This tweak will increase the performance of your external hard drive (s) by turning write caching on as well as activating advanced performance.
In Windows Vista, write caching isn’t enabled by default because removable devices could lose data if removed too quickly. This is great for USB thumb drives that are frequently inserted and removed, but in the case where you have a large hard drive in an external enclosure that’s never disconnected from your computer, this feature can decrease performance.
step1: Click Start then right click on Computer and select Manage.
step2: Click on Device Manager.
step3: Expand the Disk drives branch and locate your external drive from the list.
step4: Right click on the drive and select Properties.
step5: On the Policies tab select Optimize for performance.
step6: Check the boxes titled “Enable write caching on the disk” and “Enable advanced performance” as shown below.
step7: Click the OK button and reboot for the settings to take effect
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Written by Jason on July 7th, 2008 with no comments.
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Windows XP works with countless different printers, scanners, digital cameras, and other devices. It does so with the help of drivers, unique software programs that help your operating system communicate with individual pieces of hardware. If your computer starts to freeze, crash, or if a hardware device stops working, you can troubleshoot the problem with the Device Manager.
Device Manager shows you how the hardware on your computer is installed and configured, and how the hardware interacts with your computer’s programs.
You’ll typically use Device Manager to check the status of your hardware and update device drivers on your computer. Advanced users who have a thorough understanding of computer hardware might also use Device Manager’s diagnostic features to resolve device conflicts and change resource settings.
Note You may need to be logged on as an administrator or be a member of the Administrators group in order to use some or all of the features in Device Manager. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
To access Device Manager:
• Right–click My Computer, click Manage, and then click Device Manager. The Device Manager opens as shown in Figure 1 below.
To view the status of a device:
1. Open Device Manager.
2. Double–click the type of device you want to view.
3. Right–click the specific device you want, and then click Properties.
4. On the General tab, under Device status is a description of the device status, as shown in Figure 2 below.
If the device is experiencing a problem, you’ll see the type of problem in the Device status box. You might also see a problem code and number and a suggested solution. If you call a support line, this number can be useful for determining and diagnosing the problem.
For information on how to resolve hardware device problems, click Troubleshoot to start the Hardware Troubleshooter.
To install a new driver from Device Manager:
1. Open Device Manager.
2. Double-click the type of device you want to update or change.
3. Right-click the specific device driver you want to update or change.
4. Click Update Driver to open the Hardware Update Wizard. Follow the wizard instructions.
Note If you install a new driver and your system becomes unstable, you can easily uninstall the driver and reinstall the old driver with Driver Rollback. For more information, read How to Roll Back a Device Driver.
To uninstall a device:
1. Open Device Manager.
2. Double–click the type of device that you want to uninstall.
3. Right–click the specific device you want to uninstall, and then click Uninstall.
4. In the Confirm Device Removal dialog box, click OK.
When you’re done uninstalling the device, turn off your computer, and remove the device from the computer.
Note Many devices on the market today are Plug and Play, which means when you plug the device in your computer will recognize it and automatically prompt you to install the drivers you need. You won’t usually use Device Manager to uninstall a Plug and Play device. Simply disconnect the Plug and Play device from your computer. You might have to restart your computer. Check the device manufacturer’s instructions for more information.
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Written by Jason on May 6th, 2008 with no comments.
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A fresh update is available from Microsoft focusing on the microcode reliability of both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista in scenarios where the operating system is integrated with Intel processors. Microsoft informed that the microcode reliability update for Intel processors does not impact only Windows Vista but also Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. But as far as Vista is concerned, the company has been hammering away at the operating system ever since it hit the shelves. This is yet another example of Microsoft taking care of reliability issues affecting Vista. The update is designed to resolve “a possible Intel processor marginality and a potential source of unpredictable system behavior”, according to Microsoft. (more…)
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Written by Jason on November 27th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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We’ve filtered and sorted through the hundreds of Vista hints and tweaks to find the ones that we think the most readers will find useful. While Vista still feels new, these hints and tweaks might help you settle into your OS.
Introduction
So you’ve installed Vista, perhaps against your better judgment, and now you’re wondering what you can do to spruce it up a bit. We’re right there with you, and have poured over the Web looking for the coolest, most-useful tweaks we could find. We searched high and low, and completed this list of tweaks so that you did not have to. We have personally tested all of these tweaks and employ most of them on our own systems. (more…)
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Written by Jason on November 25th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on advanced performance and backup power and ctrl key and device manager and drive performance and folder icons and office documents and power source and system memory and tweaks and vista and windows and windows explorer.