Some of the myths surrounding Windows optimization haunt us in articles, websites, and tweakers. However, they have nothing to do with reality, so following these tips can only do harm. Here are examples of such myths.
Disable QoS to free up 20% network bandwidth
This advice is used by people who are sure that Microsoft always allocates 20% of the network channel for Windows Update. According to the instructions, you need to turn off QoS and free up bandwidth. Unfortunately, this advice not only doesn't help, but can add to the problems with applications that use QoS, such as streaming media and VoIP.
Here is Microsoft's official response: “Many articles and newsgroup posts claim that Windows XP always reserves 20% of available network bandwidth for QoS. This is not true… One hundred percent of the network channel is available to all programs unless one of them requests channel priority.”
Allow Vista to use multiple cores to speed up boot
This false advice came out recently, and almost everyone believed it. According to him, in the msconfig utility, you need to modify the value in the "Number of processors" drop-down list on the "Load" tab. In fact, this value is only used for troubleshooting and debugging, to identify a problem with a particular processor, or so that the programmer can test his code on a multi-core system. Windows uses all processors by default without this setting.
Clearing the Prefetch Folder for Faster Loading
Windows XP's Prefetch Application Prefetch feature caches parts of applications you use frequently and attempts to optimize the download process to make applications launch faster, so when many sites began advising periodic cleanup to speed up downloads, it seemed like good advice...but sadly wrong .
The preload function is actually used as an index to tell Windows which parts of an application to load into memory and in what order to speed up the application's launch, but Windows doesn't use this information before the application starts to run. There's also a limit of 128 files that can be stored in the Prefetch folder at any time, and Windows automatically cleans up this folder by removing information about unused applications. In addition, the right defragmentation utility uses Prefetch information to optimize files on the disk, making them even faster to access.
Cleaning the registry improves performance
The Windows Registry is a large database with almost every setting for every application on your system. It makes sense that clearing it would speed things up, right? Unfortunately, this is just a marketing hoax to sell registry cleaners, and the reality is not at all like that… Registry cleaners only remove a very small number of unused keys, which doesn't help performance considering the hundreds of thousands of other keys in the registry.
This is not to say that these utilities are completely useless, of course. I would still recommend clearing the registry when you're trying to fix a problem with uninstalling problematic applications that leave registry entries, but you should use a verified application and verify the keys being removed.
Clearing memory with "Process tasks in free time".
At this point, you should already be slowly beginning to understand... If something sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a hoax. Another tip is that you can create an “undocumented shortcut to the Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks command, which will clean up memory by processing all the tasks that take up memory in the background.
What is the problem? These tasks don't actually wait in the background. This command actually tells the computer that you are away and that it can process tasks while the computer has time to spare. But you didn't leave. The real purpose of this function is to run all the tasks before running the benchmarks so that they time correctly, and the Microsoft documentation says this: “When called from the command line, ProcessIdleTasks runs asynchronously in the background. Background tasks may take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The task manager reports running processes, and the disk may be active at this time.”
Clean, defragment and speed up your RAM with Super Mega RAM Optimizer
Look at any software site and you'll find thousands of programs that promise to "optimize memory to speed up your computer." Don't believe! Almost all of these programs do the same thing: they call the EmptyWorkingSet() function, which forces applications to send data from memory to the swap file, or they allocate and free up a huge amount of memory for themselves, so that Windows has to swap other applications.
The result is an apparent freeing up of memory, but in reality you have just traded your space-fast RAM for a slow disk. As soon as you have to return to the application you are working with, you will want to throw out the computer and trample on its mortal carcass.
Disabling the Shadow Copy and System Restore service improves performance
There don't seem to be any Windows Vista advice sites that advise against turning off System Restore to speed things up because it uses up to 15% of your disk by default. This seems like good advice. But this is bad advice.
In reality, System Restore only works when you install an app or update, or at a scheduled time of day, and automatic restore points are only created when you're not at your computer. This is critical because it allows you to restore the previous state of the machine, getting rid of problems.
Instead of disabling System Restore to free up space, use the Disk Cleanup Wizard to remove all but the last restore point.
Enabling SuperFetch in Windows XP.
Someone decided to spread the myth that you can enable SuperFetch in Windows XP by adding the same EnableSuperFetch key used in Vista to the registry. This advice is completely false.
Disabling services (services) to speed up the computer
The most common myth is the advice to remove all unused services. I understand that this can cause controversy, so to clarify: disabling non-critical services that are not part of Windows can sometimes lead to increased performance if you determine that these services are causing problems. You can identify and disable these services in the Services tab of the msconfig.exe utility.
The problem with disabling services is that your devices can stop working afterwards, and it's hard to pinpoint the problem if it doesn't show up right away.
Do not turn off built-in Microsoft services in Windows, except in certain situations:
Superfetch- this caching service preloads applications into memory and really helps. However, it causes intensive hard disk activity, which is annoying and annoying, especially on laptops.
Windows Search- if you are using another local search engine, you don't need this service and turning it off can really improve performance.
Windows Defender- if you use another anti-malware product, you don't need this service either.
I continue to furiously “storm” (update) old reviews of useful programs on the site, taking new screenshots (installers and interfaces are constantly changing by the authors of the utilities), replacing links with relevant ones, adding a video to EVERY article ...
The turn has come to a magnificent and legendary program. I recommend getting to know her - it’s not in vain that she lives on the resource in the “” section.
Hello, friends! Due to the huge popularity of the topic " System optimization”I present another utility from this category. Today we will learn how to clean the Windows registry.
First, I will try to explain “on my fingers” what kind of animal it is. The Windows registry is the holy of holies of the operating system. List of everything in the system. An entry about a program, file, function, driver, setting... is entered into the registry. No action is complete without referring to this list. The launch of Windows, any program ... occurs only after checking with it.
Now imagine how important the size of this list and its cleanliness are. The program was deleted 10 years ago, and there is an entry about it in the registry (not all programs can correctly get out of the system). She, each time, searches anew among such digital garbage for the record she needs at the moment. Over time, the list swells to an indecent size and the computer slows down.
P Windows Registry Optimizer
I'll tell you a secret - you can clean the Windows registry, compress, defragment ... optimize in every possible way. There are special programs for these activities. Let's take a look at one of them today. - easy, simple, free program for optimizing the registry, step by step and in pictures!
Any tweaker program works on the principle of changing registry entries. The smaller its size, the faster Windows starts and runs, the processes inside it and computer programs.
Need to optimize the registry Any expert will say. But there is no need to show fanaticism. It is enough to use Registry Life once a month and the system will be grateful.
To use the program, you do not need to have special knowledge. She will check everything herself, find errors and correct them.
At the beginning of the work, a backup copy of an important list is created and you can always roll back the changes. Nothing superfluous will be deleted - Registry Life is a smart program.
Download Registry Life
The size of the web installer is 4 MB. Viruses are absent. Supported by all versions of Microsoft Windows XP - 10.
Click on the installer and download it ...
To install additional "useful" software ...
will appear desktop shortcut…
We launch the utility with it ...
Cleaning the registry with Registry Life
Main window (after pre-cleaning the operating system with CCleaner)! Horror! Fixing bugs...
We get a nice picture...
Be sure to go through the tabs on the left - you will find a lot of useful and interesting things. You can qualitatively and visually quickly start Windows ...
Registry Life- a free application (from the creator of the popular Reg Organizer tool) that allows you to automatically clean the Windows system registry and optimize it.
The utility will help fix errors in the registry, as well as optimize it to improve the performance and stability of the Windows system. Registry Life is an easy to use registry maintenance solution for your system.
The system registry is one of the important components of the Windows operating system. The stability of the system depends on the state of the registry, and the speed of execution of programs with which you constantly work on your computer depends on the amount of data contained in it.
A new computer always runs at peak performance. However, everyone notices that the performance of the system is gradually declining. The Registry Life utility can reduce this effect, the two main causes of your computer slowing down. One of the reasons is the appearance of errors and unused data (garbage) in the registry. Another reason is fragmentation and an increase in the size of the system registry due to unused space in the files where it is written.
Key features of Registry Life
Correction of errors in the registry.To detect errors and clean up unnecessary data in the registry, Registry Life offers a convenient and easy-to-use Registry Checker tool. With it, you can check the system registry for more than 10 different categories of problems. At the same time, the program will remove unnecessary data from the registry.
Registry optimization
The Registry Optimizer tool in Registry Life is used to defragment and compress the registry. The utility quickly and efficiently optimizes the registry of the Windows system, visually presenting the result of the optimization process.
Autostart programs
The autorun optimization tool allows you to delay the launch of most programs that start at system boot by specifying an arbitrary amount of time after which the application will be launched. Postponing programs that are not needed immediately after the system boots allows you to quickly bring Windows to a working state, i.e. when the user interface of the operating system and third-party software starts working without delay.
There is an opinion that, similar to disk defragmentation, registry optimization can help speed up PC performance.
Back in the early 2000s, the Windows registry was one of the biggest performance bottlenecks. Hard drives and processors were slow, and the registry itself was poorly optimized, which caused the operating system to look for the right registry key with some delays, which in general slowed down the PC. Nowadays, modern PCs are already so fast that cleaning the registry will do little to improve the performance of the PC.
And yet, many power users still recommend registry cleaners.
If you have a slow hard drive, then registry optimization can help. Although it's more likely to make your system "feel better" like a placebo effect. But if you believe in the power of cleaning the registry, then I recommend sticking to the following list of applications that have proven themselves with experienced users.
Comodo PC TuneUp is not just a registry cleaner. This is a universal configuration utility, which includes, among other things, the function of working with the registry. Please note that a registry fix is different from a registry cleaner, which is why Comodo PC TuneUp is more secure than the competition.
This tool finds and tries to fix serious registry problems.
In fact, most registry problems, at least from Vista onwards, are generally harmless. But if you really want to go through your registry and find faults in it, then Comodo PC TuneUp is the best for this. Not to mention, this tool is developed by Comodo, a cybersecurity and computer security company. They have a solid track record and I find them more reliable than most other developers.
JetClean is a great all-in-one tool but provides an easy approach. The app isn't bloated with unnecessary features like most PC optimization tools are, and that's why JetClean is effective.
In addition to cleaning the registry, JetClean has four other built-in cleaning features: System Cleanup (operating system files), Application Cleanup (junk files installed), Shortcut Cleaner (invalid shortcuts to files and Start menu items), and RAM Cleanup (for leaks). memory).
Other useful features include system startup optimization, Internet connection acceleration, computer performance booster, and the ability to create a portable version that you can carry around on a USB drive.
Wise Registry Cleaner is a 2-in-1 application that cleans the registry and improves system performance. The application performs its tasks quickly and efficiently.
As for the number of errors in the registry, Wise Registry Cleaner is somewhat worse than JetClean, in my humble opinion. Everyone will like the simplicity of the interface, plus an additional bonus - the inclusion of a registry defragmenter in the utility. If the main problem is PC performance, then the System Tuneup feature can help.
You have the option to upgrade to the Pro version for $20 plus $15 per year as a subscription fee. The Pro version adds multi-user cleaning, automatic scheduled registry cleaning, plus more advanced options to improve system performance and create system backups.
Auslogics Registry Cleaner is the only application on this list that only cleans the registry and nothing else. But perhaps against the background of competitors, this is the main advantage of Auslogics Registry Cleaner, since it focuses on one task. The application interface is classic, it allows you to select those registry categories that should be cleared.
Auslogics Registry Cleaner can back up the registry before making changes and restore the old version if something goes wrong. It also has a function to search and delete registry keys manually (for example, to search for viruses if they left traces in the registry).
CCleaner last? It can't be! While CCleaner is possibly the most effective registry cleaner, many experienced users have noticed that it tends to be too aggressive in cleaning the registry already. It happened that CCleaner also deleted useful keys, which are then difficult to recover.
But if you're careful, then CCleaner might come in handy.
The free version of CCleaner is more than enough for inexperienced users. For $25 you can purchase the CCleaner Pro version. It introduces additional features: scheduled cleanups, real-time system monitoring, automatic updates (the free version requires you to update the app manually) and premium support.
If there is one reason to avoid cleaning the registry, then you should not do it. Of course, you will not get serious problems by using the above utilities, but as they say: "God saves the safe."
Always create backups before you start cleaning the registry and optimizing the system as a whole.
Perhaps there is another reason for the slow operation of the computer, for example, a virus or hardware problems. Therefore, first of all, deal with the issue of choosing and installing an antivirus, if you do not already have it.
And how do you feel about cleaning the registry using utilities? Which of them do you trust? Might be worth mentioning it in the comments if it's worth mentioning.
One of the factors that affect the performance of the operating system is the state of the system registry. If the system began to “slow down”, it is possible that registry optimization will help fix it and speed up its work.
The system registry stores the parameters and settings of the hardware and software necessary for the correct operation of the operating system. Almost all changes made to the system when installing programs, working with the Control Panel, etc. are made to the system registry. In fact, Windows registry is a database of settings and options built on a hierarchical basis.
The system registry is divided into sections (branches). Each section contains folders that store parameters and system settings. The more changes are made to the system during operation, the more the registry grows.. Over time, erroneous parameters appear in it (for example, if some programs were removed incorrectly). In addition, the registry is prone to fragmentation, which slows down the work with the registry.
Optimizing the registry helps to streamline it and, accordingly, speed up the system. Typically, registry optimization involves several operations at once.: cleaning the registry from defective and obsolete entries, compressing and defragmenting the Windows system registry. The size of the registry is reduced, and the speed of accessing the registry is increased.
Windows has built-in registry utilities - regedit.exe and regedit32.exe. However, an inexperienced user should not use them to optimize the registry, because they are primarily focused on manual work with the registry. If you are poorly versed in the system registry, you can delete something that is not right, and this will lead to system failures. You may even have to reinstall the OS.
Therefore, it will be more efficient and safer optimization of the registry using special programs for working with the registry. Such programs automatically find existing problems in the registry and fix them, compress and . Let's take a closer look at some of these programs.
One of the most popular registry optimization software is CCleaner.. This program is distributed free of charge and is suitable for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Registry optimization is just one of the options of the CCleaner utility, designed to optimize the operation of the operating system as a whole.
To optimize the registry, run the program, go to the "Registry" tab and click the "Search for problems" button. The program will scan the system registry for a number of parameters (from incorrect file extensions to missing applications) and will display a list of problems found. If you wish, you can choose which parameters will be scanned. by checking or unchecking the corresponding options.
When working with this program, it is not necessary to do: before correcting errors in the registry the program itself will offer to make a backup copy of the changes made. If the registry optimization fails and the system starts to crash, you can always restore the registry in its original form from the REG file saved by the program.
Another registry optimization program is called Registry Life. This free registry optimization utility from Chemtable supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. When you run the program, the program will scan the registry for errors and the degree of fragmentation and issue a verdict: is cleaning or optimization of the registry really required.
In the process of cleaning and fixing errors, the program finds and removes unnecessary and erroneous registry entries, compresses registry files, and then defragments them. You can set up automatic optimization, launched according to a schedule with a certain frequency.
Regular registry optimization using special programs will help speed up the system, but do not forget that other factors also affect the performance of the operating system, which must also be taken into account.
