Learn how your hard drive and graphics card impact your system’s performance, and dig deep under the bonnet to discover and fix hardware issues.
In previous guides we have looked at improving your system’s performance by simply removing unwanted programs. The next area we want to understand is the impact your hard drive and graphics card have on your system.
Before we start examining your computer, we need to see what Windows Vista believes is possible from the system when it’s working at its best. Searching for ‘Performance’ in Start Search should lead you to the Performance Information and Tools analysis of your system. If any numbers are low, then you may wish to consider looking at these areas for replacement. My laptop has a lowest rating of 4.3, which is more than adequate, but should one number be low compared to the rest, I would consider replacing that element. If your computer is running low on RAM, for example, it will use the hard drive as an extension of memory, but this deals a fatal blow to your computer’s performance because the hard drive can be 1,000 times slower than memory. In my experience, a Windows Vista PC with just 1GB of memory will struggle unless your system is only lightly used.
Other hard drive problems can be caused by fragmented files. To see if your computer is suffering from this, fire up the Reliability and Performance Monitor. While this is very useful to explore, we will concentrate on the Disk section. If you open this and sort by Response Time, you can see how long some of your disk operations take. The higher the number here, the more your hard drive is being stretched. Should you see numbers above 500ms (0.5 seconds), you need to defragment your drive or add more memory.
You can use Task Managerto look for processes that use up a lot of your CPU’s processing power. Sometimes a disk-intensive process will show light processor usage in Task Manager, while slowing the system down through intensive hard drive access, so you need to check both tools to understand what is slowing your system down. Use Task Manager to identify any programs that are doing this. This will either point to a need to defragment the hard drive or add more memory. If this file is the Pagefile.sys file, then it is a strong probability that more memory is needed. The need for programs to access the hard drive will never go away, but a slow system with a constantly illuminated drive light always points to too much hard disk usage.
Once we have tuned the most common areas of the system, we then move on to an area that Windows Vista has stretched far more than Windows XP - the graphics card. While previously the graphics card was only stretched with gaming, it is used extensively by the Windows Aero graphics and now needs to be examined. Aero graphics hit the computer in two areas - memory and GPU (graphics processing unit) performance. To see how much memory is being demanded by Aero, look at Task Manager and search for the process dwm.exe - the memory used by this process is the memory used for Aero. Aero can also cause problems with the PC’s ability to render the screen in a timely process.
There are two tests you can take to see if the graphics card is holding back your system. The first is to switch off the full Aero experience in Windows Color and Appearence. Click on the link to open the Classic appearence properties and select Windows Vista Basic. If this makes your computer more responsive, then your graphics card is causing a problem.
The second test is to run a winsat command that stresses your system and checks to see that it runs adequately. A sample command might be ‘winsat d3d -totalobj 20 -objs C(20) -totaltex 10 -texpobj C(1) -alushader -v -width 1000 -height 750′, with the width and height numbers being adjusted to something close to your screen settings. If this is jerky, then again your graphics card is showing itself as not being great for Windows Vista.
Extreme performance analysis tools
Use the most detailed analysis tools to diagnose performance issues.
1. PERFORMANCE TOOLKIT Download and install the Windows Performance Toolkit from snipurl.com/281w4 to enable the tools that hardware providers and engineers use to diagnose deep system issues.
2. TRACING CHARACTERISTICS You need to start a trace. Begin with the command “xperf -on DiagEasy -f\trace.etl” which needs to be run from a command prompt that was started as an Administrator. Now do the things that cause your system to underperform.
3. STOP TRACE While the trace was running, you will have collected a number of statistics on your system while it was not performing as desired. You now need to stop the trace with the command “xperf-d \ final_trace.etl”, from the same command prompt as before.
4. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS The final trace file can now be loaded and examined. You will notice that the initial screen shows all the activity that was taking place on your system.
5. EXPLORE PROBLEM AREAS Now the detective work comes in. When you see a place with lots of disk or CPU activity, hover your mouse over it to see what caused it. For a more detailed view, select a region and choose Zoom or Details from the menu.
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Written by Jason on August 21st, 2008 with no comments.
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By default, simple file sharing is enabled on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer if the computer is not a member of a domain. With simple file sharing, you can share folders with everyone on your workgroup or network and make folders in your user profile private. However, if simple file sharing is enabled, you cannot prevent specific users and groups from accessing your shared folders. If you turn off simple file sharing, you can permit specific users and groups to access a shared folder. Those users must be logged on with the credentials of user accounts that you have granted access to your shared folder.
If simple file sharing is enabled, you see the simple file sharing user interface appears instead of the Security and Sharing tabs. By default, this new user interface is implemented in Windows XP Home Edition and in Microsoft Windows XP Professional if you are working in a workgroup. If you turn off simple file sharing, the classic Security and Sharing tabs appear, and you can specify which users and groups have access to shared folders on your computer.
Note To allow for specific users to access the share folder after the simple file sharing is disabled, you should configure both the NTFS permissions on the Security tab and the share permission on the Sharing tab of the share folder. NTFS permissions can only be set on a partition using NTFS file system. If you remove the Every Group from the NTFS permission, you cannot access the share folder over the network.
How to turn off simple file sharing
To disable simple file sharing, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
3. In the Advanced Settings section, clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
4. Click OK.
How to share a folder or a drive with other users
To share a folder or a drive with other users, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click My Computer, and then locate the folder or drive that you want to share.
2. Right-click the folder or drive, and then click Sharing and Security.
3. On the Sharing tab, click Share this folder.
4. To change the share name of the shared folder or drive, type a new name in the Share name box. Other users see the new name when they connect to this shared folder or drive. The actual name of the folder or drive does not change.
5. To add a comment about the shared folder or drive, type the text in the Comment box.
6. To limit the number of people who can connect to the shared folder or drive at the same time, click Allow under User limit, and then type the number of users.
7. To set share permissions on the shared folder or drive, click Permissions.
Note To share folders and drives, you must be logged on as a member of any one of the following groups:
• Administrators
• Server Operators
• Power Users
8. Click OK.
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Written by Jason on July 9th, 2008 with no comments.
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No matter how fast or shiny computers might be when they are new, they all seem to get slower over time. That state-of-the-art PC you bought last year might not feel like such a screamer after you install a dozen programs, load it with antispyware and antivirus tools, and download untold amounts of junk from the Internet. The slowdown might happen so gradually you hardly notice it, until one day you’re trying to open a program or file and wonder, “What happened to my poor PC?”
Whatever the cause, there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance.
Delete programs you never use
Many PC manufacturers pack their new computers with programs you didn’t order and might not want. These often include trial editions and limited edition versions of programs that software companies hope you will try, find useful, and then pay to upgrade to full versions or newer versions. If you decide you don’t want them, keeping the software on your computer might slow it down by using precious memory, disk space, and processing power.
It’s a good idea to uninstall all the programs you don’t plan to use. This should include both manufacturer-installed software and software you installed yourself but don’t want anymore especially utility programs designed to help manage and tune your computer’s hardware and software. Utility programs such as virus scanners, disk cleaners, and backup tools often run automatically at startup, quietly chugging along in the background where you can’t see them. Many people have no idea they are even running.
Even if your PC is older, it might contain manufacturer-installed programs that you never noticed or have since forgotten about. It’s never too late to remove these and get rid of the clutter and wasted system resources. Maybe you thought you might use the software someday, but never did. Uninstall it and see if your PC runs faster.
Limit how many programs load at startup
Many programs are designed to load automatically when Windows starts. Software manufacturers often set their programs to open in the background, where you can’t see them running, so they’ll open right away when you click their icons. That’s helpful for programs you use a lot, but for programs you rarely or never use, this wastes precious memory and slows down the time it takes Windows to finish loading.
Decide for yourself if you want a program to load at startup.
But how can you tell what programs load automatically at startup? Sometimes this is obvious, because the program will add an icon to the notification area on the taskbar, where you can see it running. Look there and see if there are any programs running that you don’t want to load automatically. Position your mouse over each icon to see the program name. Be sure to click the Show hidden icons button so you don’t miss any icons.
Even after you check the notification area, you might still have missed some programs that load automatically at startup. You can find and disable them using Windows Defender.
If you’re unsure about whether a program should open automatically at startup, you can try disabling it, restarting your computer, and then using the program. If that causes any problems with the program, you can go back and re-enable it to start automatically.
Defragment your hard drive
Fragmentation makes your hard disk do extra work that can slow down your computer. Disk Defragmenter rearranges fragmented data so your hard disk can work more efficiently. Disk Defragmenter runs on a schedule, but you can also defragment your hard disk manually.
Clean up your hard disk
If you want to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your hard disk to free up disk space and help your computer run faster, use Disk Cleanup. It removes temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and removes a variety of system files and other items that you no longer need.
Run fewer programs at the same time
Sometimes changing your computing behavior can have a big impact on your PC’s performance. If you’re the type of computer user who likes to keep eight programs and a dozen browser windows open at once—all while instant messaging your friends don’t be surprised if your PC bogs down. Keeping a lot of e?mail messages open can also use up memory.
If you find your PC slowing down, ask yourself if you really need to keep all your programs and windows open at once. Find a better way to remind yourself to reply to e?mail messages than to keep all of them open.
Turn off visual effects
If Windows is running slowly, you can speed it up by disabling some of its visual effects. It comes down to appearance versus performance. Would you rather have Windows run faster or look prettier? If your PC is fast enough, you don’t have to make this tradeoff, but if your computer is just barely powerful enough for Windows Vista, it can be useful to scale back on the visual bells and whistles.
You can choose which visual effects to turn off, one by one, or you can let Windows choose a bunch for you. There are 20 visual effects you can control, such as the transparent glass look, the way menus open or close, and whether shadows are displayed.
To adjust all visual effects for best performance:
1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.
2. Click Adjust visual effects. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer.)
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Written by Jason on June 18th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 1354 and 1426 and 1429 and 1673 and 169 and 2065 and 2157 and 401 and 544 and Cleanup and Contributors and Defender and Defragment and Hardware and Network and Password and Performance and Spyware and USB and Uninstall and Virus and Windows Defender and Windows Vista and anti spyware and computer and defragmenter and memory and startup and tools and virus scanners and windows.
Ed continues his series on fixing Vista by demonstrating how to use tools built into Vista to help track down and fix performance problems.
Post from: ITsVISTA
Fixing Windows Vista, Part 3: Top Troubleshooting Tools | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com
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Written by Joe on May 7th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 1429 and 1673 and 169 and 2065 and 2157 and 401 and Contributors and Performance and tools.
Probably Windows 98 users remember that in the Start menu there was a possibility to see your recently open documents (as far as I remember, the list displayed the last 15 documents you opened). In Windows XP, this option is gone. Sometimes I found it useful, because I never remember the names I give to files, or the place I save them.
Windows XP has this information in memory, but it does not display it by default anymore. Here’s how to get access to the recent documents list:
1. Open Windows Explorer (if you don’t know how, use the shortcut keys combination “Window” + “E”)
2. Click on Local Disc (C:) (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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