In my last post, I discussed one way in which you can reclaim some lost performance from Windows XP by turning off some visual effects that Windows XP can apply. Here are a few other tips for improving Windows XP performance, if you’ve decided not to upgrade to Windows 7, or are waiting for a future rollout of the newest OS.

Tried And True Will Speed Up Your Computer

I’ve often suggested that users trim their Startup Items to get better overall computer performance, and I stick by that suggestion. The more Startup Items you have, the more memory your computer must devote to these items. That means you’ll have less memory available for the programs you need (or want) to run. Carefully consider all of your Startup Items.

Some startups are no-brainers. Anti-virus and anti-malware software are two must-haves that come to mind. You want these to run all the time to help protect your computer from unwanted intrusions. Other programs, like chat clients and little utilities, probably shouldn’t be handled as a Startup Item unless you have a really strong reason to start them up each time you boot your computer.

To remove items that have previously been designated as Startup Items, start by looking at your System Tray. The items here should be inspected carefully. Right click on each item in the system tray and determine whether or not you want it to start up automatically each time Windows starts. If you find programs you can live without, check the program preferences for a checkbox that authorizes an automatic startup each time Windows XP loads.

By unchecking the box, you’ll save yourself a little memory each time you start your computer. Preventing programs from starting automatically doesn’t remove them from your computer. The programs are still in place, but they just won’t start on their own. You’ll need to start the program each time you want to use it.

You can also reclaim some lost performance in Windows XP by running a registry cleaner periodically. Your registry can become overloaded with abandoned and useless program code, all of which your OS has to read and interpret. Removing these derelicts from the registry can make a significant difference in the performance of your computer.

Photo Credit: Nick Perla, via Flickr

I’m often asked about the “one thing” users can do to speed up their computers. The question is a simple one; I wish the answer were as simple. Unfortunately, there are an unknowable number of reasons why computers slow down. Some are temporary and some are permanent; some exist and some don’t; some can be fixed and some can’t – or at least can’t be fixed without an investment of some cold, hard cash.

Speeding Up Computer Performance Isn’t A One-Shot Deal

There is no magic involved in speeding up your computer, but there are things you can do to prevent it from slowing down, or to boost performance. Ultimately, the component that governs how fast your computer works is the CPU. The more work the CPU is doing, or the more tasks it divides its time between, the slower your computer will appear to work.

You can lighten the burden on your CPU by making sure that you have the tools your computer needs to work efficiently. If you use a lot of graphics-intensive software (like games), you’ll want a good graphics card with lots of onboard memory. What the card can’t process gets handled by the CPU, so the more graphics capabilities you add to your computer, the better off you’ll be.

Your computer needs a lot of memory, especially if you run multiple programs at the same time. If you like to (or need to) multitask, you’ll want a lot of memory installed on your computer.

If you have a lot of files stored on your computer, you’ll want to make sure you have adequate storage space for these files, plus whatever “temporary” space the computer needs for applications. Defragment your hard drive often to make the best use of the space you have, and don’t store files outside of the file system – like on the desktop.

Keep your computer free of malware, viruses and other performance torpedoes. Programs that aren’t classified as malware, but run all the time deserve a careful evaluation. If you don’t really need it, get rid of it! If you can’t do that, at least configure it so it doesn’t run all the time.)

Clean your registry. Do registry cleaners work? Yes! RegCure will restore performance by removing unneeded registry code that your computer has to read and interpret. You’ll be surprised by what a difference a clean registry can make!

Photo Credit: Mrs. Logic, via Flickr

Microsoft has confirmed that it will ship Windows 7 in time for the holiday shopping season. Previously, the company had not indicated exactly when the product would ship. The Windows 7 Release Candidate has been made available to the public and can be downloaded free of charge with a license that doesn’t expire until August 2010. The Windows 7 Release Candidate offers a number of improvements over earlier beta versions of the OS. Windows 7 promises increases in computer speed and performance.

Windows Server, Office 2010 Get Upgrades

In addition, new versions of Windows Server and SQL Server will ship when Windows 7 is formally released and Microsoft will release a preview version of Office 2010 in July at Microsoft’s technology preview. One of the interesting features of the new Office 2010 will be browser-based versions of the Office applications. This approach will allow Microsoft to make Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote available to non-PC users on the Linux and Mac platforms, as well for the iPhone.

For the average user, the relatively tandem introduction of Windows 7 and Office 2010 will mean mostly good things. This will also be the first time that Windows Server will be delivered to market at the same time the OS is upgraded. While the arrival of Windows Server is mostly a business-oriented score, the average user could see some big changes to the PC at work in late fall 2009.

Many techs still say they’re not prepared to switch over to Windows 7 when it’s released. Many businesses opted not to upgrade to Vista, and still use Windows XP as their primary operating system. From surveys taken prior to the release of the Windows 7 Release Candidate, as many as 80 percent of IT professionals said they would not upgrade to Windows 7 immediately after its release.

With the pairing of the Windows 7 OS and the Windows Server releases, however, there may be more incentive to rethink a corporate rollout strategy. Feedback from users on the Windows 7 Release Candidate has generally been positive. After the lukewarm reception Windows Vista received, however, Microsoft isn’t taking any chances with Windows 7.
Downgrade options to Windows Vista and Windows XP will still be available for some time following the release of Windows 7. Sometime in Spring 2010, Microsoft will eliminate the downgrade option to Windows XP for desktop computers. Currently, the downgrade option from Vista to XP is only available for desktop models.

Photo Credit: Image Courtesy of Microsoft

Occasionally, I get a question from a computer user who is uncertain that registry cleaning is necessary. Strictly speaking, it’s not necessary as long as you don’t mind having a computer that freezes occasionally for no apparent reason. Hardware malfunctions, extremely slow computer performance, system crashes and Windows errors are all symptoms of corrupted information that resides in a computer’s registry.

Depending upon what you do with your computer, your registry can have hundreds of thousands of lines of code. Uninstall programs don’t always work properly; in fact, they don’t often work properly. They do leave behind loads of useless information, broken commands and bad path information that can cause your computer to waste time while it waits for a time out signal.

Of course, the computer isn’t wasting its time; it’s wasting yours. I don’t know of too many people who enjoy sitting in front of a terminal that’s not responding, or is responding so slowly that even simple actions like clicking and dragging, or entering text at the keyboard are painful.

How long does it take for your registry to fill up with all of this useless junk? It really depends upon how you use your computer. If you do a lot of downloading, or install and uninstall programs regularly, your registry can quickly become a jumble of useful and useless information.

RegCure Removes Old Entries And Fixes Broken Ones

RegCure is an excellent registry cleaner, but registry cleaners aren’t perfect. That’s why RegCure makes a complete backup of your registry before it does any work on it. You can always revert to your previous state if something is amiss.

The user interface on RegCure is easy to understand, too. You don’t have to be a computer expert to install and set up RegCure. Once installed, RegCure will begin to tidy up your registry and remove the junk that is slowing your computer more each day.

RegCure does more than just remove abandoned registry entries. It also locates and repairs registry keys that are necessary, but have become corrupted. This is extremely helpful when your registry is large and you’re not really sure where to look for the source of your problems.

Windows does provide tools to edit the registry, but most users don’t know what they’re looking at or what they’re looking for. Using a safe, secure and trusted registry cleaner can give your computer a new lease on life!

Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero