Windows

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On this page you find important tips and tricks for Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7!

Tip 1: Create several partitions!

If you want to install several operating systems parallel to each other, you should create some partitions (c:, d:, e: etc.). By means of that, the single windows versions don’t get in conflict with each other. To make partitions, you can use, for example, the program FDISK (fdisk.exe). You can find it in the folder “Command” of Windows 98.

If you don’t have Windows 98 or Windows ME, you must create a boot disk and start the program from there. You can download images of boot disks inclusive Fdisk from the website BootDisk.info.

Because of the big hard drives of nowadays, it is more comfortable to use proper partition programs. BootIT, Cute Partition Manager (Freeware!), Easeus Partition Master, Partition Wizard and Acronis Disk Director Suite are recommendable. They are easier to handle and can be started from a boot CD. With these programs, a formating of single partitions is possible as well.

If you plan to install several operating systems on a computer, it is recommendable first to install the older one and then the newer. By means of that, you get the choice between two operating systems at the start of the PC (dualboot function).

Tip 2: Install all available updates for Windows!

Updates and bug fixes for Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP can be downloaded from the following sites:

Tip 3: Install the newest device drivers!

The drivers on the installation CDs for motherboard, mouse, sound card, printer, scanner, modem etc. are mostly outdated. Therefore, you should download the newest drivers from the homepage of the manufacturer!

A great choice of drivers (also for older devices) offers the site Driverguide.com.

Tip 4: Deactivate the autoplay function!

If you get bothered by the automatic playing of CDs, whenever they are put in the drive, you should download TweakUI. With this little program, you can change a lot of other functions of Windows! To disable the autoplay function, click in TweakUI on My Computer, then AutoPlay and Types.

TweakUI for Windows 98/ME/NT
TweakUI for Windows XP

Tip 5: Break the habit of Windows to spy!

To break the habit of Windows to “phone home”, you should use XP-Antispy. Click on “Release Pro Adjustments” in the menu of this program!

XP-Antispy

Tip 6: Install a firewall!

The firewall of Windows is far away from being perfect. It only filters incoming traffic, but no outgoing. If trojans have intruded into the system, they can use this weak point to make a connection to the Internet. Therefore, you should install a separate firewall like ZoneAlarm Pro. It prevents hackers from getting access to the PC via Internet and that software on your computer contacts the manufacturer unintendedly. There is also ZoneAlarm Free, but it offers only limited adustment possibilities in comparison to the full version.

If you don’t want to spend much money for a firewall, you can use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall. It’s cheap and offers an almost as well protection as more expensive products.

You can test the function of your firewall on the website AuditMyPC.com.

Tip 7: Remove spyware!

Spyware nests in the operating system and tries to find out the surf behaviour of the PC user. The following program stops it:

Ad-aware

By the way, spyware installs every time, when you are surfing a little longer in the Internet. Because of that, it is advisable to let Ad-aware scan the hard drive frequently or (better) to delete all cookies and temporary Internet files often!

Tip 8: Accelerate Windows!

The current operating system of Microsoft is made very on comfort and good optics, less on speed. In the control panel you can make some adjustments, however, which speed up the system considerably:

Display: Choose “Windows Classic” in Themes, switch off all effects in Appearance-Effects
Power Options: Disable hibernation, because this function just uses unnecessary space on the hard drive
Folder Options: Use Windows classic folders, open each folder in its own window. Deactivate in View “Remember each folder's view settings”, “Automatically search for network folders and printers”, “Hide extensions for known file types” and “Hide protected operating system files”. Activate “Display the contents of system folders” and “Show hidden files and folders”
System: Click in Advanced-Performance on “Settings” and adjust the visual effects for best performance. Turn off the System Restore in System Restore
Taskbar and Start Menu: Deactivate “Keep the taskbar on top of other windows”, use “Classic Start menu”

Tip 9: Show attributes in Windows XP durably!

In contrast to Windows 98 and NT, Windows XP “forgets” on each start of the file Explorer that the option “Show file attributes” was activated. You can avoid this by the following trick:

Open file Explorer, go on View-Choose Details... and enable “attributes”. Then click on OK, go in the menu on Tools-Folder options... and click in View the button “Apply to All Folders”. You can save by the same procedure also other adjustments, for example that the Explorer shall ever show the status bar! To show the status bar in the Explorer, simply go to View and then activate “Status Bar”.

Tip 10: Exclude unnecessary programs from system start!

Some programs (e.g. virus scanners) have the habit to get activated at once the operating system starts. This wastes not only resources unnecessarily, but can also lead to a slowing down of the system. In the most unfavorable case, the proper installation resp. execution of other programs will be hindered. However, there are programs, with which you can control what is loaded at the start and what not: Startup Managers.

Startup Manager 2.0 for Windows 98/ME
Autostart-Manager 3.2b for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 und XP (in German language)

Tip 11: Speed up system start with installed network card in Windows 98!

If you have installed a network card in your PC, to go into Internet via DSL, you have one problem: It takes much more time than before, until the computer loads Windows 98 completely. However, there is a simple trick to correct this:

Double click “Network” in Control Panel. Enter a private IP address for the binding TCP/IP -> network adapter, at best 192.168.0.1. Enter 255.255.255.0 under Subnet Mask.

Tip 12: Clean up Windows!

After the installation of programs, often temporary files remain on the hard drive. These may have a size of several hundred megabytes. If you want to regain valuable storage space, you should delete the files of the following folders:

C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Local Settings\Temp
C:\Windows\Cache
C:\Windows\Downloaded Installations
C:\Windows\Temp

In the Windows folder (C:\Windows) you can gain additional storage space by deleting all $NT-Uninstall-folders! However, one disadvantage shall not be concealed: You cannot deinstall the concerning Windows XP updates anymore.

You can save more than 350 MB by deleting the files in the folder C:\Windows\System32\Dllcache. These files are copies of other files and have the purpose to automatically replace deleted or changed system files. If an important system file will be changed actually, you’ll have to insert the installation CD of Windows XP. This is a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll gain a huge amount of free space on your hard drive!

After the installation of the Service Pack 3 (SP3) all unpacked files of the Service Pack (about 470 MB) will be stored in the folder C:\Windows\Servicepackfiles. Thereby it is ensured that Windows XP can automatically replace damaged or changed system files with files of the Service Pack 3. If you have made a Windows XP CD with integrated SP3, you can delete the files of this folder. If another program is replacing an important file, you just have to insert your Windows XP SP3 CD.

Tip 13: Tune your graphics card!

If you want to get a better performance in games, you should use tools like aTuner or Rivatuner. With them you can, for example, deactivate the vertical synchronization (VSync), adjust the quality settings of the driver or overclock the graphics card.

Tip 14: Defragment your hard drive regularly!

In the course of time, the hard drive fragments more and more. This means that files are increasingly stored in small fragments. Of course, this slow downs the hard drive, because it can not read or write files in one piece anymore. Because of that, you should frequently defragment it. In Windows XP, you start the defragment program via the button Start, then go to All Programs, then to Accessories, System Tools and Disk Defragmenter. But if you defragment your hard drive often, you should use external programs like Diskeeper or O&O Defrag because they are considerably faster.

Tip 15: Reduce temperature of the CPU!

By means of programs like CPUIdle, you can reduce the temperature of the processor noticeably. These send it every time in idle mode, when it has nothing to do. The performance of the system isn’t affected by this negatively.

Tip 16: Accelerate the hard drive performance on BX mainboards!

If you have an old mainboard with Intel’s BX chipset, you can increase the hard drive performance in Windows XP noticeably by installing the busmaster driver of the Intel Application Accelerator. Since this driver has to be unpacked in an uncomfortable way, however, I’ve packed the needed files in the following Zip file: Intel.zip. After unpacking of this file you have to do the following:

Double click “System” in Control Panel. Then on Hardware, after that on Device Manager. Double click in “IDE ATA/ATAPI-Controllers” the first entry (e.g. Intel(r) 82371AB/EB PCI-Bus-Master IDE Controller). In Driver click on “Update Driver” and then on “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”. Choose the driver that you want to install manually. Click on “Have Disk...” and give the path of the unpacked Intel.zip (e.g. c:\temp). Ignore the warning message and install the driver.

Tip 17: Run Tuning.reg or XPTuning.reg!

Instead of optimizing my system regularly with programs like X-Setup, I made two small files who enter these settings in the registry automatically. All what you have to do is a simple double-click. Windows gets not only faster, it gains also in comfort (e.g. the opening time of menues are reduced, opened windows are shown while you shift them with the mouse and Windows is shut down faster). If you wish, you can reestablish the standard settings of Windows via the Tuning-Undo.reg resp. the XPTuning-Undo.reg. Please read the FAQ before using it.