Step 3: System registry, part 1
Back up Registry
Before you do anything in this section, we strongly recommend you do two things: 1) back up your data, and 2) create a Protection Point.
To create a Protection Point:
From your Control Panel choose System.
On the left side, click "System protection".
Make sure your hard drive is checked, then click the Create button on the bottom right. This will save all your current registry settings, so if you make a mistake you can undo your changes.
It may take a minute or two. When it’s done, click OK to close the System Properties box.
Note:
Always back up your registry before making changes.
Registry clean-up
Now it’s time to tackle the registry.
The registry is essentially a huge database of thousands of settings for Windows itself and most of your software. When you install or even use a program, it makes changes to the registry, but when you uninstall something it often leaves junk behind, filling the registry with garbage.
Luckily, there are a bunch of good registry cleaners out there that will seek and let you destroy useless stuff.
We recommend the following Vista-compatible system utilities, available at Download.com
Glary Utilities
RogueRemover
ToniArts EasyCleaner
A good one to try is ToniArts EasyCleaner. It’s both free and easy to use.
Here’s what you do:
Download and install a registry cleaner for Vista. When that’s done, start the program to get a grid of 16 things to choose from.
Click the registry button.
Click the Find button on the bottom. EasyCleaner will search your registry for the leftovers of old programs and other detritus. This could take several minutes.
When it’s done, the Delete All button will become clickable. Click it.
Click Yes to say you really want to delete the bad entries.
That’s it! Click Close and let’s move on.
Search indexing
You might notice that your computer’s hard drive is busy a lot, even when you’re not doing anything. That could be because Vista is busy indexing all the contents of your drive in case you need to search for something.
The good thing about Vista’s indexing system is it lets you find things on your computer very quickly when you need to. The downside is if you don’t search a lot, your computer’s time and resources are wasted doing that.
If you search your drive only occasionally, here’s a good way to speed things up:
From your Control Panel choose "Indexing Options".
Hit the Modify button. A dialog box with two boxes inside it will appear.
In the bottom of those two boxes will be a list of locations on your hard drive that Vista is indexing. One at a time, click each one of those "Included Locations" except Start Menu.
As you click each one, it will appear in the top box with a check mark next to it. Uncheck it. You should end up with only Start Menu listed as an indexed location.
Click OK, then close the Indexing Options box.
Feel like diving into the Registry for a quick change that might make a noticeable difference? Try this to speed up how quickly some program menus appear when you click on them:
Click your Start orb, then click Run.
Enter regedit to start the Registry Editor.
You’re now going to make your way through several levels of the registry.
Click anywhere in the left-hand pane, then click Ctrl-Home to make sure you’re at the very top.
There will be five sections under "Computer", all beginning with "HKEY_".
Click on the little arrow next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
Click on the little arrow next to Control Panel.
Click the word "Desktop".
On the right side, double-click "MenuShowDelay".
In the box that appears, enter 0 (that’s a zero) in the box labeled "Value data".
Click OK, then close the Registry Editor.
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