Useful Tools for Computer Useful Tools for Computer Optimizations Optimizations

Windows XP Service Pack 3Windows XP Service Pack 3

Windows Vista Service Pack 1Windows Vista Service Pack 1

We all know how long it takes to defrag a badly fragmented hard drive! Take a look at this free utility that does the same thing as the windows defrag utility in a fraction of the time.

www.auslogics.com

ATF Cleaner - a quick, safe and easy cleaner, that won’t make you worry that you’re deleting OS files that are needed, no install needed. Download it free at www.atribune.org/

WinUtilities is a cool program that offers useful and safe tune-up utilities. This program is not free but dose offer a 30day demo that’s worth taking a look.

Disk CleanerA tool for cleaning disks from information that clogs your system and reduces the performance of your computer. With the help of this tool you can search and delete temporary files and folders and other applications, search for invalid links to documents that don't exist, and delete Cookies.

Registry Cleaner Scans the Windows registry and finds incorrect or obsolete information in the registry. By fixing these obsolete information in Windows registry. The backup and restore function of the tool let you easily backup your whole Windows Registry or restore the Windows Registry to an earlier backup.

Startup CleanerHelps you to easily manage program execution at windows startup. this tool is used to administer the programs executing on startup and the files to be loaded at start up.

History CleanerThis cleaning utility erases all traces of activity on your computer, saves space, protects your privacy, and leaves no history behind.

File SplitterFile Splitter can split any type of file into smaller pieces and rejoin them to the original file. It helps you copy the split ones to floppy disk or CD/DVD, or send them via e-mail.

File Lock - EXE Protector EXE Protector is a system utility that allows you to password-protect any Windows executable file. Whenever you try to open protected executable file you will see the prompt that asks you to enter the valid password.

Memory OptimizerMemory Optimizer optimizes the Memory Management of Windows. No special configuration is needed, Memory Optimizer will auto configure itself. Within minutes you can activate unused resources of your Windows System.

Duplicate Files FinderDuplicate File Finder helps you to free disk space by finding and removing duplicate files from your system. it is intended to search your system for duplicate files.

Shortcuts FixerShortcuts Fixer tool provides you with an easy and convenient way to address these invalid shortcuts. It scans your system, finds all the invalid shortcuts and reports back to you so that you can remove it from your system.

Process Manager Process Manager allow you to check your system's performance and manage the running processes on Windows platform. It can Kill all processes that the Windows Task Manager could not or view all process dependencies and launch all known file type in Windows.

Uninstall ManagerUninstall Manager is an easy to use utility to manage the programs installed on your system. It is used to uninstall the programs from your system and lets them remove from the list of programs appearing in the control panel.

System InformationSystem Information is a utility which lets you view at a glance all the details of your system. In a easy to use and user friendly interface, it provides you with complete information about your system.

Registry Backup and RestoreRegistry Backup/Restore tool is a handy utility for making backups of Registry keys and their sub keys. always make a backup of your registry before making any important changes. this tool will allow you to go back to your original settings if you need to.

Registry SearchRegistry Search is a handy utility for searching the registry by specific keyword or wildcard.

BHO RemoverBHOs (Browser Help Objects) are software that put a toolbar on Internet Explorer or otherwise integrates other software into it. Many (Acrobat Reader, Google Toolbar) are desirable. However, spyware companies also install BHOs on your computer. These can be difficult to remove. BHO Remover lists the BHOs that are currently installed. You can then remove those you don't want to keep.

Registry SearchRegistry Search is a handy utility for searching the registry by specific keyword or wildcard.

Windows XP Service Pack 3Windows XP Service Pack 3What is Service Pack 3?Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the final Windows XP service pack, a collection of previously-released fixes and product enhancements, as well as a few new features that are unique to this release.

Does SP3 include everything from SP1 and SP2 or do I need to install those first?Though XP SP3 has all of the previously-released XP fixes, Microsoft now says that you will need to install at least SP1 on XP before installing SP3. The company recommends installing SP2 first as well, though that is not required.

What versions of Windows XP will work with SP3?You can apply Service Pack 3 to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Tablet PC Edition (any version), or Media Center Edition (any version).

What are these new features I keep hearing about?Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but it will include four minor new features that improve the system's reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.

These new features include:

Network Access Protection compatibility. Announced years ago, this feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is built into the RTM version of Windows Vista as well.

Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.

Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel module that "encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms," according to Microsoft.

"Black hole" router detection algorithm. XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows Vista.And that's about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.

That's it? Is there anything else?Nothing major. Some features have actually been removed, like the taskbar-based Address Bar option.

Why is Microsoft even bothering to release this update? Isn't everyone moving to Windows Vista?

Given the relative security, stability, and reliability of XP with SP2, and the subsequent release of Vista, XP SP3 may seem like a pointless update, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many businesses will roll out new XP-based PCs in the coming years, and as anyone who's had to update an XP SP2 system can tell you, the 100+ updates that Microsoft has shipped since SP2 can be a nightmare to deploy. If you're already running XP and have been regularly updating your systems all along, the release of XP SP3 will be a minor event. But if you have planned XP deployments in the future, look very carefully at this release and consider it the baseline for your next generation of PCs. Or, you could always consider Vista, which will of course be updated with genuine new features far longer than will XP.

After reading this site it made me wonder why I had read so much about what a big deal sp3 would be. I went on to read the release information on Microsoft’s website and sure enough that this was all that was added to sp3. A let down, maybe, but I’m happy that the next time I go to do an OS install I will use XP SP/3 and will not have to waste hours downloading updates, this is time and time is money. You can find all this information on http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/xp_sp3.asp

Windows Vista Service Pack 1Windows Vista Service Pack 1Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. Windows Vista SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges. (From Microsoft Vista SP1 Overview website) Reliability SP1 offers the following improvements:Helps prevent data loss while ejecting NTFS file system–formatted removable mediaWindows Vista SP1 includes improvements that target some of the most common causes of operating system failure, giving users a more consistent experience. The information that Microsoft collects (by using tools like the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)—an anonymous, opt-in service—as well as Microsoft Online Crash Analysis (OCA) and Windows Error Reporting (WER)—both of which are opt-in services) helps Microsoft learn which devices and applications fail and why.

Improves the reliability of networking in Windows Vista: Improves the reliability of Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) connections over TCP/IP version 6 (IPv6) by helping ensure that all Neighbor Discovery Request for Comments (RFC) traffic is exempted from IPsec Improves wireless ad hoc connection (that is, a computer-to-computer wireless connection) success rate Improves the success of peer-to-peer connections, such as Windows Meeting Space or Remote Assistance applications, when both computers are behind symmetric firewalls Improves the built-in backup solution to include Encrypting File System (EFS)–encrypted files Performance Windows Vista SP1 includes many performance enhancementsAddresses an issue in the current version of Windows Vista that makes browsing network file shares consume significant bandwidth and not perform as quickly as expected.Improves the performance of copying files. In internal tests, copying files from one folder to another on the same local disk was 25 percent faster. Copying files from a remote computer that was not running Windows Vista SP1 was 45 percent faster. Because of networking improvements in SP1, copying files from a remote computer that was also running Windows Vista SP1 was as much as 50 percent faster.3

Improves the progress estimation when copying files by using Windows Explorer so that the time estimate in the progress window appears within two seconds. Improves the speed of adding files to and extracting files from compressed folders. Improves the performance of power transitions (for example, resuming from hibernation and standby mode). Improves the performance of domain-joined computers when operating off the domain. Before Windows Vista SP1, users would experience long delays when opening the File dialog box. Improves battery life on some computers by reducing CPU use and redrawing the screen less frequently.Improves the logon experience by removing the occasional 10-second delay between pressing CTRL-ALT-DELETE and the password prompt appearing. Reduces the time to return to a user’s session when using the Photo screensaver.Improves overall media performance by reducing many glitches. In internal testing, reduces by approximately 75 percent the time to start Event Viewer.

Windows Vista SP1 also includes many security improvements:Improvements to Windows BitLocker™ Drive Encryption, such as Encryption of extra local volumes. For example, instead of encrypting only drive C, customers can also encrypt drive D, E, and so on. An additional multifactor authentication method that combines a Trusted Platform Module (TPM)–protected key with a startup key stored on a USB storage device and a user-generated Personal Identification Number (PIN). Provides security software vendors a more secure way to communicate with Windows Security Center There are many other security updates not related to home users, please visit www.microsoft.com for more information.

Emerging Hardware and Standards Enhances support for 64-bit computers: Includes support for new storage technologiesAdds support for Direct3D® 10.1Enhances the Windows Network ProjectorAdds new capabilities to Windows Media CenterAdds support to enable new types of Windows Media Center Extenders, such as digital televisions and networked DVD players, to connect to Windows Media Center systems Enhances the MPEG-2 decoder to support content protection across a user-accessible bus on Windows Media Center computers configured with Digital Cable Tuner hardware. This enables higher levels of hardware-decoder acceleration for commercial DVD playback on some computers. Windows Vista SP1 makes several changes that address identified issues and improve the Windows Vista deployment experience and administrative tools. There are many other updates not related to home users, please visit www.microsoft.com for more information.

One last thing I wanted to show off is a program that a friend showed off to me, yodm3d. If you have time take download this program I would defiantly check it out. It turns your desktop into your own 3D Desktop with each desktop having its own icons and applications running.

Thank you for your time!