the job done right, but also… what’s the deal with all the bold lines below. Before starting yet another series of desktop tweaks, please allow me to remind you not to leave the tweaks.reg file blank after opening it. Therefore, now that you’re viewing it in Notepad and have placed the “Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00” [without the quotes] at the beginning, let’s start optimizing. Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | No Comments »
November 23, 2008 by
Jason Windows XP has less stringent Windows Product Activation algorithm compared with Windows Vista. For example, PC computers from branded OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is activated out-of-factory, and most hackers and pirates go for volume licensing (commonly known as VL or VOL) version of Windows XP Professional which when installed with a volume product key (VLK), does not require user to activate again online or by phone.
However, Windows XP does require product activation too. Doesn’t need (as in the case of when using OEM or VLK product key, which is instantly and automated activated) to perform steps to activate Windows XP doesn’t mean that Windows XP is not activated, and activated Windows XP is one of the requirement for the installed copy of operating system to be considered by genuine by Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Validation Tool.
To check, view or verify the Windows XP current activation status, open Run command from Start Menu, and run the following command: Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | No Comments »
November 20, 2008 by
Jason Mr Dave Glover of Blogs.MSDN.com wrote a guide on how to create a USB Thumb Drive Vista Installer. The article is interesting because recently a friend of mine wishes to install Windows Vista onto a laptop in which DVD drive is not working anymore (it’s already dead).
BTW, this is really useful for all DVD less laptops. So, I wrote a Complete Step-by-Step Beginner’s Style Guide on how to do it easily, Not Just For the Geeks But For All.
1. Format the USB Stick as NTFS: Open Windows Explorer and Right-Click the Drive > Choose the Format Option
2. In the File System Combo box, Choose NTFS and Click the Start Button to begin.
3. Afterwards, Open the Command Prompt as Administrator: In Start Search type, cmd > Press CTRL + Shift + Enter
or you will get… “Access is denied” Message after launching diskpart command. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 10 Comments »
November 14, 2008 by
Jason So you are using Windows Vista and feel that its slower than Windows XP? Then you have come to the right place.
Following tutorial will help you in tweaking your Windows Vista to the max and you’ll feel a significant improvement in your system performance. So without wasting any time lets start:
1. Following is a registry file containing a few registry modifications, which are completely safe and can increase the performance of Windows Vista. Just download the attached ZIP file, extract it and then run the file:
Tweak Windows Vista
Restore Default Settings (Use this file if you want to restore default Windows settings)
2. Right-click on My Computer icon on Desktop and select Properties (or press key + key), click on Advanced system settings link in left side pane (You can also open it by typing sysdm.cpl in RUN or start menu search box and press Enter). Now click on Settings button in Performance section: Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
November 09, 2008 by
Jason When you get a new PC that contains the latest specifications offered in the market, you will always be thinking of speed. Normally, a new PC will perform up to par but if you notice, at some point it will deteriorate and slow down.
A lot has to do with the programs you install and use. The more programs you have on your PC, the larger the load will become. A PC user cannot help but install as they wish the programs that they have and normally it eats up space and adds to the usual processes that a standard computer has to run.
Once that happens, you can notice a decline in system performance. You may even think you have a worm or a virus inside. But while that would be a good conclusion, do consider the fact that there is such a thing as overdoing it when it comes to your computer capacity. No matter how large the hard drive may be, it remains that processors and memory chips also have their limitations. Read More»
Posted in Computer | No Comments »
October 30, 2008 by
Jason
Have you ever clicked on the Shutdown or Restart button in Windows and have absolutely nothing happen? Sometimes Windows gets stuck because of some process that has become hung, meaning it is running, but can’t be ended in the normal way.
Hence, you try to shutdown or restart your computer, nothing happens at all. If you’re lucky, after a minute or two, you might see a message pop up saying that a process is hung and you can either let Windows try to end it or you can press End Now. I always prefer End Now!
Unfortunately, sometimes Windows simply refuses to shutdown and it won’t give you any kind of message. Don’t worry, the underlying cause of this is still a hung process, so all you need to do is kill the non-critical Windows processes one by one or modify the registry so that a hung process is automatically ended without manual intervention. I’ll explain both methods. Read More»
Posted in Computer | 2 Comments »
Loading ...
