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'Windows On Speed': A comprehensive guide on speeding up your OS
MakeUseOf has just published yet another excellent guide, this time on the topic of keeping your Windows installation lean, mean and fighting fit. It's available as a free download (PDF), or online (Scribd).The guide is impressively comprehensive -- it covers everything from partitioning your hard drive to installing more RAM -- but some Download Squad readers will probably find it a bit too simplistic. Having said that, it managed to teach us a couple of new things about Windows 7, so it can't be that simple.
We should also note that the guide offers a few bits of advice that we don't agree with: 20GB really isn't enough for a Windows 7 partition; something like 40GB would be more sensible -- with 1TB drives costing just a fistful of dollars, it's much better to overestimate your OS's requirements. The guide also suggests moving My Documents to a separate partition -- which is fine enough -- but it then goes on to suggest moving "all folders within your user profile" to a separate partition, which can cause issues with applying patches, service packs, and updating installed software.
In conclusion, the guide is a great resource but we're simply not sure of its target audience. It may be a bit overly-technical to send to your friends and family, and most geeks will already have their own preferred methods for keeping a Windows installation running smoothly.
Download Windows On Speed by MakeUseOf (PDF)
Comments
9
Subscribe to commentsMxxConFeb 17th 2011 11:48AM
well, the pdf says "Plan to allocate at least 20 GB of hard disk space; more is recommended, particularly if you like to install a lot of software. Make sure you have a minimum of 5 GB of free space at all times."
so it is correct. my current C:\ is 32GB (9GB free) and quiet often I'm bumping against the size limit...i had move my swap file to another partition to make room and periodically run CCleaner to remove some of the cruft.
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 17th 2011 12:00PM
@MxxCon The main problem is that expanding the system volume is a real PITA, especially if you run multiple partitions!
I recently had to expand it from 40 to 50GB... and it's almost full again :(
MxxConFeb 17th 2011 1:23PM
@Sebastian Anthony why is it "pita"? if you use non-destructive partition resizing apps, it's just time to move all the data out and resize..otherwise no hassle.
NonameFeb 17th 2011 12:18PM
And for real boot speed on Win 7 install Windows Performance Tools Kit and run in command prompt with admin rights this command: xbootmgr -trace boot -prepSystem -verboseReadyBoot
bramankpFeb 17th 2011 12:37PM
If you're a gamer, like me, there's no way 40G will suffice as a system partition. Too many games to install. I guess I've never really agreed with moving My Documents to a new partition, either. Just install a new drive and put everything there you want to archive. You don't have to save crap to My Documents and why bother messing around with Windows settings?
If, somehow, Windows allowed you to install programs on a seperate drive from the system (without bypassing the security defaults of not allowing you to move Windows, Program Files, and Users to another partition/drive) that would be ideal.
MxxConFeb 17th 2011 1:20PM
@bramankp i don't think you understand the concept for SYSTEM PARTITION.
you don't install games on it!
that partition is ONLY for the OS and it's supporting tools.
you install games and other applications to the other volumes/partitions/drives.
i have 1TB drive split up into 3 partitions:
C: 32GB, D: 500GB, E: the rest
C: is only for OS, system tools and crap that doesn't allow changing install path.
D: is for games and all the other apps
E: is for videos, music, pictures, downloads, backups, swap file.
rgz1757Feb 17th 2011 12:53PM
Completely agree. I did a partition of 25GB and I have 0 games and I am still full. I have to do installs on the second partition now.
Great guide though.
aibekFeb 18th 2011 4:56AM
Thanks for posting our guide guys! It's great to know that you guys found it useful.
KevinFeb 19th 2011 8:18AM
The pdf says that registry cleaning is not worth it. I disagree because ignoring maintenance of the registry is responsible for slowing down your computer. And there are many utilities that quite safely will clean up your registry.
Of course, such tools always present a list of what is about to be cleaned and we should be aware of what is actually a problem and what is not.
http://techsolete.blogspot.com/2011/02/21-ways-to-speed-up-your-computer.html