NBR Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide

i am using avg free edition, avira i have heard about but it lacks a email scanner and other features in the free version. will checkout the antirootkit

 

It lacks the email scanner??? See below.

 

I can't enable HDD write cache Feature...Help Needed Ohh...It's not only for me...see the thread please

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132611

 

cant say much except that I also have the same issue...

 

I use AVG also. That must be it then. Any idea what it is?

 

lol no, avira lacks the email scanner in its free version, i use The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities as a reference for the software i use. it mentions the lack of one in avira in its antivirus section.

 

Folks...you need to read the thread and not just parts...

1. Intel Matrix answer to your question is above in my posting and its why I havent listed it as a tweak.

2. AVG free version does have email scanning...sorry...I have never heard of Avira.

With respect to the best freeware utilities, I noticed there are some sponsored links there. I also think that, if we go through several of them, they will have advertisements necessary which takes the free away in my opinion. Free is as the two I have posted above...totally free with no side effects. Its the side effects or adverts that we want to rid ourselves of.

 

but what about the "Enable Advanced Performance" thing. Is it safe for laptops?

 

Yes its safe...if you can enable it after you have installed your driver. I cant and I know several others that cant as it is part of the files result...

To assist, my system runs faster and more stable with that driver installed than it ever has before. I posted pictures of the results in the past to verify this.

If it isnt checked...check it.

If it doesnt stay checked...forget about it.

Ok below...Diagram 1...is what I have. Diagram 2...is my test results before I installed 'The Matrix'. Diagram 3...is my results now.

Very happy now....with the boxes unchecked because I can't.

 

I install the latest Intel Matrix Driver still No change men..Sorry I know this thread is not for trouble shoot but i'm really worry with this thing

 

This is exactly why Im asking everyone PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE dont post tweaks here. PM them to me and we wil discuss them so they don't cause this result. I promise I will post them if they are, in fact deserving, and give you credit.

Bigspin...see above as I have now attached my results again.

 

1) Flamenko, still rep-whoring?
2) I can't believe no one mentioned blackviper site... a wealth of info on optimizing vista and xp
http://www.blackviper.com/

 

Wow that TuneXP proggie is from May 2004 already, and works fine with Vista, nice to know. However, I was wondering, isn't there such a feature included in any tweaking program made specially for Vista?

 

Anzial...

The thread is not even three days old and weve asked people to not just throw things in the open. You have the knowledge to understand blackviper but many do not and will jump right in and supertweak their system not knowing the ramifications.

If you have an idea, by all means PM me; the thread is created for all levels of users. If its used, you will get credit.

If you don't like the thread, there are tons others.

Synthesia,

No, for some reason there is no other Vista specific freeware that accomplishes this so well.

 

unlike you, flamenko, i believe ppl can decide for themselves what they can and cannot do. Besides, blackviper's site is for ALL levels of users. but by all means, continue rep-whoring, i don't care.

 

I'm getting "failed to get data for Start" error message when I start TuneXP. No processes showing after doing the ultrafast booting. This is running as administrator. Without that, I'm getting "failed to get data for DisablePagingExecutive"

any ideas?

 

Ignore the first little msg box. You need to open Task Manager after it says its complete and to wait until defregging is completed and watch the two processes (defrag.exe/NTFSDfrg.exe) When they dissappear, you are done.

As for the last I am unsure.

 

thanks flamenko but I don't see the 2 processes in task manager at all.

 

Make sure that "Show all processes from all users" is checked and they should be there. Also, if they arent there, click on 'Image name' which will put everything alphabetically. They take 20-30 min to complete.

 

1) "failed to get data for Start" will happen on vista because this is not XP.
2) because of this, you should use ONLY the "ultrafast booting" option, many of the other stuff will be broken by the differences in vista.
3) try opening taskman first, then sort by name, scroll to around the d's then run the defrag. If no defrag anything shows within 10 mins, reboot, uninstall the program, and reinstall the program, make sure you select the windows partition and give it one more try. If it doesn't work, then you might be out of luck until someone can reproduce and fix this bug.

 

For all the TOP VISTA TWEAKS you can ever want, go here : http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?autocom=ineo&showcat=4

That little forum should have all the tweaks and then some for Vista. ALL. Not just some. ALL. You don't have to wait on this thread daily for another tweak to be posted.

"Get CCleaner!!! It Works with 32/64Bit"


Thats not a tweak, thats just downloading a program to clean out your computer.

The Vista Forums has everything you want and need concerning tweaks.


Tweakhound

^^Another great site for tweaks for all users.

http://www.tweakvista.com/

Pick any tweak your interested in from this site.


Looking to disable useless services?

Go here for those tweaks: http://vistarewired.com/2007/02/18/services/

Again, its for all users.

 

Be careful with Black viper's tweaks. It will cause problems with wireless and tablets if you don't know what you're doing. Even the "safe mode" will disable things you need...you can live with you computer. If you guys would like, I can put together a shorter list of what I'd recommend is absolutely safe. Just post if you're interested.

 

http://www.stardock.com/products/tweakvista/

^simplifies many tweaks.

 

I still have the flashing screen when shutting down.. Whats up with that? Can anyone help me? I also get jumpy video when streaming or playing flash games...?? any help?

 

thanks a lot man i was wondering what Ccleaner was used for , R+

 

I would really appreciate that. I don't know too much about computers, and a list that would allow me to do everything that I'm currently doing, but get better performance would be great. I'm not going to mess around with Black Viper's tweaks as I'm connected wireless 90% of the time.

 

flamenko, the TuneXp tip and the TMM tip both made a HUGE difference in my startup time, and how fast my laptop runs. I didn't get a before time for my boot time, but now it's 1:05, which isn't the fastest, but it's WAY faster than it was.

 

Improve my start-up time by a few seconds, now around 50 seconds with password enabled, thanks ya flamenko and blackmamba(u're sooo hot )

 

From the 1st site blackmamba linked

there was a "way" to get UAC to be less "annoying" (works great!!)

i would post it, but then i'd be "stealing" someone's work..lol

 

Why Hasn't This Thread Been Stickied

 

This is the second time I've heard about this in the past few days (at this and one other site). Sounds interesting however, before I give it a try I need to ask:

Is this something a non-technical person should use? I mean, what if it deletes a wrong registry entry and I don't know how to fix it? Or is using it risk-free?

Thanks.

 

Thanks! this worked.

 

It asks you to back up your reg every time. You can choose YES/NO. Better to choose Yes so you can recover your registry if their is a problem. Mostly likely you will not run into problems and is very user friendly.

 

i somehow accidentally deleted the programs folder, and i think TMM was in it. is there anyway i could recover it in home premium? the program folder was in my start menu but there was nothing in it.

 

and my administrative tools is gone too!! any help wanted pleasE!!!

 

Spoodo...Was your recovery turned on or off? if it was on, simply do a recovery to the last time it backed itself up.

 

i don't think so. actually i'm not too sure. would u recommend i do a clean install of vista again? i don't really use Dell's Media Direct, so i figured i might as well get rid of it, at the same time clean out my registry with a format. i just feel that my notebook is performing under par. if i do a clean install without MD, i would still be able to use the travel remote and media buttons right?

 

Without a doubt the best article I've read on tweaking Vista is over on AnandTech. It really does an in depth analysis of the reality and myths surrounding Vista tweaks. Here is a link:

Windows Tweaks

Gary

 

I believe so. I am told the media buttons and remote are tied to Quikset but cannot guarante this. I have no reason to believe they are tied to mediadirect.

Your most logical option of course is a complete reinstall; just remembr to reinstall the proper drivers.

 

I intend to use the drivers provided by dell, then search for updated drivers later on. The Quikset application should be included in the CDs provided by Dell right? Coming to partitioning. Was thinking for partitioning my hard drive into 3 partitions. One for the OS (Vista), one as recovery and one for my own personal files. How much space would you recommend for the OS partition? Considering I've got 160gb.

 

20Gb would be a safe OS partition and yes, quikset is included with the disk.

Nice to see your not panicking...so many do when they delete something like that.

 

great link, which alone makes up for the rest of this insipid thread.

 

haha, well, i'm kinda nervous. first time doing it on my own. one thing i like about dell, they provide you with everything you need, so there's less hassle and panic. if i install programs and games, would do so in the OS partition? or my own personal partition? just like to gather as much as i can before proceeding. do i need to insert MD cd in order to partition? or can that be done with the Vista Reinstallation CD? my bad for all the questions. Kinda noob at this.

 

i really like #2 (if it does what you claim it does, ill find out when i reboot) i was just wondering if that is the only option that actually works on vista, because most options arent working for me

 

you don't need to install any program to have this done.

go to the start menu and type in 'cmd'.
right-click on the listing in the start menu and select 'Run As Administrator' (if you didn't disable UAC)

in the command prompt, type in 'defrag.exe %systemdrive% -b', without the quotes.

example: defrag.exe c: -b

that will limit the defrag to your startup files only and will only take a few minutes.

that said, this is mostly unnecessary since defrag will automatically run every X days (i believe it's three, though i've read elsewhere seven) whenever you're idle. the boot defrag will occur as a part of this process.

 

Question on the CCleaner. What exactly does it do when you scan for Registry issues and then fix them? A little lost with that. (Sorry for the noob question)

 

Just a quick few things:
Yes, tuneXP initiates the boot defrag, but it also has a separate defrag of its own, users of Win XP will see that there are two separate defrag processes. Vista will only show you one while a second does indeed function.

As for registry, again I emphasize not to use any utility including ccleaner to try to fix it. The registry is extremely small and any cleaning will not do much. The only improvements you could get is by defragging the registry with a utility like NTREGOPT. There a lot out there, this one is free. They all do the same thing: copy your current registry to a contiguous space and make them primary when you reboot. I run this on a shutdown script.

Cleaning it can only lead to future problems as there is probably not one program that will keep you from deleting valid links.

CCleaner does a decent job of cleaning your system, though I would set it to not delete your internet cache or cookies and I would set it to clean the c:\users\"your profile"\appdata\local\temp\*.* UPON SHUTDOWN as this gets relatively huge over time.

 

Flamenko: I've finally done my clean install. it was so so easy. everything is as good as new, and now further tweaking vista. thanks!

 

Re: Elschorcho's Advice:

I dont believe the DOS command prompts do what is specificaly shown in the picture below, and that is to rearrange your boot files to the front of the disk. For the most part, there is little defragging to the boot files themselves and this is shown on your systems successfull startup each time.

Further, Im hoping the idea here would be to make this as easy as possible for most, a thing which command line prompts is not for the average user.

Lastly, I would hope the cutting and comments that do not benefit others would fade in this thread for the benefit of the thread and forum; it a feature which doesn't help anyone (ie. "which alone makes up for the rest of this insipid thread")

If we are here to contribute...then do so for the benefit of all.

PS...For those who are unsure which files to watch after completing TuneXP, look at the included picture which shows both...defrag.exe and dfrgNTFS.exe.

The first time you use the program it may take over 30min to complete.

 

Yes, I'd be very interested.

I've been computing a long time and have done some minor tweaks along the way. But through the years I've learned it's best not to play with some things if you aren't experienced enough to fix it if you do something wrong along the way. And boy, have I.

I looked at a post at another site about how to change the size allocated for System Restore in Vista....you know, going through that black screen, typing in commands with white text. I just don't feel comfortable tweaking like that.

If my computer takes two minutes to book instead of one, it's okay with me.

I admire those who have the technical skills and confidence to tweak so deeply, but not all of us have.