System Mechanic vs CCleaner

No optimizers are needed in Win7. Win7 should always be instantaneous and never hang with a perfect install on adequate tested-good hardware.

I run CCleaner (followed by Puran Boot Time defrag) a lot less now because I see no difference even when CCleaner finds many gigs to clean up. I'm not sure it would matter if they were never run, but MS wants a defrag or they wouldn't have it scheduled by their own defragger, and it's tidier not to leave gigs of crap laying around when it can be safely removed. A Boot Time defrag orders System Files which are running otherwise, and has sped up boot time by a full minute in several cases supervised by Cluberti when slow boot was traced to fragmentation.

Just accept that Win7 is a perfectly balanced OS that will stay that way if not infected or ruined by optimizers or tweaking beyond normal system settings. Those are XP-era solutions that are truly not needed in Win7 and almost always counterproductive.

The tools and methods which work best for Win7 are the same ones laid out in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7, based on what works best in tens of thousands of installs we've helped with here.

Went with Glary ONCE and the last time a never forgotten experience in my view. To get rid of it meant ages digging around in the registry to reef it out.

I don't know what it is about registries to be honest it seems to attract such a lot of attention and I wonder why because Microsoft put it together that way surely for a reason and me I always back it up as soon as I do an install.

I must admit I do run CC from time to time but it is usually unused stuff.

I'm with Derek mate and this is good to use if you don't mind losing a bit of the "bling" like transparency.

Optimize Windows 7

I would never edit out Aero transparency from Visual Effects since it doesn't really save resources but actually can tax them. In fact most modern hardware has no problem supporting the Win7 Visual Effects. Besides unchecking "Use Visual styles" changes Win7 from elegant to hideously file-cabinet ugly. Why?

I do still edit Visual Effects of fading, sliding, animation, dragging intact and selection rectangle on (32 bit) installs with less than 2gb RAM but that is only an excess of caution and old habit, since when I've failed to do so there was no difference noticed.

gregrocker said:

I would never edit out Aero transparency from Visual Effects since it doesn't really save resources but actually can tax them. In fact most modern hardware has no problem supporting the Win7 Visual Effects. Besides turning off Aero changes Win7 from elegant to hideously file-cabinet ugly. Why?

I do still edit Visual Effects of fading, sliding, animation, dragging intact and selection rectangle on (32 bit) installs with less than 2gb RAM but that is only an excess of caution and old habit, since when I've failed to do so there was no difference noticed.

No reason Greg I just followed Shawns tutorial personally I can live with or without Aero it is no big deal and at the moment I like to customise that hideous file cabinet border to my favourite shade of dark blue as I then have a real nice blank background for my taskbar icons.:)

gregrocker said:

Sorry John, I remember now that what turns it government-grey-file-cabinet hideous is unchecking "Use Visual Styles on Windows" when editing the Visual Effects.

May I ask why you edited them? Do you have low resources which bogged due to these? Was there a notification in Action Center to edit them? I'd try it while leaving Win7 Visual Styles.

No Greg like I said I just followed Shawns tutorial and when I got the colour scheme when the Aero was disabled it was a bit pastel so I used the colour mixer. The resources I am not sure if you mean RAM and stuff like that but the Ivy and Sandy even the tester have stacks.

gregrocker said:

I've always thought that there isn't any need to optimize to save resources unless you're tight on them to begin with, that's all. That thinking goes back to XP where we needed to disable those effects to keep it from dragging. Win7 changed that with much lower overhead, while newer hardware handles the rest.

It's down to personal preference otherwise, what you like the best.

No it has been a bit of thing I do from when I first got on here (a little green and eagerperhaps??) and saw the tutorial.