If you downloaded an early copy of the Windows 7 Beta, you should notice that the OS-wannabe has started acting strangely. The beta version (not the Release Candidate) has started the process of expiring, which means that the system will shut down every two hours. Not exactly a great way to speed up your computer!

Move To Windows 7 Release Candidate

If you haven’t already migrated to the Windows 7 Release Candidate, now would be a good time to do that. The shutdown behavior will continue, and eventually the beta will stop working altogether on August 1. The Release Candidate will start exhibiting the same behavior next spring. June 1, 2010 is the Release Candidate’s “sunset date.” By that time, Windows 7 will have been on the market for about seven and a half months, long enough to get over any cold feet that may seize hold of you.

Windows 7 is faster in most respects than either Windows Vista or Windows XP. It installs faster, loads faster, responds faster and shuts down faster, all common complaints that Microsoft heard from users regarding Vista. Microsoft has gone out of its way to make sure that the move to Windows 7 is trouble-free… inasmuch as that’s possible.

You’ll need to verify that your hardware is up to the task of running Windows 7, especially if you skipped the Vista upgrade. The Windows 7 Advisor can help you determine whether your computer has the right stuff. If you’re already running Windows Vista, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to run Windows 7 out of the box. Windows 7 is built on Windows Vista, so if you’re already running Vista, the move to Windows 7 shouldn’t be too difficult.

If you’ve been working with the Windows 7 beta, you’ll find that the Release Candidate operates more smoothly and fixes a number of problems found in the beta and is generally more stable. Microsoft’s “carrot-and-stick” approach to migrating users may produce some added benefits for early adopters.

Until July 11, Microsoft is offering the Windows 7 operating system at a steep discount for those who are willing to pony up for the new OS right now. If you already have Windows Vista or Windows XP installed, you can get the Windows 7 Home Premium edition for $50.00. If you prefer the Windows 7 Professional Edition, that’s also on sale for $100, providing that you’re upgrading from a similar version of XP or Vista. Windows Ultimate is not part of the pre-sale. It will retail for $319 for the full product and $219 for an upgrade version. After the presale concludes, you’ll pay the rack rate for Windows 7.

Photo Credit: F687/s, via Flickr

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Installation media is always a big question: do you want to download the latest OS or would you prefer to have it on disc? Now a third choice could be making its way to the user space: a thumb drive preloaded with everything you need to speed up your computer’s installation of Microsoft Windows 7.

May Be Used To Address Netbook Upgrades

The approach is being considered, but has not yet been agreed upon by Microsoft, and is meant to make the process of installing the new OS on PC netbook computers easier. As a way to make the devices as compact as possible, these miniature notebooks don’t have a CD or DVD drive built-in. Most netbooks run Windows XP which would require a clean installation if the user decides to move to Windows 7.

It’s not impossible to get a new OS onto a netbook. Microsoft has offered a download option for its operating systems for some time. Likewise, user can connect an external drive or possibly do a network installation. The thumb drive option is interesting nonetheless, and may prove to be a popular and cost effective way to get a new operating system to a computer, regardless of its size.

Using a thumb drive to install an OS isn’t a new idea. Technicians have used this approach since thumb drives became practical size-wise for such a task. In addition, some distributions of Linux also arrive on thumb drives. The approach makes sense, especially if you’re looking for a speedy way to install your OS. (Disc-based OS installation can be maddeningly slow, even on a fast computer!)

Microsoft has not yet committed to a thumb-drive installation and practical questions, such as securing the OS would have to be addressed. Non-writable thumb drives might be a good option to protect the software and make it as widely available (and easily installable) as possible.

Thumb drives can also be made bootable, which could make these miniature marvels a good troubleshooting tool, if you’re having difficulty with your operating system or want to isolate the computer’s OS for some reason. Not all computers support booting from a USB device, and not all USB drives support booting, so those two considerations would have to be addressed.

Overall, it is (at the least) an interesting idea for distributing the OS, and could address the need that some users (like me) have for physical media.

Photo Credit: BushLeague TV, via Flickr

Under ordinary circumstances, if your computer is slow, you may be tempted to simply upgrade the computer. In today’s economy, shelling out $500-$1,500 for a new computer may not be what the financial advisor orders. So how do you improve the performance of your computer without spending a lot of cash?

Better Performance Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive

There are some things you can do to improve the performance of your computer that are neither difficult nor expensive. If you have not already tried these techniques, you could find yourself with a better performing computer with a relatively small effort on your part.

First, run your anti-virus and anti-malware scanners. Make sure nothing is deliberately slowing the performance of your computer. Clean up whatever you find. Keep in mind that viruses usually write something into the computer’s registry. RegCure removes viral leftovers, empty registry keys, and other leftover bits that will slow the performance of your computer.

Defragment your hard drive using the Disk Defragmenter that comes with Windows. You’ll find this under “System Tools.” A badly fragmented hard disk can cause your computer to slow significantly. Getting your data organized in a way that makes finding it easier will improve your computer’s performance noticeably.

Check your Startup Items and limit Startup Items to only those applications that must run all the time. That would include anti-virus and anti-malware protection. Application installers often set apps to start automatically. This is a bad habit to get into because every startup application takes away a bit of memory from your computer. Instead of running all of your applications, run only those you need. Also close applications when you’re finished with them.

Choose your desktop theme carefully. The Aero theme (you know, the one with the transparent windows?) is notorious for slowing the performance of a computer. Choose a classic theme for better performance. Also, get rid of any desktop backgrounds that are saved as bitmaps (.BMP). If you have to use a background picture, choose a JPG file instead.

Shut off services you don’t need. This goes along with paring down your Startup Items. If you don’t need to have remote access to your computer, for example, you can safely turn off the Remote Desktop Protocol. Eliminate language support and other similar services you don’t need.

If you want proof that your changes have been meaningful, look at before-and-after “snapshots” of your system with Performance Monitor, also included with your OS. Making careful decisions about what to run and when to run apps on your computer can make a world of difference in your computer’s performance.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Rock/

If you normally use a laptop computer, you may not think much about its performance, but if you switch between a laptop and a desktop computer, you may find that the laptop seems like a very slow computer, indeed. I’m often asked about the performance of laptops and why they seem so slow in comparison to desktop computers.

Why Laptops Can Seem So Slow

Although laptops perform the same functions and for the most part run the same software that desktop computers do, they’re actually very different machines. The laptop computer probably has a processor that is one or perhaps two revisions behind its beefier desktop cousin. In addition, the processor is “underpowered” in terms of its clock speed.

This is largely due to design compromises that laptops require to maintain a decent battery life. Fast processors take a great deal of power and battery technology – while it has improved tremendously in the last decade – isn’t good enough to allow laptops to use the latest (fastest) processors and huge amounts of memory, two things that directly govern the performance of a computer.

Many modern processors need additional cooling to ensure the performance of the CPU. Laptop case designs are very small and don’t afford the kind of ventilation the latest processors need to operate as designed. In addition, the power requirements for external cooling devices (like processor fans) would eat up the battery life of a laptop in short order.

Computer memory requires power to operate, and the more memory you have, the more power you need. Consequently, laptops don’t carry a large complement of RAM. The limit on RAM for laptops means that information must be paged in and out of disk-based memory, a comparatively slow process. This can make applications and other ordinary operations seem deadly slow.

To improve the performance of your laptop, pare down your operating system and ask it to do as little as absolutely necessary to get your work done. Keep in mind that convenience features like wireless connectivity will slow the performance of the laptop. If you connect primarily to wireless networks, try to upgrade your installed memory as much as possible.

Skip the fancy themes and desktop backgrounds. Turn off any services that you don’t absolutely require, and limit the application on your computer to the bare essentials. Consider your startup items very carefully. Anti-virus and anti-malware protection should be on all the time, but forget about the extras if you don’t expressly need them to get your work done.

Photo Credit: Declan Jewell

With focus now shifting to Windows 7 and its anticipated release in October, users who are considering a switch – there’s no upgrade path – you’ll need to do a complete fresh install – are wondering whether they’re going to get better performance from Windows or a slow, painful transition to a half-baked operating system.

Windows 7 Will Give You A Faster Computer Experience

If you’re a Windows Vista user, the experience of switching from Vista to Windows 7 will probably be a lot less painless than you might imagine. You’ll spend less time installing Windows 7 than you may have spent installing Windows Vista, and your bootup time will be faster too.

Shutdowns have been one area in which Windows Vista and users of earlier versions have complained of slow performance. This is primarily because Windows Vista does a bunch of housekeeping prior to shutdown. This housekeeping isn’t exactly lightweight stuff – it downloads and installs patches, drivers and other important components prior to calling it a day, much to the anguish of Vista users who simply want to know that their computer has shut down.

Windows 7 is also more efficient when moving large files around its own file system and across a network. This is another area in which Vista users experienced noticeable performance lags when compared to similar actions on computers running Windows XP. Compression engines also run faster on Windows 7 than on Windows Vista or Windows XP.

Most applications will get a performance boost under Windows 7, which is good news for users who are considering a switch. In most cases, Windows XP users will come out on the short end of the performance stick by choosing not to upgrade to Windows 7. While Windows 7 is built on Vista, many of the performance issues that XP users rightly used to defend their decision not to switch have been fixed, and Windows 7 is clearly the best performer under most circumstances.

As show time approaches for Windows 7, it will become exceptionally clear to diehard Windows XP users that there is little point in hanging onto an operating system that doesn’t perform as well as the new Windows 7. Windows XP, a rock solid performer by any standard, has met its match. Common problems that plagued Windows Vista have been largely resolved, and it seems unlikely that Windows XP users will find sufficient justification to stand fast on a terminal product when a clear alternative is available.

Photo Credit: Daniel Gebhart, via Flickr