Help with tweaking

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  1. Posts : 913
    Windows 7 x64 Professional
       #1

    Help with tweaking


    I'm no PC wizard but I'm fascinated by the whole idea of being able to fine tune them. Thing is I have no idea where to start. I read here in the forums on editing the registry and a bunch of other goodies. Now I'm not asking anyone to do it for me as I'd love to learn how to do it myself but there is so much info out there I don't know where to start. If someone could give me a starting point it would be very much appreciated.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #2

    bigseb said:
    I'm no PC wizard but I'm fascinated by the whole idea of being able to fine tune them. Thing is I have no idea where to start. I read here in the forums on editing the registry and a bunch of other goodies. Now I'm not asking anyone to do it for me as I'd love to learn how to do it myself but there is so much info out there I don't know where to start. If someone could give me a starting point it would be very much appreciated.
    Bigseb

    Hi and welcome to sevenforums

    tweaking is more of an art than a science. The last place you want to tweak is the registry. The most important thing is backup, backup, backup. there are so many free sources to read I would suggest googling things that interst you and look here @SF in the tutorial section. There are tons of interesting well written tut's.

    Good Luck and I hope this helps

    Ken
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 367
    Windows 7 Home Premium [64-Bit]
       #3

    Interesting topic...
    Well when I make a fresh OS install, here are some steps I follow:
    1 - I install all programs I need. [Staring: Opera, PowerISO, Photoshop CS4]
    2 - I customize my looks with a Dock.
    3 - I get some new shiny gadgets.
    4 - I make sure my media center is tidy. Try Yammm if you've got a lot of movies. If you've got a lot of music though, use the new Media Player to easily get album art for every single song that is in your harddrive. (Right Click an Album > Find Album Info)
    5 - I disable any unneeded startup programs. In the start menu, type in "msconfig". Unheck any [CENSORED] from Startup.
    6 - I check some tutorials to see if there's anything cool that may make my PC get more visuals.
    7 - I enjoy everything. If I get bored of my looks at any time, I repeat all operations from three to six.

    If this wasn't your point of view, than maybe zigzag3143 is right. Messing with the most important files of a program or windows itself may cause serious injuries even if you have a backup. Gtg sry...
    Last edited by dw96; 23 Sep 2009 at 00:54.
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  4. Posts : 8,398
    ultimate 64 sp1
       #4

    hi bigseb, welcome to the wonderful world of tweaking,

    windows 7 is one of the few operating systems that i've used that doesn't need that much of a tweak.

    having said that, there are still lots of things you can fiddle with. BUT let me give you a big warning - it is very easy to break your windows if you do the wrong thing.

    don't let that put you off though, we all have to start somewhere. once you've broken something, you can potentially learn a lot by working out how to fix it.

    don't just read random websites (including random forum posts) and blindly do what it says on the screen. do some googling, try to understand what the tweak does, and most importantly whether it will have negative side-effects further down the line...

    for instance, you may decide to disable a load of 'useless' network services, to save yourself a few megs of ram, or 0.1 second bootup time, only to find that you can no longer share files.

    if you do really want to tweak though, a good place to start is by having a good root through your control panel, examing every little thing you can find, then you can start tweaking your services - as any mistakes can easily be tweaked back. don't go and disable a load of services all at the same time - go slowly, disable (or even better, set to 'manual') a couple at a time, then use your pc for a day or two to make sure nothing's broken, then tweak a couple more.

    be careful and good luck - and remember we are always here to help if things go badly wrong...:)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 71,988
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #5

    Hello Bigseb, and welcome to Seven Forums.

    This is a list of suggestions that can help improve your computer's performance.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ndows-7-a.html

    Hope this helps,
    Shawn
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 913
    Windows 7 x64 Professional
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Thanks for the prompt reply guys. I see I may haved been a bit vague with my request. Allow me to clarify:
    When I say I'm no wiz I mean I've never studied anything to do with PC's. Everything I've learnt is through experience (and the odd trashing of a system... happens right? We've all been there...). Installing OS's, basic performance tweaking through msconfig and advanced performance settings, that's all easy peasy japanesey. Currently I work on 5 different PC's on which I've installed either W7, Vista or XP (one running XP/W7 dualboot) so it's not like I'm a total beginner but I was reading on one of the threads about a member that edited his registry and... here it comes... the registry is a mystery to me. So many folders filled with gobbledy-gook. Isn't there some source that can explain what all those entries actually mean? I hate not understanding stuff and feel this knowledge could really bring me to the next level, so to speak.

    I'm not referring to overclocking by the way. I talking specifically about tuning the OS to work to my advantage. If I look at the 'processes' and 'services' tabs on the Task Manager, for example, I see a very long list (of things I don't understand... grrrrr) and can't help but wonder, "Are they really necessary?"

    Anything?

    Thanks again.
      My Computer


  7. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #7

    Here are a couple of websites for starters. But again, the registry is very touchy and you are liable to easily mess things up. So be careful and make a lot of system and registry backups along the way.

    Editing the Windows Vista Registry with Regedit
    Windows Vista Registry Tweaks, Tricks and Tips. Regedit Settings
    http://www.pctools.com/guides/article/id/1/
    Last edited by whs; 22 Sep 2009 at 17:25. Reason: typo
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5,795
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
       #8

    Windows 7 is definitely the OS that's needed the least amount of tweaking. In short, just about everything you'd need to do is already common sense, such as keeping your drivers up to date, not running unneccessary apps at start up, etc.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 8,870
    Windows 7 Ult, Windows 8.1 Pro,
       #9

    I have some other ideas about tweaking but they don't envolve messing with the Op system. Overclocking is my version of tweaking and also the one that makes the most difference. There are some risks but also great rewards in performance are there for the taking.
      My Computer


  10. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #10

    chev65 said:
    I have some other ideas about tweaking but they don't envolve messing with the Op system. Overclocking is my version of tweaking and also the one that makes the most difference. There are some risks but also great rewards in performance are there for the taking.
    Yes and no. For gamers, the CPU speed may make a difference (I am not a gamer though). But for all the others, the amount of RAM and the speed of the disk are more important. I saw the biggest performance improvement with the SSD (OCZ Vertex). It is absolutely unbelievable what it it can do for performance. Even at the relatively high price of the device, I know of no other piece of hardware from which you could get a comparable beat for the buck.
      My Computer


 
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