PC Tune Up

[Aaron_T]

hey, recently my PC has been running very slowly and im gettin sick of it :|

ive done the usual things like scandisk and defragementing the harddrive and disk cleanup, but doesnt really seem to have made any difference.

there are no viruses and adware on the pc ive checked, can anyone reccomend a decent program to tune up my PC as its getting very tedious.

help would be appreciated, thanks

[Afronaut]

Its just the way Windows is.
It does get slower by time.

More programs and stuff you add also add to the load.

The main thing imo is to understand what programs/services runs on the background and why,
and keep the minimal.
Imo, in systray there's shouldn't be lotsa icons.

[Aaron_T]

I was thinkin of maybe reinstalling windows, i know there are special programs out there which are specifically designed for to help with slow PC's though.

thanks for the reply afro :)

[peat moss]

Try a simple all in one program like Ccleaner, MT the prefetch folder, disable start up programs that your not using as afro suggested. I use System Mechanic but ccleaner is fine and safer too.

[harrycary]

Windows doesn't get slower for no reason or over time.

Chances are you've got some sort of spyware that hasn't been detected, or more programs are running in the background then are necessary. That wouldn't be unusual since most programs installed on Windows machines tend to load upon booting by default. That can be changed in the programs' options/preferences, using the services dialog box(click start>run, type services.msc) or good 'ole msconfig(start>run, type msconfig). Use those last 2 at your own risk though.

You may be in need of more system memory, IMO. More and more software developers are utilizing more memory when writing programs. Especially since memory prices have dropped and it's a sure way to improve performance of a program. (data can be moved in and out of memory much faster than on a hard drive)

Running multiple antispyware programs is definitely in order as well as an antivirus and some sort of trojan detector.

BTW, those "free" programs users often download are usually full of scripts that collect information and in general can slow down or dramatically affect your PCs performance. So get rid of them if you can.

Good luck with it and post your results when you figure out the problem.

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

there is a nice site called PCpitstop.com. They have an activeX powered tune up utility that will diagnose your pc. It doesnt change anything, but it will point out trouble spots. I use it from time to time. And no, there isnt any adware or any other retarded shit installed by using the site. The site is real nice. :)

[peat moss]

Double post : Sorry is it just me or the board ? :ph34r:

[peat moss]

there is a nice site called PCpitstop.com. They have an activeX powered tune up utility that will diagnose your pc. It doesnt change anything, but it will point out trouble spots. I use it from time to time. And no, there isnt any adware or any other retarded shit installed by using the site. The site is real nice. :)


Yes it it good, even if Azzz, just tryed a trial program , one of the old 30 day ones he would get an Idea what he's up against . :)



Trial link : http://www.iolo.com/sm/5/download.cfm

Ccleaner : http://www.ccleaner.com/

[TFFTn]

Think Ill give that a go also.

[Aaron_T]

thanks for the replies people, very helpul :D

i decided to download that Crap Cleaner thing (Ccleaner) sorted out 200 problems so it says and deleted almost 300mb of useless stuff from the harddrive, computer appears to be running a bit smoother but may just be wishful thinking lol

system mechanic looks ok too think i'll check that out.

thanks again, Azzz

[orcutt989]

Tuneup Utilites, Pc Mechanic? ...Use them!

[peat moss]

thanks for the replies people, very helpul :D

i decided to download that Crap Cleaner thing (Ccleaner) sorted out 200 problems so it says and deleted almost 300mb of useless stuff from the harddrive, computer appears to be running a bit smoother but may just be wishful thinking lol

system mechanic looks ok too think i'll check that out.

thanks again, Azzz


I like System Mech. but use ccleaner more, its faster not as thorough but faster. If you use SM stay away from the duplicate file finder . :ph34r:

[Larry]

there is a nice site called PCpitstop.com.
Yep, I second the motion...PC Pitstop (http://pcpitstop.com/)...will thoroughly diagnose your system, give you
a report on what it found with suggested solutions to any problem(s) found.

They also have an excellent Forum where you can get technical help and
assistance.

I've been using Pitstop for a couple of years and have come to rely on it's
diagnostics. It carries NO malware, spyware, trojans, etc. so you can use
it with complete confidence.
(of course it will drop a cookie or two in order to maintain your "Test History"
for comparison to future scans.)

:)

[peat moss]

there is a nice site called PCpitstop.com.
Yep, I second the motion...PC Pitstop (http://pcpitstop.com/)...will throughly diagnose your system, give you
a report on what it found with suggested solutions to any problem(s) found.

They also have an excellent Forum where you can get technical help and
assistance.

I've been using Pitstop for a couple of years and have come to rely on it's
diagnostics. It carries NO malware, spyware, trojans, etc. so you can use
it with complete confidence.
(of course it will drop a cookie or two in order to maintain your "Test History"
for comparison to future scans.)

:)


The only problem with Pitstop, is you have to open in IE . Not all of us use it so thats frustrating . :( But ieveiw extension will help if using Firefox. :)

[Larry]

The only problem with Pitstop, is you have to open in IE . Not all of us use it so thats frustrating . :( But ieveiw extension will help if using Firefox. :)
Correct..because Firefox does not use ActiveX controls.

However, along with using IE for Windows Update, Pitstop is about the
only other time I have a use for IE.

Haven't tried using IE View to see if Pitstop will work in Firefox yet and I
wonder if, because of the ActiveX issue, it would indeed work.

I know Pitstop offered some kind of a download (Neptune) so it could be
functional in Firefox but I just decided to use IE for Pitstop instead.

Ok, I just tried to access Pitstop from my Firefox....

check this out (http://pcpitstop.com/neptune_about.asp)

Keep it simple and just use IE for Pitstop.


:)

[peat moss]

@larry, It worked with ieveiw for me ,man very thourough tests I'm impressed. Took a while tho thought my pc tilted there . :D Could 'nt test my upload speed tho (firewall) ?


Oh course went to internet options after and deleted downloaded programs, pitstop. There were two ! :)

[Afronaut]

Windows doesn't get slower for no reason or over time.
Maybe I had bad wording or didnt get my opinion out there straight, I'll give it another go:
Windows probably doesnt get slower itself if left alone. (who installs XP and leaves it be? I know none that does)
But if you use it, it will get slower by time.
By using I mean re/un/installing apps-games etc.
Its not always the fault of Windows, I think bad software does the tricks easily, crappy uninstallers that leaves crap behind etc.
Atleast every install I've done gets slower after ca. couple of months.
I dont have enough experience on Linux/other OS's does they slow down, I suspect they will/would.
I do have some experience on XP tho.
Allthought, I do re-installs around 6 months, maybe more often or not, depends on some things...

Imo, some key things are (for running winbox):
Services, startups, what goes on in the background.
By default windows has a lot of services ON which are useless and
some of them could be somewhat of a security risk.
It really helps to have only the services you need ON.
My startup has minimum items.
Fuck Java, Adobe and similar crappy stuff that installs startup items,
they are useless to me, nothing but a waste of resources.

Also, malware does slow down the windows.
I use CrapCleaner thought, its a fast tool to clean up
the temp folders etc.

Spybot and Spywareblaster helps too, there's other similar good apps
against malware.
The Mikrosoft AntiSpyware is from butthole thought, I would/will not use it.
If you wonder why, read up this article (http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000844.html),
here's some talks from teh nerds (http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/11/0644245&tid=158&tid=109&tid=218).

Another tool I use sometimes is the WinXP Manager (http://www.winxp-manager.com/xpmanager/)
Is good for quick tweaking XP.

There's also some difference on the antiviri/firewall apps.
I ditched the Norton/Symantec crap long ago.
It doesnt pick up all the viri's etc and is extremely heavy on slower PC's, maybe newer too.
Its easier to use smaller antiviri apps when needed. I got Kaspersky on atm.
Bitdefender, Kaspersky, NOD32 etc...

Some tools like SystemMechanics or XP-Manager and "whathavewe" does potentially good things but I wouldnt recommend to
enable a tweak without understanding what it does.
Meaning, if there's a button to "Speed Up Teh Puter" I'd like to know
how does it speed up, what chances are made and why.
Sometimes what a Tweak does is not usefull at all on my hardware-software config.
and it could possible slow things down.

Here's one important thing:
I guess the best thing to do with Windows is NOT use it with
admin priviledges. Thats like running root in Linux.
Just create a user account without admin poers and use that for daily use.
That'll help a lot against malware and crap that try to install itself
automatically.
Also, Windows does have user/group policy tools that are really usefull
if one is wearing the tinfoil hat, hehe.

:D

Here's my 5-thumb'o'rules to keep in mind (that I can think atm):
1. Fuck Default Settings, thats the bottom line. lol + (Use Linux, if possible)
2. Understand what is running in the PC and what starts up with windows
3. Use an account without Admin. priviledges if possible. (Makes the life of crapwares much more difficult.)
4. Pick you anticrapware apps with care, use several instead of one (but dont run several realtime anti-viri-scanners at the same time, 1 is enough) Same with tuneup utils.
5. Excessive tweaking dont always speed up windows, there's so many possible hardware-software configs that will mess up things.


Im no way of expert of windows etc.
But since I refuse to run the latest hardware (read, I spend my cash elsewhere and/or i dont have the cash to begin with, also ---> macs are cool but too expensive of an option for me)
I've been sort of forced to try to understand how to get more horsepowers out of the box.
I make music with the PC, Linux is not an option (yet) for me since it doesnt have
sofware as good as Cubase SX (http://www.steinberg.de/ProductPage_sb51ba.html?Product_ID=2442&Langue_ID=4) which is what I like use, the plugins and effects etc. has a lot to do with this decision...
Alltought projects like ardour (http://ardour.org/index.php) looks promising, its not "there" yet imo.

If I wouldnt do music, if I was just surfing, eMailing and do the more regular stuff, (out of box without special software that runs on winbox only)
I'd use Linux (http://www.linuxiso.org/).
I think Linux is better than Winbox (http://www.google.fi/search?hs=BpD&hl=fi&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=why+linux+is+better+than+windows&btnG=Hae&meta=) for somewhat regular use.
It's poor on Games and Audio apps comparing to Winbox and that's why Im still using XP, mostly.
:)

(When/if I get that second PC up'n'running someday, it'll run on Linux OS)

[Larry]

@larry, It worked with ieveiw for me ,man very thourough tests I'm impressed. Took a while tho thought my pc tilted there . :D Could 'nt test my upload speed tho (firewall) ?
Yes, it's a very good tool and will give you piece of mind once you have
fixed all your problems and the test finds nothing wrong.
It's also useful simply to see what your Up/Download speeds are and,
as you will see, many other aspects of your computer.

I could have mentioned a couple of tips for anyone using it for the first time
but, didn't want to wear out my welcome.

Tips:
>You will need to Register to establish your "account".

>While the test is in progress, leave your mouse and keyboard alone.

>Before starting the test, turn off your Firewall (I use ZoneAlarm)...
this is necessary so Pitstop can do a ping test to test your Internet speeds.

>Learn to use the "TechExpress" for posting links to your test in Forums
if you want others' opinions. (if you use the Pitstop Forums, they will
sometimes ask you to post the link to your test so they can see firsthand
your test results).

These are found in the instructions before starting your test but, I know in
my case, I was eager to run the test and overlooked them at first but soon
figured them out.

Oh, and btw, one more Tip:
**Be sure to turn back on your Firewall after the test is completed. :P

:)

[Aaron_T]

nice posts there, had a look at the pitstop thing, looked a bit complicated on first glance but defintely gonna give it a go.