Run the Performance Troubleshooter as the First Thing

As the very first thing, you can try running the Performance troubleshooter. This utility helps you to automatically find and fix the problems. Performance troubleshooter will check for those issues that might be hampering the performance of your computer, for example, how many users are logged in and if multiple programs are running simultaneously.
To run this utility, you need to click on Start button > Control Panel. Type “troubleshooter” in the provided search box. You would be able to see “Troubleshooting” in the results displayed; click the same. Now click  on “Check for performance issues” under section “System and Security”.

Upgrade your RAM

If you have happened to migrate from XP to Windows 7 with 1 GB of Ram, which is the minimal requirement, you should consider upgrading your RAM to 2-3 GB. This would not only improve the performance of your system tremendous but would also let you enjoy all the visual effects that Windows 7 comes with (Aero Snap and Aero Peek features).

Speed up Windows 7 using a Pen-drive

If you are not interested in upgrading your RAM, then you can use another feature of Windows 7 called Ready Boost Feature. This feature uses the flash memory provided to add instant RAM to your system.
Here is how you can setup this feature in Windows 7:
Insert your Pen-drive or USB drive into the USB slot provided on your computer. An Autoplay will pop up; from here you select “Speed Up My System”.
If Autoplay is not enabled on your system, you can click on “My Computer” and then right-click on the Pen-drive/USB Drive; click on Properties and then “Ready Boost” tab and check the “Use this device” checkbox.
You can now move the slider to choose how much space you would like to be associated with this device.
In case you want to dedicate all the memory on your device, you can directly check the “Dedicate this device to Readyboost” and click OK.
Ready boost feature can prove to be blessing in disguise, if you are running short of memory and for some reasons cannot go for upgrading the memory immediately.

Increase the Paging File or Virtual Memory

When it comes to optimizing Windows 7, we have to but focus on memory size and RAM as this OS consumes more memory than does Windows XP. You can utilize some of the free hard disk space as virtual RAM, if your system is running short of memory.
You can follow the below given steps to configure virtual memory:  
1. Click on Start button and the right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties” from the context menu that appears.
2. Click on “Advanced system settings”. Next, click on “Settings” button under “Performance” section.
3. From the window that appears, click on Advanced tab and click the “Change” button.
4. The recommended virtual memory size is generally 1.5 of your physical RAM. So if you have 3 G of RAM, you should ideally set the value to 4605 MB.

Limit the Running Programs at Startup

It is strongly advisable to keep only those programs in the Startup processes which are really necessary to load when the system boots. Rest all processes should be removed and started manually when you actually need them than to have them running in background all the time and slowing down the system performance by eating precious resources.
To enable or disable processes from Startup, you need to click on Start button and then run msconfig. From the window that appears Click on Startup tab and uncheck all those processes which you think are not really needed at the startup time.

Registry cleaning

If you think you have been using the system for a while now, it is good to have your registry scanned and fixed for errors. It can play a very important role in improving the performance of your computer. However, it is necessary that you opt for a reliable registry cleaning software.
This article is written by Kevin Moor, who also writes for speedmycomputer.net, a site emphasizing on how to speed up computer.

Some Top Performance Tweaks for Windows 7 is a post from: Snakebytez

1] Right click the My Computer icon on your desktop and click Properties.

Now, select the Harware tab on the System Properties Window and Click the Device Manager button.

2] Right click the USB drive and select Properties.

3] Choose the ‘Policies‘ tab and select the ‘Optimize for performance‘ option.

4] Click OK.

5] Now, Open My Computer, Right click the USB drive and click Format.

6] Choose NTFS in the File System dropdown menu.

7] Click Start to format.

Thats it!.

You’re done.  Now your USB drive is Optimized for faster performance.

If you have more  tips on optimizing USB drives  feel free to comment.

How to Optimize USB Drives is a post from: Snakebytez

Once the parameters are set it continues to free up the targeted amount of memory in the background. A must have program for those who have less RAM (below 512 MB)

Authors Website: click here

Download Free RAM Optimizer : Click Here (332 KB)

Free RAM Optimizer for XP is a post from: Snakebytez

The last time u installed Windows it worked very smoothly on your first boot right? The boot process was faster, applications were running quickly and smoothly, no errors. Now why does it takes such a long time to boot and takes lot of memory? What can i possibly do to restore my PC that earlier state?

The answer is pretty simple. You have to take care of your pc and tweak a bit. Overclocking your  PC is an option to try at your own risk which i don’t recommend hence not discussing in this post. You only  have to understand why your pc is  slowing down and do things to prevent from slowing down.

Here are 10 simple ways to speed your PC:

1. Using an Anti-Virus, Spyware and Adware removal program:

If you use Internet frequently, chances are that you pc is infected by any adware or spyware if you not using a good anti virus/anti-malware program. Most adware’s and spywares open multiple connections to access internet  spreading infection  all over the web. This may slow down your pc, other harmful viruses might crunch your memory and system resources mostly slowing down startup process. Therefore,

• Use a good antivirus, adware, spyware removal Software.
• Make sure you UPDATE it regularly.
• Enable the auto update mode for better security.
• Run regular scans (weekly scheduled scanning recommended).

2. Defragmenting Hard drives:

The files when moved or created on your PC are stored into small fragments randomly on your disk drive. When you open those files it takes time to  gather all those chunks and put them back together to form that single file. When you defragment your drive all those scattered fragments are arranged properly on the drive thus loading application bit faster. There is a Disk Defragmenter utility in windows,

Open My Computer > Right click on the disk drive you want to defragment > Select Properties > Under Tools tab click Defragment Now. But i recommend Power Defragmenter a small free utility by sysinternals which is faster and with various options.

3. Clean Registry:

Windows registry is a database of information of all the files, folders and the windows configuration. This database grows as you use windows, can also  become erroneous. Thus, it becomes necessary to clean and repair registry errors regularly. Use CCleaner a tiny Freeware to scan and fix registry issues.

4. Delete Temporary, Junk and Obsolete files/Clear cache:

Clean all your drives for free space, i personally recommend  keep atleast 20% of your drive space free. Also, you have to clear the windows TEMP files, the web browsers temporary files, caches files, etc. All web browsers has that option. CCleaner will be a good choice for the same, it will analyze and clean all unwanted internet files, Windows Explorer files and system files.

5. Check Disk for errors:

Scan your disk for errors regularly. There may be some lost fragments or links which may  lead to error in application. Run Scandisk once a week to keep things running smoothly. the error checking utility in windows will scan and attempt to recover bad sectors. Open My Computer > Right click the drive > Properties > Tools > click Check Now Button. Else simply type chkdsk /r at the command prompt.

6. Remove Startup items:

Removing unwanted startup programs will speedup the windows boot process and your desktop will be ready quickly. some programs like Limewire or MSN messenger take time to load at startup, you can remove those and run them when needed.to remove Startup items: Start > Run > type msconfig > press OK. Now in the System Configuration Utility uncheck the unwanted programs (better Disable All).

7. Remove unnecessary Programs:

Remove those programs which you don’t use anymore. This will free disk space and even help windows perform better. Also, remove the windows unwanted components like Indexing services & Outlook Express from the Add/Remove windows programs.

8. Keep PC updated:

Look for regular updates, Enable Windows Updates, Updates includes major bugfixes which can be helpful. Look for new Service packs for better hardware compatibility. Update all device drivers, anti-virus programs and other applications. Hardware Manufactures keep updating their device drivers for better and smooth functioning. I have written earlier on a Free Software To Update Windows Device Drivers do read that.

9. Remove unwanted visual effects:

The animated windows and fading menus can slow down your pc unknowingly. You can remove those fading effects, Use windows classic style theme, remove the heavy graphic wallpaper(none), You can even lower the color quality( to medium 16-Bit) and lower the screen resolution. Lower the screen resolution, better the performance.

10.Use Lightweight programs:

Replace all those resource consuming programs and look for better alternatives, especially for those who have RAM less then 512 and an old PIII machine.

use Lightweight antivirus programs like NOD32, AVG instead of Norton Antivirus.

Use Torrents to download large files: use utorrent or bitcomet instead of Limewire and other p2p programs. Try Foobar instead of winamp on old machines. Use Foola instead of iTunes read here why.

This will really help you improve performance.

Any more suggestions will be appreciated.

10 Ways To Speed Up Your PC is a post from: Snakebytez

By default Windows XP allows maximum 10 simultaneous half-open (incomplete) outbound TCP connection attempts per second. This limitation was enforced to prevent rapid spreading of malicious internet-worms incase user machine gets infected.

However, this can slow down internet browsing when u open more pages at a time, also heavy P2P(peer to peer) application like Torrent clients use more concurrent open connections at a time to download the file in small pieces(fragments).

Taking this into consideration Microsoft has increased the half-open connection limit in their Windows XP SP3 version patching the TCP/IP.sys file.

Now you can re-patch and extend the limit to 256(Recommended) or more.

Note: Before applying the patch disconnect the internet connection and restart computer to make sure the TCP/IP.sys file is not in use.

Download TCP/IP Patcher here

Windows XP SP3 TCP/IP Patcher is a post from: Snakebytez

But thats not all, here is a method to speed your hard disk speed by configuring the special buffers in your computer’s memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the disk.

I recommend this Tip for those using 256MB RAM or higher,

Follow these steps:

• Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the command prompt (start>run>cmd).
• Expand the system.ini file window.
• Scroll down till you find a line called [386enh].
• Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type

Irq14=4096

(Note: this is CASE SENSITIVE)

(click to enlarge)

• Save the file before closing it
• Close SYSEDIT and reboot your pc.

Speed improvements will be noticed once you reboot your computer.

Note: The most speed improvement is visible on IDE drives. However there are reports that this tweak also works good on SCSI drives.

This tweak won’t harm you system in any case, so give a try and let me know if it works good for you.

Speed Up Your Hard-Disk Drive is a post from: Snakebytez