With every new version of Windows, we get given more and more features and functionality which make it more pleasing on the eye and supposedly easier to use.

• - Open the Control Panel, type visual into the Search area

• - Click Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.

• - Choose Adjust for best performance, and then click Apply.

In a few seconds you will see a much plainer user interface and you will get much faster response times.

If you don’t like the look & feel of Windows now, you can choose the Custom option instead and change things gradually until you get the balance you want between performance and effects.
 

If you’re a Mac user, there is a software called Boot Camp from Apple which is now compatible with Windows 7.

Due to several issues with Nvidia graphics cards causing Blue Screens of Death and some totally black screens where nothing can be seen, Apple have setup a special help page for users having these issues with  .

For more information and to update your drivers to the latest versions, visit Apple’s support page.

One easy & fast way to free up disk space is to remove unwanted programs, as mentioned in another post, which will speed up your pc. Another way to free up wasted disk space is to use the Disk Cleanup tool by following these steps:

• Open My Computer, right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.

• On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. Disk Cleanup will spend a few minutes examining your disk.

• The Disk Cleanup dialog box opens. As you can see below it shows you exactly how much space you can free up:

That’s it. Dead Easy and Fast and you should instantly see the difference.

Cheers

Windows 7 Vs Windows XP/Vista

Microsoft claims that Windows 7 is a lot faster than Vista or XP, but is it really so? There are so many factors to getting a faster performance pc, especially considering hardware and the programs you run, but there are some simple tweaks you can use to get a better performance.

Two quick examples:

Cheers
Paul

Remove Autostart Programs

If you’re finding that your Windows XP computer is running much slower than you would like then this tip will help to speed it up and get it back running the way it should be.

When a Windows XP computer starts up, it automatically loads and starts any program that is set in the startup folder – regardless of whether you need it or are going to use it. To avoid this, try these steps – but REMEMBER to make a backup and/or system restore point before making any changes. 

These programs often configure themselves to run in the background so that they seem to start quickly when needed. For some of these programs you will see an icon on your taskbar, while others are completely hidden. Now although they won’t slow down your computer too much when it starts up, they will however use up memory and processing power when your computer is running.

I use Windows XP’s own System Configurationtool (Msconfig.exe) to manage these startup processes.

1. Click ‘Start’, click ‘Run’, type in Msconfig and press ‘Enter’
   
2. On the ‘Startup’ tab you’ll see a list of all programs set to run when Windows starts
3. Select any program you think you don’t need by checking the box next to it
4. Click ‘Apply’ and then restart your computer for the chnges to take effect.

A good way to check which of these programs you need is to use the Autoruns freeware tool from Sysinternals. Autoruns lists every program that will automatically start and allows you to quickly delete the link to the program. Many autostart entries are important parts of Windows XP, including Userinit.exe and Explorer.exe.

Note: Do not simply delete anything that you don’t recognize. Check first and always set a Restore Point beforehand.

This helped speed my pc up by about 40%, as it’s had so many programs installed and I don’t even use half of them. So, goodbye old programs and hello faster pc.  

Slow Gaming Performance?

Many people play computer games and many also suffer a slow performance when playing those games. If your RAM is lower than the game’s minimum specification requirements (example: my current RAM is 256mb and the game requirment is 512mb of RAM") then it will affect the performance of your PC with this game. But do not despair -there are some simple ways around this kind of issue.

There are MANY reasons for computer slow downs:

a] not enough memory – adjust it or buy some more. RAM is so cheap today that this is for sure your best option.

b] too many programs starting up with windows at boot up time – remove them using my tips & tricks.

c] spyware – detect and remove it regularly. At least every week.

d] too many restore points – if you’re using Windows restore point, don’t forget to delete ones older than say a month to save space.

e] video settings – reduce your settings to very minimum and see if the game runs faster or smoother. Then gradually step the video settings up until you notice the game go slow again and then go back one or two steps. It should now run better without losing too much quality.

We know that memory is a vital part of computer for it is needed to run all processes and store data. When it is used out, the system will automatically use part of hard disk to simulate additional random-access memory so as to relieve the stressful memory. But when using the computer or running large applications, I believe you have ever experienced an out of virtual memory error. So how can you increase virtual memory and then optimize PC at this time?

1) Regularly scan the computer for viruses

Once the computer is infected by viruses, large amount of memory will be taken, which results in "out of memory" problem. If so, to fix this problem and then optimize PC, please immediately scan the computer with a reliable anti-virus program and do remember to update the virus database to the latest one. By the way, it is recommended to turn on the real-time safeguard feature of the anti-virus program to protect your PC at any time.

2) Reasonably set the virtual memory

If it is not setting properly, it will also cause "out of virtual memory" problem. Normally, its size should be twice as big as the physical memory. If too small, it will affect the PC performance and proper running of the programs. So you can reset it according to the steps below: right click "My Computer" to select "Properties" -> Advanced -> click the "Setting" option within "Performance" -> go to "Advanced" tab in the popping-up windows -> Virtual memory -> "Change" to reset the initial and maximal size.

3) Always retain enough system space

By default, virtual memory page file: "pagefile.sys" is stored in system C drive, which will also results in out of memory error when there is not enough hard disk space. Normally, it is better to retain more than 300MB free available space. So please be careful when installing programs on your computer and timely uninstall the unwanted program and clean up the useless system junk files. Besides, it is recommended to transfer the page file to other drive but not the system drive. To accomplish it, you can use the "virtual memory" option of the "System" applet in the "Control Panel" to transfer its location.

With the above methods, you will easily increase virtual memory and then optimize PC performance. But when talking about optimizing PC performance, I think you should not miss the importance of a simple disk cleanup and disk defragmentation because both help us effectively manage the files on the hard disk and easier to access the data what you need.Generally speaking, a computer is just like a human being who needs to be carefully taken of, for example, increase virtual memory and then optimize PC performance from the aspects above. Only in this way, will it always run at peak performance.

Check First For Spyware & Adware

There are so many things you can do and try if you find your Windows computer is running slowly or worse still, seems to have a mind of it’s own. My sister’s pc started playing up one day and doing some weird stuff – opening programs and windows on it’s own etc.

So, when she asked me to take a look I first asked her what she had installed recently or if she had done anything new or unusual? "Of course not!" was the answer.

Anyway, I quickly found that she had visited an online shopping site and was prompted to and had installed a ’special shopping’ toolbar. But unwittingly she had also installed Adware tracking software with it so that the shopping site could ‘make recommendations’ based on what she viewed online or bought. Sneaky, huh?

So, I installed Spybot, ran the update to get the latest detection files and then did a full scan of her machine.

Almost an hour and almost 150+ spyware and adware issues later, we had cleaned up her machine and also run the special ‘Immunize’ feature which helps prevent your internet browser from being infected with Spyware.

So, if you too find your machine behaving strangely or not as you would like, then I recommend running a full virus, spyware and adware check before you start playing with settings. This is more often the cause of slow windows issues and can be quickly and painlessly fixed in this way.

Good Luck.