NBR Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide

Thanks, just what I was looking for. Forgot about the TuneXP program.

 

Also, tweakxp.com

 

I never posted when I first went through this tweaks guide but thank you for putting it together its been a great help!

 

Is there any improvement by turning Windows Defender Off ?

 

You may notice some slight performance improvements, but it is mostly negligible.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

No problem. Be sure to post again if you have any more questions.

 

If you don't any other real time spyware protection, doing this will open your computer's front door to spyware.

 

I finally decided to tinker with the Page File size on my machines. I'm running Vista Business 32-bit on an Intel-based iMac with 4gig's of RAM. I gradually reduced the size, and then just like Les said, turned it off completely. Vista was already running flawless (thanks to this thread) and turning off the Page File made it that much better. I've got a Dell D620 with only 2gig's of RAM, and I've started to reduce it. I'm still tinkering with it, but its already shown a bit of improvement, as well as recovered disk space on both machines. A+ again to Les and this thread!!

 

Just be sure you FULLY understand the ramifications of running without a page file. It can be quite dangerous. Depending on the load you place on the machine it is possible to lose work when an app crashes for lack of ram and the OS can't temporarily page out some unused segment to allow the app to continue. Most apps are unable to deal with this situatuon gracefully and crash with no recourse for data recovery.

Gary

P.S. Out of curiosity, what MEASURABLE performance difference did you see by disabling the page file?

 

I disabled page file as well too. I have 3gb ram so its much safer than 2, imo. i didnt regain disk space though. question though, since i disabled page file, it doesnt make sense to move the paging file to d drive right? is that even possible? my d drive(recovery) has 1.8 gb of space remaining

 

McGrady...if you have shut off your pagefile, you can go to c: drive root and delete the pagefile thereby yourself; it is not needed any further.

Other than that, your system will get rid of it eventually.

Scud,

I always appreciate your candor and assistance of course. I haven't physically measured the difference but I have observed this. If you don't shut the cache down ccmpletely, your system always uses a certain size disk cache, even with 4Gb ram so...there is always the unnecessary disk activity and slowing of this.

Once it is shut off, I (and others who are now attesting to this) observed a noticeable boost even though I do use a ssd. Thats good enough for me.

Also, in the thread, I have been very careful to spell out that one should be knowledgeable and reduce to see what your system is capable of dependent on your system usage style.

 

Oh, I know that Les. I am just occasionally making sure that other folks follow your lead by pointing out the need for being careful with this particular tweak. Because the thread has gotten so long, we can't be sure that folks are all seeing that warning, especially if they jump in mid thread.


I am still interested though to see if anyone has gone to the trouble of MEASURING the boost in performance. So far everything I have seen has been anecdotal evidence of a PERCIEVED boost. I am not suggesting there is none, mind you, I am certain there is. I am just honestly curious how much of one there really is.

Gary

 

c) Remove MS Office MSOCache File (Tx and Rep MaXimus777)

You will need to enable hidden folders to see this file.

Is there a way to get to this file?
I have Windows Home Premium and Office 2007.

 

Enable your hidden folders and it will be found under the C:MSOCache\ directory

 

This path is not applicable in Vista Ultimate SP1. I just did a clean install and I couldn't find it under currentcontrolset. Instead its in currentcontrolset01.
Thanks

 

Did you do a clean install directly to SP1? I am assuming this is the case, because I have BOTH sets of keys, I bet the CurrentControlSet01 is SP1-specific, and in my case was copied from the CurrentControlSet keys.

 

Yes, I installed ultimate using the anytimeupgrade dvd and instantly I installed SP1. Followed by drivers etc.

 

hmm...I was thinking that you somehow had an uber install DVD that included SP1 (if they even exist). Still odd to me that that folder wasn't created on install...but then again, I'm no registry-hive guru.

 

I did these tweaks, but then auto update installed SP1.

I had to leave for work, so I couldn't check it out, but am I going to have to re-do any of the tweaks I have already done due to SP1 like 'resetting' anything?

 

No, all the tweaks are still in effect.

 

It might have. I had to change some stuff. When you have time, check it out.

 

I have no use for bluetooth but I have noticed that it is always in my system tray when I startup yet it does not appear with my startup programs. How can I assure that this is disabled and not one of my startup processes?

 

I followed most of these tricks and am still at about 45 seconds from power button press till just entering my password to log on... then an additional 45 seconds or so from then will the wheel stops spinnign next to the mouse (hourglass). Any suggestions?

More importantly, or possibly a related problem - when I select "reset" it simply shuts down and doesn't power back on. I checked this several times and there is no chance I am pressing the wrong button. Also, I undid the change in the registry setting for shutdown time (changed 5000 back to 20000) and this didn't help. Is this a problem anyone else has encountered before?

 

Will this guide also work for my laptop (see signature) with Vista Business 64bit?

 

yes

////////////////

 

Yes, as it is designed to work in both 32bit and 64bit Vista.

 

Ok thank you.

 

No problem. Be sure to post again if you have any more questions.

 

Great thread! Im trying to do step 23 but I cant seem to find where I am suppose to go. Could someone give me a little direction please?

 

Start/Computer/Right Click On 'C'/Disk CleanUp/More Options/System Restore and Shadow Copies/Clean Up

the direction is there, can't get anything simpler...

you click the"computer" on your desktop,
then right click your hard drive,
beside the pie chart is a "disk cleanup" button, click that,
select the admin option (cleanup for all users)
choose "more option" tab,
"System Restore and Shadow Copies" box, click "clean up"

 

2. Eliminate Unneeded Startup Programs

msg " Windows has blocked start-up programs:
Windows blocks programs that require permission to run when windows starts click to view program"

I'm having problems with step 2 which is easy. Everytime I elmininate a start-up program I get a warning upon my next boot and asks me if I want to revert back to the original changes. Not only that but there is an icon in my taskbar that never goes away.

Can some one help please?
Thank you
Jimmy

 

http://www.maximumpcguides.com/stop...e-startup-programs-pop-up-box-from-appearing/

 

Thanks, some of them are quite useful.

 

OMG

I couldn't believe it was that simple.

now I feel so retarded

thanks for the post

 

no problem!
be sure to ask if you have any questions,
lots of people here glad to help you

 

You forgot to mention that you must select the admin option (cleanup for all users) to get the "more options" tab.

 

oh, yea, thank you

 

Hey guys. I just updated my Nvidia driver as per tweak 11. Previous driver was 156.65 and updated to 167.45. Driver installed fine but now my laptop won't play HD-DVS's anymore. Tried to restore to previous driver using system restore but restore won't complete due to "unspecified error".

Does anyone out there know whats going with my laptop, help please??

 

Skerry, I would try upgrading to a 169.xx or a 174.xx driver and see if that helps. Go to laptopvideo2go.com and go to the forums and select the driver you wish to choose, then go and see which drivers people seem to like the best...some may have had the same problems with that driver.

 

hey,

I've noticed people mentioning that if the laptop is left idle for considerable amounts of time then Vista automatically does what tuneXP would do - specifically, the defrag of boot files, for which Schud gave us a batch file to run - so does it work?

Occasionally i leave my laptop on overnight for downloading things (using utorrent) - will vista defrag my boot files in case i do?

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the advice man. I reinstalled the 156.65 driver for the moment so I guess I'll just do a bit of experimenting with the 169.xx and 174.xx drivers to see which is compatible with the HD playback. Maybe its just that one that works with Hp's crappy Quickplay software, its the only one on Hp's list of drivers and its pretty dated.

 

It would but ONLY if your machine were to truly go idle. With utorrent running I doubt it ever goes idle. You can always run my batch file that you found. Just make sure you close all running apps when you do, and be PATIENT and DO NOT CLOSE THE COMMAND WINDOW!!!!

Gary

 

oh i didnt know that. if your comp is actually idle, it will defrag bootfiles by itself. how long are we talking? 3 hrs idle? cool to know...;p

 

I'm assuming your laptop is plugged when your d/l stuff overnight. My question is, do you remove the battery when doing this? Pros/Cons anybody?

 

if im at home and i use my laptop i take the battery out and just run my laptop on ac power. at school and on the go i have the battery in. bad about no battery in, if power outtage occurs, you have no back up power.

 

What's the point of taking the battery out when plugged in?

Doesn't a fully charged batter sitting in the laptop but being bypassed, or sitting beside a laptop, lose charge and life at the same rate anyway?

 

i take out the battry when power plugged in to have longer battery life.
by having the battery in while power in at full charge, you slowly kill battery life, but sure there will be ppl who say, it doesn't do a thing. but if u think about it, it makes sense that if the battery is in and you just constantly charge it, you will eventually kill the battery faster

 

That's just the thing, both of you (Evan & McGrady) are assuming opposite things.

Evan is assuming that the battery is bypassed once it is fully charged, and McGrady, you are assuming that it isn't.

...my question is, who is assuming correctly?

 

mine. its proven.
its like a cell phone battery. leaving your cell phone charging constantly is bad for the battery and causes it to wear down and have poor battery life