Myths of tuning and optimizing Windows
Some myths surrounding the optimization of Windows haunt us in articles, on websites, tweaking programs. However, they have nothing to do with reality, so following these tips can only cause harm. Here are examples of such myths.
Turn off QoS to free up 20% of network bandwidth
This advice is used by people who are confident that Microsoft always allocates 20% of the network channel for Windows Update. According to the instructions, you need to turn off QoS and free up bandwidth. Unfortunately, this advice not only does not help, but is also able to add problems with applications that use QoS, such as streaming media and VoIP.
')
Here is Microsoft's official response: “Many articles and newsgroup posts claim that Windows XP always reserves 20% of the available network bandwidth for QoS. This is wrong ... One hundred percent of the network channel is available for all programs, unless one of them requests priority in the channel. ”
Allow Vista to use multiple cores to speed up boot
This false advice appeared recently, and almost everyone believed in it. According to it, in the msconfig utility, you need to modify the value in the “Number of processors” drop-down list on the “Download” tab. In fact, this value is used only for troubleshooting and debugging, to identify a problem with a specific processor, or so that a programmer can test his code on a multi-core system. Windows uses all processors by default and without this installation.
Clearing the Prefetch folder for faster loading
Prefetch's application preload feature in Windows XP caches portions of applications that you frequently use, and tries to optimize the download process to speed up application launch, so when many sites began advising periodic cleanup to speed up loading, it seemed like good advice ... but unfortunately not correct .
The preload function is actually used as an index to tell Windows which parts of the application to load into memory and in what order to speed up the launch of the application, but Windows does not use this information before starting the application. There is also a limit of 128 files that can be saved in the Prefetch folder at any time, and Windows itself automatically cleans this folder, removing information about unused applications. In addition, the correct defragmentation utility uses Prefetch information to optimize disk files, further speeding up access to them.
Cleaning the registry improves performance
The Windows Registry is a large database with almost all the settings for each application on your system. Logically, cleaning it up will speed up the process, right? Unfortunately, this is just a marketing hype intended for selling registry cleaning utilities, and in reality this is not at all the case ... Registry cleaners delete only a very small number of unused keys, which will not help performance, given the hundreds of thousands of other keys in the registry.
This is not to say that these utilities are completely useless, of course. I would still recommend clearing the registry when you are trying to fix a problem related to deleting problematic applications that keep registry entries, but you must use a trusted application and check for deleted keys.
Clear memory using “Handle tasks in your free time”.
At this point you should already begin to understand slowly ... If something sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a hoax. The next tip is that you can create an “undocumented shortcut to the Rundll32.exe command advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks, which will clear the memory by processing all the tasks that occupy the memory in the background.
What is the problem? These tasks are not really waiting in the background. This command actually tells the computer that you have moved away and it can process the tasks while the computer is free. But you have not moved. The real purpose of this function is to work out all the tasks before running the performance tests so that they correctly calculate the time, and the Microsoft documentation says the following: “When called from the command line, ProcessIdleTasks runs asynchronously in the background. Completing background tasks can take from 10 to 15 minutes. Task Manager reports on running processes, and the disk can be active at this time. ”
Clear, defragment and speed up RAM with Super Mega RAM Optimizer
Look at any website with programs, and you will find thousands of programs that promise to “optimize memory to speed up a computer.” Do not believe! Virtually all of these programs do the same thing: they call the EmptyWorkingSet () function, which forces applications to send data from memory to the paging file, or they allocate themselves and free up a huge amount of memory, so Windows has to throw out other applications in the swap.
The result is the apparent release of memory, but in fact you just traded your cosmically fast RAM to a slow disk. As soon as you have to return to the application you are working with, you will want to throw out the computer and trample on its mortal carcass.
Turning off the Shadow Copy and Restore service improves performance.
There seem to be no Windows Vista tips sites that advise you to turn off System Restore to speed up your work, because it uses up to 15% of your disk by default. This seems like good advice. But this is bad advice.
In reality, System Restore only works when you install an application or update, or at a designated time of day, and automatic restore points are created only when you are not at the computer. This is critical, because it allows you to restore the previous state of the machine, getting rid of problems.
Instead of disabling System Restore to free up space, use the Disk Cleanup Wizard to remove all but the restore points.
Enable SuperFetch in Windows XP.
Someone decided to spread the myth that you can include SuperFetch in Windows XP by adding the same EnableSuperFetch key that Vista uses to the registry. This advice is completely fake.
Disable services (services) to speed up the computer
The most common myth is to remove all unused services. I understand that this can cause controversy, so I’ll clarify: disabling non-critical services that are not part of Windows can sometimes lead to performance gains if you determine that these services cause problems. You can identify and disable these services in the Services tab of the msconfig.exe utility.
The problem with disabling services is that your devices may stop working after this, and the problem is difficult to determine if it does not come to light right away.
Do not turn off Microsoft built-in services on Windows, except for certain situations:
SuperFetch - this caching service preloads applications into memory and really helps. However, it causes hard drive to work hard, which is annoying and difficult, especially on laptops.
Windows Search - if you use another local search engine, you don’t need this service and disabling it can really improve performance.
Windows Defender - if you use another product against malware, you also do not need this service.
Crosspost in the collection of tips neonka.ru
Turn off QoS to free up 20% of network bandwidth
This advice is used by people who are confident that Microsoft always allocates 20% of the network channel for Windows Update. According to the instructions, you need to turn off QoS and free up bandwidth. Unfortunately, this advice not only does not help, but is also able to add problems with applications that use QoS, such as streaming media and VoIP.
')
Here is Microsoft's official response: “Many articles and newsgroup posts claim that Windows XP always reserves 20% of the available network bandwidth for QoS. This is wrong ... One hundred percent of the network channel is available for all programs, unless one of them requests priority in the channel. ”
Allow Vista to use multiple cores to speed up boot
This false advice appeared recently, and almost everyone believed in it. According to it, in the msconfig utility, you need to modify the value in the “Number of processors” drop-down list on the “Download” tab. In fact, this value is used only for troubleshooting and debugging, to identify a problem with a specific processor, or so that a programmer can test his code on a multi-core system. Windows uses all processors by default and without this installation.
Clearing the Prefetch folder for faster loading
Prefetch's application preload feature in Windows XP caches portions of applications that you frequently use, and tries to optimize the download process to speed up application launch, so when many sites began advising periodic cleanup to speed up loading, it seemed like good advice ... but unfortunately not correct .
The preload function is actually used as an index to tell Windows which parts of the application to load into memory and in what order to speed up the launch of the application, but Windows does not use this information before starting the application. There is also a limit of 128 files that can be saved in the Prefetch folder at any time, and Windows itself automatically cleans this folder, removing information about unused applications. In addition, the correct defragmentation utility uses Prefetch information to optimize disk files, further speeding up access to them.
Cleaning the registry improves performance
The Windows Registry is a large database with almost all the settings for each application on your system. Logically, cleaning it up will speed up the process, right? Unfortunately, this is just a marketing hype intended for selling registry cleaning utilities, and in reality this is not at all the case ... Registry cleaners delete only a very small number of unused keys, which will not help performance, given the hundreds of thousands of other keys in the registry.
This is not to say that these utilities are completely useless, of course. I would still recommend clearing the registry when you are trying to fix a problem related to deleting problematic applications that keep registry entries, but you must use a trusted application and check for deleted keys.
Clear memory using “Handle tasks in your free time”.
At this point you should already begin to understand slowly ... If something sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a hoax. The next tip is that you can create an “undocumented shortcut to the Rundll32.exe command advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks, which will clear the memory by processing all the tasks that occupy the memory in the background.
What is the problem? These tasks are not really waiting in the background. This command actually tells the computer that you have moved away and it can process the tasks while the computer is free. But you have not moved. The real purpose of this function is to work out all the tasks before running the performance tests so that they correctly calculate the time, and the Microsoft documentation says the following: “When called from the command line, ProcessIdleTasks runs asynchronously in the background. Completing background tasks can take from 10 to 15 minutes. Task Manager reports on running processes, and the disk can be active at this time. ”
Clear, defragment and speed up RAM with Super Mega RAM Optimizer
Look at any website with programs, and you will find thousands of programs that promise to “optimize memory to speed up a computer.” Do not believe! Virtually all of these programs do the same thing: they call the EmptyWorkingSet () function, which forces applications to send data from memory to the paging file, or they allocate themselves and free up a huge amount of memory, so Windows has to throw out other applications in the swap.
The result is the apparent release of memory, but in fact you just traded your cosmically fast RAM to a slow disk. As soon as you have to return to the application you are working with, you will want to throw out the computer and trample on its mortal carcass.
Turning off the Shadow Copy and Restore service improves performance.
There seem to be no Windows Vista tips sites that advise you to turn off System Restore to speed up your work, because it uses up to 15% of your disk by default. This seems like good advice. But this is bad advice.
In reality, System Restore only works when you install an application or update, or at a designated time of day, and automatic restore points are created only when you are not at the computer. This is critical, because it allows you to restore the previous state of the machine, getting rid of problems.
Instead of disabling System Restore to free up space, use the Disk Cleanup Wizard to remove all but the restore points.
Enable SuperFetch in Windows XP.
Someone decided to spread the myth that you can include SuperFetch in Windows XP by adding the same EnableSuperFetch key that Vista uses to the registry. This advice is completely fake.
Disable services (services) to speed up the computer
The most common myth is to remove all unused services. I understand that this can cause controversy, so I’ll clarify: disabling non-critical services that are not part of Windows can sometimes lead to performance gains if you determine that these services cause problems. You can identify and disable these services in the Services tab of the msconfig.exe utility.
The problem with disabling services is that your devices may stop working after this, and the problem is difficult to determine if it does not come to light right away.
Do not turn off Microsoft built-in services on Windows, except for certain situations:
SuperFetch - this caching service preloads applications into memory and really helps. However, it causes hard drive to work hard, which is annoying and difficult, especially on laptops.
Windows Search - if you use another local search engine, you don’t need this service and disabling it can really improve performance.
Windows Defender - if you use another product against malware, you also do not need this service.
Crosspost in the collection of tips neonka.ru
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/37957/
All Articles