Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths

[LazyLion]

http://lifehacker.com/5033518/debunking-common-windows-performance-tweaking-myths

As a tech writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is the plethora of bad advice littered across almost every web site dedicated to system tweaking. Besides the tweaks that simply don't work, some of them will actually cause your computer to run even slower—or worse. Let's examine some of the most offensive myths out there regarding PC performance tweaking, and debunk them once and for all..... {Article Continues}

 

[The_Techie]

Should be an interesting read, will read it later

 

[mercurial]

Sweet link! Thanks.

 

[d0b33]

Nothing new, best to stick to the well known tweaks...
But I disable system restore because I don't need it and don't have to clear the unused backups every time.

 

[Pooky]

Thanks!

...what are the well known tweaks?

 

[mercurial]

Ag dob don't be such a sour worm

 

[The_Techie]

Nothing new, best to stick to the well known tweaks...
But I disable system restore because I don't need it and don't have to clear the unused backups every time.

I also disable system restore, I use full drive images

 

[mercurial]

The ones I thought were true, were the registry cleaners and the RAM enhancers
All the others I knew were BS

 

[d0b33]

Thanks!

...what are the well known tweaks?

Just do some research before you apply a tweak, here's one with well known tweaks...
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2262&page=1

Ag dob don't be such a sour worm

lol, I just found this ironic coming from a site that spread it's own tweaking myth without thoroughly testing it first(processor start-up as mentioned in article)

 

[Arthur]

Hehe. Nice chuckle. I'm sending the link to a few 'experts' I just can't persuade - maybe of they see it print ...

 

[|tera|]

I also disable system restore, I use full drive images

All and well to disable System Restore if you know what you are doing, but most "tweak guides" tell people to disable it because it will "improve" performance. That's a big mistake and I've seen a few people who think they know their stuff having to reload Windows just because of that bad choice.

System Restore isn't all there is, but it's a great feature and I wouldn't suggest anyone disable it, it has saved me from a ton of work on numerous occasions

 

[The_Techie]

All and well to disable System Restore if you know what you are doing, but most "tweak guides" tell people to disable it because it will "improve" performance. That's a big mistake and I've seen a few people who think they know their stuff having to reload Windows just because of that bad choice.

System Restore isn't all there is, but it's a great feature and I wouldn't suggest anyone disable it, it has saved me from a ton of work on numerous occasions

True, I'd usually advise that they keep it enabled if they are prone to "tweaking" their installation But I have not found it as useful, which is why I prefer images.

 

[BTTB]

I also disable system restore, I use full drive images

Ditto.

 

[|tera|]

True, I'd usually advise that they keep it enabled if they are prone to "tweaking" their installation But I have not found it as useful, which is why I prefer images.

I don't see the logic to be honest.

You install an application/driver that causes a conflict/problem in your system. Now you have 2 choices, click and start System Restore in Safe Mode and within a few clicks restore the system back to it's "original" working state.

Choice two, spend at least 30-60 minutes re-imaging your drive/partition?

Why waste that amount of time?

 

[The_Techie]

I don't see the logic to be honest.

You install an application/driver that causes a conflict/problem in your system. Now you have 2 choices, click and start System Restore in Safe Mode and within a few clicks restore the system back to it's "original" working state.

Choice two, spend at least 30-60 minutes re-imaging your drive/partition?

Why waste that amount of time?

Because I have had a few situations where system restore did not correct the problem. My first choice is to use System Restore but after I found that it is not a sure-fire way to restore it to exactly the way that I want, I decided that I would rather use full drive images.

Also, my drive is restored in 5 minutes or less