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Hardware acceleration is not so much a cheat, as it is an exercise in efficiency. Different hardware components like processors have certain limits to the speed at which information is handled. This is real speed, however the perceived speed, or time a user notices between actions, can be enhanced with more efficient handling of information and processes.

All hardware takes commands in a sequence, and by manipulating this sequence some tasks are performed more efficiently. It is no different than planning a day of errands based on factors such as distance and availability afforded by a location’s hours.

The most common form of hardware acceleration is a graphics accelerator or video card accelerator. In this case, components of the graphic are compressed for faster processing by the graphics card or video card. Advanced graphics and displays in desktop environments may depend on enabled hardware or graphics acceleration.

Problems arise when certain software applications are not compatible with graphics acceleration. This is very common in the crashes of casual games, or games downloaded from Internet retailers typically for $19.99 or less. The hardware is literally processing faster than the software can handle, and this creates a problem.

Users can usually control hardware acceleration or graphics acceleration from right-clicking the desktop. A sliding bar will allow the user to determine the graphical aspects that are permitted to perform at an accelerated rate. Adjusting the hardware acceleration to a lower setting may be required for casual games, older games, or to free up virtual memory space. Decreasing hardware acceleration may limit the extra graphics, such as mouse pointer animation, in desktop themes.

There is also a way users can accelerate their processor by a method called over-clocking. This is accomplished by an application or physical manipulation to the processor chip’s settings for cooling or modification to the wiring. Over-clocking will void any warranty on a computer, and is very dangerous from a safety standpoint. Overriding a chip’s cooling parameters can lead to a unit shorting, which will most certainly fry the chip, and may even start a fire. Over-clocking is used sometimes on older computers to prolong their life, but even then, it is not good practice for general computer users.

 No one likes to wait for a computer to perform an action. While the wait may only be twenty to thirty seconds, those seconds are an agony when there is nothing else to do. There are many reasons a computer may slow down. Some are easily solved with software solutions, while others are more involved hardware issues that may result in additional purchases.

Spyware/Malware/Viruses

Frequent web-surfing and downloading of unknown files make it very likely a suddenly slow computer is a victim of malware. These programs attach themselves to legitimate downloads, and install covertly without the user realizing he or she is authorizing it. Spyware and viruses range in terms of danger from causing annoying pop-up advertising on the desktop to transmitting personal information or computing power to a remote user.

Solution: Install and regularly use a robust anti-virus or anti-spyware product. These applications are relatively inexpensive, and should be sued for regular scans and to check any incoming downloaded content. Paretologic offers the best solutions for Windows operators, at very affordable prices. Try Paretologic Anti-Spyware and Paretologic Anti-Virus PLUS.

Too many commands at once!

Multiple double-click on applications, or quickly demanding multiple window switches causes even the fastest computers to have a slow moment. Think of it like this: how well do you respond to five or six different commands given to you at once? What many users do not realize is a simple click by the user is really hundreds of mini-steps and commands for a computer. Sure, five clicks on windows may seem small to you, but to the processor it has to prioritize and follow hundreds of commands.

Solution: Only open the number of programs absolutely necessary for the task at hand or use short cut keys to cut down on command clutter. If you are copying and pasting information from one window to another, save time by using CTLR-C for Copy and CTRL-V for Paste. Alt-Tab will switch between windows in a jiffy as well, without the lag in graphics.

Slow network connection, or web-browsing.

Large corporate networks are infamous for slowdowns during peak work times. Network servers can only handle so many requests for information at once. This has nothing to do with your computer’s modem or connection speed. Every site on the web is also hosted on a server. Web sites lag or go down completely when the number of requests overpower the abilities of the server.

Solution: Try altering work habits to avoid peak times, such as staggering lunch times to have fewer users on the system at once. Or, try to work off the system completely by saving a copy of the network document to your computer’s desktop, and replacing the file on the network when you are finished. Web sites can also be worked with in the same manner, by selecting to work off-line. This saves the web site so users can read or reference the material at leisure, without an open connection to the web site’s server.

Other solutions to a slow computer may require a system upgrade to the processor, RAM, or both. With the way the computing industry works now, it usually isn’t cheaper to upgrade individual components of a computer. Instead, users with computer systems greater than 5 years old will save money by purchasing an entire new system. This will include upgrades to other hardware issues such as hard drives, video and sound cards, and ports for peripherals. Computer manufacturers receive deep discounts on components, and this is passed on to the consumer with the package of an entire machine.

 As the adage goes: “Good things come to those who wait.” One of these good things is a speedy computer. Before jumping to blame a virus, spyware, or poor hardware specifications for a bogged down computer, consider your computing habits. A little bit of patience goes a long way in keeping the clock speed of a processor high.

Stop multiple double-clicking to open a program.

When you double click on an application shortcut icon three, four, or five times, the computer registers each of these as commands to perform. As a result, the processor, RAM, and hard drive are trying to open the same program three, four, or five different times.

After performing this procedure, if you suddenly have the patience to wait out the lag before rebooting, you will notice the program opens multiple times at the bottom of the screen. This isn’t only a problem of giving the computer too many commands at once. For some applications and files, only one instance can safely run at time, especially documents, or banking software where multiple versions of the same file is a bad thing. Now, you may have to deal with a bunch of error messages as well.

Wait for a window switch to occur, before asking the computer to do another switch.

Window switching is the norm for super multi-tasking corporate environments. Unfortunately, users are so focused on speed, an incorrectly selected window or tab is compensated with an immediate click on the correct one. Similar to multiple double-clicking, this practice gives too many commands to the computer at once.

At best, this will just require the user to wait out the program or operating system to go through the multiple window switches. At worst, this common practice could cause programs to encounter errors and shut down. When this occurs, any unsaved information may be lost, or corrupted. Corruption occurs with bits of data are replaced or stored in the wrong order or lost completely. This is an affliction most likely to happen when the computer is overtaxed with commands or processing needs.

Wait at least a minute between hard reboots.

A hard reboot is when a user pushes in the power button to shut down a computer. This solution most often occurs when the computer is “stuck,” and the user assumes the shut down function is unavailable. Before resorting to a hard reboot, users should always try the button combination CTRL-ALT-DELETE to start the shutdown process. Alternatively, patiently wait a few moments to see if the system recovers.

If a hard boot is required, users should wait a few moments before restarting in order to give the hard drive disk and other internal components a chance to completely stop. Restarting the computer as the hard drive is stopping can cause a scratch or physical damage to the fragile components. This physical damage may result in a “computer crash” and make it extremely difficult to retrieve the information stored on the hard drive.

Hard reboots should be avoided if possible because software corruption can occur. Although larger storage space of hard drives and computers capable of running more and more processes require longer shut down times, the wait is worth it. Damaged software takes valuable time to remove and reinstall, not to mention the potential loss of priceless data.

Patience is a valuable virtue in the computing world. Constant double-clicking, speedy window switching, and quick hard reboots are all ways users can significantly damage software and hardware in the computer. While we all may be in a rush to complete work or play games, these practices turn into catastrophes when hard drives must be recovered, or software is corrupted. Users lose the time they may save with impatience to the solution for any problems that arise from the damage.

If you have been running Vista for some time then it is likely that you have installed several programs and applications. As a result of increased processing and demands on your system you might be noticing delays in the Vista shut down procedure. One main reason for this is that many software programs run applications in the background, even if they are not actively running, and each has to close before the operating system shuts down.

To increase your shut down speed you can adjust your registry and do some cleanup to rid the clutter and help Vista shut down all the programs that are running. As always, you have to be very careful when adjusting your registry, and you should ensure that you have all your important data backed up to a disk or USB stick in case anything goes wrong.

To edit your computer’s registry click Start and then type regedit in the Start Search. In the registry editor, scroll to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control. On the right side of the screen there is a key called WaitToKillServiceTimeout with a value of 20000. This means that Windows Vista is programmed to wait 20000 milliseconds, or 20 seconds, for the service to stop once it has been notified that the system is shutting down. You can change this setting as low as 5000, or 5 seconds, but shouldn’t go any lower so that the programs have time to close before Vista does. This should speed up the shut down time by closing all the running applications faster.

Another tip to speed up Windows Vista shut down is to prevent Vista from emptying the contents of each page prior to shutting down. If security is a priority on your system, you might prioritize clearing the page contents prior to closing. However, if you are more interested in increasing speed you can try this.

Go in to the registry editor by typing registry editor in the Start Search field and pressing Enter. Type regedit.exe and click OK. Scroll to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement and double click ClearPageFileAtShutdown and change the value to 0.

There are other general operating techniques that can cut the time you spend waiting for your computer to shut down. First, make sure that your system isn’t running on a cluttered registry. You can use a registry scanner available online to streamline the files left over on your registry from incomplete downloads and other unnecessary bulk. If you know your way around your registry you can open the registry editor yourself and delete what you want, but you need to know where things are and, in either case, you should always back up your registry before making any changes.

You can also decrease the number of programs that your computer automatically loads at startup. The fewer programs that are running at anytime, the faster the computer will function generally and the faster it will shut down. Vista maintains a list of all the running programs and all of the programs set to run at startup in a program called Windows Defender. Once open, click Tools in the menu at the top and then Software Explorer. In addition to startup programs you can also look at, and possibly edit, Currently Running Programs.

Windows Vista Optimization is Different

One way to increase your Vista start up speed is to tone down some of the special features, such as the side bar and the Aero interface. However, while making Vista run more like XP might increase its speed, it is hardly the best way to optimize its performance.

Like Windows XP and other earlier models, Vista has a Performance Monitoring function that eases your ability to configure the operating system. However, on Vista the tool is named Reliability and Performance Monitor and is on the Administrative Tools menu in the Control Panel. In addition to the operating system, the Reliability and Performance Monitor provides performance information of hardware and other software functions to help determine where there are performance bottlenecks.

Vista’s Performance Information and Tools

If this tool is not helpful, or difficult to understand, there is an easier way. New to Vista is the Performance Information and Tools Control Panel, which might be less intimidating to the average user. This panel assesses the computer’s hardware and provides a Windows Experience Index (WEI) score between 1.0 and 5.9.

If you are noticing slower speeds on your laptop compared to your desktop, this might be the answer you’ve been looking for. Whereas an average score for a desktop’s hardware components might be around 5.0, a laptop might rank only a 2. In order to run Vista Aero and other advanced features the system needs a WEI score or about 3.0 or higher. To check your system’s WEI click on Start, Control Panel, Performance Information and Tools.

The WEI rating scheme divides the components into processor, RAM memory, graphics, gaming graphics and hard disk, so you can determine where the bottleneck is occurring.

Even if your laptop is weak in the hardware department, there are still some configurations that you can adjust to increase Vista’s speed on your system. On the left hand side of the Performance Information and Tools Interface there are menu options that can be tweaked to improve startup speed.

Is Vista Bogged Down by all the Extras

When you first get a new computer, it can come loaded with a bunch of software trial programs and other extras that will slow down your start up time. Managing your startup programs will help Vista load more quickly. The more programs you have loading automatically when your computer boots up, the longer the operating system will take to load.

The number of programs that your computer is running at any time, as well as programs set to launch at startup, can be viewed and removed by using Windows Defender. While in the Performance Information and Tools interface, click on Manage Startup Programs in the task pane.

Adjust Visual Effects

Adjusting the settings of your visual effects may also speed up Vista’s loading time. You might have to trade some of the shiny new Vista features for increased performance but, depending on your purposes, you might gladly exchange eye candy for speed. There are some other tools to try, most of which can be found in the Performance Information and Tools console.

There are many different causes of slow running computers. Some are related to the systems hardware and others to your activity on the Internet or sharing files. If your computer has recently slowed drastically it is possible that a virus has infected your system. The first thing you can do to diagnose a virus or other malware program is run an updated virus scan.

Antivirus programs will check the files on your computer and look for any known malicious code. If there is a virus running on your system it will take up space as it multiplies which will interfere with other programs and make the computer function slowly or render some programs unresponsive.

If there is other malicious software like a worm or a Trojan running on your system it will take up bandwidth slowing Internet connectivity, use your IP address for other exchange and/or send spam through the infected system, all of which can vastly impair your computers performance.

Since new viruses are created and issued all the time it is important to keep your computer security updated. If you don’t want to buy software program there are some virus scans available for free on the Internet. Although, helpful looking antivirus software is sometimes used as a delivery system for Trojans so it is important to check the certification of the site. Sometimes it is a good idea to run more than one scan to be extra sure that nothing is missed.

Software is available such as AdAware which is specifically designed to find and remove adware (advertising software that inundates the user’s system with pop-ups and solicitations whether or not the user is online) and Spybot which is designed to combat spyware (software that tracks and records your Internet browsing and website use, recording information when possible).

Other than viruses or infection, many other factors can slow your computer down that have nothing to do with security issues. For example, newer and more sophisticated models run faster than older or less expensive systems. Older and less expensive models are often equipped with less RAM memory, which limits the number of programs that can be run simultaneously, or with less sophisticated processors, which limits the optimal functioning of the system. As a result, shutting down programs that aren’t being used may take the burden off the system and increase its operative speed. Since your RAM memory is refreshed every time you turn off your system a simple re-boot might clear up some space and free up some speed. If RAM shortage and too many programs running is a reoccurring problem you might want to consider purchasing additional RAM.

Another thing to consider is that most new computers come equipped with a number of free trial software programs that create unnecessary bulk. Configuring the system using the add/remove function or an uninstaller can clean up the computer and improve its speed and performance.

Keeping your system in optimal health by running up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware software and removing unnecessary clutter help you recognize a problem if one develops and helps you respond appropriately.