Improving the Performance of Vista computers

Understanding Performance Issues

As a computer is used to access information on the internet, and additional programs are added, the computer's performance may begin to degrade.

Use one or more of the methods outlined in the sections below to resolve issues and improve system performance, and perform routine maintenance tasks according to the schedule in the tables below to ensure that your computer continues to work optimally.

Recommended schedule of maintenance tasks

Click any link for more information on tasks in the maintenance schedule.

	Weekly	Monthly	Occasionally
Run Windows Update	X
Scan for and remove viruses and spyware	X
Empty the Recycle Bin	X
Delete temporary Internet files	X
Back up user files		X
Create a restore point		X
Defragment the hard drive		X
Run Scan Disk		X
Clean the computer			X
Close programs that are not being used			X
Prevent programs from loading at startup			X

Run Windows Update

Weekly: Check for updates with Windows Update.

The Windows Update feature can be used to update your drivers and operating system on a weekly basis. Drivers are software that allows the operating system to communicate with hardware on your computer, such as the video and sound cards. An updated driver will allow your devices to work optimally with all the programs that you use.

You may also check for updates manually at any time. Click Start , type update , and select Windows Update when it appears in the program list. Windows Update may be configured to check for updates once a week.

Scan for and remove viruses and spyware

Weekly: Update your virus definitions and scan for viruses and spyware.

You can scan your computer for harmful and unwanted material using programs such as avast! Antivirus Home and Windows Defender. I recommend setting your antivirus program to check for updates automatically once a week, and scheduling it for a time at which the computer will not be doing other work.

Frequently, clicking banner ads and other popup windows online can install adware, which will then run in the background on your machine, taking up memory and diverting system resources from the programs that you actually wish to run. This may include sometimes annoying pop-up windows. Spyware is any application that collects information from the computer and sends that information to another computer over the Internet.

Empty the Recycle Bin

Weekly: Empty files from your recycle bin.

It's important to delete files that are no longer in use, particularly temporary internet files, because they can fill up a hard drive quickly, and slow down performance.

Deleting a file is a two-step operation. Simply right-clicking on a file and selecting delete only marks the file for deletion, and stores the file temporarily in the Recycle Bin. Then the Recycle Bin must be emptied to delete the files within it permanently. Files that are mistakenly deleted can be retrieved from the Recycle Bin at any time prior to the emptying step.

If you are concerned about which files will be permanently deleted, open the Recycle Bin and view the file names by following the steps below:

1. From the Windows desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin , and select Open to view the contents of the Recycle Bin.
2. Select any file that is mistakenly marked for deletion, then right-click it and select Restore from the drop-down menu.
3. The file will be returned to its original location on the hard drive.

Files that remain stored in the Recycle Bin take up disk space and can slow your computer's operation. To empty the Recycle Bin, follow the steps below at least once a week.

1. From the Windows desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin and select Empty Recycle Bin .
2. Select Yes to confirm the deletion of multiple files.
   Windows will remove the contents of the Recycle Bin from the hard disk.

Now that you've permanently deleted these unneeded files, and have reduced the amount of memory used on your computer, continue the maintenance process by going to the Scan the hard drive for errors section below.

Delete temporary Internet files

Weekly: Delete unused and temporary files.

Windows uses several directories, such as the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directory, to store files (*.tmp, *.spc) intended only for temporary use. Over time, the number of files can build up and slow the operation of programs, such as print spooling.

Windows Vista provides the Disk Cleanup utility to help you find and remove temporary files on your computer, which can include internet files, cache files, and other temporary files created automatically by some programs in between full saves. It is important to delete temporary files, because they can fill up a hard drive quickly, and slow down performance. To use Disk Cleanup, follow the steps below.

1. Click Start , and type Disk in the search field, and select Disk Cleanup from the list. If prompted, permit the action to continue.
2. If prompted, select My files only , then select your hard drive, (C:) , and click OK .
3. After the program evaluates your hard drive space, Disk Cleanup will show you a list of how much space can be saved by deleting various categories of files. Place a check next to the types of files you wish to be deleted. It is always safe to delete temporary files, internet files, and recycle bin files. Accept the default settings by clicking OK , confirm the decision by selecting Delete Files , and allow Disk Cleanup to finish its operations.

You've saved space by marking unneeded and unused files for deletion. In order to delete these files permanently, continue to the Permanently delete unneeded files using the Recycle Bin section below.

Back up user files

Monthly: Save important files to disc.

Back up your files to disc or other external storage media to protect them from being lost or changed.

• Back up your files manually, by copying them to an external storage service, such as a flash media stick, an optical disc, or an external hard drive, or,
• Use the Backup and Restore Center to allow Windows Vista to select files from categories that you choose, and back them up on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule on a separate partition of your hard drive.

Create a restore point

Monthly: Create a restore point before cleaning up the hard drive.

Before you delete files or perform a Disk Cleanup, you may wish to create a restore point. A restore point is a copy of your computer's system files at a specific point in time. Restore points are created by System Restore at automatic intervals and also when Windows Vista detects that you've made changes to your system.

Run Scan Disk

Monthly: Scan the hard drive for errors

It's a good idea to check on the physical condition of the hard drive itself once a month. Error-checking will allow you to determine if any bad sectors exist, and repair them.

1. Close all programs including background programs such as virus scanners and screen savers.
2. Click Start > Computer . The Computer window opens.
3. Right-click the hard drive's icon (C:) .
4. Click Properties , and then click the Tools tab.
5. Under Error-checking , click the Check Now button.
6. Place checkmarks in the check boxes for the Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors options.
7. Click Start , and click Schedule disk check allow a full disk scan when the computer is restarted.
8. Restart the computer to start the disk check. The disk scan can take a very long time to complete.
9. The results of the error-checking is displayed. Click Close to exit program when finished.

Now that you've made all these changes, it's a good idea to consolidate and reorganize the files that are still on your hard drive. To improve drive efficiency by consolidating files, continue to the Defragment the hard drive section below.

Defragment the hard drive

Monthly: Defragment your hard drive.

During normal operation, a computer generates temporary save files, but it does not automatically clean up or remove these files. As a computer is used, the small temporary files and larger data files on the hard drive become fragmented. That means that the files are divided into small pieces and stored in different locations on the drive. When a file is needed, it takes time for the hard drive to find and reassemble all the pieces.

To improve the performance of you're the hard drive, you should periodically use the Windows Disk defragment program to consolidate and reorganize the fragmented files and folders on the hard drive. I recommend doing so at least once a month.

NOTE:

Automatic defragmentation requires that the computer be turned on during the scheduled time. If your computer is not turned on when you have scheduled the process, the software will attempt to defragment your computer the next time you turn on the machine.

1. Click Start , and type Disk in the search field, and select Disk Defragmenter from the list. If prompted, permit the action to continue.
2. Select Defragment now .
   If you wish to change the schedule for automatic defragmentation, you may do so now by selecting Modify schedule .

Your computer will now go through a defragmentation process, which may take several minutes, or up to an hour, depending on the severity of your file structure's fragmentation.

Clean the computer

Occasionally: Clean the hardware.

Extend the life of your computer by removing potentially damaging dust, dirt, pet hair, and other buildup.

Close programs that are not being used

Occasionally: Close programs that you are not using currently

It is a good idea to save any user data and close a program when a task is finished. Minimizing the window for a program does not stop that program from using the computer's processor and memory. Close unnecessary programs to help the computer perform more efficiently.

Activities, like being connected to the Internet, listening to music, and running virus scans all use a lot of system resources. Schedule the use of virus scans and other system tools for a time when the computer is not being used. Work offline when convenient.

Prevent programs from loading at startup

Occasionally: Prevent programs from loading at startup if performance degrades

At startup, many programs launch background processes that take up space in memory waiting for to be used. For example, scanners, photo viewers, Bluetooth devices, and camera software can all load on startup, and remain resident in memory, even when not actively in use. Most of these processes are not needed by every program or game. If your computer is running slowly and overall performance seems to have degraded since you first received your computer, removing these speciality programs from a normal startup may improve overall performance.

WARNING:

Disabling system-critical items could cause the computer to stop operating. Research all unknown task items before disabling them.

Use the System Configuration Utility to prevent items from starting when Windows launches by following the steps below.

1. Click Start and type System Configuration in the search field. Select System Configuration from the menu when it becomes available.
2. Click the General tab, and then select Selective Startup .
3. On the Startup tab, clear the check boxes from any tasks that do not contribute to system performance and are unwanted. Do not clear a task check box if you do not understand the task function. Research unknown task functions on the Internet.

   NOTE:

   If Windows or other software stops working after a task check box has been cleared, restart the computer, go to the Startup tab on the System Configuration Utility and replace the checkmark. Restarting the computer will mean losing your place in this document. You may wish to print these instructions before restarting.

4. After removing the checkmark from the unwanted files, click OK to accept the changes. Restart the computer.

Research all unknown task items before disabling them. To research an unknown task in the startup configuration, press Ctrl+Alt+Del . Select Task Manager , and then select the Process tab. For any process listed under Image Name that you do not recognize, use an internet search engine such as Yahoo! to look up the image name, and see what programs it relates to, and what other users say about it.