How to Speed Up Windows Vista Boot Time

In this article, I suggest three methods to speed up Window boot time: Change System BIOS, Change Windows Settings and Change Hardware.

Change System BIOS

Some simple changes to the system BIOS will help speed boot time in Windows Vista.
The BIOS is a set of instructions and commands built into the motherboard that allows the computer to know what type of hardware is connected and how to communicate.
With that hardware. Please follow the directions below and make some simple changes to speed up boot process.

1) Start with the computer completely off, not in sleep or hibernation mode. Then turn the computer on.
2) Enter the system BIOS screen by the manufacturers suggestion. Depending on the computer, this may involve pressing the DEL key, pressing F1, Pressing F10, holding down CTRL-ALT-S, or a variety of other keystrokes to get to the BIOS screen.
3) Once in the BIOS setup, look for a BOOT menu and select it, and Enter.
4) In most modern BIOS screens, you’ll find an option for Quick Boot. Enable this to skip memory tests and other minor Power On Self Tests (POST).
5) Find an option for Boot Device Priority next, and change the first boot device to be the hard drive. Changing this option will speed up the boot process, but it will also not allow the computer to boot from a floppy disk or CD-ROM. If booting from anything other than the hard drive is important to you, please skip this step. If later on, you need to boot from a CD-ROM, simply re-enter the BIOS setup and make the CD-ROM the first boot device.
6) Choose the option to Exit and Save Changes and the computer will reboot.

There are other options in the BIOS to speed up boot time such as choosing the exact settings for your hard drive, and disabling AUTO DETECT of hard drives and other media.

Change Windows Settings

We will use a handy tool called the System Configuration Utility to accomplish most of Windows settings changes. Follow the steps below.

Startup Tab Changes1) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter2) Click on the STARTUP tab in the System Configuration Utility to view all the items that begin on Startup. An example is shown below.

Each item on the Startup tab loads immediately after Windows starts. If there are lots of items here, this will slow down the boot time for Windows considerably. You can examine each of these startup items and uncheck any that are not necessary.

When you are done modifying the checkmarks to the Startup tab, click OK and you’ll be asked to reboot the system.

Windows Services ChangesOnce the computer is rebooted, click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter again. This will reopen the System Configuration Utility. Click on the Services tab, then click on the option at the bottom called “Hide All Microsoft Services” to see what unnecessary Windows services are running that can be removed. Use Google to search for information on unfamiliar services.

Change Hardware

Adding more Memory (RAM)Other than upgrading the motherboard and CPU, you can increase the amount of RAM in your computer.

Replacing your Hard Drive with a Faster RPM DriveIf you have a slower hard drive such as a 5400 RPM or slower, you may want to consider upgrading to a faster 7200 RPM hard drive.Changing to Static IP1) Click on Start, Run2) Type NCPA.CPL and press Enter to open the Network Connection Control Panel3)  Right-click on the Local Area Connection and choose Properties4)  Click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties5) Fill in your static IP, subnet, default gateway, and DNS server information and click OK.If you aren’t sure of your IP ranges on your router, consult your router manual or a friend. Again, this is an optional item and does not necessarily need to be accomplished.

Reduce The Windows Startup Time

At startup Windows goes through all the applications that will start. Actually, many of those applications you don’t use or need at startup time. You can manually start the applications on your own if you need an application later. In the end your PC will startup quicker.

Instructions for minimizing Windows XP startup time.

1. Click on the “Start” button then choose “Run”.

2. Type “msconfig” in the “Run” window and hit Enter. The ‘System Configuration Utility’ Window will appear.

3. Click on the “Startup” tab.

4. Unselect the “Startup Items” that you don’t want Windows to start at startup up. You can always start the application manually when you need them.

5. Click “OK” or hit “Enter”. You can restart now or you can choose to restart later.

6. Next time you boot your computer it will show you an warning saying you have used the system config utility to change the way windows start. Just Tick the “Do not show this message” and click “OK”.

If you want a easier way to minimize Windows startup time, you can use Acebyte Utilities Free’s Startup Manager.

Clean up And fix Broken Shortcuts to Speed up Your Computer

People all the time uninstall unnecessary applications, remove documents or files but the shortcuts of them in start menu keep on growing with your usage of PC. It becomes a mess on start menu with so many uninstalled applications shortcuts and your computer will slow down. Even Windows desktop, the user’s documents, settings directory, windows system folder still keep program shortcuts, adding to the clutter.

How to find, clean up, and fix the broken shortcuts to speed up your computer?

Acebyte Utilities Free is a free software application that will scour and automatically repair your computerfor non-functional shortcuts.

Acebyte Utilities Free is a standalone program that does not require any installation or additional DLLs. To use it, just download it.

After running Acebyte Utilities Free, click Repair button, choose Repair Shortcuts to Scan and fix any problems on shortcuts.

So easy, so simple!

The Best Ways to Effectively Speed up A Slow PC via Adding RAM

A slow computer may be attributed to many reasons such as lack of computer memory, spyware, viruses, Trojan cluttered computer files. Lack of computer memory or RAM is the first thing you should check for! To find out how much memory your PC has right click on the “My Computer” icon, then select Properties, on the General tab you’ll see the amount of RAM which is installed on your PC.

The minimum requirements for XP are 128MB [although 256MB is recommended] and Vista Home Basic is 512MB, and Vista Home Premium / Business / Ultimate require 1GB.

If you have Windows XP, as a minimum I would suggest 512MB and ideally 1GB in memory. For Windows Vista, I would suggest the minimum of 1GB for Home Basic and 1.5GB [ideally 2GB] for Vista Home Premium / Business / Ultimate.

Once the extra memory is installed, your computer will run faster.

It’s not difficult to install extra RAM, although it can be scary to think about opening up your computer if you haven’t done it before. There is plenty of information and even step by step videos of how to install extra RAM available via the Internet. Or you can also ask your friends to help you. Or you can refer to your PC user manual to locate the RAM.

You can find out how much RAM is installed in your PC. You can open the System Information dialog box to see the installed physical memory.

To open System Information, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click System Information. In the left pane, select System Summary. The Installed Physical Memory (RAM) entry in the list tells you how much RAM your computer has.

How to Improve Internet Speed in Windows XP

Actually, your Internet speed in Windows XP does not only depend on your ISP, it also depends on the hardware and software used. We also can take some actions to improve the speed of your Internet connection.

1. You should connect to the Internet through an ethernet port, rather than a serial, parallel or USB port. If ethernet is not an option, it may be advisable to update your hardware. 
2. If you want to browse fast, you need to close other applications in case your RAM is maxed out. 
3. Use the fastest and user-friendly browser like chrome. Whichever browser you pick, make sure you don’t overload it with extensions or addons, those will just slow your browser down. 
4. Windows XP Professional reserves 20% of your bandwidth for services like updates or spyware checks. You can do the following to exploit this reserve.
• Type gpedit.msc in the Run window.
• Under Computer Configuration expand the Administrative Templates. 
• Go to Network and click the QoS Packet Scheduler tab. 
• Double-click on Limit Reservable Bandwidth and enable it. 
• Finally change the Bandwidth limit to 0% and click Apply. 
• Reboot your computer and enjoy. 
5. Use some programs that promise to increase your Internet speed such as Acebyte Utilities Free. It applies a number of changes to optimize your network settings and it’s user-friendly.

How to Speed Up Your Windows XP/Vista/7 Operating Systems in Few Minites

Through below simple guidelines, you can speed up your Windows systems and help keep it running smoothly.

1. Remove spyware, protect your Windows from viruses

In addition to privacy, spyware can hamper your PC performance. To combat spyware, you might consider using the PC safety scan from Windows Live OneCare. This scan is a free service that helps check for and remove viruses.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials for free to help guard your system in the future from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malicious software.

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is another utility that checks computers running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software, including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom, and helps remove any infection found. 

2. Free up disk space

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you to 

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Delete downloaded program files.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files, such as error reports.
• Delete optional Windows components that you don’t use.
• Delete installed programs that you no longer use.
• Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore. 

3. Speed up access to data

Run Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals (weekly is optimal). When you add a large number of files, or your free disk space totals 15 percent or less, or you install new programs or a new version of the Windows operating system, you should run Disk Defragmenter to consolidate fragmented files and folders on your computer’s hard disk. 

4. Detect and repair disk errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize Windows performance, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running Acebyte Utilities which scans the hard drive for bad sectors and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should run Acebyte Utilities once a week to help prevent data loss. 

5. Learn about ReadyBoost

If you’re using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. It allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without adding additional memory. 

6.  Upgrade  to  Windows 7

If you try all the previous remedies and your computer still isn’t as fast as you would like it to be, you may want to consider updating to Windows 7.

If the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor determines that your computer can’t run Windows 7 and you still have the need for speed, it might be time for a new computer.

How to Fix A Slow PC Free

If you are facing the problem: slow computer after several months of use, that’s because junk files, bloated software, and registry errors make PC sluggish. But don’t worry, let’s use below tips to fix your slow PC.

Tip 1: To remove temporary files, look for the ‘temp’ directory on the computer and empty all its contents. The directory can be found by clicking on ‘Documents and Settings’, ‘Administrator’, ‘Local Settings’, and then the ‘Temp’ folder.

Tip 2: Look for the temporary Internet files and empty it from its contents. The temporary Internet files can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Control Panel’ and then double clicking on the Internet options icon. The temporary Internet file and cookies contained in this folder must be removed.

Tip 3: Check for any registry and hard disk problems on the computer. To check and repair these hard disk errors, the user should right click the ‘C drive’ and then click on ‘properties’ followed by ‘tools’. Checking for errors is initiated upon clicking ‘Check now’. The user may opt to check either or even both the file and the physical disk by selecting the areas requested to be checked. In advanced cases, the user may use a registry cleaner for analysis of the Windows registry.

Tip 4: Optimize the user’s Display settings by deleting needless visual options. This could be done by going to ‘Control Panel’ then clicking on ‘System’ and ‘Advanced’ tab. A performance tab click settings will appear together with a wide range of options to choose from. Tick only the essential settings such as ‘Show shadows under menus’, ‘Show shadows under mouse pointer’, ‘Show translucent selection rectangle’, ‘Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop’, and ‘Use visual styles and buttons’.

Tip 5: Disable the computer’s file indexing service to reduce the usage of a large amount of the PC’s RAM. The file indexing can be disabled by double clicking ‘My Computer’ icon and then right clicking the ‘C drive’ and ‘properties’. Uncheck the option allowing indexing service and apply this modification to the C: subfolders as well as other files. Click on the ‘OK’ icon to complete the process.

Tip 6: Disable the performance monitor utility provided by the Operating System by downloading and installing the Extensible Performance Counter List and then choosing every counter in the ‘Extensible performance counters’ window. Remove the checkbox labeled as ‘performance counters enabled’ to deactivate the performance counters

Tip 7: Remove Desktop picture and minimize the number of fonts used.