Three Tips to Perk Up PC Performance The Startup Standstill Drew Robb
The Startup Standstill
It's an unfortunate fact that many applications insert themselves into a PC's system tray to run whenever the system starts up, which results in a sluggish PC.
Look at all the icons down at the bottom-right corner of your screen. Click on the little arrow to see the hidden icons. Everything in the system tray runs whether you want it to be or not — instant messaging, anti-virus, etc. And there may be dozens of other programs running that you aren't aware of. (The Windows Task Manager, accessible by simultaneously pressing the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys, reports on all the currently running applications and processes on your PC and will give you an idea of just how much activity is going on behind the scenes.)
The good news is that you can fight back. AutoStartManager, a free program from Bleu Canard Software, finds them all. It tells you exactly which applications run when you start your computer and lets you delete applications from your Startup Group. The tool makes it possible to see them all on one screen, and allows you to selectively enable or disable each app.
Whenever you install a new application on your PC, for example, it is typically set to load upon start-up. Yet if you only use the program once a month, that application still consumes valuable system resources every day. Similarly, if you normally use a laptop at your work desk, but you're about to travel away from the office, you may want to disable all these tools that make sense when you're connected to the company's network but only slow down your computer when you're away.
Do You Want Some Cache, Man?
A cache is a special area of memory that speeds up data transfer by storing frequently used and recently accessed data so it doesn't have to be re-read from disk. CachemanXP by Outer Technologies is designed to improve the performance of your computer by optimizing several caches and fine tuning a number of system settings. It only runs on Windows NT4/2000/2003 or XP, though.
Basically, at start-up, your memory resources begin to dwindle as more and more applications start running. The Processes Tab on the Windows Task Manager (again, accessible by pressing the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys at the same time) shows you all the many applications that consume valuable memory. Eventually, you end up staring at a frozen screen for up to a minute at times until Windows finds more memory.
CachemanXP frees up memory for your PC rapidly, so you don't have to wait until the system gets going again. Also, the way Windows deals with a memory problem often consumes way too many resources. CachemanXP eliminates many needless slowdowns when changing from one program to another and the long pauses between recovery operations. A wizard interface helps you change settings in the Windows XP file system that can noticeably improve system speed. The program costs $25 per PC.
Complete Reinstall
Some people make a habit of reinstalling the Windows operating system every year as a way of making their PCs hum. Yes, that does make a difference. But it's a big hassle. A better approach is to make regular use of the above tools. Defrag, in particular and if set up to run automatically each day, will keep XP going strong ... and going and going. It's the best way I know to add a couple of years to the life of a PC.
