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.
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