5. Managing Startup Programs and Services
A common performance
problem occurs when Windows automatically loads an excessive number of
programs at startup. The result, especially on systems with minimal
memory, can be unpleasant: startup takes an unnecessarily long time,
applications that you never use steal memory from programs you use
frequently, and the page file gets more of a workout than it should.
Some programs, such as antivirus utilities, need to start up
automatically. But in many cases, you're better served by running
programs when you need them and closing them when they're not needed.
Overcrowded startups are
most common on computer systems sold in retail outlets, where Windows
is preinstalled, along with a heaping helping of applications. In some
cases, the bundled programs are welcome, but a free software program is
no bargain if it takes up memory and you never use it.
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Windows 7 has a few tools you can use to peek at programs and services that run automatically at startup
or logon, most notably the System Configuration utility, Msconfig. But
that built-in tool pales in comparison to the undisputed heavyweight
champion of the category. We refer, of course, to Autoruns,
which is available for free from Windows Sysinternals. It monitors
programs in your Startup folder and in registry keys, showing you the
exact order in which those programs will run. You can also configure Autoruns
to show Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects,
Winlogon notifications, and auto-start services, among other categories.
Shortcut menus allow you to search for more information about a process
or service whose name is unfamiliar, and clearing a check box to the
left of each entry disables that item. The Everything tab shown here
gives you an unfiltered look at everything your system starts
automatically. You'll find the latest version of Autoruns at w7io.com/2001.
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6. Keeping Your Disks Defragmented
A "fragmented" hard disk, in
which large files are stored in discontiguous sectors, makes read and
write heads work overtime and puts a drag on performance. In the early days of personal computing, fragmentation
was a common cause of severe performance degradation; that's much less
true with Windows 7, which performs disk defragmentation as a weekly
scheduled task. The Disk Defragmenter utility (Defrag.exe) runs as a
background task, silently shifting the furniture while your system is
idle. (The default schedule has defrag running at 1 A.M. every
Wednesday. If your machine is turned off at that hour, the task runs as
soon as possible after you come back online. It always runs as a
low-priority background task, however, so you shouldn't find it
obtrusive.)
7. Maintaining Adequate Free Space on Your Disks
A hard disk cluttered
with stuff you no longer need might or might not be an impediment to
performance (it certainly can be if the disk is home to a page file),
but it's a nuisance at best. If a volume is running short of space, you
can tidy up a bit with the Disk
Cleanup wizard. Open Computer in Windows Explorer, right-click the disk
in question, and choose Properties. Then, on the General tab of the
Properties dialog box, click Disk Cleanup. Initially, you'll be given
the opportunity to clean up your own files only; click Clean Up System
Files to identify and, optionally, delete potentially unnecessary files
created by the operating system. You'll need administrative credentials
to go for the latter option.
8. Avoiding Tweaks of Dubious Value
Among diehard tweakers,
the urge to squeeze out every last bit of performance from a computer
is irresistible. As a result, even a casual web search turns up dozens
of tips intended to help you improve performance in Windows.
Unfortunately, many
of the Windows-tuning tips we've seen are of dubious value, and a few
can actually hurt performance when indiscriminately applied. Some of
these spurious tips are derived from techniques that worked with older
Windows versions but are irrelevant or counterproductive now. Others are
based on seemingly logical but erroneous extrapolations of how would-be
experts think Windows works.
8.1. Page File Confusion
By far the most common
instances of performance-related misinformation revolve around the
subject of page files, sometimes incorrectly called swap files. We
routinely run across two widely published myths about the proper configuration of virtual memory in Windows:
Myth #1: If your computer has a large amount of memory installed, you should eliminate your page file completely.
This is bad advice. Although you can configure Windows so that it does
not set aside any virtual memory, no reputable source has ever published
benchmarks establishing any performance gains from doing so, and
Windows simply wasn't designed to run without a page file. If the goal
is to conserve disk space, a more sensible strategy is to configure
Windows to create a page file with a relatively small minimum size and
monitor its usage over time to see how much virtual memory the operating
system actually uses in daily operation.
Myth #2: Creating a page file of a fixed size improves performance.
This is also potentially bad advice. The logic behind this tip dates
back to the earliest days of Windows. On 1990s-vintage hardware,
dynamically resizing the swap file caused noticeable delays in system
response and also resulted in excessive fragmentation. The memory
management subsystems in modern Windows versions have been tuned to
minimize the likelihood of performance problems.
8.2. Prefetch Pros and Cons
To improve
the speed of starting applications, Windows continually monitors files
that are used when the computer starts and when you start applications.
For known programs, it creates an index (in the %SystemRoot%\Prefetch
folder) that lists segments of frequently used programs and the order in
which they're loaded. This prefetching
process improves performance by allowing the operating system to
quickly and efficiently grab all the files required by a program when
you start it up.
A widely circulated
tip of dubious value recommends that Windows users clean out the
Prefetch folder and consider disabling the Prefetch function. Some sites
even provide links to utilities that automate these functions.
Clearing out the Prefetch
folder forces Windows to run programs inefficiently—but only once,
because Windows rebuilds the Prefetch layout for a program the next time
you run that program. Disabling the Prefetch function eliminates
Windows' ability to optimize program loading. In either case, it's hard
to find a logical reason why the tweak should result in a performance
improvement.
Is it necessary to clear
out the Prefetch cache occasionally to eliminate obsolete files and to
minimize wasted disk space, as some websites claim? Hardly. A typical
Prefetch folder uses well under 100 MB of disk space, and Windows
automatically flushes unused entries that are older than a few weeks.
Our take? The developers responsible for the memory management subsystem
of Windows did a remarkable job when they devised this feature. To
discourage tinkering, the default permissions on the Prefetch folder do
not allow access to Standard users and to administrator accounts when
UAC is turned on. Although you can change these permissions with a
click, we see no reason to bother doing so. Let Prefetch work as
designed.
8.3. Shutting Down Services
We've also seen sites
focusing on Windows services. One sensible piece of advice is to
minimize the use of unnecessary background applications and system
services. If you install a third-party program that runs as a service
and is constantly performing some sort of background task, you should
know about it and decide for yourself whether the steady drain on system
resources is acceptable. However, a few sites take this advice to an
extreme, urging Windows users to go through the list of system services
that come with Windows and shut down many of them, including Windows
Search, System Restore, and Automatic Updates.
This is, to put it bluntly, really terrible advice.
For starters, the potential payoff is minuscule at best. Most system services run as part of a larger instance of Svchost.exe. Disabling
that service leaves the host and its other services running. Disabling
most services saves a few kilobytes (with a K) of RAM, which isn't
enough to make even a mild dent in performance
except under the most extreme circumstances. And there's typically no
impact on CPU usage either, because these "unnecessary" services work
only when called upon; if you don't use them, they don't impact your CPU
load.
We don't agree that
the average Windows user should perform this sort of radical surgery on
Windows. In less-than-expert hands, the Services console is a minefield;
some Windows services can be safely disabled, but indiscriminately
shutting down services is a prescription for trouble. That advice is
doubly true for features designed to protect system reliability and
security.
