![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bin-co.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/windows_logo.jpg\" "\\"Windows"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Most of my regular readers know that I do most of my work in Linux<\/a>. After all, my development platform is LAMP(L being Linux)<\/strong>. But it was not always so – I used to be on Windows<\/strong>(in a period now referred to as the dark ages). Being a power user, I found a lot of tweaks on Windows. But I never managed to share them on any of my blogs – because I started almost all of them after I moved to Linux. So here is three tips on how to make Windows a bit better(or at least less painful).<\/p>\n I started on Windows 95 – my first computer(400 MHz, 32 MB RAM, 4 GB HDD) had it pre-installed. That was my introduction to computers. But soon I migrated to Windows 98. I have very fond memories of that OS – Windows 98 is my favorite OS in the windows family. As a matter of fact, even now, my systems have that green background of Windows 98. I moved to Linux(Fedora Core 1) after that. So most of the tips shared here was tested on Windows 98 – but I am sure it still applies to the later versions as well. I don’t use these tricks anymore(I don’t use Windows that much now) – so I wanted document them before I forget them.<\/p>\n Being a speed junkie – and having a 32 MB RAM – made me optimize my system a lot. I found most of the tips below with a lot of trial and error(we did not have the internet back then – why do you think I call it the dark ages?). Anyway, here are my top 3 tips to make your windows a little better…<\/p>\n You can speed up the time taken to show a folder contents<\/strong> using this trick…<\/p>\n This will get rid of the ‘Common Tasks’ to the left of the explorer. Now try browsing for files – you will notice a considerable difference in speed.<\/p>\n You might already know this tip if you are a ‘Power User’ – msconfig. To make your system more responsive and consume less memory<\/strong>, you can remove unwanted tasks from startup…<\/p>\n The deactivated apps will not start from the next boot. In some cases, this will really speed up your system.<\/p>\n Notepad should be replaced with Metapad Lite<\/a><\/strong>. Not Notepad++ or other ‘Advanced Editors’ – they take half a second to load. Metapad Lite is much faster – as fast as notepad – but with more features.<\/p>\n Use Irfan View as your default Image viewer<\/strong>. I am sure most of you guys are doing this already.<\/p>\n Replace Internet Explorer with Firefox<\/strong>. You will not see a immediate speed improvement. But in the long run, Firefox will prevent many virus from getting access to your system – giving you a stabler, faster system.<\/p>\n Foobar2000<\/a> is a better and faster audio player than default audio player provided by Windows. But then again, do anyone use Windows Media Player?<\/p>\n If you are a programmer I would recommend Notepad++<\/a> – as an editor<\/strong> – not as a Notepad replacement.<\/p>\n There are many other tweaks as well – but most of them are obsolete due to faster machines and newer OSes. Some of them include…<\/p>\n In my next post, I will introduce you to my great Windows Hack – ‘The Escape’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speed Up Explorer.exe<\/h2>\n
\n
Startup Optimization<\/h2>\n
\n
Replace Default File Viewers<\/h2>\n
Other Tweaks<\/h2>\n
\n