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... don't have the brains as I'm too dumb!
Nobody is dumb. Ever! Just lack of confidence.
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I'm pretty sure these programmers know what they're doing :)
True but it will be a lot safer if we'd use our minds when where using software of this type.
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Still safer than actually altering the explorer shell, I guess.
It is. 100% safer.
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Regtweaks can cause that too, as far as i know.
Yes but it won't cause them the moment you apply them. On first boot you'll probably see something.
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Speaking for myself only, I've actually been working at altering the registry to make this PC a bit quicker in boot time and booting down as well as other things that I find are completely unnecesary for the day to day functions that I do with it. And as such, reducing the registry is another thing that I also look at.
You can't clean the registry as you'd think. When install windows the registry is defragmented (proper term: contiguous form). When installing stuff or tweaking windows or doing anything in windows, the registry becomes fragmented.
Contiguous: __________________
Fragmented: ---___-------_---__
You clean the registry by removing keys and values but you will never reduce it's size. The size will be reduced only when you export the contents of a HIVE into a fresh new HIVE. Only then the registry HIVES are reduced and are also defragmented. So, in order to defragment you'll need the HIVE recreated. Very important.
Two problems:
1. you can't do this within windows
2. permissions you have to take care of. If you try to export, you'll probably remove it's permission settings. Which, in turn will make the system vulnerable and unstable.
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Most if not all of the registry has to boot up with the computer so in even reducing the registry by 1/2% (unnecessary setting, for example) is good for me. I know it doesn't sound like a whole lot and it probably isn't. But for me it's something.
You reduce the registry but not its size and it will CONTINUE to boot slowly.
The fastest way the regain some performance would be to create a new user and removing yours.
Creating a new user -> new user hive -> seems like fresh windows. It will boot very fast IF windows was not damadged.
The user registry HIVE is located at C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME
If it has a HUGE size then that is the culprit. As an example, I have 2.7MB.
If you all would try a suggestion of mine, I would recomend:
• downloading windows performance toolkit (WPT)
• open a command prompt and type xbootmgr.exe -trace boot -prepSystem -verboseReadyBoot
This would be the hardest way to regain performance. It will restart the PC 6 times so...
It benchmarks the slow services and drivers and tries to set them 'inline' with the faster processes.