Boosters

I have been spending the last week - until early morning - trying out boosters/tweakers/accelerators and have had no luck at all - and some of them have mades things worst! Am I a fool or are there really any of those things that do work? M

 

M,
Well, I am sure no-one thinks you are a fool.
Are we talking about internet connections here ?
If so, what do you have ?
Dial-Up, DSN ? Cable ? Satellite ?
If you have telephone Dial-Up, there is no way any "tweaks" will speed up the basic transmission cababilities of your telephone line or the capabilities of your ISP.
Hope that gives you a few early nights ...
regards

 

Yes tell us what boosters you have installed. Also if you have a specfic slow down or problem tell us about it.

If you are talking about Windows in general as opposed to DSL/Cable Internet tweaks etc. Then there are 4 things to do. If you have spent all this time doing these things then spend the time doing the below. Because even if you have a good speederupper tweaker it still can be henderd by not having the below in order.


These steps should be done in this same order.

1. Cleanup temps

(a). Configure CleanMgr to max settings
Go to Start-Run and type

cleanmgr /sageset:1
The above need only be ran once (these settings will be remembered as the default until another sageset is ran).

It will present a menu select all except compress, then

Go to Start-Run and type

cleanmgr /sagerun:1 (this does the cleanup)
As long as /sageset above has been ran on this computer from now on the /sagerun is the only thing that needs to run.

(b). Cleanups
These are for 95 98 ME only!
Boot to DOS (not shutdown to DOS). While booting hit F8 to startup menu. Chose "command prompt only ".

Type these commands

del c:\*.swp (may get file not found, is ok)
del c:\windows\*.swp
deltree c:\windows\shelli*.*
deltree c:\windows\temp\*.* (answer yes to all) "ALL "
deltree c:\windows\tempor~1\*.*
deltree c:\windows\history\*.*
deltree c:\windows\spool\printers\*.*

2. cleanup Add/remove

This is not hard to do but does take some time. The first thing is to go thru the ADD/REMOVE in control panel and get rid of all the stuff you have never used and never will and forgot you had etc.

After cleaning the ADD/REMOVE use explorer or My computer to browse C:\Program Files. Here you will look for programs that do not show up in ADD/REMOVE. It is OK if they do not show up in ADD/REMOVE but is it something you need or use. If it is something you do not use or want always look for an uninstall or unwise and remove it. If it has no uninstall then manually delete it. Err on the side of safty here and only remove/delete programs you are sure about. Any doubt leave them. Also you should soon do the registry cleans below to finish cleaning up these uninstalls or removals.

3.cleanup spy/adware

Spyware and adware removal

SpyBot http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download
Run this twice delete all it finds, always run this before AdAware

AdAware http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
Make sure to configure to Max settings, all files and compressed files.Delete all it finds

BHO Demon http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm
This program runs stand alone no install is required post me the items it finds

4. cleanup startups.

Startup control panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
This gives simple and full control of what starts at boot up. After install there will be a Startup icon in control panel.

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/startuplist.zip
StartupList does nothing but grab all Autoload (startups) and puts them
In a Wordpad file so that you can then copy it and paste it back to us in a
message so that we can advise on a problem here.

Additionally theses sites below detail all the startups and tell you if they are nessesary and if you should remove them. Remember this does not remove the program only the autostart of the program. Some of these should be kept (just not autostarted) as you will use them others should be stoped from autostart then uninsatalled.

Cleaning startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm
http://jeh.ne.client2.attbi.com/TechSupport/index.htm
http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startup/list.html
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
http://ww2.whidbey.net/djdenham/Uncheck.htm

5. Clean the registry

Registry and System cleaners

RegCleaner http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/shtml/regcleaner.shtml
Look in first 2 cols for programs you thought you uninstalled or removed, these are the dregs left by the uninstaller. Also tag and remove any that you are POSITIVE are not supposed to be on your computer. After removing these go to the top Tools-Registry Cleanup-Do them all. Delete all it finds. Do not remove any entry that you are not absoloutly positive about. Additionallty do not remove any item here unless you have properly uninstalled from ADD/REMOVE or the programs uninstall function.

EasyClean1.7 http://gswi.com/downloads.htm
Run only unnecessary files and registry clean delete all it finds.

Do not use the duplicate files function as it takes skill to chose the correct windows files to remove or leave.

Lastly,
After booting back to Windows then a scan & defrag.

Mike

PS Bet this keeps you busy and out of trouble for a while. Smile!

 

If you're referring to supposed memory and internet connection boosters, forget it, none of 'em work (but I'll qualify this by adding that memory boosters might be of some benefit if you're running Win95).

More information here.

 

Hi Brett,
What do you refer to as memory boosters ?
Do you mean so called memory cleaners ?
Why do you not like, for example, Mem Watcher ?
regards

 

Merlin - Windows holds items in memory in order to speed up certain tasks and dumping those items out of memory unnecessarily will simply cause an overall slowdown (Windows does, of course, dump the items itself if and when something else lays a more pressing claim to the memory).

Look here and here.

 

Before I upgraded my Ram I purchased Memokit. I am running win98se and they advised I would see a definite improvement. No such luck! It actually made things worse. The only good thing to come of it was that I was able to get a full refund, no questions asked. Anyone looking to improve system performance as far as windows is concerned should check out
PCpitstop. A couple of their suggestions re: Vcache, etc helped my system immensely.

http://www.pcpitstop.com/

 

MCHAAK

When you were trying different things, did you make sure one was out of the system before trying another ? If not you may have had one fighting the other OR fighting with Windows itself.

brett has a good point. An improperly set Mem Manager may KILL a program at the most inopertune time by clearing some files that it THINKS are not needed. I experiemented a little here myself resulting in more problems than anything else.

Overall I myself have found the best peaks and tweaks for Win98 to be none at all.

I seem to have the best preformance by setting the swap file to a fixed minimum ( I have it set to 400min ) and on a partition other than C:. ( mine is on D: ) That way Windows does not have to spend time looking for space. And it is always in the same place. This also helps to keep down the fragmentation of the C: drive which in turn helps defrag work faster as it does not have to work around the swap file.

I also use Norton SpeedDisk to put it at the front of the drive. And once it was put there it has not been touch in MONTHS. But that is all I use SpeedDisk for.

BillyBob

 

Well, after reading this thread, I disabled Mem Watcher and cannot detect the slightest performance difference.
Thanks for the info and advice.
regards

 

Think about it, you're running a 3rd party application that starts with windows and resides in memory, taking up memory, to free up more memory...

 

It depends on how much memory it occupies on average and how much old, not presently needed memory it kicks out.
Why do you assume the balance is not advantageous to the PC performance ? Statistics ? Trials ? Literature ?
regards

 

The single biggest problem with mem boosters (other than the fact that they use memory to conserve memory), is their inability to properly decide what should be freed up, and what should be left in RAM.
All memory boosters do only one thing, transfer RAM contents to the swap file. Period.
Some do it slightly better than others, but just when you want instant access to an application, you find it's slowed to a crawl, because it has to read the information from the swap, and not RAM. This is extremely annoying when working with graphics, and can cause apps to hang when swap reads contain errors.
There are ways to improve how Windows natively handles ram/swap, depending on which version of Windows you're using.
It also has a lot to do with how much system RAM you have. Real onboard RAM, not virtual mem...
BillyBob and jazcan have two other ideas that do work really well, particularily for Win9x based machines. Set a fixed swap size, and if possible, put it on the first section of the fastest drive in your system, although having an abundance of onboard RAM makes this redundant, as swap usage will be negligable, especially in 2k/XP.
VCache settings can help enormously, particularily when running more than about 340 meg of RAM in Win9x. Along with another trick called "ConservativeSwapFileUsage=1" in the [386ENH] section of system.ini
I prefer to manually dump RAM, when I'm ready for it, not when some other 3rd party app decides, and this is almost too simple to do.
On all my systems (currently 5 in the house), I run a tiny, one line .vbs file to empty RAM to the swap file, in effect, doing the same thing the boosters do, and having the same effect as a restart, without restarting.
Open notepad, and type one line, close, and save it as "freemem.vbs ", including the quotes, or you end up with freemem.vbs.txt, which won't work.
I save it in the QuickLaunch bar, to hit whenever I want, usually after one session with a memory intense app, and before the next. It only takes a second or two to run, and it's done.
Here's the line:
FreeMem = Space(128000000)
Adjust the number in brackets depending on how much system RAM you really have. The 128000000 is good for systems with 512 meg or more. If you have 256 meg, cut that number in half to 64000000, and if you have 128 meg, cut it in half again to 32000000.
Now you've created your own memory manager, without having it reside in memory, or start up with windows.
It will not free up the total amount in brackets every time, but it will free up as much as is possible, leaving the necessary stuff in RAM needed to run Windows properly.
BTW, this works, and has been tested in ALL Windows versions, except Win95a (assuming it works, it's just not been tested).

 

The best RAM manager going is the one named " THE USER " ( Alias BillyBob in this case )

By contolling what loads at start will help control both RAM and Resources.

Watch which programs are heavy users and try not to run two heavy users at the same time.

After using heavy RAM and resources using apps ( such as graphic intensive apps ) take the time to REBOOT the machine. Not just Windows but the whole machine. Most times your system may bless you or it. Just a warm Windows restart does not always allow RAM to fully clear out.

As yet I have not found out why but, If we are going to play our Tuesday evening Golf game with our Friend in Canada this machine MUST BE shut down and rebooted or we have all kinds of troubles.

Quite a few programs. DO NOT clean themselves out of RAM and do not release all the resources they use. Internet Explorer is one. My Eudora E-mail is another. Eudora drops System recources from 83% down to 72%. But when closed it only returns to 79%. So that tells me that not only does it not release all resourec but part of it also must be still residing in RAM. And does not go away until I restart windows.

Being on this BBS right now system resources are down to 73%. But when I shut it down they come back to 83% after a minute or two.

Just for the giggles of it I just started Eudora. System resources dropped to 60%. But only came back to 70% when I shut it down.

merlin

You wanted trials. Well there are some using the Program named " THE USER " ( alias The Ten Fingered Bug that walks the Keyboard ( or BillyBob )) Your choice.

One further note. If OL' BilliyBob's memory fails ALL HELL breaks loose.

BillyBob

 

Quote

If OL' BilliyBob's memory fails ALL HELL breaks loose.

Unquote

Not a chance, it's like a steel trap!

Smile!
Mike

 

Hey MIKE


Are you reading while I write or what

Please go back and read the part I added about just starting Eudora.

BillyBob

 

That thar is whut i think is a leaky memory chip.....

When it leaks does it run out inside the computer??????????

Mike

 

HHMMMMMM !!!

Maybe that explains the puddle under the PC.

And all the time I thought I had spilt mine cough E.

I do not really know for sure what you mean by a leaky mem chip but Eudora reacts the same on all three machines.

Bill E Bob

 

BillyBob,

You're again using good ole horse sense

 

BOOSTERS OR SATANS TOOLS?

Look at all the action here! I guess this subject is always a big one - how can I go faster! the age old question. I found out - I could go a lot SLOWER! I totaly messed up my poor system - the trouble in my case - a newbie - they gave me way too much power! One - X-Setup? Supposed to be the gratest windows tweaker ever? Well - it gave me like 50+ "wizards" to play with and boy did I mess up a whole lot of stuff - plus I never got it back to the default - that is another problem wtih a lot of the ones I tried. Has anyone used the System Mechanic? Easy to use and seems to clear out a lot of dead wood - it took out aobut 33mb out of my system. But maybe too much? It recovered my speed - at least for one day. I tired a lot of the freeware of course - no money - maybe out there there is one that casts alot and works? Most seem to do the same things - set a few numbers to what they think is better than my defaults - but never changed much at all.
FLYNN! YOU MUST BE KIDDING!!!
I would destroy what little is left of my computer and my brain if I tried that stuff - WAY over my head - but thanks for the effort!M

 

Nope I wasn't kidding! Healing a computer is not like a cut on your body, it will not heal itself!

If you don't fix it then you will live with it! As a matter of fact, like poor personal hygine in some cases it will fester and become worse.

I reread the steps I posted to you! There is nothing here but cleanups. No so called tweaks etc. Only cleanups! These steps followed exactly will only help. There is nothing complex that if someone has used a computer for a while can not follow step by step.

You didn't mind going into one of the most powerful tweaking utilities out there without expert advice. And you are afraid of these simple steps! Well the advice I gave is expert advice. And when I give it I am here to guide you thru the steps.

I have had complaints that I give to much info and scare some. I guess that is true in some cases. But I don't have all day to sit here doing 1 little paragraph at a time. But you don't need to do everything at once. One thing/step at a time.

If you ask me how to fix Outlook Express to let you save attachments, then I can tell you in 1 sentence. But your type of problem has no 1 sentence answer. It is the old if you don't like the answer then don't ask the question.

But if you give me a request for help on many non specific (could be caused by many things) items then the first thing I am going to reccomend is "CLEAN UP "!

Whenever I have jumped on something like this without cleaning it comes back to bite me. If it don't fix the problem it cleans the slate for more diags.

Now, as I say these are cleanups so will not correct the the settings you have changed with X-Setup.

Yes I am a registered owner of System Mechanic and the fact that it helps for a short period means to me that you system is correctable. You most likely have autostart/startup spy/adware problems.

Still I say begin with the cleanups. NO KIDDING!

Mike