Computer Optimization Guide

[jpzsports]

Computer Optimization Guide

*This Guide has up-to-date information and tips from what to do when you first get your computer and also for those who already have been using their computer for some time.

*This Guide is meant to be simple and avoid any potentially damaging changes. Most of these tweaks/changes are meant to have no drawbacks or cause any problems.

*These programs and tips are from my own personal experiences and also from other guides on this forum and others.

*I will update this thread often and add in any advice that other people recommend so please post your comments.

*Please Note: This info is not guaranteed to perform the same on your computer as it did on mine or anyone else's.

Also, this Guide is meant for Windows 7 and Vista computers, but should also work on XP, etc.

Lastly, All of the tweaks mentioned are rather basic and don't involve anything drastic. If you want in-depth tweaks, see NBR Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide - Les

*Please Comment and Rep and post anything that you think I should add in / edit.
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When you first get your computer

- Check to make sure you have all the parts and read through the manuals, etc.
- Check for dead pixels on your screen.
- Go through the User setup and other first-time settings.
- Make your recovery discs (if needed)
- *Updates*:
   - Run Microsoft Update to install all Windows updates as well as new drivers
   - You can also check your computer manufacturer's website for more driver updates as well as BIOS updates (advanced users only)


(This guide is geared towards optimization so I'm going to skip past the real basics of when you first get a computer)

Bloatware removal

You have 2 options:
1. Reinstall Windows - see Clean Vista install WITH NO ACTIVATION by orev
Also see How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows 7

2. Remove the bloatware manually
- Remove programs using the Control Panel Uninstaller (ie any trial software such as Norton, etc.)
- Download and run CCleaner
- Go into Computer and go to C:\Program Files and clean up any folders that were left behind after the Uninstall. There are some other directories that you might want to look around for old files such as \Program Data, etc but be careful not to delete anything you're not sure about.
- You can also try PC Decrapifier

Antivirus, Firewall, and AntiSpyware

1. Antivirus - I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials. It has excellent ratings, light on system resources, and very easy to use. It has antivirus and antispyware.
( Virus, Spyware & Malware Protection | Microsoft Security Essentials )

2. Firewall - I'm a fan of Windows Firewall because it come with Windows. But many people don't like it since it doesn't protect against outbound traffic.
So, if you want, you can use Comodo

3. AntiSpyware - I recommend Windows Defender. It comes pre-installed with Vista and 7. If you use MSE, then it will automatically disable Windows Defender since MSE has anti-spyware built-in.
(Note: you can have more than 1 antispyware, but never use more than 1 antivirus or firewall because they can conflict with one another)


Optimization

Now we get to the good stuff.

1. Clean up your startup programs (Important step!)

Go to Start > Run and type msconfig and go to the startup tab.
Go to Process Library for information regarding each item. Disable only the programs that you are sure about. Items such as AIM, qttask, Adobe Update Manager, etc can be unchecked. Searching on Google for the startup item may help you find some info about it as well.
- You can also use CCleaner to do this. Go to Tools-->Startup Tab and uncheck the ones you don't want to start on boot.

2. Clean up Services that aren't needed (Optional)

Go to Start > Run and type services.msc
Go to Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Service Configurations by Black Viper and use that as your survival guide.
For Windows 7 users, go to: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Service Configurations by Black Viper

3. Run a General Maintenance Utility Program (Optional)

My top choice is Glary Utilities
You can also use Iobit Advanced SystemCare, although it is slightly on the riskier side because it tweaks more Windows settings.

4. Disable (Some) Indexing Options (Optional)
See this article:
TweakVista.com - Tweak Indexing Options for More Performance

5. Set power profile to Balanced (Recommended)

Go to the Control Panel

Click on 'classic view' in the left hand pane.

Open Power Options.

Select the 'Balanced' power plan. For more information on this, please see: Power Plan Controversy


6. Disable some Windows Features you don't need.
See "Step 1" from link:
Speeding Up Windows 7

7. If you want to get more in-depth, check out Les' awesome Tweak Guide



Other Advice

- Download and use Google Chrome as your main web browser. (Firefox is also a good alternative.)

- you may want to go into Control Panel and tweak the settings to your liking as well.

- I recommend using LibreOffice as a Microsoft Office substitute.

- Use OpenDNS (OpenDNS | Internet Navigation And Security)
Follow the instructions on the website to change your default DNS servers on your computer/router to OpenDNS. It's faster, more secure, and provides many other features for free.


Things to do:

Daily
- Update your Antivirus and AntiSpyware Definitions (should be automatic)

Weekly
- Perform a full virus scan and spyware scan
- Do a backup (I recommend Macrium Reflect)
- Run Windows Update
- Run CCleaner (and if you wish, Glary Utilities or Advanced SystemCare)
- Lastly, Run a Disk Defragmenter ( I recommend using Smart Defrag)
**if you are using a Solid-State Hard Drive (SSD), do not defrag. Not only is it unnecessary but it can be detrimental to the drive.

- I also recommend restarting your computer at least once a week, if you tend to leave your computer on.


Monthly
-check for updates to your programs - I recommend using FileHippo UpdateChecker
- Check for new drivers (go to your computer manufacturers' website)
- Perform chkdsk

Yearly
- Clean out the dust from your PC using a can of condensed air
- If your PC is running sluggish then perform a backup and then restore your computer to original using your restore disks and then move back the necessary files

The items I put in bold are, to me, crucial. An Antivirus (MSE), CCleaner, and a Disk Defragmenter are 3 very important programs in order to keep your computer running at it's best.


**New** - Hardware Upgrades

While this guide is mostly based on free software to help keep your computer running fast, I'd like to also add a basic Hardware Upgrades section for those of you looking for more performance.

1. Upgrade your RAM (Memory)

If your computer is running slow and can't handle running many programs at the same time, it may be due to not having enough RAM.
To check your current RAM, go to Start, type "system information" and open the System Information panel. Then look at the "Installed Physical Memory." I'd recommend having at least 3-4 GB of RAM.
If you're interested in upgrading, go to Crucial.com - It can scan your system to find what kind of RAM you need and give you upgrade recommendations.

2. Upgrade your Hard Drive (HDD)

Many computers, especially laptops, come with 5400rpm hard drives. While they may be large to fit all your files, they run at a slower speed than some of today's more advanced hard drives. A faster hard drive can quicken boot speed and also speed up opening programs. You have 3 basic upgrade choices:

- 7200rpm laptop hard drive (2.5 inch)

- Momentus XT Hybrid Hard Drive (7200rpm drive with 4GB SSD)

- Solid State Hard Drive (SSD)

A 7200rpm hard drive would be the cheapest and the least speed improvement of the 3. The SSD would be the fastest but also the most expensive. The Momentus XT is a good middle-ground choice.

Here's a good comparison of these Hard Drives by Phil:

NotebookReview.com SSD & Hard Drive Comparison

I personally upgraded to the 500GB Momentus XT and am very happy with it so far. It is much faster than my previous 5400rpm HDD and has speed comparable to a SSD, without the hefty price tag plus a greater amount of storage space.

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I also recommend getting a notebook stand to help allow for more air flow and keep the computer running cool, especially if you notice your fan is running often or it feels hot.
There are two types: passive and active. Passive just elevate the computer while active have fans to help blow air. The downside to active stands is that they tend to be pretty loud. I personally use the following stand and love it:

Targus Ergonomic Cooling Mobile X-Stand


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- More Coming Soon

This guide is meant to be a basic guide for people to get an understanding of some simple and pretty important tweaks/programs.

I will update this thread with more detailed info in the future when I have time.

Feel free to add in comments.

Credit to the3vilGenius for the awesome graphic!

[Shane@DARK.]

For those unfamiliar with free antivirus software, other free programs available are Avast! (www.avast.com) and, if you're looking for and open source, distributable program - ClamWin (www.clamwin.com).

Also, if you need to play DVDs and your PC didn't come with a dvd decoder program, a nice free one is VLC Media Player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/).

[mokylim]

great job +rep for ya!

[jpzsports]

great job +rep for ya!

thanks
glad you liked it

[gonwk]

Hi JPZsports,

Nice Guide ... pretty dummy-proof ...

JPZ ... could you please check you rlink here .. I couldn't open this one ... wouldn't take me there ... it might be just me.

1. Reinstall Windows - see Clean Install Guide (works for 32-bit or 64-bit) (Clean Install Guide (works for 32-bit or 64-bit)) - stallen

Thanks,
G!

[jpzsports]

Hi JPZsports,

Nice Guide ... pretty dummy-proof ...

JPZ ... could you please check you rlink here .. I couldn't open this one ... wouldn't take me there ... it might be just me.



Thanks,
G!

Thanks, I tried to keep it simple cause I know how overwhelming it can be to make so many tweaks like the ones listed on this forum. I tried to take the most important ones that are the least confusing to do.

And I checked the link and it worked for me, but I decided to change it to orev's guide since it seems to be a little more popular anyways.
So hopefully that link will work for you now.

Glad you like the guide

[gonwk]

Hi JPZ,

Talk about Customer Service ... that was fast ... +rep for great Guide AND fast Customer Service.

OREV's link works just fine.

Thanks,
G!

[jpzsports]

Hi JPZ,

Talk about Customer Service ... that was fast ... +rep for great Guide AND fast Customer Service.

OREV's link works just fine.

Thanks,
G!

Thanks.
Glad to help

[7miles]

great post!!! ive been looking for one of these a long time, n it did show up right before my new lappy arrives.

not going to do a clean install afterall, hoping bloatware removal will work as fine....

thanks a lot!!! probably will have more questions when i get my lappy...

[WCGal]

JPZ this is a great help to me struggling with a new laptop having never used one before. I have a few questions perhaps you can (or someone else) can answer.

Q#1 = There is shortcut to Norton Inet Security set up on the screen however there doesn't seem to be any ref in the uninstall. Can I assume that I can simply delete both the shortcut and all the files in the 'file location' and that will remove it from the 'puter?

Q#2 = NB did not come with any disks at all (or much else for that matter) and I'd like to make the recovery disk(s). I've never had a writable DVD thingy before, only a player, so please excuse the possible stupidity of this question but, how do you use it? The store person told me to buy these DVD+R disks so I've got 25 of them. When I go to put it in the DVD drive, it doesn't seem to fit in the center spindle thing? I don't want to push on it too hard in case I break something, being I've never used on before. Am I supposed to put a fair amount of energy into pushing on the center part? (Maybe this is the wrong place to ask this but I googled for info on this issue and didn't find any answer.)

Q#3 = Possibly another dumb questions but where does one go/how does one know what drivers/bios to update and where to go to do that?

Q#4 = You suggest that Windows Firewall works fine but doesn't protect against outbound traffic. Is that important?

Guess that's it for now. If I can get these things done, the I'll carry on down the list. :-))

Thanks so much