How to Make Your PC Work Faster - 3

Disabling Unnecessary Services

By default after fresh OS Installation, there are lot of unnecessary services that gets automatically started at boot time by default and consumes your PC’s processor time and memory. I am going to discuss the Microsoft OS (XP) services that are not required to be running normally on a standalone PC and should be disabled. In case, you ever need these services (one case might be that you get connected to a LAN), then don’t worry, you can always enable these services whenever required. The services and their brief explanations are -

- Alerter

This service is used to send administrative alerts from server to clients. It’s used for server applications. Disable it if you are not on a network. It’s not there in Windows Vista.

Clipbook

This service allows Clipbook viewer to store information and store with other computers remotely on a network. It permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the LAN. So, if you are not on a network, disable it.

Computer Browser

Computer Browser service is used in earlier versions of Windows 2000. It is replaced by Active Directory in Windows 2000 and later Microsoft OS versions. It is used to show domains, workgroups and server computers on a network (My Network places). Disable it if your PC is not on a network.

Fast User Switching

his feature in Windows XP lets multiple users to work on a single system without the first user logging off. The users can switch quickly between logged-on accounts. So disable this feature unless you have the need of your PC being used by multiple users without getting logged off. As evident, only one user can use the PC at a time.

Help and Support

Unless you are going to use the Operating System Help and Support topics, tutorials for knowing and helping yourself, disable the Help and Support feature.

Human Interface Access Devices

Disable this service if you are not using predefined hot buttons on keyboard, remote controls and other multimedia devices of your PC. Disabling it will not effect the hotkeys that are the core of your Operating System (OS).

Indexing Service

Disable it even if you are on a network as it takes a lot of time in searching files and is not useful. It’s rather better to remember the location of files on a network rather than using indexing to search them.

IPSEC Services

If you are using VPN (Virtual Private Network) services then only let this service run otherwise disable it.

Messenger

Messenger service is used to transmit Alerter service messages between clients and servers. It should be disabled (whether on network or not) as there are huge disadvantages rather than advantages. It can be used very easily by anyone to send spam messages.

Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing

You should enable this service only for the time you want someone to help you remotely, e.g.- some SW installation or troubleshooting etc. using Microsoft Netmeeting SW. Once the support task is over, you must disable this service due to security issues. BTW there are lot of better remote desktop sharing software available that works better than Netmeeting, so there is no point in keeping this service running. Search and you will find them.

Portable Media Serial Number

There is no real usefulness of this service as it retrieves serial number of any portable media player connected to your computer. Do you require any such feature? No, then disable it. Music listeners using iPod and regular flash based MP3 player don’t need it.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)

If you frequently take help of Administrators etc. for remote support activities on your PC, let it be enabled otherwise it’s better to disable it.

Remote Registry Service

Allows you to make modifications to the Registry (as vital database having all the windows settings) of the remote machine. To do so, you need rights to do the modification on the remote machine (be the member of the local administrator group of the remote machine). If you are not going to do such registry modifications of any remote machine, then disable it.

Secondary Logon
This service allows you to use “runas” command permitting a limited rights user to run an programs as a higher level user. It is equivalent to su (superuser) command in Unix. Disable it if you expect not to use it.

Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)

Routing and Remote Access Service also known as RRAS allows programmers to create applications to administer the routing and remote access capabilities of the OS. By RRAS configuration, the computer can be used as a network router.If you have a desktop computer - standalone or networked, disable it as this service won’t be used in these two cases.

Server

Server service is designed to provide basic file and print services on the Local Area network (LAN). If your PC is standalone then disable this service.

SSDP Discovery Service

SSDP means Simple Service Discovery Protocol, a service that is designed to detect Universal Plug and Play devices (UPnP) on your network. Some examples of UPnP devices are routers, printers, scanners or computers running Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). If you don’t have UPnP devices or no network and/or internet connectivity, there is no point in running this service. UPnP is different from PnP. Place it into automatic mode if you are facing problems in playing multi player games using DirectX or MSN messenger.

Telnet

Telnet service allows a person remotely to log on to your computer and run programs. This can be a security hole and unless you have some major problem that needs to be sorted out remotely by an administrator, you should disable it.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

This service is required to provide support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) and NetBIOS name resolution. If you have a standalone PC not connected to a LAN or a PC that doesn’t uses NetBIOS and/or WINS, disable this feature. Note: If you are facing issues in playing some online multi player games, make this service as Automatic.

Upload Manager

Upload Manager is a Microsoft’s designed protocol for transferring files between your PC and Microsoft. It is used to upload (send files from your PC to Microsoft) the hardware profile of your computer to Microsoft and download details of what drivers to use. Some of the Microsoft online help will stop working if this service is disabled. You should disable it if you can manage without Microsoft online help and information regarding drivers.

Universal Plug and Play Device Host

This service lets your PC recognize the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices on a network. It is different from Plug and Play (PnP) which is local to your computer. The configuration for UPnP is automatic and UPnP devices can join and leave the network automatically. DHCP is needed to assign IP addresses to UPnP devices. If you have to use MSN Messenger, play DirectX game online or use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), then you should leave this service enabled.

Windows Time

For some of Windows services, such as authentication, time synchronization between the authentication servers and clients is needed. If you are on a network, then leave this service enabled otherwise disabled it.

Wireless Zero Configuration

Wireless Zero Configuration or Wireless Auto Configuration is a service that dynamically selects a wireless network based on user preferences and default settings.

Workstation

Workstation service maintains network connections of a client PC with the servers. So, if you are on a network, don’t disable it but if you have a non networked standalone PC, then disable it.

To disable the above services in Microsoft Windows XP:

- Click on Start and then Run and type “services.msc” and click Enter
- Double click on the service you want to disable
- Change the startup type to ‘Disable”

Use the Latest Drivers For Devices In Your PC

A driver is a software that communicates via the OS with your hardware and makes it work. Now, if you are using an old driver for a new hardware device then there are great chances that you are not using the full and advanced features resulting in overall slowness of the PC. E.g. - A video card having capability to process at faster speed and show better resolution but not being used due to old driver usage.

The same applies to other hardware devices of your PC, i.e, - dialup modem, broadband modem, network card and motherboard etc. So make sure that you have the latest drivers for your hardware devices. This can be done by going to the respective manufacturer site and downloading the driver as per the hardware specification (model no.) and the Operating system.

Use Light Browser for Surfing

You can definitely make your browsing a little faster by using lighter browsers - Opera and Firefox. These browsers uses less resources as compared to other browsers and are designed to work faster.

Both these browsers - Opera and Firefox are free (no trials or hidden costs) and can be downloaded from -

http://www.opera.com/download/

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

You should see a hyperlinked colored box with “Download Firefox - Free” written on it, click on it and the download should happen.

Run Microsoft Windows Updates and Patches

Updating your PC with Microsoft updates and patches is a must do activity to keep your OS hack proof and free from spam. If you don’t update from the Microsoft site regularly (there is auto update option that can be enabled), then the bugs in the Microsoft OS can be exploited by the hacker resulting in security and privacy issues. If your PC is invaded by hacker/cracker then it could be used for attacks that will not be known to you. This can result in your PC being used for hacking attacks resulting in slowness of your PC as it’s resources are being used for the purposes unknown to you.

Updating from Microsoft site is easy and can be done by launching Microsoft Internet Explorer, clicking on Tools and Windows Update.

Or, else you can go to http://update.microsoft.com and follow the instructions.


You should also turn Auto Update to ON; To do so,

- Click on Start,
- Point to Settings
- Click on Control Panel
- Click on Security
- Click on Security Center and here turn Automatic updating option to On.

Tips For Making Your PC Run Faster - 2

In this second post of this series, I am giving some more tips to make your PC faster, they are explained below -


1. Sufficient RAM

Check your PC has enough RAM (Random Access Memory) as per the applications that you are running. Find the minimum memory requirements for the applications, i.e, - Graphics Designer, CAD/CAM, Video Editor and Website Designer and other major software that you are running including the Operating System. An application that requires 1 GB of RAM will definitely crawl or may not run with 512 MB RAM. Memory costs are low now a days. In India, you can get 1 GB RAM for Rs. 1300 (USD 30). Before buying the RAM your self, check the motherboard manual and the type of RAM supported by it (the memory slots will give you an idea).

To know how much RAM your PC has, press Pause when the POST (Power On Self Test) sequence is running showing some messages- checking keyboard, memory, hard disk etc. You will see the RAM - 256 MB / 512 MB/ 1024 etc.

To see the amount of RAM when in Windows XP, right click on My Computer and then click on Properties.

I will suggest you to have at least 1 GB of RAM as it’s worth it - saves your precious time and frustration in waiting for programs to be loaded.

There can be no display or hanging issues if the old memory (RAM Module) and the new memory doesn’t match, i.e. - their frequency and design. If you are doing the memory upgrade yourself, carry the old RAM module and show it to the hardware vendor before paying. If you are taking the memory out yourself, the two latches at both ends have to be pressed outside. When putting the memory module back in the memory slots, the memory module can only be fixed in one way and must align with the motherboard memory slot. Don’t apply too much force and make sure that you are inserting the memory module rightly under proper lighting.

A common mistake is not to align the module with the slot and then apply force which is dangerous.

Note: Make sure that you touch some metallic object such as CPU box (metal area on it) to remove your static charge before touching any electronic component inside your PC.

2. Sufficient Free Hard Disk Space

The OS manages running of programs by swapping and thrashing the files between RAM and hard disk. Hence, if you have low hard disk space specially on the partition on which your OS is installed, then your system will definitely be slower.

In Windows XP, double clicking on My Computer will show the total capacities and free space of the hard disk/s.

For a Windows XP system, keep at least 15% free on the drive having OS installed on it. The Disk Defragger and System Restore features also roughly requires so much free space.

To create space on hard disk, run Disk Cleanup (Open My Computer, Right Click on the drive letter having OS, Click on Properties and then click on Disk Cleanup). Follow the instructions to let the program remove the files from Recycle Bin, old system restore points and temporary files etc.

You can also uninstall the unnecessary programs installed on your OS volume to create more space. Use Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel to do so.

A good and completely free program to keep track of the usage of hard disk is Windirstat. It can be downloaded from -

http://windirstat.info/wds_current_setup.exe

In case, you don’t have even 2 -4 GB free hard disk space on your OS volume, then buy a new hard disk. Hard disk cost is also less and a 250 GB hard disk is available for approx. Rs. 2200 (USD 55) in India. If you are going to buy a new hard disk, make sure that there is adequate housing space to prevent overheating (due to less ventilation because of overcrowding) and also if the SMPS (Switching Mode Power SUpply) can handle its load. This is only valid for desktop and not for laptops. How do you know the total power consumption of your PC and rating of your SMPS? The power rating of the SMPS is printed on it (typically 350 and 450 Watts). Some of the approx. power consumptions of PC components are - Motherboard: 25 W, P4 (2.4 GHz) processor : 75 watts, CPU fan: 2-4 watts, Video card with 32 MB RAM: 20 watts, RAM Module: 7 watts, hard disk: 25 watts, PCI cards (modem, NIC, Sound blaster): 4-8 watts, CD ROM/ DVD ROM : 20 - 25 watts, USB device connected to USB port: 5 watts, keyboard and mouse: 3 watts.

The total max power consumption of the above configuration comes to round about 200 watts, well below 350 watts. It doesn’t include monitor whose supply is not from SMPS.

A good URL to automate these PC power consumption calculations is -

http://www.journeysystems.com/?power_supply_calculator

Don’t worry about these calculations, if you are getting your hard disk installed from a hardware engineer, He should take care of it.

I have always done my hard disk upgrades myself. Instead of having too many old hard disks each with smaller capacities and slower RPM, take a new hard disk of more capacity and faster speed (7200 rpm or more). Find from your hardware vendor if he can buyback your old hard disks. Just ensure that the interface on hard disk matches the controller on your motherboard. You won’t be able to use SATA hard disk on motherboard having IDE controller directly without a converter.

Also, make sure that you have transferred the required data from the old hard disk to the new one and erased the data completely (in case it’s confidential) using low level format or some hard disk eraser utility. You will need a bootable CD with these formatting or erasing utilities on it to do complete wiping of the data from your retired hard disk/s.One good resource for bootable CD with formatting utilities is -

http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd

Two free resources for complete erasing of data on your hard disk (needed before selling or disposing it off) are-

http://www.softambulance.com/erase_securely_wipe/softambulance_free_eraser.exe

http://www.procypher.com/evalver/setup_procypher_eraserproltd_v1.exe

3. Verify “Cache Enabled” and “Video BIOS shadowing Enabled” in CMOS Settings

Verify Caching and Shadowing settings are enabled in CMOS setup. All the devices type and their configuration are stored in CMOS setup. CMOS means - Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor and it’s a small battery powered chip that keeps the computer hardware configuration data even when the PC is switched off. Thus, your PC shows the correct data and time even when it’s switched off.

The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the PC stores the hardware configuration or system settings in CMOS RAM (battery backed up). BIOS contains the code that checks the hardware at the time of PC power ON and also locates and launches the Operating System (OS).

Unlike CMOS, whose configuration can be easily changed by the user, BIOS is not rewritable by the PC user and requires a special procedure for making any changes on it.

Caching and shadowing makes a PC do processing faster by storing the required data onto faster devices. For e.g., L1 cache is small memory area on processor that lets the CPU takes data from it (faster loading) instead of RAM (slow compared to cache). Similarly in case of BIOS shadowing, the data is copied from BIOS, for e.g. video card to RAM which is more faster to BIOS.

Coming back to making the caching and shadowing settings ON in CMOS setup, press F2 or Del (Delete) or key that is shown when you power ON your PC. In CMOS setup, you will see a screen with lot of options and the navigation keys along with explanation of the currently active option on the right.

There will be lot of settings (in the random order) that can be changed such as Date, Time, First Boot Device, Onboard IDE-1 Controller and Onboard FDD Controller etc.

You need to check the Advanced BIOS setup and Advanced Chipset features or similar options depending on your CMOS chip manufacturer.

Now, there are lot of BIOS and it’s really very difficult for me to list each and every Cache and Shadowing related settings here. Some of the cache and shadowing related options available under Advanced CMOS Setup or Advanced Chipset features are given -

- External Cache Memory or L2 cache
- Internal Cache Memory or L1 cache
- CPU Internal Cache
- Shadow Memory Cacheable

Make these settings as ON if they are OFF. Two cautions that you need to take are - Not to fiddle with any other CMOS settings and also to note down your present settings before making any changes. In case, there is problem of PC not booting or hanging after making CMOS changes, just restore the old CMOS settings to their previous state or by using the Load Default Settings/Load Fail Safe Defaults.

My advice would be to change one CMOS setting at a time and not all at once.

Don’t forget to Save your CMOS settings before exiting the CMOS setup by pressing the relevant key. In my assembled P4 PC it is F10.

Some relevant pictures of cache settings in CMOS taken from one of the assembled system (P4, 2.4 Ghz with PCW motherboard) are shown for your convenience.

Tips for Making Your Computer Faster - 1

To begin with, here are some of the basic tips to make your PC faster:

Virus Free

Check that your Computer is not infected with virus. Virus can cause crucial data loss resulting in wastage of man-hours. Virus is designed to cause malfunction by getting loaded in the memory and causing corruption of crucial files and data. A PC infected with virus will run slower and might show funny errors and behave erratically. Use some popular anti virus SW’s (free or paid) to scan your PC. The anti virus will need to be regularly updated to prevent, check for and remove new viruses. Some people develop viruses and some others develop vaccines to make money. It’s a market to make money. But, don’t let your PC suffer because of this. Scan your PC regularly when it’s free and keep yours anti virus updated. Whether you are online doing surfing or offline copying files from others, you must make habit of checking your PC regularly for viruses. You can try AVG Free Edition that is absolutely free for personal use (no trials). It can be downloaded from:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/frt/0?prd=aff

Spyware Free

Spyware is a program that spies your PC and transmits your confidential information to the hacker. When a PC is infected with spyware, there are lot of popup and advertisements, which makes your system busy and slow. Spyware is installed by the means of downloaded files (mostly from porn and cracks sites) and online scripts without user being aware of it. Spyware tracks the sites visited by the user and keystrokes etc. and is thus very dangerous. Spyware gets installed due to poor security settings in the browser. So it’s really important to make sure
that your PC is not infected with any of the spyware. It also needs to be updated. One good and free anti spyware (no trials) from the many available is Ad-Aware 2007. It can be downloaded from -

http://www.filehippo.com/download/7bab09491093841340be3d12b2e5c1e7/download/

Defragging your Hard Disk

Over a period of time after the files are stored on hard disk, they become scattered and spread randomly due to adding, editing and deleting. This makes them located at different sectors on tracks instead of being spread contiguously in adjacent sectors. Thus when you load a program or file, the hard disk heads have to do a lot of hard work in going to different tracks to find and load the data in the memory. When you defrag these files, they get stored contiguously adjacent to each other. Hence if you are not defragging your hard disk once in few months then the PC is definitely going to become slow. To defragment hard disk, use Windows Disk Defragmenter tool located in Start (Click) –> Programs –> Accessories –> System Tools (in MS Windows XP). For other Microsoft Windows version, check the help file to locate Defragger. Use it when you can spare your PC for several hours as defragmentation process is slow and might take hours depending on your hard disk size, amount of data on it, the system speed and how much the files are scattered.

Unlocking WinXP's setupp.ini

WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. IE is it an OEM version or retail? First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05

Pid=55034000

The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail cd that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem cd that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP cd that acted like a retail cd, yet accepted OEM keys.

Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:

Retail = 51882335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:

Pid=51882335

And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:

Pid=51882OEM

Note that this does NOT get rid of WinXP's activation. Changing the Pid to a Volume License will not bypass activation. You must have a volume license (corporate) key to do so.

Use Windows Update to Keep Your Computer Current

Windows XP takes the chore out of keeping your software updated with the newest and best code for device drivers, security, reliability, and performance.

Windows Update is the online extension of Windows. It’s a Web site where you find the most recent updates for your operating system, software programs, and hardware. Windows Update scans your computer and lists the code updates needed on your system. Then you can choose whether to download and install them.

To find available updates

1. Open Windows Update.
2. Click Scan for updates to find out about recent releases for your system.
3. Click Yes when prompted to install any required software or device drivers.

Notes:

• To open Windows Update, click Start, then click Help and Support. Under “Pick a task,” click Keep your computer up–to–date with Windows Update.
  
• The first time you go to the Windows Update Web site, click Yes when prompted to install any required software or controls.
  
• To use Windows Update, you need to establish a connection to the Internet.
  
• You might need to be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to perform some tasks.

What upgrade paths does Windows XP support

XP Home Edition and XP Professional are available in full and upgrade versions. If you're upgrading from a qualifying OS, you can purchase the less-expensive upgrade version; otherwise, you need to purchase the full version. However, even if you purchase the full version, XP doesn't support all upgrade paths. Review the following table to determine whether XP supports your upgrade path:

Current Version	Win XP Home	Win XP Pro
Win 3.1/3.11	No	No
Windows 95	No	No
Windows 98/98SE	Yes	Yes
Windows ME	Yes	Yes
Windows NT 3.51	No	No
Windows NT 4.0	No	Yes
Windows 2000 Pro	No	Yes
Windows XP Home	N/A	Yes
Windows XP Pro	No	N/A

Use Hibernate and Standby to Conserve Batteries

The Hibernate function in Windows XP Professional can make the batteries in your laptop computer last longer.

Windows XP supports the industry standard power management technology known as the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), which enables the operating system to control power to your computer and peripheral devices. The power management features in Windows XP include Hibernate and Standby. Hibernate saves an image of your desktop with all open files and documents, and then it powers down your computer. When you turn on power, your files and documents are open on your desktop exactly as you left them. Standby reduces the power consumption of your computer by cutting power to hardware components you are not using. Standby can cut power to peripheral devices, your monitor, even your hard drive, but maintains power to your computer’s memory so you don’t lose your work.

Power Management Performance

Windows XP wakes from Hibernate faster than any earlier version of Windows. So you can preserve your batteries without taking time to close all your files and shut down, and then restart and open all your files when you’re ready to work again. If you need to leave your computer, you can just leave it. Windows XP can automatically put your computer into Hibernate mode after a specified period of inactivity. Or Windows XP can detect when your batteries are running low, and then automatically put your computer in Hibernate mode to save your work before the battery fails. To put your computer into hibernation, you must have a computer that is set up by the manufacturer to support this option.

To automatically put your computer into hibernation

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure.

1. Open Power Options in Control Panel. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Power Options.)

2. Click the Hibernate tab, select the Enable hibernate support check box, and then click Apply.

If the Hibernate tab is unavailable, your computer does not support this feature.

3. Click the APM tab, click Enable Advanced Power Management support, and then click Apply.

The APM tab is unavailable on ACPI–compliant computers. ACPI automatically enables Advanced Power Management, which disables the APM tab.

4. Click the Power Schemes tab, and then select a time period in System hibernates. Your computer hibernates after it has been idle for the specified amount of time.

To manually put your computer into hibernation

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of either the Administrators or Power Users group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing this procedure.

1. Open Power Options in Control Panel. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Power Options.)

2. Click the Hibernate tab, and then select the Enable hibernate support check box.

If the Hibernate tab is not available, your computer does not support this feature.
3. Click OK to close the Power Options dialog box.

4. Click Start, and then click Shut Down. In the What do you want the computer to do drop-down list, click Hibernate.

If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows XP Professional with Fast User Switching turned on, the Shut Down menu will present the options to Stand By, Turn Off, or Restart your computer. Hold down the Shift key, and the Stand By button will change to Hibernate.