nsane.forums Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Is your PC dragging at boot time? Does it take too long to do common tasks? Put snap back into your PC's step with these free and low-cost cleanup utilities. If you have a PC, chances are it runs too slowly for your tastes. Over time, your computer slows down due to all the virtual junk that accumulates in there. It doesn't have to be that way. With the help of free and low-cost downloads, you can turn your sluggish system back into the youthful, zippy machine it once was. Read on to find out how.Clean Everything Hands down, the single download with the most comprehensive set of tools for cleaning a PC and making it run faster is CCleaner, which gives your system a thorough scrubbing and makes it like new. For starters, it gets rid of all the unnecessary files that programs, browsers, and Windows itself leave behind; it'll eliminate .tmp files, cache files, file fragments, history lists, and more, including detritus from apps such as the major Web browsers, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Flash Player. If that's all it did, this program would already be a must-have--but it can do more, as well. You'll find a very good Registry cleaner for zapping outdated Registry files (see the Registry section below for more on that topic), plus a tool for deleting Internet cookies you don't want while leaving behind the ones you wish to keep. And if you don't want to use the Windows uninstaller, CCleaner has a built-in uninstaller, too. Sound overwhelming? No worries: CCleaner lets you select the tasks it should perform. For example, you can tell it to erase traces that Chrome and Firefox leave behind, but not to clean up after Adobe Flash Player or Windows Media Player. Just as remarkable, you don't have to pay a pretty penny for this program--it's donationware. You can pay what it's worth to you, from zero dollars on up. Another useful freebie is 360Amigo System Speedup Free, which cleans the Registry, removes junk files, and defragments your hard disk. It's not as comprehensive as CCleaner, and it tends to overreport problems, but it's still worth a look.Sweep Away Gunk The very first time you start up a new PC, you might expect it to be free of gunk and unnecessary software, such as trialware. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Even on a PC's maiden voyage, you'll typically find it loaded down with "craplets"--unwanted demos, trialware, and the like that the software makers have paid the PC manufacturer to install. These craplets junk up your hard disk, and can slow down its performance. What to do? Download and run the free PC Decrapifier. It seeks out and removes dozens of craplets to help make your PC a smooth-running machine. It won't clean out every piece of unneeded software; instead it looks for a list of known craplets, demos, and trialware. Regardless, even if you have an older PC, this tool is worth using, because that unneeded software may still be hiding on your computer. Tidy Up the Registry (Perhaps) One cause of many system slowdowns is the Windows Registry, which contains information about all your installed software, your preferences, how Windows should run, and more. Over time, as you install and uninstall software, change your preferences, and so on, the Registry fills with outdated entries, incorrect entries, and entries that conflict with one another. The likely result? Your system slows down and becomes more susceptible to crashing. Note, however, that the benefits of cleaning the Registry are the focus of much debate. In some cases, Registry edits may help an ailing PC; in others, they may create problems. Before diving in, read "Are Registry Cleaners Worth It?" for some analysis. If you want to try Registry cleanup, look to Advanced Registry Optimizer 2010, which finds problems and fixes them for you. You can have it do all the cleanup automatically, or tell it which items to clean and which entries to ignore. The software gives you greater control over Registry cleaning than does CCleaner, but you'll be able to fix only 100 entries with it unless you pay the $30 fee to buy it. If you are confident about making sweeping changes to the Registry, get this program; otherwise, CCleaner will do fine for you. Be aware, too, that you should always create a Windows system restore point before using Advanced Registry Optimizer 2010--or any Registry cleaner--in case it makes changes that cause your PC problems. Remove Duplicate Files Lurking on your hard disk are plenty of duplicate files that take up space for no reason. If they're media files such as music or photographs, they could be consuming hundreds of megabytes of storage. Finding them all can be tough because identical files may have different names, and even files with the same name may be sitting in different directories. The $20 DupeRazor Duplicate Files Removal Kit searches out duplicate files, tells you when it finds them, and then lets you delete them. It works lightning fast, zipping through several thousand files in minutes. Be aware that it does make mistakes sometimes, so be sure to use its built-in ability to launch files to examine them before deleting them. If you'd rather not vet the possible duplicates so closely, you might prefer the more accurate (and, at $30, more expensive) Easy Duplicate Finder. Defragment Your Hard Drive (but Not Your SSD) Here's one more reason your PC might be sluggish: The hard disk may be fragmented. Windows stores files in pieces, and as you open and save them, those pieces go to various parts of the hard disk, leading to fragmentation. When you open the files, your PC needs to work harder to find them across the many different pieces. Fragmentation is a bigger problem for older PCs, but even new systems reap a benefit from defragging: If you happen to lose any files, defragged data will be easier to recover. (Solid-state drives, however, don't need frequent defragging; for more information, see "Defragging: Why, How, and Whether.") You can solve the problem with the free Auslogics Disk Defrag, which finds fragmented files and then stores all the pieces in each file contiguously so that they open faster. You get a lot of control over how to defragment your hard drive, including setting a defragmentation schedule and determining what priority Auslogics Disk Defrag should get if it works while other programs are running. You can even move system files to the beginning of the hard disk, which may help performance. Make Your PC Boot Faster PCs seem to take an eternity to boot. That's because many programs set themselves to run automatically at startup even if they're not needed, which makes your PC chug along at boot time while you twiddle your thumbs. And once your PC boots, it runs more slowly since too many unnecessary programs are loaded. The free Soluto does an excellent job of correcting matters. Soluto runs in the background and examines what applications and services load during startup. Then it analyzes them, and--using data from other Soluto users--it groups them into programs that need to run at boot, programs that don't have to run at boot, and programs that might be required at boot. You then make the decision about which ones should load. The result? A faster-booting PC--and possibly a speedier PC overall. View: Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastershake Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 imo jv16 is the best for registry and it does a slew of other things as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I have one problem with this... Soluto.. I tried several versions of this program.. Critical Flaw: Takes longer to boot with this thing in its normal mode and is a pain to disable completely.. So that you can use it as an occasional tool.. will still boot with Windows no matter what and will run its service.. Also, trying to remove the thing from the system was next to impossible and required hacking into the registry and searching for keys to do so.. AND even though it can tell you how long.. You still have to disable them manually and per system configurations.. some services may still need to be active.. To me its more of a facade than anything else... One that makes me too weary.. Cloud decision making is not my forte.. and I don't believe it should be for others users either.. Almost forgot that their support team buried and removed hundreds of post for quite some time as to users having issues with this program on those points.. after awhile they could no longer ignore it.. I do not recommend this program and suggest to everyone that IF you want to speed your boot times.. You should do a boot time defrag, have those files in the proper location on the disk.. and have a clean and defragged registry.. You can also clean out Startup programs with some of the tools mentioned above.. such as CCLeaner and jv16.. as well as Windows 7 Manager, and WinASO Registry Optimizer... To optimize services.. opt to do it the old fashioned way.. do it once without a severe cost to your system.. per your system requirements use and configuration... Online guide can help you determine what you need... as well as descriptions written in to the Services area.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 15, 2011 Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2011 Wow. I'm using Soluto from many days and I wasn't aware of that. You think any program can delay a startup of certain things like it? ANW, I'll try to reset what changes I've done with it and then uninstall it. Later I can install it in Sandboxie to see what registry keys it has left over. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 If you made changes with it.. verify them and they may be kept.. or redone after.. BUT.. if you can't remove it and it tries to stay in your system there are two registry keys I believe... The second time this happens I used a brute force method as I was quite 'THROUGH' with it.. if you know what I mean... Still had to wipe out the keys though..The sad part comes when you try to kill it.. I had to wait quite awhile with my system in the way of extra time for it to execute an do its thing... ad even then it only found one thing that it thought was slowing me down.. but was something I needed at the time for my configuration.. notice tremendous impact though.. after it was uinstalled/ripped out.. all was back and running faster again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 15, 2011 Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2011 I'm planning to use Revo + CCleaner registry cleaner + jv16's registry finder. But not now. No time for many hours. Have downloaded Windows 7 SP1 from so many hours and even that's sitting there, just seeding, LOL.But, is there any other software that can help me delay the startup of certain softwares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 There is.. In fact you can delay startup of your Services as well in Windows by default.. and there is a program R2 Studios StartDelay.. Been around for awhile.. I really don't have a use for it.. but I don't have but three small little programs in startup anyway..The real thing that used to kill me is when you own a Dell or other computer which requires a ton of services to startup for basic things.. like GPU mouse, keyboard, Internet.. and other items.. seems rather redundant.. and inefficient .. in sheer number if not also in resources.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Husen Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 "Make Your PC Boot Faster"Turning some of the "Services", which are not need at boot, to "Manual" should also help boot faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 15, 2011 Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2011 OK then. Soluto uninstalled. Used the method I mentioned above. And you are right, a slightly big number of registry keys was found after uninstallation. But seems fine now.I tell you what, I have a Asus MOBO and have installed most of their softwares only to hear toyo and others say Asus softwares are crap. Now, the major problem here is that there's no entry for Asus in the add/remove or in Revo etc. So I don't know how the hell can I remove them, even if I delete it's keys and files, some drivers would still exists in system32. But wait, I think I should checkout the Uninstall key in registry. :think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Well thing is I would guess that like DELL and a few others.. there may be a few simple 'extra' programs that can be disabled.. something with a driver in it.. would probably deter the proper function of your system... These programs are always an area where you could possibly wind up disabling your mouse, or network ... or other like keyboard function.. and EVEN kill the booting ability of Windows itself.. I would do some research into each one and make sure they can be turned off, removed from Services, or altered first.. If not I would be very careful about the settings... Some will come with the options in the tray program to disable Startup .. but like I said it may take some research... especially depending on what they are and what for.. IMO.. it shouldn't be there if it isn't used or needed.. and if part of a default setup.. may be better to keep to be used just in case... but you get the picture.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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