NBR Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide

my RAM usage halved after doing a few simple tweaks. also to speed up boot even more go to "run" type "msconfig" and continue, boot tab, advanced options, and select 2 processors (on dual core/core duo system) leave memory unchecked and at "0" (0 means unlimited)

 

unrelated to my last post- correct if im wrong but doesnt system restore only create a restore point after changes, e.g new program installed? im running vista with slimmed-down bootup and backups on and i get no problem with speed. would yoyu think id be safe to turn out paging file? i have 4gb RAM same as you but for some reason my processes on startup still add up to 71 and memory usage is still at 35% just sat idle. i didnt want to download anything or start deleting stuff but i still noticed a considerable amount of difference in booting and from password screen, thanks

 

well, system restore points are created even on schedule - by default, two times - once during startup (30 mins after startup) and at 12 midnight every day..

You can see the details in the task scheduler, and change it or turn it off, as you wish. Though, its recommended you leave system restore turned on..

As for other situations, yes, during install and also during uninstall, some tools give u the option / have the option to create a restore point before uninstalling..

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/vista.html For more!

As for processes, you can turn off some during startup, by start > run > msconfig > startup

Though remember, this only prevents the program / process from running during startup.

For permanently disabling or changing the settings of services, always use start > run > services.msc *Caution: Be very careful when messing with the services. Check BlackViper for default settings and safe settings. If you are still not sure about what you need / what you should do, I recommend leaving the services alone.

And leave the pagefile alone, as well (though some experts here have completely turned it off!!) If you aren't sure, don't mess with anything. Either follow Les' suggestions on pagefile, or just let it be as it is.

 

Attention: [can of worms imminent]

 

don't do this.... this is an option specifically targetted at servers... may cause lock-ups on some systems (even if dual core)

 

ok sorry for the mistake

 

have set mine to run monthly as i dont do that much, and any important stuff i save to an external hard drive. although i have a 250gb hdd on laptop, i never realy get above 100gb used because its all on the external and disks (if that important e.g family pics, ect)

 

hi i just open your zipfille and the of file i saw was defragboot or something when i open your file and then i drag it to desktop ,but windows make a copy of my file on the desktop of your file. then i did run like administrator

and could´t sse the DfrgNtfs running in task manager

and i wait more then a hour

can somebody help me ,i dont know if i did it good or if i should close the window???

 

check "show processes from all users"...

By the way, *do not* close the command window when u start it.. let it finish and it will close by itself. Mentioning this again, just in case.

 

en if i did close the window what should i do then, shoul i repeat the process
or restore my system 1 point before???

 

well, simply run it again... no need for restore point or anything.

By the way, just to *confirm again*, you are talking about the Gary' tips on defragboot file and post, right??????

 

Re: Top Windows Vista Tweaks You Can Find

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time ago I posted a long message in this thread explaining what was REALLY going on behind the scenes when TweakXP was being used to optimize the boot files under Vista.

I mentioned that I wanted to create an app or some way for folks to do the same thing on their own without the need for TweakXP. (Especially since it was NEVER designed for Vista in the first place and some of its other options might be detrimental to Vista's health.) I have been swampped since then, but yesterday this issue came up again in the Sony forum here. So, after helping someone there with this issue I am copying it here as well.

------------Quoted from the Sony Forum here---------------------------------
Have you allowed Vista to defrag and reorder the boot files? Most laptop users never get a chance for this to be done, because they don't leave their machines idle long enough for the automatic process to kick in. There is a whole series of messages about this in the "top tweaks" thread. The tweak recommended is to use an app called TuneXP, which was designed for XP and use it to do some "magical" trick to defrag and reorder the bootfiles. I did a complete expose' of exactly what it does and it comes down to two simple commands.

Open notepad and paste these two lines in it:

Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
defrag -b %SystemDrive%

Next save the file on your desktop with an extention of .BAT. (DO NOT NAME THE FILE DEFRAG.BAT) Or better yet I'll include an attachment right here!

It is a zip file but just open it and move the file to your desktop. Close ALL running applications.

Then right click on it and select run as administrator. The first line just tells Vista that all applications are idle and it can start a background task that is just sitting there waiting for this event to occur. That task analyzes the bootfile history that Vista maintains and creates a file with the optimum order for these files. The second line starts a specialized defrag process that uses that ordering information and puts these bootfiles into the proper sequence!

It will popup a command window and look like it is just sitting there hung on the first line. It's not, trust me. If you open Task Manager and view all running processes you will see Defrag and DfrgNtfs running. When they are done the command window will disappear. Be patient give it some time. It can take anywhere from a few seconds to an hour even. Just depends on how fragmented your files are. I just ran it and it took about seven minutes. Your disk drive light will show LOTS of activity.

Sit back, have a cup of coffee or whatever. Just wait until the command window disappears. That cannot be stressed highly enough! DO NOT CLOSE THE WINDOW! BE PATIENT! LET IT FINISH! Now reboot and see if it made any difference in boot time.


about this i am talking about Gary
------------------------end of quoted message-----------------
P.S. flamenko feel free to use this in place of the TweakXP segment in your primary post here if you wish. Just be sure to include the zip file as well, if you do.
Attached Files

 

and it says close all programs i have avast antiviris in the right corner downstairs must i stop the avast also

 

Yep, ok then... as Gary says, DO NOT close the window.

Now, do a disk cleanup, defragment your hard drive ( no need if you have already done it), and close all running applications, run the above file as administrator and LET IT FINISH. DO NOT close the window. It will close by itself.

well, for avast, I would guess its fine with it being on... nothing will happen.

I run this defragboot file with Norton Turned on. So thats fine.

Else, just get off the internet, turn off Avast and run it.

and rest Gary has explained clearly, particularly towards the end of his post.

After its done, reboot.

 

oke i did do the defragment before , i did first the gary zipfile and run it
oke i gonna defrag and then use the zipfile of gary
thank you very much i let you know it worked

 

if you have done the defrag, then just run this.. you don't have to defragment again. so leave that part.

just run this file and let it finish on its own.

And I always run this towards the end of everything.. once I am done with the clean up, defrag and such...

 

hello fonduekid , well it didnt work. let me explain what happen or what i did.

i first did a defragment, it took hours like 2,30 hour , and then i pressed with right mouse on the zipfile thats on my desktop,and pressed run as administrator, it open the file and i get a pop screen with this

Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks.

i waited that it closed by hiself but it did´t ,i waited 2 hours or more

so then i went sleeping for a couple of hours.
and saw that my laptop acer aspire 5920g was in hibernate

and i have to start my acer again. but it wont start it keep hunging at starting. so i have to do a shut down.

i dont know if i have to restore my acer now.

because after shutdown its started slow, for this moment then..

so can you help me or tell me what i did wrong.

i didt understund correctly with this line of gary.
(copy and paste in note pad)Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
defrag -b %SystemDrive%

i didnt do this, i only downloaded the zipfile and copied at my desktop.

helpme????

 

Well Flashlight > What is that you don't understand from Gary's post?

You have to download the zip file > unzip it > you will find a DefragBootFiles.bat file > run the DefragBootFiles.bat file as administrator > you will see a command prompt (the black screen window) and just let it run...

Now, for once, this is not a "must do" thing. This defrag of the boot files just shorten' the boot time and optimizes the boot process. If you don't run it, the boot will take a just a little longer, thats all. nothing else.

Coming to your situation, I have no idea what happened (though I suspect the hibernate feature did something, and I have seen many people have issues with hibernating in different scenarios!).

Anyways, have you tried starting the system in safe mode?

Yes, system restore is an option you could follow.

Second, try booting in safe mode, and if you can get into your OS, check for the log files (or event logs).. you can find these under the administrative tools. See what the error is.

Also, if nothing works, you could slip in the OS CD, boot from CD and chose the repair option (though I am not sure if this would be necessary now)... first try the booting in safe mode and see if it works.

 

yes i gonna try it a another time this tweak,but i had pop up of windows information and solutions

for the start up problem that it hunged, after that i was in hibernate

it was a intel turbo mermory driver updater

and now its starting normal as before

i gonna check this tweak later. but thanks a lot for your help.

what about easycleaner what is for the xp,is it good to download????
because i have a ccleaner

 

i have a other question i have some problems with connecting a p2p ares ,
it wont connect i changed the share map location, and i give permission to firewall to let it start.

i saw at firewall options to uncheck an check boxes
that there was a box unchecked. it called windows peer to peer collaboration

do i have to use this box or check it for permision

 

i was searching for a good free spyware killer
and went here to the forum to check
i saw threatfire was free and no trial version

do you aproved it do download this threadtfire for acer aspire 5920g with windows vista premium .

or maybe you have a good tip which spyware i can use (no trial version or limit)

thankyou very much

 

...You are triple posting and this is the wrong forum for the last 2 posts. Threatfire is very intrusive and I think of it as a annoyance but many people like it. I prefer on-demand scanners such as SAS and MBAM.

 

where can i download sas and mbam on demand scanners

and is it free or limit or trial

 

Links are here > http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=190538

SAS > superantispyware
MBAM > malwarebytes'antimalware

And dude, check out or browse around the forums man...

Alternatively, you could also google

 

there is a free and paid version. the free ones are good enough. thats what i use. paid only gets you real time protection

 

yeah sorry for asking much , but i couldnt find it

thanks a lot for your help

 

What are you sorry for? You don't have to be sorry for asking much... thats the purpose of this forum anyways, to ask as much as u want to know and to share as much information as possible between ourself

The reason I asked you to browse around is to read more about user opinions / suggestions regarding what might be good for you and your computer Of course, things like SAS, MBAM are very popular and many would recommend... but there might be something else too, in case u want to be aware of or be informed about Also, posting certain things in the right places will get you better, quick and appropriate responses / answers

Anyway, hope everything works out for you. For Security software or a protection set up, check in the best free security software thread.. there are lots of simple, effective and good combinations of software' you can use to keep your system clean Or just post there with your requirements, and people would suggest a nice combo

 

I'm not sure about this, but I think this could affect security adversely, since it might not give firewall and AV utilities time to load before the computer is connected to Internet...

 

nice tuto bro .. if will rep u later coz i can't rep all the people u said about in the same time

 

What makes you think so? Neither the firewall or AV is dependent on the "Workstation" service, so it should not affect them. At least I don't see how it would.

Besides, I don't think either AV or firewall software reinsert themselves into the protocol stack each time you reboot. I am pretty sure, when they are initially installed, they both create persistent vectors within the stack to redirect all flows through their code. If so, then there would be no TCP/IP traffic until both apps were loaded.

Gary

 

this is weird, TMM is disabled, but still vista does the screen check? what's wrong

 

Lol, i just came to this thread going to ask the same question. I disabled TMM, but there's still a noticeable pause (black screen) before the vista orb.

I have dv5t and TMM is disabled. Any Tips?

 

Question: has anyone tried the Diskkeeper program? It worked great on my XP machine for constantly running silently defragging my HD. It also has a feature to defrag the boot files and supposed to work on Vista. Just wondering if anyone has tried it on Vista and how well it works compared to the other options (like tuneXP and other defragmenters) previously mentioned?

 

I disabled TMM myself, it i still get a lot of dual monitor problems.

 

I have TMM disabled and don't have any dual monitor issues. I use the NVIDIA control panel to set up my dual monitor configuration.

 

good soft thanks

 

works great...been running it for a while now.

 

Curiously, does the boot defrag option on it also rearrange the boot files for better boot times?

 

Ooops, scratch that. I used both Disk Keeper and TuneXP before on my XP computer. Now on my new Vista laptop, thanks to the previous post, I just installed DK on it minutes after disabling the Windows defrag. Analyzed my system and found defragments with the recommendation to clean it. After running the defrag, all red defrag's are gone. Also, I looked at the boot defrag section and there are options to place together the boot files, along with defrag the paging file and MFT file. Way cool, guess i won't swet not using tuneXP anymore!

 

Using TuneXP on Vista is a bad idea anyways.

 

For the best boot sequence defrag, use the following link. The defrag sequence was taken right from tuneXP, isoed out, and is perfectly safe with vista...aslo i run it with DK, and two together work great
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2737834&highlight=gary

 

Well the "taken right from tuneXP, isoed out" part is not exactly correct. I did some detective work as to what TuneXp was doing and found out it was doing nothing more than what had been known for a long time. So I created a batch file to do the same thing. I don't want folks left with the impression that I stole some technique from the authors of TuneXP. Their claim to doing some "special" boot defrag was bogus at best and a lie at the worst. They were doing nothing that was not already documented.

The rest of the comment is correct. The batch file is compatible with any other defrag tool, but should be used AFTER any other tool.

Gary

 

sorry...didnt mean to put that the wrong way, but all in all, its a excellent defrag to run with DK...you got my vote on it.

 

Oh, don't worry, I knew that. I just wanted to set the record straight in case anyone misunderstood!

Gary

 

Awesome guide!

 

sorry to quote myself

Anyone has an solution

 

Do you mean a black screen as in "screen switched off" or "screen displays black" ?

Because there were occasions where the status bar went missing... and that's not due to the TMM

 

no, I have it as well...it's a black screen that flickers once or twice during startup.

 

Did you disable TMM or move it to "during start-up" ?
That's what I did - just in case I ever need it...

So maybe recheck your setting, if its definitely completely disabled, create a thread with your problem.

 

i made my own and it did close itself after finishing