Keeping Windows 7 running smoothly?

[Nagisan]

Its coming up to that time again where I feel I need to reinstall Windows to keep my computer moving fast and smooth. Figured I would make this topic, and see what you all use/do to keep your system running good. I currently sleep my computer every night instead of shutting it down, only rebooting it once or twice a week (if even that, current record uptime on my system is 15 days).....but it seems never letting Windows shut down except every now and then makes it run slower when I do reboot it, than if I shut it down every night. I also tend to install/uninstall games every now and then, but otherwise software is pretty static (I use VM software for anything else that I don't want to install on my main system).

So what are your tips/tweaks/suggestions for keeping a fresh Windows 7 install running quickly?

Also, for any security nuts out there, any extra Windows 7 hardening tips out there beyond enable SEHOP for all processes? Most of what I found seemed unnecessary or would limit functionality to gain small improvements in security (such as disabling services). Anything that won't disable any true functionality but would be really useful to do to improve security?

On a final note, if you are a techy that knows what they are doing, is it really with using a standard account over an admin account (with UAC, of course)?

Thanks for any and all tips, I'm really annoyed with how quickly Windows degrades when using it in certain ways (like going into sleep mode every night, only rebooting a handful of times a month).

[ViperAFK]

1. Don't install useless crap. If you don't use it, don't install it (or remove it if its installed). Remove anything you don't need starting up with windows from the startup tab in msconfig.

2. When it comes to "maintenance" I've found with win7 simply leaving the default defrag tool on its weekly schedule and occasionally running ccleaner does the job nicely.

Really any "slow" windows install I've ever seen is due to number 1. I haven't had to format mine because of speed issues since win7 came out. I only formatted recently because I rebuilt my machine :)

I also very rarely reboot. My pc only reboots when windows updates or my power goes out. I never feel the need to reboot to make my pc go faster, if anything win7 is faster if you leave it on because everything is cached.

[Nagisan]

1. Don't install useless crap. If you don't use it, don't install it (or remove it if its installed). Remove anything you don't need starting up with windows from the startup tab in msconfig.

2. When it comes to "maintenance" I've found with win7 simply leaving the default defrag tool on its weekly schedule and occasionally running ccleaner does the job nicely.

Really any "slow" windows install I've ever seen is due to number 1. I haven't had to format mine because of speed issues since win7 came out. I only formatted recently because I rebuilt my machine :)

I also very rarely reboot. My pc only reboots when windows updates or my power goes out. I never feel the need to reboot to make my pc go faster, if anything win7 is faster if you leave it on because everything is cached.

I tend to uninstall and install things as I need them, but I also tend to only install things when I absolutely need them. Sometimes though I will need to use something that wont work right through a VM, so I have to install it and later uninstall it, which uninstalling doesn't always remove everything that was installed, so the system gradually gets slower when you do that. I also use RevoUninstaller to remove things, but every now and then I uninstall something while forgetting to use Revo to do it. As for defragging, I'm on a Gen1 SSD (which I would like to change to a newer model, but don't have the money right now), so Windows doesn't defrag it, and it also suffers from lag when writing over unused (but full) data blocks.

Due to the lag on writes, I move my Chrome cache to a standard drive and disabled my pagefile (suppose it doesn't hurt to leave it enabled, but I have 24 GB of ram, so I definitely need to reduce its size.......even 1x of my ram would use up 24 of my 120 GB SSD). It would also be in my favor to remove hibernate (which is ANOTHER 24 GB of my SSD usage), which I have done currently, and I do have my system on a UPS, so even in standard sleep mode if I have power I SHOULD have enough time to shut Windows down properly (even if it happens when I'm asleep).

Viper, do you run your system constantly, or let it go to sleep after X amount of time? Unfortunately for me, I am trying to be power concious, so I either have to put my computer to sleep or shut it down each night, otherwise I would just let it run full-bore 24/7 and it probably would have better performance.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I think you should reboot your PC in the morning.

Since when it comes up from sleep, it will get slower and underperform.

I would suggest, that every once in a week or so, keep it turned off for about an hour or so (not sleep, shut down)

And like ViperAFK said, uninstall useless softwares that you don't use.

Reinstalling Windows will help get rid of the underperformance temporarily, but you will have to do it again soon.

[Nagisan]

Reinstalling Windows will help get rid of the underperformance temporarily, but you will have to do it again soon.

Thats how I feel as well, I have NEVER seen a Windows based OS that was not slower 6 months after install than it was 1 month after install (once most software that's used, is installed). Unless it sat shutdown for those 5 months.....it just seems that no matter what you do, Windows will always slow down as time passes, I'm simply looking for ways to decrease that degradation rate.

[ViperAFK]

I tend to uninstall and install things as I need them, but I also tend to only install things when I absolutely need them. Sometimes though I will need to use something that wont work right through a VM, so I have to install it and later uninstall it, which uninstalling doesn't always remove everything that was installed, so the system gradually gets slower when you do that. I also use RevoUninstaller to remove things, but every now and then I uninstall something while forgetting to use Revo to do it. As for defragging, I'm on a Gen1 SSD (which I would like to change to a newer model, but don't have the money right now), so Windows doesn't defrag it, and it also suffers from lag when writing over unused (but full) data blocks.

Due to the lag on writes, I move my Chrome cache to a standard drive and disabled my pagefile (suppose it doesn't hurt to leave it enabled, but I have 24 GB of ram, so I definitely need to reduce its size.......even 1x of my ram would use up 24 of my 120 GB SSD). It would also be in my favor to remove hibernate (which is ANOTHER 24 GB of my SSD usage), which I have done currently, and I do have my system on a UPS, so even in standard sleep mode if I have power I SHOULD have enough time to shut Windows down properly (even if it happens when I'm asleep).

Viper, do you run your system constantly, or let it go to sleep after X amount of time? Unfortunately for me, I am trying to be power concious, so I either have to put my computer to sleep or shut it down each night, otherwise I would just let it run full-bore 24/7 and it probably would have better performance.

My system is always on, I don't use sleep or hibernate.

[Ambroos]

I can assure you, it's just because of the way you use your computer. Always installing stuff and uninstalling it leaves crap behind. And some software has services that always load, etc etc.

My mom's Windows 7 install is completely static, aside Windows Updates it's just MSE + Office + Chrome + ?Torrent + MPC-HC. And it's still blazing fast, even on a traditional HDD.

Mine on the other hand... Stuff like VMWare and Virtualbox and other random things just slow stuff down with their services that are always running.

[Nagisan]

My system is always on, I don't use sleep or hibernate.

That would probably make a difference, cause I've noticed going in and out of hibernation really affects the system and even causes some issues, but I've also noticed going in and out of sleep, while not as bad as hibernation, can cause things to slow (most notably reboot times, but everything is generally affected to a smaller degree).

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Here's the list of things I have to do on a regular basis to keep Windows 7 running well:

[Muhammad Farrukh]

My system is always on, I don't use sleep or hibernate.

Like literally?

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

I use Hybrid sleep as I can see no logic in keeping a PC on 24x7 unless you are into folding or some such thing.

[Taliseian]

Uninstall Software you don't need/use anymore, but don't use the Control Panel. I would look at a program like Revo Uninstaller. That makes sure that all files and registry entries are removed along with the program.

After you've clean up, I would use CCleaner to remove temp files. I've had no issues using its registry cleaner, but other have so proceed with caution.

Lastly, I would look at a third party defrag software. The built-in one is good but there are some free and cheap ones that are better and have options for fine tuning.

That's all I do for system maintenance.

T

[pack34]

The only slow downs I've seen were due to unnecessary programs running in the background and at startup. Otherwise, it'll run just like out of the box.

[ZakO]

I've got 4 computers running Windows 7 (all installed August 2009). One of them stays on 24x7 (rebooting once a week at the most), one I use hybrid sleep on overnight (again, rebooting once a week), the other two are shut down at night. They all run as fast as the day I installed them, no manual maintenance required.

[articuno1au]

That harddrive is probably a pretty serious chunk of your pain also.

I would run a disk eraser next time you format to set it back to fully empty (OCZ offers one for their drives, I'm sure other companies do also :))

[Nagisan]

I do run the "tony trim" method posted in OCZs forums for gen1 SSDs (mine is an OCZ gen1) every now and then, but I think I need to schedule it to run once a week or something, as I've only used it 2-3 times since my last reinstall (about 6 months ago). Would running a disk eraser (write all 0s to the whole drive) make much more of a difference than the "tony trim" method (which writes all free space to 0s, if I understand it correctly).

[primexx]

I don't have to reinstall my computers for performance, the only time i do it is if something broke and the easiest way to fix it is a reinstall. I keep pretty meticulous control over running processes, because like others have said most of the performance problems come from bloated software. I make sure to disable all that useless crap and background processes that are not actually necessary. Task Scheduler to disable useless tasks, Services to disable useless services and make ones that are only needed at some time but not always manual. Autoruns is great for disabling startup items like background updaters and miscellaneous "extra-feature" processes. Of course I also keep the computer clean with CCleaner. It's also worth mentioning that you should look for lighter alternatives to do the same tasks where one exists, there's no reason, for example, to put up with Nero if you just want to burn a DVD.

I do run the "tony trim" method posted in OCZs forums for gen1 SSDs (mine is an OCZ gen1) every now and then, but I think I need to schedule it to run once a week or something, as I've only used it 2-3 times since my last reinstall (about 6 months ago). Would running a disk eraser (write all 0s to the whole drive) make much more of a difference than the "tony trim" method (which writes all free space to 0s, if I understand it correctly).

considering that space which isn't currently empty, you'd immediately use for data after nuking the entire drive, it'd be entirely pointless to write 0s on the whole drive and use your flash cells unnecessarily. just do the free space.

[ArialBlue]

Start a new account,

move everything to new account

delete old account (eventually)

This speeds things up for some reason.

[Nagisan]

I don't have to reinstall my computers for performance, the only time i do it is if something broke and the easiest way to fix it is a reinstall. I keep pretty meticulous control over running processes, because like others have said most of the performance problems come from bloated software. I make sure to disable all that useless crap and background processes that are not actually necessary. Task Scheduler to disable useless tasks, Services to disable useless services and make ones that are only needed at some time but not always manual. Autoruns is great for disabling startup items like background updaters and miscellaneous "extra-feature" processes. Of course I also keep the computer clean with CCleaner. It's also worth mentioning that you should look for lighter alternatives to do the same tasks where one exists, there's no reason, for example, to put up with Nero if you just want to burn a DVD.

I already do that, I try to use the lightest alternatives I can....such as virtual clone drive (lighter than daemon tools and what not), ImgBurn(very lightweight compared to Nero and what not), etc. About the only place I don't, is when it comes to Office, because I handle lots of Office documents and need to be able to save in docx, etc (last time I checked, openoffice couldn't save .docx).

I also tend to stick to MS Visual Studio (2010) because I do not know any other IDEs that integrate as well with .net development as VS2010 does.

Start a new account,

move everything to new account

delete old account (eventually)

This speeds things up for some reason.

I can sort of understand that, because it cleans your profile out, I might try that with my current system before I reinstall and see if it does anything worthwhile.

[primexx]

I already do that, I try to use the lightest alternatives I can....such as virtual clone drive (lighter than daemon tools and what not), ImgBurn(very lightweight compared to Nero and what not), etc. About the only place I don't, is when it comes to Office, because I handle lots of Office documents and need to be able to save in docx, etc (last time I checked, openoffice couldn't save .docx).

I also tend to stick to MS Visual Studio (2010) because I do not know any other IDEs that integrate as well with .net development as VS2010 does.

Microsoft's stuff tend to be pretty well-behaved anyways :p

[HawkMan]

Like literally?

Same as me, why? In the winter I get the power back in heat anyway.

And yeah, don't install bad ware and your windows won't slow down. Also don't run cleaners and optimizes and it won't slow down. They will just do more damage than good and most of them come packaged with badware.

Also disabling the page file, even with 24GB of ram will potentially cause slow downs, it certainly won't improve performance.

[mduren2445]

you said you install and uninstall things...a lot of software will install 'toolbars' don't let them because they hog resources which can slow pc down

[Nagisan]

And yeah, don't install bad ware and your windows won't slow down. Also don't run cleaners and optimizes and it won't slow down. They will just do more damage than good and most of them come packaged with badware.

Also disabling the page file, even with 24GB of ram will potentially cause slow downs, it certainly won't improve performance.

I dont install "badware", the only cleaners I run is occasionally ccleaner, but normally only Windows disk cleanup every now and then. As for the page file, would it be worth it to put a small (minimum size) pagefile on my SSD and a larger pagefile on a platter drive, or just put like a 4GB pagefile on my SSD and be done with it?

you said you install and uninstall things...a lot of software will install 'toolbars' don't let them because they hog resources which can slow pc down

As a software developer I am very wary and careful with what is installed on my machine, always using the custom options if an installer has one and telling it what to and what not to install. I have never accidently installed a toolbar from any installers, and most of the software I install/uninstall is free-to-play MMOs or software that goes along with them (teamspeak/mumble/raidcall, etc) depending on if I get into a guild that uses them. Any software I need to install just to test it out, I usually install on VMs so it doesn't affect my main system.

[Ignuition]

Just to make sure I don't have useless files on my PC I use CCleaner and Disk Cleanup (comes installed in Win7) to clear out unnecessary stuff. Definitely worth using.

[Wombatt]

TUNE UP UTILITIES :D