ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) Make your PC boot faster than ever before: 1. Take a moment to defrag To improve performance in applications, including booting, is to make sure the drive is defragged. When a drive is fragmented, chunks of each file are scattered so in order to read them, the hdd's read/write head has to jump all over the platters wich takes time. By defragging, your files are arranged in sequential order. Use any defragmentation utility like Diskeeper. 2. Clean the rest of the startup folders To find which apps are loading every startup, click Start, Run then type MSCONFIG, then click the startup tab. Every item in this tab checked runs every time you boot, so cleaning the list will shave your boot time especially on systems with tons of apps. Anything having to do with your display, antivirus or spyware utilities can stay. If you dont know something, it is better to leave it be. If you are sure it is junk, delete it. 3. Prefetch (For Windows XP only) Whenever you run a program or open a file, Windows will add bits of the file to the prefetch folder on your harddrive so the next time you open that app, Windows can deliver it to you faster. Sometimes Windows prefetches items you do not need, sucking system resources. You can see what Windows is prefetching by going to C:\Windows\Prefetch. Go to the prefetch folder by clicking start, run and type prefetch. Delete all files that are there. Then, Open My Computer, Click Folder Options, Click the View tab & Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". Click OK. Next, Open Notepad (Start, Run, Type notepad) and copy this completely and paste (Completely Copy, no spaces on the last line): Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters] "VideoInitTime"=dword:00000f0f "EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000002 "AppLaunchMaxNumPages"=dword:00000fa0 "AppLaunchMaxNumSections"=dword:000000aa "AppLaunchTimerPeriod"=hex:80,69,67,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff "BootMaxNumPages"=dword:0001f400 "BootMaxNumSections"=dword:00000ff0 "BootTimerPeriod"=hex:00,f2,d8,f8,ff,ff,ff,ff "MaxNumActiveTraces"=dword:00000008 "MaxNumSavedTraces"=dword:00000008 "RootDirPath"="Prefetch" "HostingAppList"="DLLHOST.EXE,MMC.EXE,RUNDLL32.EXE" Check if no prefetch files are there except NTOSBOOT bla bla bla... by typing prefetch in the run command at the start menu. 4. Disable the splash screen (For Windows XP only) Every time you boot, you see the same XP splash screen since 2001. Disable this and get a couple seconds of your boot time. To disable, open MSCONFIG, and go to the boot.ini tab. Check the /NOGUIBOOT box, click apply then ok, then restart your pc. (Note: it will just affect the logo of WinXP on startup, no damage will be made) 5. Tweak your BIOS The last of relatively simple tweaks will require you to enter your computer's BIOS. To enter it, you must press F2 or DEL key as soon as you turn onyour pc. IF you dont have a floppy drive, it is reccomended to disable your floppy controller. Also. for max boot speed, your hard drive (C:) must be the first boot device. Enable the Quick POST and Fast Boot. Then, disable any unused I/O devices, such as parallel ports, save changes, then reboot your pc. (remember to backup your old bios settings first) 5. Upgrade your hardware! If you have gone through all the tweaks listed here, and your machine is still slow, the only way to improve performance is to buy a faster hard drive. Because much of the boot process involve disk reads, a 10,000rpm hard drive will speed things along. 6. Hibernate (Win2k/XP, I dont know with Win9x PCs) Hibernating makes your pc start faster, because when you hibernate your pc, a copy of the system ram is placed on your hard disk, so when you startup, your apps and other softwares are on the desktop immediately. Sometimes hibernating starts up faster than normal Windows booting. To hibernate, click start, turn off computer. On winxp machines, hold shift and the standby button will go into hibernate. click hibernate then wait for it to finish (normally faster than normal shutdown at all). Edited September 17, 2006 by ineedhelpregularly21 Link to post Share on other sites
mrdithers Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) 4. Disable the splash screen Every time you boot, you see the same XP splash screen since 2001. Disable this and get a couple seconds of your boot time. To disable, open MSCONFIG, and go to the boot.ini tab. Check the /NOGUIBOOT box, click apply then ok, then restart your pc will this affect the sign in / password screen? by"check the nOGUIBOOT box, do you mean select it? (mine is already empty.) Edited July 9, 2006 by mrdithers Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) it will not affect the log in screen Just the logo of Windows XP on startup Edited July 9, 2006 by ineedhelpregularly21 Link to post Share on other sites
mrdithers Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 by "check the NOGUIBOOT box, do you mean actually select it? (mine is already empty.) Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 you check it, apply then restart your pc to apply changes.. Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) You'r Welcome.. :beer: Edited July 9, 2006 by ineedhelpregularly21 Link to post Share on other sites
ALLRATEOLD Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 You'r Welcome.. :beer: Thanks for this Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 15, 2006 Author Share Posted July 15, 2006 thanks for your responses... i hope this should help.. ineedhelpregularly21 :beer: Link to post Share on other sites
dque54 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 OK... after rebooting my system configuration utility reappears. Do I keep it on selective startup or do I return it to normal startup? dque54 Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 you remain it on selective startup.. Link to post Share on other sites
Cronnie Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Thanks for the one getting rid of splash screen, my PC boots up fast enough but now even faster! Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Thanks for the one getting rid of splash screen, my PC boots up fast enough but now even faster! if you are using xp, you can do all the tips listed earlier. Link to post Share on other sites
dasudevil Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 this has helped a bunch. My work PC is much faster. I just need to get my home pc this way. THANK YOU Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted August 11, 2006 Author Share Posted August 11, 2006 this has helped a bunch. My work PC is much faster. I just need to get my home pc this way. THANK YOU Thank You too and Welcome... :beer: ineedhelpregularly21 Link to post Share on other sites
JDPower Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 3. Prefetch (For Windows XP only) Whenever you run a program or open a file, Windows will add bits of the file to the prefetch folder on your harddrive so the next time you open that app, Windows can deliver it to you faster. Sometimes Windows prefetches items you do not need, sucking system resources. You can see what Windows is prefetching by going to C:\Windows\Prefetch. Go to the prefetch folder by clicking start, run and type prefetch. Delete all files that are there. Cleaning the prefetch folder to improve PC performance is complete nonsense and totally unnecessary: Quote from XP Myths: Myth - "Deleting the contents of the Prefetch folder improves performance" Reality - "Every time you delete an application's Prefetch (.PF) file you will cripple that application's load time the next time you go to launch it. This can temporarily increase load times by as much as 100%. For one thing, XP will just re-create the Prefetch (.PF) trace files anyway. Secondly, it trims the files if there's ever more than 128 of them anyway so it doesn't needlessly consume space. However you do not regain optimal application load times back until after the second time you launch the same application due to the Prefetch (.PF) trace file being re-created. Prefetch (.PF) trace files are not a cache and are not preloaded into memory upon windows startup. They are never even accessed until you launch an application. Only one Prefetch (.PF) trace file per application is created. There is never ANY reason to delete these files. Cleaning the Prefetch folder is actually a temporary self-inflicted unoptimization. Why you would want to deliberately hurt your PC's performance I have no idea." Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted September 9, 2006 Author Share Posted September 9, 2006 I said that the items that you do not need... but thanks for the info :beer: Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted September 10, 2006 Author Share Posted September 10, 2006 I added the Prefetch registry hack. Link to post Share on other sites
Salo35 Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I liked your guide, I can notice a difference; good post Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 Thanks bro.. Link to post Share on other sites
moocher Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 (edited) 3. Prefetch (For Windows XP only) Whenever you run a program or open a file, Windows will add bits of the file to the prefetch folder on your harddrive so the next time you open that app, Windows can deliver it to you faster. Sometimes Windows prefetches items you do not need, sucking system resources. You can see what Windows is prefetching by going to C:\Windows\Prefetch. Go to the prefetch folder by clicking start, run and type prefetch. Delete all files that are there. Then, Open My Computer, Click Folder Options, Click the View tab & Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". Click OK. Next, Open Notepad (Start, Run, Type notepad) and copy this completely and paste (Completely Copy, no spaces on the last line): Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters] "VideoInitTime"=dword:00000f0f "EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000002 "AppLaunchMaxNumPages"=dword:00000fa0 "AppLaunchMaxNumSections"=dword:000000aa "AppLaunchTimerPeriod"=hex:80,69,67,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff "BootMaxNumPages"=dword:0001f400 "BootMaxNumSections"=dword:00000ff0 "BootTimerPeriod"=hex:00,f2,d8,f8,ff,ff,ff,ff "MaxNumActiveTraces"=dword:00000008 "MaxNumSavedTraces"=dword:00000008 "RootDirPath"="Prefetch" "HostingAppList"="DLLHOST.EXE,MMC.EXE,RUNDLL32.EXE" Check if no prefetch files are there except NTOSBOOT bla bla bla... by typing prefetch in the run command at the start menu. Well, this is one is one of those myths that just don't want to die: please listen everybody, this information is completely FALSE, and doing so will result in decreased PC's performance !! In fact, I urge anyone who might want to, to check out and read the "PREFETCH-FOLDER CLEANING MYTH" entry on my site's http://tadej-ivan.50webs.com/articles.html page of my home-site, with various related articles links in case if you don't believe me. One of such sources is Ed Bott's "Windows Expertise: One more time: do not clean out your Prefetch folder!" article: http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000743.html (you can see my own comments signed as "Ivan Tadej"), and the other one Popular Technology: CCleaner Cripples Application Load Times: http://poptech.blogspot.com/2005/10/cclean...ation-load.html You see, as stated in the linked Ed's article at the top of this page (and I guess somewhere on the Microsoft's site too), the Windows cleans the old/obsolete files in Prefetch folder by itself after 128 files were/are created; so when there are 128 of ("someprogram.exe-hash.pf" files already created, Windows deletes the older one (oh well, not the older one, but the least used one), so why bothering with it and doing the OS's job ?? For example a few lines from AntiVir's "AVGUARD.EXE-17927959.pf" file: AVGUARD.EXE \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\NTDLL.DLL \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\KERNEL32.DLL \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\UNICODE.NLS \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\LOCALE.NLS \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SORTTBLS.NLS \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\PROGRAMS\AVPERSONAL\AVGUARD.EXE \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WS2_32.DLL \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSVCRT.DLL \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME2\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WS2HELP.DLL Then regarding what data that these files contain, these files simply contain prefetch data, i.e. the data about which dlls the respective executable loads/uses during run-time. So I guess it's quite obvious that they don't "pre-load" anything (or whatever), they just contain a list of directories (you can view file in any good file-viewer), where program's owned dlls, OS-libraries, and other non-OS libraries that executable loads/maps/hooks on the execution (I assume this because .pf files are created AFTER the respective process is closed and not ON or right after the execution, since some can be dynamicly/delay-loaded), all this with regard to the device, i.e. with regard to the hard-disk volume on which they reside, so it is only a some kind of a "map", like for instance a file/directory-tree. But one good tip might be how to manually optimize them, i.e. how to manually rebuild the "Layout.ini" file (although it actually rebuilds itself when computer is idle; when Windows decides so); you can do that if you invoke the rundll32.exe process with the advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks parameter. If you want to, also see the Why my prefetch files are not re-created after deleting them ?? thread that I opened on Ars Technica forum (my nick is "shirker") about this command. /NOTE: However, in first case the "Task Scheduler" service must run and prefetching must be enabled in the first place (also see one of my comments on Ed Bott's blog linked above) So once again I am begging you, please just don't do that (i.e. empty the Prefetch folder) because it's simply not worth it, and you'll achieve the exact opposite result of the desired one ... P.S. -- The only thing that I occassionally do regarding the Prefetch folder is that I delete those various "setup.exe-hash.pf" files, i.e. the ones from few of my programs that gets updated frequently and so I use a different executable with the same name each time, i.e. on each installation/updating. Then I also delete .pf files of various temporary processes' files, although those are rarely created/run on my system. And finally I delete those orphaned .pf files from executables that I moved after the new .pf file was already created (with new file's location), however, I know that OS would delete them by itself after time. I am just a bit of a "maintainance maniac", that's all. regards, moocher Edited September 15, 2006 by moocher Link to post Share on other sites
moocher Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) 4. Disable the splash screen (For Windows XP only) Every time you boot, you see the same XP splash screen since 2001. Disable this and get a couple seconds of your boot time. To disable, open MSCONFIG, and go to the boot.ini tab. Check the /NOGUIBOOT box, click apply then ok, then restart your pc. (Note: it will just affect the logo of WinXP on startup, no damage will be made) ... yeah, and I also set the Widnows to use "Classic logon" with gpedit.msc applet, and btw., additionally to that what you've mentioned (i.e. additionally to /noguiboot parameter) I also add the /bootlogo parameter into the "boot.ini" file (and with 640 x 480 Boot.bmp picture in D:\WINDOWS folder), so therefore my logon times are as short as possible !! cheers, moocher Edited September 16, 2006 by moocher Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted September 16, 2006 Author Share Posted September 16, 2006 (edited) I know that OS would delete them by itself after time Windows will never do that to itself BTW and thanks for the info.. Edited September 16, 2006 by ineedhelpregularly21 Link to post Share on other sites
moocher Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Windows will never do that to itself ... oh yes but it does do it (confirmed) !! moocher Link to post Share on other sites
ineedhelpregularly21 Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 Link to post Share on other sites
.png.9d4b89b15b2cd5e65edd93a0e6823dce.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now