One of the biggest complaints about upgrading
Windows, especially from those coming from Windows XP, is that the new
system doesn't perform as speedily on the same hardware. Truth be told,
Windows 7 works just fine if you operate the system with reasonable
hardware specs, and of course it performs much better than Vista.
Regardless of the performance attributes of your PC, faster is always
better. In this section, we'll show you some ways you can make Windows
7 run more efficiently.
1. Taking Out the Trash
While we do recommend buying a new PC with Windows 7
preinstalled to get the best experience, the truth is that many PC
makers seem to go out of their way to screw up what should be a happy
experience. They do so by loading down their new PCs with extensive
collections of largely useless utilities, a practice that's gotten so
out of hand that the industry has adopted the term crapware
to describe it. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to avoid
crapware. First, you can purchase PCs only from those PC makers that
offer no crapware, such as Dell. Or you can simply not worry about it
and download a wonderful free utility called the PC Decrapifier (www.pcdecrapifier.com),
which automates the removal of trialware and other annoying crapware
that PC makers tend to preinstall (you know, for your convenience).
The PC Decrapifier, shown in Figure 1,
is free for personal use and highly recommended if you're looking for
that new-PC smell. However, be sure to uncheck any items you do want to
keep, as some of the so-called crapware that PC Decrapifier finds might
actually be useful.
The PC Decrapifier works perfectly well on any PC,
not just new PCs. In fact, it's a great tool for automating the cleanup
of a PC you've been using (and abusing) for a long time.
|
|
2. Making It Boot Faster
Throughout the years, all Windows versions have
shared a common problem: they degrade in performance over time and boot
more slowly the longer the computer is used. Microsoft addressed this
gradual sludgification somewhat in Windows Vista, and even more in
Windows 7. Compared to Windows XP there are certainly some
improvements. For example, unlike XP, it's actually possible to take an
aging Windows 7 install, clean some things up, and get it back in
tip-top shape. With XP, you'd eventually be forced to reinstall the
entire OS in order to regain lost performance.
Boot-up speed, of course, is a primary concern. In
order to speed up the time it takes for your PC to return to life each
time you sit down in front of it, you can take a number of steps:
Remove unwanted startup items:
Over time, as you install more and more software on your computer, the
number of small utilities, application launchers, and, most annoyingly,
application prelaunchers (which
essentially make it seem like those applications start more quickly
later because large chunks of them are already preloaded) that are
configured to run at startup multiply dramatically. There are several
ways you can cull this list, but the best one is to use Autoruns, a
Microsoft Sysinternals freebie (technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx).
To cull the list of startup applications, download and open Autoruns (Start Menu Search, and enter http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe) and click Run. You'll be presented with the scary-looking window shown in Figure 2.
Before attempting to make any systemwide changes, click File =>
Run as Administrator. This will restart the application under
administrative credentials to give you full access to startup entries
on the system. After dealing with the User Account Control prompt that
appears, click the Logon tab to view a list of programs that execute
right after you log in. By clicking Hide Microsoft and Windows Entries
in the Options menu, you can narrow the list down to just third-party
gunk. Finally, if you'd rather disable than delete, simply uncheck the
entries you wish to disable and you're set. Later, when you feel
comfortable without the gunk, you can return to Autoruns and delete it
once and for all.
NOTE
While Autoruns sports a dizzying array of other
tabs, such as LSA and Winsock Providers, KnownDLLs, and Drivers, we
suggest you limit clean-up activities to the safer Logon, Sidebar
Gadgets, and Scheduled Tasks tabs. As Autoruns provides an unbiased
view into the internal wiring of various Windows components, you could
inadvertently and irreparably break Windows.
NOTE
Windows XP and Vista users can use the Software
Explorer feature of Windows Defender to remove unwanted startup items
as well. This feature, alas, was removed from Windows 7, because
Microsoft believed that it detracted from the main function of Defender
(the removal of malware). We disagree: the line between true malware
and unwanted preloaders is pretty gray.
Do a little cleanup:
There are a number of things you can clean up on your PC that will have
mild effects on performance. One of the more effective is Windows 7's
hidden Disk Cleanup tool (Start Menu Search, and type disk clean), shown in Figure 3.
This little wonder frees up hard drive space by removing unused
temporary files. (Free hard drive space is important for keeping
virtual memory and other applications (like Adobe Photoshop) running
optimally. Virtual-memory optimization is covered in just a bit.)
Don't shut down the PC:
This one may seem obvious or even humorous, but think about it: why are
you shutting down the PC anyway? Windows 7 supports advanced power
management states, including Hybrid Sleep and Hibernation, and these
states enable your PC to "shut down" and "power on" far more quickly
than actual shutdowns and power-ups.
NOTE
You can automate Disk Cleanup using another
hidden Windows 7 utility—the Task Scheduler. This process is documented
in Windows 7's Help and Support: Search for Schedule Disk Cleanup to learn more.