I occasionally receive emails that say “help, my computer is slow and sluggish, how can I make it faster, do I have a virus?”. To these my standard response is: try to remove unnecessary entries from loading up on startup with a program like Starter, clean up your hard drive with something like CCleaner, install JKdefrag GUI and defrag the HD, and install a good freeware antivirus and antispyware programs and perform a scan (I do not generally recommend a registry cleaner so as not to be responsible if something goes wrong).

However, I also know that it is possible to optimize registry settings to boost performance, and “Thoosje Quick XP Optimizer” is a nice program that offers 1-click registry optimization. Here are more notes on this program:

• How it works: it optimizes Windows XP registry settings (removing limits and “useless checks”) and by removing unnecessary files/clutter from your harddrive. More info here.
• The user interface: is simple and attractive; a checklist where the only required user intervention is to check a box by each desired entry. You can get information on any one of the optimization entries by clicking on the link next to it.
• Optimizations offered: (1) faster shutdown/restart/booting. (2) faster internet, (3) faster hard drive and processor performance, (4) faster application performance, (5) faster Win XP performance, (6) erasing history and surfing traces, (7) preventing a “list of websites” from installing cookies (although there is no info on what these websites may be), (8) cleaning junk files and/or the recycle bin, (9) flushing the DNS cache, and (10) a rudimentary but functional startup folder manager.
• Undoing the intervention: if, after using this, you prefer to go back you can use the “restore” button to undo all changes that the program made.

But does it work?: generally speaking, its hard to know the extent to which the better performance is cosmetic and the extent to which it is real (and, as a third criterion, the extent of the “placebo” effect in the mind of the user after running this).

There are things that you can see immediately: the start menu becomes much more responsive, programs seem to open faster, etc. Although it is technically possible to easily compare startup times and internet speed changes I did not do this (I am, in fact, partial to TCP Optimizer for internet speed optimization and did not use the internet optimization option provided by this program, even as it might be a good one).

The verdict: I like this program for its 1-click simplicity and the option to undo whatever it does. I also like that it just does performance tweaks rather than being an all-out Windows tweaker and overwhelming the user with dozens of options and decisions.

From a purely subjective perspective my computer seems generally faster and more responsive. On the other hand, bear in mind that if your computer is slow there is probably a reason (or reasons) why that is the case, and this program is not designed to “fix” these problems necessarily, even as it might contribute to in a lift in performance.

Version Tested: 2.0

Compatibility: Windows XP.

Go to the program page to download the latest version (approx 436K).

Rating

Version tested: 0.8.7.7

Xdn Tweaker is a free Windows tweaking program that can perform a number of useful and interesting Windows customizations. It features some interesting tweaks and a well designed interface.

I do not like most so-called Windows tweakers, and while I know that the more options a tweaker has the more it actually is able to do I find many of these programs to be (a) too much to handle because of all the possible configurations and tweaks, and (b) interchangeable; ultimately they all do the exact same thing, don’t they? The exception is Microsoft’s own TweakUI, which is a favorite of mine.

I recently tried Xdn Tweaker and liked it very much. The reason this one is different is that it seems to be a compilation of interesting tweaks that are presented in a very user friendly way. Each category in the left hand side panel contains 2 to 4 tweaks that are very well presented. Here are some of my favorites:

• Removing Windows Media player entries from the right-click context menu. (Yesss!)
• Adding a context menu entry when selecting a folder to open a command prompt within that folder.
• Ability to switch on/off the option to view zip & cab files as folders in explorer.
• Increasing the number of folder views Windows will remember to up to 50,000. (Normally, Windows will remember your custom or default folder views for up to 400 folders in XP; after that, it may give you folder views which you do not want).
• The ability to remove any file extension association. Don’t want your .MOV files to automatically be associated with ITunes? You can use Xdn Tweaker to do it.
• Classic search: do you prefer Windows old classic search (the one with the cute puppy) to the new Vista-like search? Xdn can restore it as default.
• IE7 search box: Xdn can remove it for you (say, for example, you use the Google toolbar search and don’t care to have 2 search boxes showing).
• Remove “shortcut to” from being used by default in newly created shortcuts.

There are a number of other cool tweaks, but I will only mention these for now.

The verdict: Xdn Tweaker is a nicely designed program that is free and useful. Most importantly, it is user friendly and accessible and does not give you that overwhelming “everything thrown in but the kitchen sink” feeling that some other Windows tweakers do. Get it now.

Compatibility: Windows Vista and XP/2003, 32 and 64-bit.

Go to the program page to get the latest version (approx 228K).

Rating

Version tested:  4.0.3.40

Auslogics Registry Defrag can improve your system’s performance by compacting and improving your system’s ability to access the Windows registry.

In theory, and as programs are installed and/or removed from a system, the registry will not only grow in size but will also lose its linear structure, making it less responsive and causing increased access times. A registry defragmentation can reverse this, eliminating useless space that was previously allocated to now uninstalled applications as well as restore a linear structure to the registry that optimizes access times.

 I have come across many many registry defragmenting programs and the question that always comes to mind is: how effective can defragmenting a system’s registry in increasing a system’s speed? So, for example, if a program defragments the registry and tells me that my system can now access the registry, say, 8% faster than previously, will that translate in a noticeable difference in performance? Alas I have searched the Internet for information on this but was unable to find any research in this regard. What I can say, however, is that it simply feels good to have the registry defragmented, and I am even willing to accept in theory that there is a performance boost even when I have no objective way to measure it.

What I like about this program:

• Transparency/reporting: it produces reports and visual representations that show exactly what it did, giving it a sense of credibility. It tells you exactly how much space was saved by the optimization process and the percent increase in registry access speed that you can expect. It even lists the registry hives that were affected (see second screenshot). In contrast to this I’ve tried other freeware registry defragmenters that did their thing without much input as to what took place.

• It’s fast: or at least seems fast; registry defragmentation seemed speedy and efficient, even for my very fragmented registry.
• It looks good: yes, that matters to me.

All in all this is a nicely designed little program that does what it promises to do in a very competent fashion.

Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista/2000/2003.

Go to the program page to get the latest version (approx 1.5 megs).

Version tested: 2.0.3

TCP Optimizer is a free program that provides 1-click acceleration of your internet connection through optimizing your internet registry settings.

The first question on many people’s minds whenever they hear of a program that purports to do something like this is invariably whether or not it is for real. The short answer to this question is yes; for the long answer, you can see the results below of my tests that I conducted with various TCP Optimizer settings.

There are 2 ways to use this program: if you are well versed with the different registry settings you can certainly perform your own custom tweaks across dozens of settings (go here for an explanation of all of these). For most of us, however, TCP Optimizer will automatically find out optimal settings based on one (or two) user inputs, as follows:

• Connection speed slider: adjust this depending on what the maximum speed of your internet connection as advertised by your internet provider.
• Network adapter selection: if you are using wireless make sure to set this to your wireless adapter; otherwise leave it alone.
• That’s it. Click on the ’optimal settings’ radio button and then apply.

The tests: I tested my connection speed using the SG Speed Test provided by speedguide.net. These tests provide a list of known, controlled servers from which the speedtest downloads/uploads test data. Here’s how I did these:

• I picked one of the servers and stuck with it for all of my tests.
• I chose to download 1 megs worth of test data and upload 512K (the max for each) for all tests.
• The first thing I did was run WinsockXP. I figured it will re-set internet registry entries to their default values; in any case it provided a baseline that I could always go back to. I will refer to this setting as baseline.
• Baseline results: 3033 kbps down; 1659 kbps up; 57 times faster than 56k dialup.
• First test: set at 6000 kbps: wireless adapter, then optimized.
• First test results: 3278 kbps down; 1730 kbps up; 62 times faster than 56k dialup. (An 8% download speed increase).

Although the results above showed an 8% download speed increase over the baseline, it struck me as very strange that I would optimize for 6000 kpbs and get a result ov 3278 kbps. I decided to optimize again, same as the first test except I would set it to a kbps speed closer to the 3000 kbps that I’m actually getting. I went with 4000 kbps.

• Second test: set at 4000 kbps: wireless adapter, then optimized.
• Second test results: 3548 kbps down;1732 kbps up; 67 times faster than 56k dialup. (Almost 16% download speed increase, and a 4.4% increase in upload speed over baseline).

The verdict:

• TCP Optimizer can result in a significant increase in your download speed. You can check your internet speed before and after using SG Speed Test.
• It is a small, no-install easy to use program. In fact I chose this over another free optimizer (Cablenut) because the latter is more complicated compared with the simplicity of TCP Optimizer.
• Note that TCP Optimizer will backup and restore your registry on demand and on before each optimization. You can easily revert back to the pre-optimizatiton settings if you need to.
• While there are a number of programs that purport to perform this function, TCP Optimizer has been around for a long time and is offered from a website that is an authority on internet speed and optimization issues.
• I highly recommend it.

Compatibility: Windows 9x/ME/2K/XP/XP-SP2/2k3. No info on Vista.

Go to the download page to get the latest version (approx 596K). Also visit the program page.

Version tested: 3.0.1

TweakNow RegCleaner Standard is a free registry cleaner that will scour your system’s registry for useless/unneeded registry entries and optionally remove these for you. These entries are often left behind after the removal of software, cluttering the registry and possibly hindering your system’s overall performance.

First off, let me start by saying that as far as reviewing registry cleaners goes, I only have anecdotal evidence and/or impressions that I gleamed after using the software on my machine. In other words I do not have under my disposal any thorough testing of alternative registry cleaning software or a machine that is pre-loaded with carefully selected junk registry entries that I can then use to measure the performance of the software. I did compare the registry cleaning results from this program to the results I obtained by using RegSupreme (one of the best shareware registry cleaners out there in my opinion). More on that below.

Having said that, I will say that as far as anecdotal evidence goes, TweakNow RegCleaner does very well indeed. It is very quick in scanning your registry, maintains a backup of each registry cleaning session that you can use to ’undo’ any intervention that it makes, and has a very professional looking (and confidence inspiring) interface. It also offers 2 modes of registry scanning (quick scan and deep scan) and will allow you to do a custom search where you specify and/or exclude sections of the registry that you want to include in the scan. You can, moreover, set up an exclusion list for any found entries that you might want the program to overlook in future registry scans.

The thing I like most about this software is that it will present the registry-cleaning results under 3 categories: entries that are safe to delete, entries that are NOT safe to delete, and “unknown” entries that the program cannot place in any one of these 2 categories. I have used this program on 3 computers and most of the results tend to be of the “safe to delete” variety (I’ve encountered a handful that were deemed ’unknown’, but so far none that are unsafe to delete). The program is designed such that it will force you to manually check any of the registry listings from “unsafe to delete” and “unknown” categories in order to delete them, minimizing your chances of deleting any entries that may be unsafe to delete without really intending to do so.
 

In my little RegSupreme comparison, TweakNow RegCleaner identified about a third of what RegSupreme found in terms of the number of results. However, in the unusual logic that pertains to the Windows registry, this may not mean that RegCleaner does a third of the job that RegSupreme does. A lot of it depends on which entries were identified, and the likelihood that any number of registry entries found are not unnecessary and might better be left alone. RegSupreme is probably the better product of the two, but if you are not an expert user TweakNow RegCleaner might just well be better suited to your needs.

Overall my impression of this software is that it is a very safe registry cleaner that is perfect for the casual user who wants to clean out his/her computer’s registry and does not want to have to worry about messing up their system. If you are in that category then this product will work very well for you.

Differences between the free and paid versions: Nothing significant, in my opinion. Paid “professional” version offers “Track Cleaning”, which (for a lack of a description) I assume is a cleaning function similar to what you get with CCleaner. It also includes a registry defragmentation (which you could also get from a number of freeware programs out there) and a so-called 1-click Windows Optimization function.

Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, XP x64, 2003, Vista.

Go to the program home page to get the latest version (approx 1.01 megs).

Version tested: 1.2

WinsockXP is a little program that can restore internet and network connectivity in the event that it is lost due to the corruption of registry keys. It does this by restoring the TCP, Winsock, and Hosts file to their default, working settings/values.

Yesterday, it happened. I was installing new software that I was testing out for Freewaregenius, when this one program (which shall remain unnamed) errored out and refused to be launched upon installation. I was using Altiris SVS to install it, as I do for most of the programs I try these days, and I thought that maybe that had something to do with it (I’ve noticed that a handful of programs do not install well with SVS, and will work only if installed normally). This particular program looked respectable and well designed (at least in terms of the screenshots that I saw of it)…. so I decided to take a chance and install it normally. Again, it didn’t work. The same strange error. I quickly uninstalled it with Zsoft Uninstaller, my favorite uninstall program, and decided to moved on.

But then I noticed that it had become impossible for me to get on the internet, or get any access to the network at work for that matter. My network admin person at work took a look and confirmed that the reason I couldn’t connect  was because something was changed on my machine. Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was …. yaaaaaay!! I finally can test WinsockXP, a program that I had looked at and read about many months ago and that I was not able to test first hand. Until now, that is.

Needless to say, it worked. I simply ran the WinsockXP program executable, backed up my registry, and clicked the ’Fix’ button. After reboot, I was able to connect to both the internet and the network just like magic. Here are some notes on this program:

• WinsockXP does not come with a guarantee that it will fix any particular problem that you may have with your connection.
• I’ve read reports where, although WinsockXP had successfully restored connectivity, people had to sometimes reinstall their email or other software to get them to work. I’ve also read reports where WinsockXP was not successful in restoring connectivity at all.
• WinsockXP provides the option to back-up the registry to a folder of your choosing before performing its interventions. You can then use the “ERDNT.EXE” executable in that folder to restore the backup. When I tried this I did get a few strange errors such as “no registry values found for x”, although it did create a folder with an executable and other contents; not sure if this is the way it should be, but it hardly matters if the other option is to do a system restore anyway.

The Verdict: if you have a connectivity problem try this fix before you do a system restore or anything drastic; it will probably work. Download this program now and put it on your hard drive, as you wont be able to do so if and when the time comes that you need it.

Compatibility: Windows 9x/ME/2k/XP (contrary to the program’s name). No information on Vista.

Go here to get ver 1.2; note that this program is no longer supported and the developer’s home page is no longer accessible.

Version tested: 1.72

PC Wizard 2007 is an advanced hardware detection, system analysis and benchmarking utility. It provides information on both your computer’s hardware and software.

I don’t build computers, nor am I a modder. I stumbled into PC Wizard because I recently got my hands a computer that badly needed a clean Windows install. Once I did this I was subsequently able to use PC Wizard to identify the computer’s hardware components (a job that it performed very well), in order to be able to go to the manufacturers’s websites and download all the drivers that I needed for the various hardware components to function properly.

All of what this program does is give you information: information on what hardware you have and the details of your software setup, such as what technologies you have installed, the details of your internet connection, your file associations, your startup programs, your installed version of DirectX, etc. But where it adds the most value is the benchmarking information functionality. You can look at your computer’s overall performance or otherwise you can benchmark individual components or processes, such as your CPU, memory, hard drives, or video performance.

As an example, I ran the DirectX 3D test, which produced a chart containing results for different metrics such as Texture, Texture Fullscreen, Particles 3D, Vertex, and Billboard in FPS (frames per second). I could next compare my computer’s chart side by side with several other video cards that I could flip through whose results PC Wizard holds in its database.

PC Wizard is updated monthly with new hardware profiles and data; making it an invaluable up-to-date resource (therefore make sure you download and use the latest version when you use it). This program is quality freeware which holds its own easily with any commercial product. If there’s anything I could wish for, however, it would be the ability to not just identify the hardware, but to download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s sites and perhaps install them as well (although I realize that this is beyond the scope of what this program aims to be).

Compatibility: WinAll

Go to the program home page to download latest version (scroll down to about the middle of the page).

Version tested: 1.0

CrashDoctor is a program that is designed to recover crashing programs, preventing them from causing damage. It can also optionally provide a debugging functionality for the crashing program.

It is likely that, as you read this, you are thinking “but do these things ever work?”. Despite the five star rating I am giving this program, I really don’t know the answer to this question. However if you are wondering whether you should bother with something like this or if it could be at all useful, consider the following:

• Crashes, as the author of this software points out, are the result of bad programming, and there’s little that this program (or anything like it) can do about that.
• There is a single objective of recovering a crashing program: to get to an “unfrozen” state as to be able to save or copy your work that you may have spent a long time on.
• This program, in other words, does not promise to somehow bring a state of normalcy to a crashing app or overcome problems with that software, just to potentially help you salvage your data (and time and energy).

My less than scientific test:
I ran this software for 5 days, during which time I experienced a total of 8 crashes under 3 different situations, as follows:

• The first thing I did was run a video encoding software that always crashed when I ran it previously (and which I shall not name for it is still in Beta and the author is aware of the problems). The crash happened as anticipated and, lo and behold, CrashDoctor was able to recover this into an unfrozen state. Of coure, this did not mean that the program became useable, but I was pretty impressed with the result.
• Next came the inevitable Internet Explorer 6 crashes which have plagued my computer ever since I installed the Stumbleupon plugin. These come sporadically for no reason that I can discern. I experienced 6 of these, and had no luck with them; the browser window eventually terminated, and I had to restart it.
• Excel crashed while I was running a macro; it froze and I had to terminate it. CrashDoctor unfortunately didn’t kick in.

Well, there you have it. I’m going to keep an eye on this program, as I get the feeling that it is very well built and I am would bet that it will get even better. According to the authors, CrashDoctor is “extremely light-weight and doesn’t slow down the process even when recovering it from the crash”, so I am going to keep using it; it just may save my skin when I really need it.

Compatibility: WinAll (including 64bit PC’s, make sure to download and run the right version for your machine).

Go to the program home page to download the latest version.

Version tested: 1.0 Beta

Registry Distiller is a free registry cleaner that will optimize your system by removing obsolete and incorrect information from the registry, resulting in a faster computer that is less prone to errors.

The Windows registry is a database that stores settings, options and preferences pertaining to the operating system, software and hardware on a PC. Depending on what you do with your computer, the registry can grow cosiderably; in my experience, the registry tends to grow much like an untended garden. With time, especially if you install and/or uninstall a lot of software (like I do) it will invariably contain obsolete or incorrect information. These can slow your system’s performance and cause errors and/or crashed. If your system is sluggish or slow it very well may be due to registry problems. (Note that you should consider other reasons first, including: spyware/malware, a fragmented hard drive, faulty memory, too many programs running at once competing for your system resources, problems with your drivers).

Here’s what you need to know about this program.

• Very simple program: 1-click registry scan, afterwhich you can check which invalid entries you want removed (or select all).
• Registry Distiller keeps a backup log of all removed registry entries. You can use this to revert back to the pre-cleaning state if you wish

I took a stab at evaluating this program simply by comparing it to RegSupreme Pro, an excellent registry cleaner which alas is not free. I scanned my laptop with RegSupreme Pro under ‘normal’ mode and saved the list of entries found to a text file (about 250 entries). Note that scanning using RegSupreme Pro’s advanced mode rendered 700 entries, and I decided not to compare against that.

Next I scanned the same system with Registry Distiller and copied the list of entries found (approx 200 entries). I then cleaned and compared the 2 lists (I am very good at manipulating text strings; its part of my job). The result: the Registry Distiller list was a subset of the RegSupreme Pro list on normal mode. After this, I went back and cleaned the registry with Registry Distiller, then made another scan with RegSupreme Pro; predictably, the list of invalid entries went down from 250 to approx. 50 items. This, as far as I am concerned is an excellent result for a free registry cleaner. I also did a scan using TonyArts EasyCleaner 2.0 which resulted in a very low 7 invalid entries found subsequent to the Registry Distiller cleaning.

I’ve been looking for some time for a good, free registry cleaner, and Registry Distiller may well br it. Note that I am not an expert on the Windows registry and my evaluation of this software as documented above is by no means systemic or scientific. Nonetheless I’m going to give this program (which is still in beta) the benefit of the doubt and a 5 star rating.

Compatibility: Win NT/2000/2003/XP.

Go to the program home page to download the latest version.

Version tested: 1.6

PC Decrapifier is a program that will automatically remove a specific list of unwanted software that comes preinstalled on new computers. It was designed for programs that come preinstalled on DELL computers but will remove these from any PC. A list of the software that the version tested removes is provided here.

Most computers today come pre-loaded with all sorts of programs and services that the manufacturer installed for you. These include anything from AOL to the ubiquitous “Get high speed internet” icons to MS Photo Story and trial versions of Quickbooks. In my experience, many of these are (a) bloated programs that (b) take a lot of space, and (c) will most likely never be used. Many are lite or trial versions designed for a captive audience of users that are not computer savvy, with the hope that they will get used to the software foisted on them and end up paying for it.

Notes on this program:

• It will scan your PC and produce a list of the software it can uninstall. You can choose which ones to install by checking the box next to it; you can choose not to uninstall anything you like to keep.
• It will efficiently uninstall all programs that you select collectively without any user intervention.
• MAKE SURE you keep programs you want; programs on the list include Quicken, Microsoft Office Standard Edition and WordPerfect, which I personally do NOT consider crap software. If in doubt regarding a certain title then you probably do not need it and can go ahead and remove it.
• It does not need to be installed; just unzip and run.
• Check the author’s site for the last update list of software it will uninstall.

I think this program is extremely cool. It was made by a guy who created it for his own personal use; . let’s hope that he will expand the list of titles to include a wider range of commonly preinstalled software.

Compatibility: WinAll.

Go here to download the latest version. Go to the program home page.

Version tested: 2.2.85

Startup Delayer is an award winning program that can potentially decrease your system’s booting time by scheduling a delayed launch of some of your startup applications.

The idea behind this program is that when Windows boots, it attempts to launch a number of applications in succession that end up simultaneously competing for resources, overloading the system and delaying the successful conclusion of the booting process. Startup Delayer is a scheduler that will let you determine the timing and sequence of launching startup applications when booting in a way that could potentially make your computer responsive much earlier.

I have tested this and it seems to work. I used the following pseudo-scientific methodology:

• Used a stopwatch to TWICE measure my system’s booting time before installing Startup Delayer.
• Determined that the conclusion of the booting process was that point when Windows XP finally opened a folder that I had clicked on. Windows will allow clicking on the folder early on, but will not actually open it until its done booting.
• My machine’s boot time was approximatley 3:19 mins for both attempts.
• I then installed Startup delayer and used it to reschedule the launch time of 6 of my startup applications, delaying them for periods ranging from 20 seconds to 2 minutes (see screenshot).
• I used the same criteria above to measure the new booting time until Windows became responsive. New boot time (measured twice); 2:40 mins (a 40 second difference). The ‘delayed’ programs launched in due course without interfereing with what I was doing.

Verdict: if you want to decrease your system’s boot time the best way to do it is to use a program like Starter to remove applications you do not need from your startup list. If you still want a shorter boot time after you do this Startup Delayer just might provide you with a workable solution. Startup delayer is a competent little program that does what it does well. It has a clean and self explanatory user interface, and it will generate a little chart towards the bottom that will show you the timeline represenstation of your re-scheduled applications. I am currently happily using it on my system.

Compatibility: 98, ME, Windows 2000, XP.

Go to the program home page to download the latest version.

Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0.3.173

The Auslogics claim that this program is a very fast disk defragmenter; however, I have not found any figures as to how much faster than defrag this is supposed to be. What I do know, however, is that the defragmentation process with this program feels pretty darn speedy just to observe.

Why defragment?: For those who dont know what it is, defragmentation is a process whereby files on the hard drive are re-arranged so that they are contiguous. On a heavily used hard drive, the disk operating system will typically ‘write’ a file on a bit of available space, jump to another bit of space somewhere else to write the rest of the file, and do this until the file is stored completely. Defragmentation saves time in that when files are contiguous the hard drive head will not need to do a lot of jumping around to read the file in it’s entirety. This can lead to a significant increase in performance because hard drives are the slowest component on a computer, and will function as bottlenecks. It will leads to better system stability.

Besides its speed, Auslogic Disk Defrag also features a graphical representation of the state of your hard drive’s fragmentation. It presents a report at the end of the defragmentation process which includes percent of defragmentation before and after as well as, interestingly, the estimated performance boost due to defragmentation (an impressive 16% in the case of my hard drive).

However, this program does not have any defragmentation scheduling options. And although it is possible to run the defragmentation process while simultaneously working with other applications/files, this software does it support on-the-fly defragmentation as a background process contiuously keeping your hard drive defragmented.

For what it is, an on-demand defragmenter, it is highly recommended; it’s fast, very small, looks good, and is 100% free.

Click here to download. The Program home page.