Tips to maintain your computer and improve performance
2. Remove un~necessary services
Just like your start up items, sevices is another resource hog, that will definitely bog your system down.
This is not widely known or advised, because it CAN be dangerous, if you are not certain what the items are that you are removing, most of the names are very hard to identify, so do your homework on these items before you proceed.
Below is a summary of suggested settings for Win Xp Pro services
3. Remove Temp. Internet files on a regular basis
Just like our start up items & services, files on your computer means big money to the web vendors.
Each & every web site you go to leaves tracks. You may feel your protected from this heavy bloat of
extra info on your computer, if you have your settings, not to accept cookies. "WRONG". Windows must
download a certain amount of info from the web to even display these pages on your computer.For the most
part, once you've read it, you dont need it anymore, or you would save it, but trust me, its there.
This is such a simple thing to do, on a regular basis, yet so many either neglect it, OR do not know how
If you dont think theres a lot there, give this a try. Browse to about 5 pages. This wont sound like much BUT.
guess what
Open your web browser, click on Tools / Internet Options, and under browsing history click on settings
Go to view files & Get ready for shock & awe !
I have mine set to automatically clean when a web page closes, yet today...from a short time of browsing, I have
3,781 files there.
To do regular clean up go to same menu as above,
Tools / Internet Options & under browsing history click on delete
Another window will open. You will have several options, & these are a matter of preference on what you want to keep, but actually, theres not anything here necessary. Anything you save will be for a matter of convenience only.
I have my setting to preserve favorites website data, simply so it wont ask to hand me a cookie everytime I visit.
Everything else can go.
Then click on OK and close
1. Clean up start items
Every company wants to be first, so almost all of the programs you install will plant a link in your system startup,& some won't even be polite enough to ask you, or let you know they are doing it.
You wont be using every program on our computer on a daily basis, so why have them robbing your
system of valuable memory resources. To find out what is running in startup & removes whats not necessary,go to
Start
Run
MsConfig
When the program opens go to the startup tab
Un check any un~necessary entries such as : Graphics & games programs. When you want to use these, use the links on your programs menu.
If you do not print on regular bases, your printer is another not required to be running in the background
If you are not sure what some items are, do not uncheck them, until you browse the web for the file name, to identify the program.
When finished, click apply.
You will have to reboot, for these changes to take affect
When your system restarts, you will recieve a message indicate this is a "selective startup"
If you want to keep the changes, check the box in lower left coner that says "do not show the message again"
6. Be sure you stay protected with a reliable virus program & be alert to strange symptoms
In todays Internet Environment, this is one of the most important things to pay close attention to, so LISTEN UP !
The virus of today is extremely sophisticated, & nothing like what we saw, as recent as 1 yr ago.
These nasty creatures are capable of totally disableing your current virus protection software, installing itself on your system,going into your registry & completely rendering many of the tools windows provides to block them, or the basic tools to make your system run. Recognize a problem early, can make it easier to remove. Some will duplicate their files, with every boot, eventually, consuming your system, so dont dismiss strange behavior.
Prevention
To take 1st things 1st, lets look at, your current prevention practices.
WINDOWS UPDATES
Its a good idea to keep your windows updates current. This is not to say your should automatically accept every download that shows up rom them, just because they say so. Not all will work on every system,and some will be downright buggy.When IE 8 first came out,I found it terrible & immediately removed it,but a lot of your updates will be security updates that could save you a ton of headaches if you had installed them.
FILE SHARING
If you use file sharing programs, for music, etc, be very careful of all files you accept. Make sure you know what folders are marked to share,& NEVER open the files you receive, without first scanning.Enough said on file sharing, you've been forwarned, so if you do use it, proceed with caution
FAKE SECURITY PROGRAMS & SCANS
Be extremely leery of the inexpensive virus scans, driver scans and "helper" progams that promise to clean up & auto~fix all your problems.
Just like we said before, its all about money. The web is a lucrative business to be in, & the most common virus of today, is not your ordinary destructive virus that hits your system & WHAM !, its gone.
Its aimed at first,getting your money. IF you fold to it, & pay, it MIGHT show you mercy for a little while, but dont be fooled, its still there lurking around, & when it asks for more, if you dare to deny it,
it will wreak havoc. If you are considering downloading a "trial" program, I STRONGLY suggest some
investigating, to see if the company is a reputable company. If you find good reports, I would also suggest looking for the Company Website & not downloading from 3rd Party advertisers. It definitely pays to do web searchs by the programs name. Some of the more reputable Security Software Companies are
Semantic Norton, McAfee, and Panda *(these are only a few)
These companies also offer virus information,& threat alerts on their web sites.
Microsoft also has a web page of fake virus alerts . Definitely check these 2 out before downloading.
What makes this kind of virus so hard to remove is that you have invited them into your system, with welcome arms, & given them permission to disable any protection that you may have had.
Removal
Hopefully none of you are reading this on a friends computer because, you missed step 1 above, & have
aready been attacked. If this is the case, I will give you some of the first steps to take, in identifying, & hopefully removing the creature.
Steps to take if you suspect a virus
*Before you begin, turn off system restore.
This will clear your restore points, but if you have a virus,
they typically clear your restore points anyway. If you do not turn restore off & they are detected &
removed, when you reboot, they will automatically be restored on your system.
To turn off system restore, right click on my computer / click on properties / restore tab & check turn off system restore
1.Do a local virus scan with your security software. If no threats are detected, OR if threats are detected but your security program is unable to remove them,l go to step 2
Its advisable to boot in safe mode, if you can, but sometimes a virus will not allow it. Safe mode will load
only the necessary files to operate, & fewer files, make it easier to detect. Also, the security program
may be unable to remove the threat, if the file is running.
3. Once threats are detected in a scan, if the scan was unable to remove all traces, try to identfy the virus
by name. Most scans will show this info, or at least the name of the file. Note the file & path location.
4. If you are on a home network, immediately disconnect any other computers your are connected to, or
you may have to repeat all these steps on that computer, as well.
Do a web search by virus or file name. *YES I can hear you now.*... "HOW, I HAVE a VIRUS & CANT"
This is just 1 of MANY headaches this thing will cause. If you cant get on the web & search, your going to have to depend on the mercy of your friends or spouse. *Hopefully, you have one or the other, if not both..lol. Sorry, but when it comes this topic, you have to try to maintain a sense of humor, because
it may get uglier. At this point, I'm sorry to say, you will be on your own,because there are so many different types of virus, & they all will have different file names, & behavior patterns, this is where you will
have to be doing the research that will apply to the specific problem you have.
When searching for your virus, look for web sites, that give all related files, & registry entries.
Once you find the files & registry entries, print them out & remove.
Some sites will offer removal tools, for a specific virus, but AGAIN, research to make sure this is a reputable source. You definitely wouldnt want to download another bad product, & compound your
problem beyond repair.Microsoft is a good place to begin, Another good resource will be tech support
sites. Once the virus is removed, do a full comprensive scan, to be sure no traces remain.
When you are comfortable you are virus~free, turn your system restore on.
These are just the basic first steps to point you in the right direction in getting rid of these one offending diseases. I do so hope,none of you will have to be putting this into practice,
GOOD LUCK
4. Don't hoard and "IF you do", make sure you provide disk space to accomodate your treasures
All of us that are frequent computer users, are guilty of this, but tons of duplicates & junk, can become really costly to maintain. Just like our closets, if we dont organize it & periodically clean out, we'll just have to pay for keeping it, either by terrible system performance OR buy more space to keep it.
I suggest keeping all music, pics,etc, in folders by category. This will keep from having a duplicate of that favorite mp3 in every folder on your computer. If you have done all clean up steps you can think of and your computer STILL drags or constantly locks up you might want to take a look at how much free space you have available.
If your not big on housecleaning, & cant bare to part with anything, the best solution is to get an external USB drive, & move all the memorabellia there.
Fun things you may not know
1. Use your favorite PPT as your screensaver
We all have received amazing powerpoints in email & have thought, OMG wouldnt that make a
beautiful screensaver. There are several commercial programs on the web that will do this, but there is a really simple, free solution, if you have MS Power Point. Here's how
Open Power Point
Browse to, & open the ppt file you want to make your screensave
Choose File / Save as/
In the "Save As" type drop down list box, choose GIF,JPG or PNG
Browse to your My Pictures folder in My Documents
Type in a flie name,
*(The name of the presentation will already be there, you can also use this) or give it a new name
Click Save
PowerPoint will ask if you want to export every slide in the presentation.
Click yes
When the export completes you will have a folder with your presentation file name, and one image of each file in the slide show in the folder, in my pictures
Quit powerpoint
Right click your desktop and choose properties
Click screensaver tab
Choose my pictures Slideshow
Click on settings and browse to the folder you just created with your presentation name
Click apply
Close
Voila !! you now have an instant, free screensaver of your favorite images
Service Name
Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service
Application Management
ASP.NET State Service
ATI HotKey Poller
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Broadcom ASF IP monitoring service v6.0.3
ClipBook
COM+ Event System
COM+ System Application
Computer Browser
Cryptographic Services
DHCP Client
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
DNS Client
Error Reporting Service
Event Log
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Fax
FTP Publishing Service
Help and Support
Human Interface Device Access
IIS Admin
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
InstallDriver Table Manager
Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
Messenger
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider
Net Logon
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network Connections
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
NT LM Security Support Provider
Performance Logs and Alerts
Plug and Play
Portable Media Serial Number
Print Spooler
Protected Storage
QoS RSVP
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
Removable Storage
Routing and Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager
Server
Shell Hardware Detection
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telephony
Telnet
Terminal Services
Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Volume Shadow Copy
WebClient
Windows Audio
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Windows Installer
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Windows Time
Windows User Mode Driver Framework
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adapter
Workstation
World Wide Web Publishing
Startup Type
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Automatic
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Manual
Disabled
Disabled
Manual
Manual
Disabled
Manual
Disabled
Disabled
Manual
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Manual
Automatic
Disabled
Manual
Manual
Disabled
Automatic
Manual
Disabled
Manual
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Automatic
Automatic
Manual
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Manual
Automatic
Manual
Disabled
Automatic
Disabled
Manual
Automatic
Disabled
Usage Note
Used for delivering local network alerts.
Base service for Windows firewall or Internet Connection Sharing.
May needed for removing applications.
Used by ASP .NET applications.
Support hot keys to control multiple monitors.
Automatically getting system updates from Microsoft Websites.
Used by Automatic Updates to transfer files.
Installed as part of Broadcom network devices.
Used by ClipBook Viewer.
Used for System Event Notification.
Used to support COM+ components.
Maintains a list of computers on the local network.
May needed for Windows Media Player.
Needed for Internet connections.
Used for tracking files over local networks.
Used for local network resource management.
Used to resolve DNS names.
Used to send error reports to Microsoft support center.
This is an essential service.
Used for switching between logged in users.
Used for sending and receiving fax.
Used to allow other computers to download files.
Used for getting on-line support documents from Microsoft.
Used to support hot buttons on special input devices.
Used to manage Internet Information Services.
Used to support Windows built-in CD burning function.
Used to index and share files over local networks.
Used by InstallShield to install new sofware.
Used for Internet connetion sharing.
Used to manage IP secrity policy.
Used to detect and monitor new hard disk drives.
Used to Configure hard disk drives and volumes.
Used for sending and receicing alert message on the local network.
Used for doing backups.
Used to support pass-through authentication.
Used by NetMeeting functions.
Needed to support network and dial-up connections
Used for DDE services.
Used for DDE services.
Used for Internet Connection Sharing services.
Used to provide security to RPC programs.
Used to collect performance data over local networks.
Used to support plug and play devices.
Used to retrieve serial number of music players.
Needed for supporting printing functions.
Used to protect sensitive data.
Used to optimize performance on slow Internet connections.
Used to manage Internet connections.
Used to manage Internet connections.
Used for on-line remote assistance.
Used to support Remote Procedure Call (RPC).
Used to support Remote Procedure Call (RPC).
Allows other computers to modify your computer registry.
Used to manage removal devices like CD drives.
Used to route network services.
Used to run programs under other user's credentials.
Used to store security information.
Used to share files and resources to other computers.
Used to support auto-play functions.
Allows other computers to send out emails with your computer.
Used to support smart card devices.
Used to support smart card devices.
Used to support UPnP devices on local networks.
Tracks system events such as Windows logon.
Used to take snapshots of the running system.
Used to configure and schedule automated tasks.
Used to support NetBIOS protocol over TCP/IP.
Used by Internet dialup connections.
Offers Telnet service to other computers.
Used to offer terminal services to other computers.
Used to support Windows XP appearance themes.
Used to support UPS devices.
Used to support UPnP devices.
Manages file transfers with other computers.
Used to support Microsoft Backup Utilities.
Enables Windows-based programs to create and modify Internet-based files.
Used to manage audio devices for playing music files.
Used by image acquisition devices, like scanners.
Used for installing .msi files.
An essential service to the system.
An essential service to the system.
Used for time synchronization with other computers.
An essential service to the system.
Used for wireless connections.
Used by Windows Management Instrumentation functions.
Use to connecting to local network servers.
Offers Web service to other computers.
5. Optimize regularly
Win XP requires at LEAST 15% free space to defrag. When your computer defrags, it scans every
file on your computer, creates an index, & THEN it will move each file into the order of the index.
Now your system now knows exactly where to go to locate a file, and not have to do full searchs
to find everything.This is where the available free space needed, comes in. It copies & arranges
files in increments of 15% of your drive size, at a time. In order to copy these files & move
them,it must have available space to copy the new file to, locate where it needs to go, according
to the index order, copy & move the file that is now in that locate to another place, THEN it can
put down this file in the proper place, and delete the old one. Its an amazing process,but definitely needs room to do its work.
Now you see why it pays to watch your available space, if you go beyond the 15% limit,
you will possibly lock your system up, & lose all the valuable data you were protecting anyway.
*Note
The "911 Link* on this site is an older post, but many of the resolutions will still apply. This post Updated 7-10-10
Let Microsoft Help FIX~IT.
With the constant changes in operating systems, & offers from vendors daily to "try their new software, its the greatest thing since sliced bread", some are just naturally going to conflict, & upset the apple cart. Our operating system is the foundation of making everything work smoothly, giving Microsoft #1 position, as to what programs we use. At LONG LAST they have come out with a "do it yourself fix~it
tool" that will scan your system, & alert you of any programs that will create problems. There are several options with the FIX~IT tool. They have a full suite *(which is still in beta, but I have used it & it seems to
do a great job), & there are also modules that are "issue specific" if you only need to fix a specific problem.
