Troubleshooting Windows Performance
a.k.a
Why is it soooooooo slow?
By
Danny Dooley
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to give you the information and tools necessary to diagnose and resolve
Windows performance problems. Resolving performance problems is not often a simple matter and so
great care must be taken when undertaking this task. The benefits of this can be significant--in that the
useful life of the computer can be greatly extended, as well as the productivity of the user enhanced.
After all, isn't that the point of owning a computer in the first place?
This document will refer to several processes and techniques that if applied carelessly, can result in
severe problems with the computer--not limited to crashes and the loss of data. You should always
follow the mantra: If in doubt, don't! The tools and processes involved will not prevent you from doing
things you should not. Therefore, it is your responsibility to only make the changes you fully understand.
Before beginning this procedure, a full and complete backup of the computer should be performed.
Please be cautious in sharing these kinds of tools and techniques with other people. Doing so often
results in us receiving emails similar to the following: "My friend Bob gave me this neat utility and told
me how it can make my computer run faster. After using it my computer won't boot. I don't have a
backup. Please help!" Don't be Bob. If you really want to help your friend, make sure he/she gets the
complete set of instructions--and warnings.
All of the recommended procedures should be followed to achieve the greatest improvements in
performance. Some of the steps build upon each other so failing to follow one or more of them may
prevent any significant gains.
This document is quite long and contains as much in theory as actual steps to perform. You might be
wondering why this is the case. It is because making a computer run optimally requires taking a
completely different philosophical approach to computing than most have considered before. Without
making some fundamental changes however, any improvements gained will be short lived at best.
Therefore, it is important that the entire document be read and understood. This will provide the
maximum amount of benefit to you, the computer user.
Things to consider
Remember back when you brought home that new shiny computer? Remember how it used to run so
fast and everything was just great? What happened? It's the same machine it was before. Windows XP
has not changed that significantly in the amount of resources it needs since it was first released back in
October of 2001. So what did change to cause it to become so slow? Everything installed on it, that's
what.
Tough Love
We all have to make tough decisions. We have to decide things like, "Will I order the triple cheeseburger
with fries or a salad?" While the burger may taste a whole lot better, it does not come without a hefty
price. The extra fat and calories are going to end up somewhere and it usually isn't where we want
them. Over time this starts to add up and our bodies can sometimes slow down. The same holds true
for your computer. The more 'fat and calories' you load it up with, the worse it will perform. Just like it
isn't always easy to give up that 'burger' everyone loves so much, it is often difficult to get rid of that
favorite program or tool that can sometimes choke the very life from your computer. This is where you
have to learn to be very strong.
"It's the economy, stupid!"
The famous political quote of a past U.S. presidential election can be readily applied to the problem of
computer performance. The foundation of modern economics is based upon the concept of scarcity--
the limited availability of resources, goods and services and how everything gets distributed--so to
speak. When it comes to computing performance, the same is true. You have a finite amount of
computing resources. The more things that make use of this 'limited resource', the less there is for
everything else--including you! The health of the computer's 'economy' (performance) is a direct result
of how you utilize and take care of it. Remember this fact, it really is important.
"Enough already! Just give me the magic command to make it all better."
Sorry, it doesn't exist. Restoring a sluggish computer's performance is as much an art as a science. There
are no magic bullets here. It takes some time and effort to get your computer running as optimally as
possible. The time spent here will quickly make up for itself in efficiencies gained down the road. One
user reported that after their computer was cleaned up, they were able to perform a task that used to
take over four hours in less than two. And that was without spending a dime on hardware upgrades.
Think about that for a bit.
"Less is More"
If you have attended the computer performance class I teach then you should already be familiar with
this phrase. For those that haven't, this is one of the most critical things to make sure you take away
from this article. This concept worked well in architecture for Ludwig Mies van der Roe (the architect
who coined the phrase) and it will work for you. What this means is that the only things that should be
installed on your computer are those things which you actually need and use. The majority of computer
performance (and many stability) problems can be resolved by strictly adhering to this one simple
philosophy. The problem is almost all of us have pack-rat tendencies when it comes to our computers.
That's something that has to be overcome if you want to spend more time working on your computer
and less time waiting on it.
What are the most common causes of computer 'pokiness'?
1. Excessive helper apps and tools
2. Bloated and poorly written applications
3. Maintenance needs
4. Viruses, spyware and other malware
5. Lack of hardware resources.
Notice the order of the previous list. The order is intentional. Some of the ones most commonly
attributed to slowness, such as viruses, are pretty far down the list. Why is that? Because even though
things like viruses can cause severe performance problems, the vast majority of cases have nothing to
do with them. Instead, the IT department sees untold numbers of computers suffering from slowness
due to the things listed in the #1 and #2 spots above. It is often the applications that are supposed to
help us that can often cause the most harm. Let's break down each category in the hopes of getting a
better understanding of what they are.
Excessive helper apps and tools
Helper apps are those little programs that run for the specific purpose of providing some basic service(s)
to the user or a parent application. Common examples are auto-updaters or task bar icons (the ones
that appear next to the clock). While they can sometimes perform useful functions, too many of them
can impact your computer's performance.
The original purpose of most of these tools was to actually to save us time and effort. The average
computer user does not periodically check for updates to programs and devices, hence one need for the
helper application. Unfortunately, few of these applications allow you any way to change their behavior
or remove them if you don't want or need the functionality they provide. Currently, it seems like almost
every application comes with one or more. This was not always the case.
There was a time back when computer memory was very expensive so programmers had to take special
care when writing programs. One of the first computer memory purchases I made was a 16MB (Yes that
is MegaByte and not Gigabyte) Ram chip that I found on sale for the impressive price of $499. It really
was a good price at the time. Of course now I can buy a full 1GB of ram for less than $50. Times have
changed. Because of this, computers of the past few years have shipped with much greater amounts of
memory in a trend that will only continue. Knowing this, programmers tend to not really care as much
about using a little more memory than is really necessary. Hard disk space has likewise greatly increased
in capacity over the past few years and so programs tend to take up more and more space. Today one
can easily find they are running out of these resources that would have been thought of as unbelievably
huge only a few years ago.
Helper programs can do more than just check for updates however. Some provide useful functionality as
with the Microsoft Office OneNote icon which provides a way to instantly create a "sticky note". Others
are not nearly as beneficial. Such is the case with Adobe's Speed Launch helper application. One of the
biggest complaints users had with using PDF files was how long they took to load compared to other
document types. When Adobe looked for a way to address this, did they simply writer smaller and faster
programs? Unfortunately, they did not. Instead they created a helper application that loads the core
adobe reader program into memory. Now, when a user clicks to open a PDF file, it only has to load the
PDF and not the whole program. It made PDF files seem to load a lot faster but it took resources away
from other applications for something that may rarely ever be used--and they provided no easy options
to change this behavior. Like so many others, disabling this helper application takes special tools in order
to remove which we will look at a little later.
When the problem grew severe enough, Microsoft tried a solution that only masked the problem. They
added the "hide inactive icons" feature which is what allows you to hide and expand the set of icons in
the taskbar that appear next to the clock. I understand why they did it. I see computers all the time that
when expanded, the list of icons stretches over half way across the screen. The problem is you should be
annoyed by that many icons--and not just because of the screen real estate they take up. Running too
many startup applications will impact your computer's performance. Do yourself a favor and turn off the
hide feature. When the list of icons starts to become annoyingly large, you know it is time to start
eliminating some of the applications from your computer.
It should also be noted that helper tools are the single most common cause of Windows shutdown
delays and frequent stability problems. They really are something you want to get under control.
Bloated and poorly written applications
As is the case with the spread of helper applications, so it is with many of the applications and utilities
themselves. Take a look at anti-virus applications these days. Many are nearly as big as entire suites of
applications such as Microsoft Office. These over 'carbohydrated' applications can have a huge impact
on overall system performance. Probably the single worst culprit of all is the all-in-one security suite.
These monster applications can take an otherwise healthy running machine and dramatically reduce its
performance all by themselves. They try to pack every feature including the kitchen sink into one
package and then add a few more every year--after all they have to give you some reason to pay more
for next year's edition, right? Of the hundreds of machines we have worked on, there is no single more
effective thing we can do to speed up a sluggish computer than to uninstall one of these suites and
replace it with one or more stand alone options. If you own one-let it expire and switch to something
else. If you don't-keep it that way.
"But I just paid $XXX to renew it?"
Yes we understand but you should consider the following two options:
1) Keep using something that makes your computer run annoyingly slow for the next year or two.
Or
2) Remove it and install one of the free applications that provide the basic protection you need
without sucking the very life from your computer.
Don't let yourself fall into the trap of having to continue to use your security suite just because you've
already paid for it. You can have something for free that is better today. Take advantage of it today.
Don't believe me? Take the Pepsi...er AV challenge. Uninstall the suite for just a week and replace it with
one or more of the recommended free options. If you don't notice a definite increase in the
performance of your computer then reinstall your old suite and we can offer you a full refund on the
new programs--oh wait, they're free =).
Some of the stand alone third party firewalls (free and paid) have also become excessively bloated.
These can take a large amount of resources and slow down your computer for the little benefit they
provide. If you decide you really need one, make sure you pick one that is fast and efficient. Online
reviews can sometimes be helpful in this regard--especially the ones posted by the product's users.
Maintenance Needs
Your car needs regular maintenance to keep running at its best and so does your computer. Computer
maintenance involves three basic things:
Updates
Removing unused files and programs
Disk Defragmentation
Updates involve both Windows Updates as well as driver updates for your computer and its
components. Often times the drivers that ship with a machine are the first ones which often focus more
on initial functions than anything else. As time goes by, the drivers are often improved to provide a great
deal more performance without sacrificing any of the stability you have come to expect. This is no truer
for any device more than your graphics card. Graphics card drivers can often be updated to add more
features and capabilities that can add real value to your computer. New drivers can resolve bugs that
were only found after the computer shipped so updating them can even result in a more stable
computer. That's not to say the new ones are always perfect, but on average the newer ones are usually
better.
Removing unused files and programs can not only save disk space, but it can also remove unwanted
helper applications as well as reduce the size of the clutter in the Windows registry. The registry is the
place where Windows and the programs on your computer store most of their settings. Needless to say
this file is accessed almost constantly. If you were to try to look up something in a pocket dictionary
verses the entire Encyclopedia Britannica set which do you think would take less time? The same goes
for the computer. The less excess data it has to wade through in the registry the faster it can find what it
really needs.
"What about registry cleaners?"
Well, at best they can clean up some of the entries that uninstalled applications leave behind. At worst
they can mangle Windows. It goes back to the triple cheeseburger example. Sure you can undergo a
triple bypass to unclog those arteries, but how much better is it to prevent the problem in the first place
by not installing things you don't need? In order to use a registry cleaner "safely" you need to review
each entry the program wants to remove to make sure it is okay for it to do so. There can sometimes be
hundreds if not thousands and often many should not be removed. The programs often try to remove
anything they don't recognize or understand. This is particularly true of specialized security apps such as
Safeboot. More than one machine has come back to us euthanized by a registry cleaner that had
Safeboot installed. Did you make that backup we talked about earlier?
Disk defragmentation is a process by why which the computer optimizes the files and folders on the
computer in order to make them quicker and easier to find. How much should you care? A lot. The hard
disk is the single slowest major component in your computer bar none--well maybe faster than your
modem, but I digress. The average laptop hard disk can transfer data at 30-50MB sec (real world values).
Even average speed memory today can transfer information at speeds of 3GB+ (3000MB) sec, so you
can see where the bottleneck usually is. Anything you can do to keep that hard disk performing
optimally is crucial to overall system performance.
"So what is fragmentation anyway?"
When your computer wants to store something on the hard disk it looks for the first available space and
places as much of the file into that space as possible. If it does not all fit, it takes the remainder and
moves on to the next free space and places it there and so on. For a larger file, this can result in the file
being scattered (fragmented) all over the surface of the hard disk.
"Well, why doesn't it just look for a single spot big enough to fit the whole thing?"
Remember our discussion of how slow your hard drive is? It would take far too much time for the
computer to accomplish this. The performance cost of doing this would be huge.
"So what happens when my hard disk becomes fragmented?"
Well think of it this way. Imagine you live on a small neighborhood street. Each house has a small
storage space which you have been kindly granted the use of in order to store the printout of your
family tree-- which just so happens to date all the way back to Adam. Needless to say, that takes a lot of
paper and space. You go to the first house to store the document but find only enough room to store
the first section ranging from Adam through Moses. You rip the first part off, leave it there (with a note
telling you where the next section is stored) and go on to the next house. The next house has even less
room and can only manage storing Amram through David (work with me here). The next house gets you
Solomon through Ahaz and then on to Hezekiah through Azor. You get the picture.
Now let's say your first grandchild was just born and you want to add them to the list before showing it
to everyone. You go to the first house to collect the document. Problem is, only part of it is there. There
is a note there however telling you where to go next. Of course when you arrive there you find another
section with yet another note telling you where to go next. This goes on and on until you have the whole
document which you can then edit and then save again (yep, you guessed it) by ripping it apart and
saving pieces wherever there is room. If it sounds like a lot of work, it is. That's why defragmentation is
not your friend.
"So I should defragment my drive every day?"
No, that isn't good because it causes excessive wear and tear on the drive--for little gain. Windows
knows when fragmentation reaches a level that you should do something about it. That's why there is
the analyze option that tells you whether or not you should perform a defrag. The only exception would
be if you have deleted an excessively large amount of data from the drive that you do not plan on
putting back. Otherwise, just click on the 'analyze' button once a month or so and do whatever it tells
you from there.
Viruses, spyware and malware...oh, my!
This section covers all of those pesky programs that can sometimes install themselves onto your
computer without your consent--intending some nefarious deed. It can be something as relatively minor
as popping up an ad-window or be as severe as stealing your passwords and randomly deleting files off
your hard drive. Needless to say, this is not the kind of company you want your computer to be keeping.
This is also one of those areas where prevention is the best medicine. Even if the virus is removed, any
changes it may have made to your computer are still there. It is important to realize that no antivirus
software is 100% effective. Like biological viruses, computer viruses are constantly mutating and doing
their best to get past your computer's defenses. You need to do your part to help it out. Don't open
suspicious email attachments. Don't install pirated software (90% of which comes with viruses and/or
adware). That free screensaver you are thinking of downloading is probably free for a reason!
That's not to say everything free is infected. If you stick to downloading from legitimate known sites
(such as download.com) they regularly scan their libraries for viruses and adware but again--nothing is
ever 100% perfect. If in doubt--don't!
Don't click that ad! Studies have shown that large numbers of legitimate web sites such as Google, MSN
and Yahoo have hosted ads that (unknowingly to them at the time) downloaded malware onto user's
computers just by clicking on them. Buyer beware.
Viruses and malware can cause all kinds of problems on a computer, not the least of which is sluggish
performance. They can also result in crashes, hangs and other problems in addition to whatever it is
their intended purpose is in infecting your machine--which is never anything good. Besides practicing
smart web browsing and downloading techniques, make sure you have antivirus & anti-adware
applications installed (did I mention there are some great free ones?), and keep them up to date. They
will normally update themselves automatically, but if they do ever report a problem with downloading
updates it is something you need to take care of in a timely manner.
Lack of hardware resources
This is far too often the answer users get when it comes to performance problems.
Customer: "Help, my computer is running slow?"
Salesman: "When did you buy it?"
Customer: "last month?"
Salesman (look of shock): "Last month!!? We quit selling that model three weeks ago to make room for
the new Intel quad core processor! It's time to bring you out of the Stone Age. Will that be Visa or
MasterCard?"
The above situation is sadly not all that much of an exaggeration. The truth is, I have a three year old
laptop (as of this writing) sitting beside me that runs very fast and can handle just about anything I want
it to do. I expect at least another two useful years out of it. The all too common answer is to just throw
more money at your problem.
User: "Help my computer is running slow."
Expert: "Add another Gigabyte of memory and call me in the morning."
Neither of these answers is particularly helpful. It may be that your computer is indeed so old that you
need a new one or perhaps would benefit from a memory upgrade. Make sure however, that before you
do throw money at the problem you know that it is really what is needed to resolve the problem.
"But how can I tell?"
Fortunately, it's fairly easy to tell. Once you have followed everything in this guide, you should be able to
tell with certainty if you need any hardware upgrades or if you just need to clean some of the clutter off
your machine that is bogging it down. Enough learning! Now let's move on to the action!
Step 1: Uninstall everything from add/remove programs that you are not
actually using.
This is where the rubber meets the road and where people have the most trouble. Not that this is
technically difficult mind you, but it is difficult to uninstall that favorite program you have not used in
four years but someday you just might! Trust me you won't. Uninstall it. You can always reinstall it on
the off chance you really do need it. Right now it is just taking up space and possibly contributing to your
system slowness in one or more of the ways we have discussed. This is where you need to be brutal and
merciless. Some of the worst offenders are:
Browser toolbars
Desktop search tools
Camera/printer utilities and tools
I sometimes see browsers that have so many toolbars installed in them that the menu bar takes up half
the screen whenever you surf the Internet. Most of them get installed when you install an unrelated
program. Usually there is an option during the setup of a program where you can uncheck a box to not
install them. Pay attention and deselect anything you are not going to actually use. If it's already
installed, then go to add/remove programs and uninstall it right away. Don't wait around. Time is
wasting--literally.
Desktop search tools can greatly reduce your search times, but only at a fairly heavy performance price.
If it's something you use regularly then it will probably be worth the performance cost to you. If
however, you are like most people I talk to who say something like: "So that's what that little window
is!", uninstall it. It is not worth the performance hit if you rarely use the feature.
Camera/printer tools can install unbelievable amounts of software on your computer. Some of the
Canon and HP products for instance will install over ten different applications, many of which start
automatically every time you boot the computer--even if you never intend to use them. This problem is
only magnified when other applications get installed that accomplish the same purpose. Installing the
software for just a camera, Scanner and a printer can result in over 30 applications in many cases!
Sometimes they can even conflict and cause unexpected problems. I once worked on a computer for a
stuttering video playback problem. When I investigated the issue, I found no less than four video players
installed, each of which was fighting to be the one that actually got to play the DVD. Make sure you only
have one program installed to perform any core function and uninstall the rest. Even if you aren't using
them they can still be causing problems. This is especially true for Antivirus applications. Never install
more than one under any circumstance.
Modern computers are often shipping with so many pre-installed applications that they can be running
somewhat slow from the very day you receive it. Remember the 3 year old computer I mentioned
earlier? It's currently running Windows Vista. It runs it quite well--faster in fact than many of the brand
new computers that I see coming through our office on a regular basis. It isn't always the machine--keep
that in mind. Uninstall any of the pre-loaded software that came with the machine that you don't need.
Again, you need to be brutally thorough in this. Each program is only looking out for itself and how it can
make itself look better regardless of the cost to you or the rest of the computer. This is also the reason
why you have to do this yourself instead of just asking a tech guy to do it. I can't know what you use and
what you don't. You have to make the decision on what stays and what goes but always error on the
side of 'going'. You can always reinstall it later if you really have to have it.
You can uninstall applications following these instructions:
1. Click on the Start button and choose Control Panel
2. Double-click on add/remove programs (in Vista this is Manage Programs)
3. Scroll down through the list of installed applications and click on any entry you want to uninstall
and click the Remove or Change button. In Vista, the uninstall button is on the toolbar itself.
4. The program will then run a removal routine which may require you to make a selection or two
before the un-installation is complete.
A word about wait states
Ever notice that sometimes your computer tends to slow down or pause even though nothing seems to
be happening? Even if you check your CPU utilization in task manager you see that nothing is happening
and the hard disk is idle. What gives? You have probably fallen victim to a wait state. A wait state is
where one or more processes on the computer have control and are waiting on something else to
happen. Eventually they time out and things return to normal. This happens most when you have a lot
of different utility processes running at the same time. The best thing you can do to prevent this is to
uninstall everything you don't need from the computer. The less processes running on the machine, the
fewer things there will be for the remainder to wait on. This is especially true for utility type applications
Even a single poorly written application can bring your computer to its knees in this way.
Step 2: Configure Programs to not start automatically and use helper
apps.
Many programs have settings where you can tell them to not run automatically or load the helper
application they install by default. Two common examples of this are QuickTime and Windows
Messenger. Both applications have settings to turn off the tray icon but it can sometimes be a bit buried.
For Windows Messenger, go to tools -> options -> preferences and uncheck the box to run at Windows
startup. For QuickTime, the setting can be found in the QuickTime player settings under the option
'show the QuickTime icon.' You also will need to uncheck the option to disable automatic updates.
"But won't that mean my player/program will eventually be out of date?"
Yes it will. You will periodically need to go and manually check for updates. If you don't want to bother
with this then just leave it checked. Remember that it comes with a price in performance however. If
you fail to update some applications you can leave yourself open to known security vulnerabilities so
you have to keep on top of this. Performance is often a compromise between convenience and effort.
You have to decide which is more important to you. I'll take speed any day.
Step 3: Disable hidden helper apps and other startup programs.
We talked earlier about the excessive number of startup applications the typical computer has these
days. Too many of them cannot be removed by any means within the programs themselves. Therefore
we require a little help from a good friend called Autoruns. Autoruns is a free program that allows you to
easily find every program and process that starts up on your computer. It's a great tool. It can also
render your computer unbootable. Therefore, great care must be used when implementing this tool.
Remember my discussion about not being 'Bob' earlier? This is what I was talking about. Don't just give
Autoruns to someone with a quick blurb about how it can make your computer run faster with just a few
clicks here and there. Instead, give them this document and make them read it and then download the
tool themselves. They need all this information just like you did so be a friend and help them out.
Autoruns was created by a company named sysinternals that was later purchased by Microsoft. They
(namely one guy named Mark), produce numerous powerful tools for the expert user. Because they are
geared for the expert user, they will not prevent you from blowing up your computer. The author
expects you to know what you are doing if you use them--and you better. Fortunately, this guide will
give you the basic information you need to know in order to use this tool safely--if you pay attention.
Did I mention earlier that you should make a complete backup of your computer? Now would be a great
time to do so if you have not already. I'll be waiting right here when you get back.
Autoruns can presently be downloaded from this location:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/systeminformation/autoruns.mspx
Download the file to your desktop and then extract it to a folder where you would like to keep it. When
you look at the extracted folder you will see several files in there. Among the files will be Autoruns.exe
and Autorunsc.exe--the latter of which is the command line version which you won't be using. Go ahead
and double-click on Autoruns.exe. Click on the "I agree" button and then a screen will come up that
looks something like the following image:
This is the main program window for Autoruns. You will see numerous tabs along the top. You want to
click on the one called 'Logon'. You should only ever click on the tab called logon. If you click on the
other tabs and make changes, you can render your computer unbootable. Here be dragons. You have
been warned.
Once you click on the Logon tab you will see a list similar to the screenshot below:
The list should now be much shorter than it was when viewing the 'Everything' tab. Now comes the
effort part. You will need to go through the entire list and find out which programs you need to run and
those which you can safely disable. To find out what a program is you can look to the description and
publisher columns for some information. You can also right click on the entries and choose "search
online". This will open a browser window and automatically search MSN for the name of the file. You
should then be able to get a pretty good idea what the program does--or at least what device it belongs
to. If you still don't know, you can always post a question in the forums or email lwchelp.
When it comes to disabling things with Autoruns--If in doubt, don't. I really mean it. This is not a tool
you can just start disabling things with and hope for the best. Some of these entries will prevent
windows from even starting if you mess with them. It is your responsibility to identify each entry you
want to remove. If you don't want to bother taking the time to figure it out, close the app and leave the
computer alone. It really is that serious.
To prevent an item from starting up automatically, simply uncheck the box next to it. Unchecked
programs will not run automatically. You can right click on and delete a program if you are sure you will
never want (or need) it. Deletions are permanent so be sure you really want to do this before you
actually do it. There is no undo here.
Below is a brief explanation of the objects from the screenshot above.
Rdpclip = Allows you to use copy and paste when using remote desktop to connect to another
computer. Leave it be.
userinit.exe = Core system file. Touch not.
Explorer.exe = Core system file. This is not Internet Explorer the browser, but Windows itself. Really,
really touch not.
Acronis = Several entries for the backup program installed on this machine. Necessary for this program
to work.
Apoint = Laptop Touchpad app. Needed for custom settings only. Helpful, but optional
BlutoothAgent = Used to control communication with Bluetooth devices. Not needed if you don't use
any Bluetooth devices.
BroadcomWireless = Used for controlling the Wireless network card. If you set the app to let Windows
control the wireless then this app is redundant and can be disabled--but not deleted.
Quickset = allows the special buttons to work such as volume, play and pause. Most makers have some
utility like this. If you use the buttons keep it, otherwise you can disable it.
DVD Launcher = launches DVD's when inserted. It is completely redundant as Windows can do the same
thing on its own. Disable it.
IMEKRMIG6.1, IMJPMIG8.1, MSPY2002 = Language files. If you install East Asia languages then you will
have these files. They are needed for displaying the special characters. If you don't want this feature
then remove the actual feature--don't just uncheck these here.
NvCplDaemon, NVHotkey, NVMediaCenter, nwiz = Files for the NVIDIA graphics controller. They
provide some additional features but are not necessary. Optional.
PHIME2002A, PHIME2002ASync = More language files. Same as earlier language files applies.
SigmatelSysTrayApp = Sound controller software. Allows a few extra features but not necessary (Do you
really need surround sound control on a laptop?). Optional
trueImageMonitor.exe = More Acronis backup files. Needed for this program to work.
AutoHotKey = A windows hotkey manager. Optional
OneNote 2007 = OneNote hotkey manager. Optional
Webshots.Lnk = Screen saver application. Optional
Ctfmon = Microsoft Office Alternate language tool. Needed for Language features such as the language
bar.
MSMSGS = Windows Messenger. Optional but should be disabled within the Application first.
There is the complete list. Now what needs to be done is to find any of the optional entries that are not
needed and uncheck them. In this case I unchecked the following:
Broadcom Wireless (I use Windows to manage this), DVD Launcher, NVHotkey, NVMediaCenter, and
nwiz.
The rest are programs that are used and so I left alone. Once the computer is rebooted, these changes
will then take effect. If Safeboot is installed it will have an entry named SBMGRTRY.exe or
sbtraymanager.exe and it is critical that you do not uncheck or delete this entry.
The list for your computer will vary quite a bit, though the core windows components will remain the
same. Some of the common things that can be unchecked are:
Automatic Updaters - Usually will have update in the name somewhere
Media helpers - Everything from Itunes to RealPlayer has them. They are almost never needed.
Image grabbers - Tools for loading files off your camera. Windows has built in tools that can
usually accomplish the same task.
AdobeSpeedlaunch - Enough said already.
When it comes to the optional apps you may have to try un-checking them, reboot and then run the
main program to make sure everything is working okay. Most programs will operate just fine without
them and if you run into a minor issue you can always recheck the box and then reboot in order to
resolve the issue.
It should be noted that this is also a very effective way to remove some viruses. There are some
however that require a great deal more work than this and will simply replace the entry if you remove
them. Virus removal with Autoruns is an advanced topic that goes well beyond the scope of this article.
You can often spot viruses by funny names as well as exe files that are installed into the Windows
drivers. Exceptions to this rule would include webcam software--especially from noname brands. Bigdog
is actually the name of a valid webcam helper application--don't ask me why.
Some helper apps such as QuickTime, iTunes and others will replace the disabled/deleted entry every
time you run the app unless you uncheck the setting from within the program. This is also true of
performing many program upgrades as well. You may have to periodically check for programs that have
added themselves since the last time you looked.
Here's one critical thing to keep in mind. Let's say you go ahead and disable your Bluetooth because you
don't even own any Bluetooth devices. Next Christmas however, you find a brand new fancy mobile
phone under the Christmas tree. All excited, you turn it on and try to sync your Outlook contacts to the
phone. Guess what happens? Yep, the computer fails to detect the Bluetooth phone because you
disabled the Bluetooth feature which by now you have completely forgotten about. After pulling your
hair out and wasting hours on the phone with tech support you find out what happened. You need to
remember the changes you make and periodically review them in case you need to make further
adjustments one way or the other.
Step 4: Perform Regular Maintenance on the machine
Microsoft Updates
You should always make sure your machine is up to date with Microsoft Update. Not only are there
important security updates available there, but there can also be new versions of programs such as
Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player and other enhancements. Some drivers can even be
automatically detected and downloaded this way. Many of these options will only be visible however if
you choose the 'custom' option instead of 'express' option on the Microsoft Update Page. If you are still
using 'Windows Update' and not 'Microsoft Update', go ahead and choose the option to upgrade from
the Windows Update page. Microsoft Update will offer more updates on one page (such as for Office)
instead of you having to look in several separate locations.
Defragging your hard disk
To see if your drive needs to be defragmented go ahead and open My Computer. Right click on the drive
you wish to check and select Properties. Select the Tools tab and press the Defragment Now button.
The disk defragmenter program will open and you will have the option to Analyze or Defragment.
Choose Analyze and then only perform a defragmentation if instructed to. A defrag can take hours and
while you can still use your computer during this time, it will probably run much slower.
"It says I don't need to run a defrag but the picture shows everything is all broken up and spaced out all
over the drive."
The purpose of defragging a drive isn't to make the picture look pretty or even cram everything all
together in order to leave one big open spot of disk space. In fact that is the last thing you want. You
want some spaces all over the disk to allow existing files to expand without then forcing them to
become fragmented. If every file is all bunched together, the drive will quickly become very fragmented
as you use it. It is also normal that some files cannot be defragmented. This is normal and not a problem
unless they start to take up a significant amount of the hard disk. Very large files can only be
defragmented if you have a lot of free space on the drive.
You should check for Windows Updates as well as defragmentation about once a month. It's easy to
remember if you try to do it at the beginning or end of the month.
"What about third party utilities that claim to defrag better than Windows?"
These tools are not compatible with Safeboot and many other disk encryption products. Don't use them.
Step 4: Miscellaneous things left to look at
There are some miscellaneous other things that can affect your Windows performance that need to be
considered. Here are some examples and what to do about them.
Windows Theme and Backdrop Settings
One of Window's most beloved features is the ability to change the desktop wallpaper to one of your
favorite photographs. After all, why would I want to look at that default Windows XP grassy hill scene
when I can see Cousin Bob, Aunt Hilda or Fi-Fi smiling at me each and every day? It really is a great
feature but if set incorrectly, can cause some real performance problems. The average Laptop screen
resolution is something like 1024X768 or 1280X1024. Modern Camera makers love to see how many
megapixels they can cram into a pocket sized camera. A 6 Megapixel camera will produce a picture
roughly 3152X2068 and can be up to 7MB in size depending on quality settings.
"So? My computer has 1GB (1000MB) of memory. What is a measly 7MB?"
It matters a lot--but not just because of the size of the file. Every time you move your mouse the
computer has to redraw the entire screen including that 7MB image of Fi-Fi. That can result in hundreds
of redraws a minute. Worse, that 3152X2068 image has to be constantly scaled down by a third or more
to fit on your 1024X768 screen requiring a great deal more computing effort. By resizing the image to fit
the screen size as close as possible, you can shrink that 7MB file down to less than 0.5MB. The computer
then does not have to work nearly as hard to display the image. On newer machines this is not nearly as
noticeable as it is on an older machine where it can make a substantial difference in performance. Either
way, the resulting desktop picture looks the same on your desktop so go ahead and reduce it. Just be
sure you don't reduce your only copy of the image. With camera resolutions only increasing, this is
becoming a more critical issue every day.
Performance Optimizers and Tools
These are tools and utilities that claim to speed up Windows by "optimizing memory" or "preventing
crashes". Don't believe it. Most are little more than 21st century 'Snake Oil'. I've never seen as many
crashes on my computer as when I have tested some of these applications. XP does a good enough job
on its own at managing its resources.
Upgrading Hardware
This last section looks at Hardware upgrades and how to know if you need them. If you have not gone
through all the previous sections of this document then there is little point in proceeding with this step.
You need to remove all the unneeded junk before you will be able to know what your computer's
performance really is. Even a brand new machine with 2GB of memory can run slow if overly laden with
too many helper and poorly written applications. Once you have completed all the other steps, only
then it is time to take a look at your hardware resources. First, reboot the computer. Log in but do not
start any applications. Wait until everything has loaded and the hard disk activity settles down. Then,
bring up task manager by pressing the following key combination:
Control + ALT + Del
This should bring up the Windows Task Manager. Select the performance tab and you should see a
screen that looks something like the one below:
So what does it all mean? Let's take a look:
CPU Usage = Percentage of CPU utilization at that moment
CPU History = Percentage of CPU utilization over a short period of time
PF Usage = How much of your Ram and Page file are in use (I'll define this in a moment)
Page File Usage History = A short history of PF Usage
Totals
Handles = Number of files in use (Includes system files)
Threads = Number of running tasks or jobs
Processes = Number of Programs (including system files)
Physical Memory (K)
Total = Physical memory in the computer
Available = Amount of Physical Memory available for programs
System Cache = How much memory XP is using for Caching
Commit Charge (K)
Total = How much memory is currently allocated
Limit = How much memory can programs allocate
Peak = The most RAM in use since the last reboot
Kernel Memory (K)
Total = Total amount of memory assigned to the OS itself
Paged = How much of the Page file is allocated by the OS
Nonpaged = How much physical RAM is allocated to the OS
What does all this mean? Basically, Commit Charge (K) total is how much is being used on the computer.
In the above example you can see that currently 210044 or 210MB (roughly) is in use after a clean
reboot and before launching any applications. This is a bit of a simplification but it works for what we
need. On a well tuned system, this value should be somewhere between 200-275MB after a clean boot.
You can gauge your own system and see where your computer lies. If it is still too high then you might
want to reconsider some of those applications you chose not to uninstall earlier.
"Great, now show me how to tell if I need more memory!"
Well, the easiest way to do that is to start all the applications you normally run at the same time with a
few extras thrown in for good measure. Once you have done this then open task manager again and
check the Commit Charge (K) Total once more and see how much memory you are using. From the
above example, we see that Windows XP needs at least 256MB without anything running. It's time for
an upgrade if you only have that much RAM. In XP, the performance boost from going from 256MB to
512MB is huge. Do it today if you are running with only 256MB.
If your computer is fairly well tuned and you don't run many programs at the same time, than many
users can get by with 512MB on XP. The normal usage is about 354MB on the computer I used for the
above examples. That is with running Outlook, Word, Excel, Three instances of Internet Explorer and an
image viewer displaying a 2.5MB image. Memory is fairly cheap though, so you should at least consider
upgrading to 1GB if you intend to keep the computer for a good while. You can always upgrade later if
you need it though.
Special consideration needs to be paid to computers that have "shared memory" video cards. What this
means is the video card does not have its own dedicated memory but instead it will use system memory
as needed. If you have one of these then you need to make sure you have extra memory available for
the video card to use which will usually be somewhere between 64-128MB. Subtract this amount of
memory from any calculations you perform involving memory.
"You were saying something about a Page File earlier?"
If Windows runs out of Physical memory it has a workaround to keep things moving along. When
available memory runs low, it takes items currently not in use from memory and writes them to hard
disk. Then when those things are needed again, it loads them back into memory (after offloading
something else first). The things saved to disk from memory are stored in a special file called the Page
File.
"Sounds great! What's the problem?"
Remember our earlier discussion about the speed of Hard Disks? Let's have a refresher in the
differences in speed between memory and hard drives:
Hard disk transfer speeds = 30-50MB sec (average)
RAM transfer speeds = 3000MB sec (average)
As you can see, the hard disk is a real performance bottleneck in your system. Any time we have to wait
for the computer to retrieve something off the hard disk we take a severe performance hit. Worse yet,
the processor operates several times faster than the speed of RAM so it already tends to have to wait
around when retrieving things from memory. When it has to resort to the hard disk because there
wasn't enough RAM available, it's time to go get that cup of coffee because you're going to be waiting
around for a while.
"Can you ever have too much RAM?"
Yes, in a way. The 32bit processors that ship today can only recognize 4GB of RAM. Because of other
design considerations, you typically can normally only use 3.2GB-3.5GB of that even if you have 4GB
installed. Because of this, it usually makes little sense to have more than 3GB installed. While there are
some ways to get around this, they all come with a cost in other areas making them not worth it for the
average user.
"I'm running a 64bit processor so I can use all the RAM I want, right?"
Not if you are running a 32bit version of Windows. If you are, you still have the same memory
limitations. While you can get a 64 bit version of Windows XP or Vista, there are a great number of
compatibility issues that just make this not worth it for most users at this time.
Hard disk space
Because Windows may sometimes need to use hard drive space for things such as page files, if you start
to run out of hard disk space, it can bring Windows to a crawl. You should always make sure that
Windows has at least 5GB of free disk space on the hard disk where it is installed. Hard drives that are
nearly full also become fragmented very quickly. Thinking back to our discussion of fragmentation, a full
hard drive has few open areas and they tend to be small. This causes the files to become fragmented
very quickly. If your drive is constantly full then it's time to delete some files or upgrade to a larger hard
disk.
Tips for very old machines
Some machines are just so old they have trouble running Windows XP at all. Often these are old rebuilt
machines that may have been upgraded from an earlier OS such as Windows 98. There are even some
things that can be done to help these machines run better. Here are the basic steps:
1) Eliminate any desktop background. Right click on the desktop and choose Properties. Select the
Desktop tab and under background choose None.
2) Reduce Color Depth. Right click on the Desktop and choose Properties. Select the Settings tab
and change color quality to Medium (16bit) or below.
3) Change Windows appearance for maximum performance. Right click on My Computer and
choose Properties. Select the Advanced tab and then click the Settings button next to
Performance. Select the button for Adjust for best performance and then choose Apply. It will
then adjust the settings which may take a moment or two. Click OK to close the Window.
Windows should now respond much quicker.
If after everything else your CPU constantly runs over 50% and you have enough RAM and hard
drive space (or cannot add more) then it is probably time to consider a new computer. The
processor will normally spike to 100% under load conditions which is perfectly normal. We are
looking for consistent levels that are high for everyday tasks.
Windows Vista Considerations
Windows Vista, like all new Microsoft Operating systems, takes more resources than previous versions.
The graphics card in a computer becomes a critical choice when planning on running Vista because of an
emphasis on the new interface. Even without the new AERO interface, it still takes more graphics
horsepower to run Vista than it did XP. Remember the 3 year old system I talked about that runs Vista so
well? It has a speedy 128MB dedicated graphics card which is what allows it to handle Vista so well (that
and by closely following everything I have talked about in this guide!). If you want to run Vista, I cannot
recommend strongly enough that you make sure the computer you are purchasing has a dedicated
graphics card that does not use "shared memory". You cannot upgrade from shared memory graphics
to dedicated graphics cards at a later date.
For users thinking of upgrading to Vista, keep in mind the following things. Windows XP will run faster
than Windows Vista will on the same computer. Because of this, you should make sure there is some
feature you really want from Vista before you bother upgrading. If you have a computer a few years old
with a shared memory graphics card then don't even bother trying. Not all new computers even come
with a dedicated video card as an option. Typically, the smaller the computer is in size, the less chance
you can get a dedicated graphics card. While you can still run Vista without one, it is much, much faster
if you do have a dedicated graphics card. This may or may not be a determining factor in the choice of a
new computer for you, but it is something to keep in mind. If you really want or need a smaller
computer that doesn't have a dedicated card as an option then the things outlined in this article become
all the more important--as well as being sure you get enough RAM. If the system you are considering
does have the option, don't even think twice about paying for the upgrade. You will thank yourself for
years to come.
Conclusion
Hopefully you have found this article helpful. Unfortunately , the topic of performance is not so simple
that it can be reduced to a simple ten step process. If you do implement the techniques and principles
within this article, I have every confidence that you will get the most from your computer for years to
come