Chapter 3- Increasing Your Performance

System optimization and tweaks for Windows Vista/XP

 

Turn off Visual Effects (Vista)-Ask yourself this question…Do I want my computer to look great or run great. Visual effects can really bog down your system and it’s not like you can’t change it back if you don’t notice a difference.

Open Performance Information and Tools in your Control Panel and then click on Adjust visual effects. Now select adjust for best performance. If you haven’t noticed yet you can manage your start up programs here with out hacking the Registry. You can also run Disk clean up

Adjusting for best performance in Windows XPClick Start then Right click on My Computer select Properties then Advanced. Under performance click on the Setting buttons. Select the option to Adjust for best performance.

Make sure you have up to date drivers for your hardware. A driver is a software program that interfaces between your hardware and Windows. A bad or outdated driver can really slow you down. Find out what model of driver you have by Right Clicking on My Computer and selecting Device manager. Next find and open the device you are interested in. This should tell you the Brand and model name of your hardware. Visit your manufactures web site and download their latest drivers. If you need help try using Driver Robot. Driver Robot software is designed to quickly locate the most current drivers specific to your computer system. Download Driver Robot

Upgrade your memory Buy more memory if you have less than 1 GB. Memory is cheap and easy to install and can make a huge difference. To find out how much memory you have Right Click on My Computer and choose Properties.

Upgrade your hard drive Open My Computer and right click on your C drive icon. If you don’t have at least a couple of Gigs of free space you might want to invest in a new hard drive