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Windows 11 FAQ |
1. How do I improve performance of my computer?
There are many tweaks and tricks you can use to improve the performance of
your computer besides upgrading the hardware:
a) Run Disk Cleanup utility to remove old files.
b) Run Defrag on your hard disk to reduce file fragmentation.
c) Disable unwanted programs and services that automatically start when you
boot your computer.
d) Remove spyware and any viruses that may slow down your computer.
e) Uninstall unwanted or unused software
f) Do a fresh installation of Windows. You will have no junk left over from
multiple installs/uninstalls and registry will be smaller.
g) Do Registry cleanup of outdated or unused information using various Registry
cleanup tools.
h) Upgrade the hardware: faster hard disk, more memory, faster CPU or faster graphics card.
2. How do I regularly run Disk Cleanup or Defrag programs?
You can run these on a weekly on monthly basis depending on how heacy used your computer is. Open Settings, Storage and select Optimise Drives tool. Select Change settings to modify schedule and change how often and which day and time to run the defragmenter. To manually, run a defrag, open Explorer, click once on the drive, select Properties, Tools and click on Defragment Now.
To schedule Disk Cleanup, open Control Panel, System, Administrative Tools, Task Scheduler. Then select Create Basic Task from the Action menu and use the wizard to schedule to run a program (C:\Windows\System32\Cleanmgr.exe).
3. Which programs can I disable from running on Startup?
There are two places where programs auto run when you login: the Startup folder
in your Programs menu, and the Run section in the registry. You can remove items
from the Startup folder by right clicking the start button and select either
Explore or Explorer all Users to look at your own Startup folder
or the Startup folder for All Users of the computer, you may have to browse
down a few levels to find it and then you can delete the program shortcuts you
do not require.
For programs in the registry, you can use either Regedit or preferably
Task Manager and look in the Startup section, unticking options here will
prevent the program from starting later on. For permenant removal, I suggest
Regedit (see HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run).
4. Which services can I stop running on Startup?
There are many services that auto run on bootup. Many services are required
and you should only disable those that you definately do not require, disabling
the wrong ones may stop your computer from working or booting up! See some services
below:
a) Windows Search - used to index documents on your Hard disk. Disabling
this can free up CPU and HD time!
b) iPod Service - Disable this, if you do not use Apple's iPod Mpeg player.
c) Smart Card - Disable this, if you do not use Smart card removable
devices.
d) Smart Card Removal Service - Disable this, if you do not use Smart
card removable devices.
e) TCP/IP Netbios Helper - Disable this if not using Netbios or other
WINS type services
f) WLAN AutoConfig - Disable this if not using any Wireless
type network cards
g) DFS Replication - Disable this if not syncing files between computers
h) Peer Networking - Disable this if not using peer to peer networking
i) Ready Boost - Disable this if not using USB stick to boost memory
j) Remote Registry - Disable this if you do not wont external users from
modifying the registry
k) Windows Image Aquisition (WIA) - Disable this if not using any Camera or Scanner devices.
l) Windows Error Reporting Service - Disable this if you do not want
to send error reports to MS
m) WWAN AutoConfig - Disable this if not using any mobile phone protocols (GSM, CDMA)
n) UPnP Device Host - Disable this if not using any Universal Plug'n'Play devices e.g. Media devices.
o) AVCTP service - Disable if not using Bluetooth Audio device or Wireless headphones.
p) Bitlocker Driver Encryption - Disable if not using Bitlocker encryption.
q) Bluetooth Support Service - Disable if not using any Bluetooth device.
r) Computer Browser - Disable network discovery of systems on local network.
s) Connected User Experiences and telemetry - Disable of Feeback of system data.
5. How do I uninstall unwanted software?
Most software installed is in Control Panel, Programs. It will even try to tell how how often you use that software, although its a bit hit and miss. Removing old demos and games can free up a lot of valuable hard disk space that can be used for new programs or documents. Some times an uninstall leaves some files behind, so look in C:\Program files and look for partially empty folders and delete them if you can after an uninstall. Some uninstallers leave behind stuff in the registry, a good place to look is in HKLM\Software area with Regedit.
6. How do I remove adware, spyware or malware?
To remove these unwanted programs, open Windows Defender from Settings, Windows Security. Make sure you schedule it to run and it is up to date.
7. How do I speed up desktop performance?
By default, windows will turn on all the fancy graphical functionality such as fades, transparency, shadows, previews, thumbnails and other visual effects. To change it, open Control Panel, System and Maintenance, System, Advanced system settings then click on Advanced tab, and select Performance settings and select it to Adjust for best performance to turn off the visual effects. This will also turn off the Aqua interface (see Enable transparent glass effect).
Open Task Manager, click on the Start-up tab, and it will list all the programs that are automatically run when you login to Windows. You can disable the programs you no longer need such as updater programs, clients and helper programs that you may not need.
8. How do I speed up network performance?
If using wireless network, then a good strong signal strength is needed to
ensure data is sent or received at maximum. This all depends on where you place
your router relative to your computer. Having thick walls or some other type
of electrical devices can reduce the signal strength. The type of card and router
can also affect performance, 802.11g is fast but the new 802.11n cards
are much faster still!
If you are using wired connections, then make sure your switch or router matches
the speed of your network card, having a 1GB network card attached to a 100
or even a 10MBPs swtich will severely affect performance, therefore replace
the switch/router to a faster version. Also, you can improve speed, by setting
the Speed & Duplex settings of your network card to match the network
speed via Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center,
Manage network connections. Open the Properties of your Local
Area Connection and click on Configure for the network card, click
on the Advanced tab and change the Speed & Duplex to a specific
value e.g. 100Mbps Full Duplex. Alos, turn off things like Energy Efficient or Green Ethernet settings that may affect connectivity.
9. How do I speed up system responsiveness?
If your computer is spending more time on background tasks than the programs you wish to run then you need to look at what background tasks you have installed. Some Internet Security Tools are known to be resource hogs, such as those by Norton or McAfee. Try switching to more light weight tools such as Defender for Anti-Virus, and Windows's Firewall for Firewall functions. Also, close down any unwanted programs that are located in the System (or Notification) tray at the bottom right of the screen. Use the Task Manager tool and examine the Startup tab to see which programs are not required to start every time. They can be permanently removed by deleting entries from the Programs, Startup folder or the Registry (HKLM or HKCU, Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Run).
10. How do I speed up actions when using Explorer?
a) Have you ever deleted a shortcut and wondered why it took so long? Windows tracks
back a shortcuts target when removing shortcuts, you can stop this behaivour
with Group Policy Editor:
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer
and enable the option Do not track Shell shortcuts while roaming.
b) Copying files takes too long in Explorer.
Try using the Robocopy tool in Command Prompt or third party tools like these copy tools.
c) Deleting a large number files takes too long in Explorer.
Try using Windows Del or RmDir tools in the Command prompt or Remove-Item cmdlet in PowerShell.
11. How do I do a manual defrag?
Windows 10 includes an automatic defrag feature which is configured in the
Optimise Drives in the Start menu,Administrative Tools. It is also accessible
via the properties of the drive,
click on Tools, then click on Optimise. You can also defragment
the drive via the command Shell. Open a command shell using Administrator priviledges:
a) Defrag c: /A can analyze a disk and produce a report.
b) Defrag c: /X can do free space consolidation on the drive.
c) Defrag c: /D can do a full defragmentation of the drive.
12. How do I cleanup the registry?
The registry can build up with old or unwanted entries over the months or years
of a computers life. There are a number of registry cleaners out there that
can automatically remove old
entries from the registry for you. Programs include CCleaner, Registry Mechanic, Registry
Booster and Advanced Registry Optimizer and many others. See Software Testing Help.
13. How to I speed up booting to Windows?
Windows can take a long time to boot up. To speed up booting a lot, you could change your hard drive to the faster Solid State Drives (SSD). Also, you can enable Hibernate mode on Windows. So, instead of completely shutting down Windows everyday, send it into hibernate and when you wake up your computer, your desktop appears in seconds, rather than minutes.
To enable Hibernate:
1. IF you have disabled Hibernate, you need to re-enable it:
a) Open Command prompt (with Administrator rights).
b) Run Powercfg /hibernate on
c) Close Command prompt
2. Open Control Panel.
3. Select Power Options.
4. Select 'Choose what the power buttons do' .
5. Select 'Change settings that are currently unavailable'
6. For 'When I press the power button', change it from Shut down to Hibernate.
7. For 'Show in Power Menu', enable 'Hibernate'.
So now when you have finished, you can either press the power button to put PC into hibernate or select it from the power options on the Start Menu.