My previous post described how to add information to and otherwise customize Windows' Welcome screen. But maybe you just want to get your PC going without having to log into an account. You can bypass Windows' log-on screen by changing settings in the Windows Registry, as described in a tutorial on the Computer Performance site, but I find it much simpler to use a free Windows-tweaking utility to do the same thing.
The program I used to customize the Windows Welcome screen—TweakNow PowerPack 2009—is the same tool I used to disable the log-on screen on my Vista laptop. Click Windows Secret in the utility's left pane and choose User Accounts. Click "Enable auto log-on," select the account you want to log into automatically, enter the account's password and domain name (if necessary), and click Save. The next time you start the PC, Windows will start and open that account automatically.
Set Windows to start logged into a specific account—without having to enter a password—via this setting in TweakNow PowerPack 2009.
(Credit: TweakNow)TweakNow PowerPack 2009 works with XP, Vista, and Windows 7, but I tested it only with Vista. I didn't need to download the program to my XP test machine because that system already has Tweak UI, Microsoft's free XP-reconfiguration utility that lacks a Vista version.
To set XP to start a specific account without requiring a log-on, open Tweak UI and click Logon > Autologon in the left pane, check "Log on automatically at system startup" in the right window, enter the account's user name and domain (if necessary), and click the Set Password button.
The free Tweak UI utility makes it easy to start Windows without having to log into an account.
(Credit: Microsoft)In the Set Autologon Password dialog box, enter the account's password in each of the two text boxes and click OK.
Add the account's password twice and click OK to start Windows without having to log in.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Why bypassing the Windows log-on is dangerous
Setting Windows to open an administrator account automatically is risky, period. Even starting a standard account without requiring a password is dangerous, though less so. There are many very good reasons why Windows accounts are password-protected, and far fewer good reasons for doing without passwords.
That's why I recommend against allowing automatic log-ons in general. But far be it from me to tell you how to use your PC, so if you want to save a few seconds each time you start your system—and you're not worried about somebody doing serious mischief after gaining easy access to your account—it's okay by me.
Creating a custom Windows log-on screen has never been faster or simpler. Two free utilities let you do more than replace the boring Windows default start background with a picture of your pet hamsters, though you can do that, too.
Add system info to Windows' start-up sequence
In a post earlier this month, I described the beta version of the free TweakNow PowerPack 2009 utility that makes it easy to view system information, maintain Windows, and customize the OS' interface. As that post stated, I encountered a couple of rough edges in the beta version I looked at, but that's to be expected in a beta.
One TweakNow feature I took advantage of right away was the program's ability to add a "legal disclaimer" screen to Windows start-up. One practical application of this feature is to add information about the system to the screen's text box, which can make life a lot easier for you or for whoever has to maintain the machine.
Suppose you need to find out what type of memory your PC uses, what type of processor it runs, its current version of Windows, or even the toll-free support number of its vendor. It's not always easy to find all this information, which resides in various locations on your system. Utilities such as TweakNow can help you collect this type of data, but you'll still find yourself clicking around their various nooks and crannies to unearth what you need.
You could create an image containing this information and make it your Windows Desktop, but adding system information to a screen that appears early in the Windows start-up sequence not only saves you time rummaging around Windows settings, it also lets you get the info off a machine without having to fully load Windows. This is a capability a lot of IT staffers will likely appreciate, but anyone who maintains multiple PCs could find it a time-saver.
The system information I needed was available in various other TweakNow screens, but it was much easier for me to copy the main System Information screen, paste the data into the text box in the TweakNow Legal Notice dialog (click Windows Secret > User Accounts > Miscellaneous), and edit it there. I added the toll-free support number of the PC's vendor, just in case.
Add system information to the Windows log-on screen via the free TweakNow PowerPack 2009 utility.
(Credit: TweakNow)
Place text in a custom welcome-screen image
If you're one of the many people who simply want Windows to load quickly, you won't be happy having to click through yet another screen before you can start your workday. Stardocks offers two free programs that let you create your own welcome screen, complete with any text you want ready access to.
LogonStudio Vista and LogonStudio XP can replace the default welcome/log-on screen with a more visually exciting image from a free online library, or you can create your own welcome image.
Stardock's LogonStudio Vista makes replacing the default Windows welcome screen as easy as 1-2-3.
(Credit: Stardock)To test the program, I opened an image in Paint, added a text box containing information about the system, and then loaded the image using LogonStudio's Create and Upload options.
Place a text box holding system information into your custom welcome screen via Stardocks' free LogonStudio utility.
(Credit: Dennis O'Reilly)Frankly, I was more pleased with the presentation of the information in TweakNow's "Legal Disclaimer" screen than in LogonStudio's custom welcome screen. But if you want to avoid an extra start-up click and don't mind taking the time to create a custom welcome screen, it doesn't get much easier than using LogonStudio.
Sometimes it seems like you need to be a software engineer to understand how to keep Windows running smoothly. That's why I appreciate free utilities that collect various Windows settings and make the OS easier to customize.
Last May, I described two utilities that improve Vista's performance: Stardock's $20 Tweak Vista and Iolo Technologies' $40 System Mechanic. A week earlier, I wrote about two other Vista tweaking tools: the free Ultimate Windows Tweaker from Microsoft MVP Anand Khanse and WareSoft Software's $30 Vista Smoker Pro.
All four of these programs have their pluses and minuses, but I clearly preferred the two most expensive options. I'm still looking for a free Windows tweaking tool with the best features of the fee-based apps. I thought I found it in TweakNow PowerPack 2009, but despite some very nice touches, a couple of important features failed when I tested the beta of version 1.6.1.
Dozens of Windows tools at your fingertips
Among TweakNow PowerPack's many tools are disk and Registry cleaners, a memory optimizer, startup manager, uninstaller, and personal-information eraser. The program also makes all your system information easy to find, including your processor model and cache types and sizes, network settings, and Windows configuration.
TweakNow PowerPack 2009's Registry Cleaner provides information about the Registry entries it proposes to delete.
(Credit: Tweak Now)If you're concerned about security (who isn't?), you'll find plenty of TweakNow options to your liking. For instance, you can set Windows to shut down after a set period and limit users' access to context-menu items, Control Panel applets, and Windows Explorer's Folder Options. You can also reduce the amount of time Windows waits before shutting down an unresponsive service or application, add or remove items from the Start menu and submenus, and insert a legal notice in the Welcome screen.
When you enable TweakNow PowerPack's RAM Optimizer, an icon is added to the taskbar's notification area (near the clock) that shows the percentage of memory currently in use. Hover over the icon to view your system's free RAM and the percentage of CPU cycles in use.
TweakNow PowerPack's RAM Optimizer shows the percentage of memory in use via a taskbar icon.
(Credit: Tweak Now)
Mixed up UAC tweaker and an uninstaller that doesn't
There are plenty of features to like in TweakNow PowerPack—I haven't even mentioned the program's ability to brand IE's Title Bar—but ultimately the utility failed in two important areas.
First, my repeated attempts to uninstall a virtualization program came up empty. After running the TweakNow uninstaller, the program prompted me to restart to complete the process. The shutdown took several minutes, but when my test machine restarted, the virtualization program was still in place. I eventually uninstalled the program using the free Revo Uninstaller utility I described in a post last week.
The second failure was more disturbing. After I changed TweakNow PowerPack's User Account Control setting from the default Medium to Strong, I wasn't able to revert to the Medium setting. (The Strong setting requires that you enter an administrator password whenever you attempt to perform an administrator-only activity, while the Medium setting needs only a single click to continue the process.)
I was able to change the TweakNow UAC setting to Weak, which removes the UAC prompt for most administrator operations. However, each time I reverted to the Medium option, the Strong setting was selected when I restarted the PC and reopened the program. I was ultimately able to get the Medium setting back via Vista's own Security Center applet.
Even with these glitches, I can see myself coming to rely on TweakNow PowerPack for most of my Windows maintenance chores—the program's Registry Cleaner is particularly handy. After all, you can't really expect any beta to be flawless, and there's a good chance the vendor will address the program's shortcomings in future updates.
I usually apply all the Windows updates that Microsoft labels as "Critical" or "Important." However, since Windows patches sometimes cause problems of their own, I often wait a week or more to install those that I determine I don't need right away.
If you have Automatic Updates set to download and install updates automatically, you won't see any Windows Update alerts in the notification area of the taskbar (the area near the clock) or anywhere else. Likewise, if you've disabled Automatic Updates, you won't be prompted to view or download anything, though you may see an icon warning you that you've deactivated Automatic Updates.
To turn off the warning icon, open the Security Center Control Panel applet in XP or Vista, click Change the way Security Center alerts me, and choose Don't notify me and don't display the icon (not recommended).
The safer course is to use either the second AU option—which downloads updates but alerts you before installing them—or the third option—which alerts you that updates are available for download and installation. These two options will generate the AU alert icon in the system tray.
Choosing either Automatic Updates option two (download but don't install) or three (alert before downloading or installing) generates an alert icon in the taskbar's notification area.
(Credit: Microsoft)The most recent Windows update I'm postponing is the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 for .NET Framework Assistant 1.0. This is the patch that installed a Firefox extension that initially couldn't be uninstalled without jumping through hoops. Microsoft has subsequently updated the update to make it easier to uninstall.
Unfortunately, unchecking the patch's entry in Windows Update doesn't prevent the system-tray icon and pop-up alert from returning the next time your start your system. Clicking the icon opens Windows Update with the "Important" item you just unchecked rechecked.
Unchecking a Windows Update entry lasts only until the next time Windows starts, which rechecks the option.
(Credit: Microsoft)To remove the entry from the Windows Update list in Vista, right-click it and choose Hide update. In XP, click Custom on the Microsoft Update or Windows Update screen, uncheck the item, and click Don't show this update again.
Right-click the Windows Update you want to postpone and click Hide update to keep it from generating the available-updates icon.
(Credit: Microsoft)When you're ready to install the update you just hid, reopen Windows Update or Microsoft Update, and click Restore hidden updates in the left pane. In Vista, check the update you want to unhide and click Restore. If the "Restore hidden updates" option is grayed out in XP, click Custom and then Restore them now under the Important warning. Check the option and choose Restore and Check Again.
"I am elated with the results of the Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services' Fix it. Have you ever run across this service? After 8+ months without a CD/DVD player—and weekly efforts to remedy the situation—I googled my problem once again and this time came up with a link to MATS.
"After several tries (not compatible with Firefox, open Internet Explorer, won't download, try again later) finally it loaded onto my computer and gave me some options to check off. Within 5 minutes, my CD/DVD was humming again."
Microsoft announced MATS last month. The service requires the PowerShell utility and uses an ActiveX control that it downloads to your system, so as my friend John noted, it works only with Internet Explorer. On the Operations Manager Support Team blog, Microsoft Manageability Knowledge Engineer J.C. Hornbeck outlines the troubleshooting steps MATS takes.
At present, there are only six automatic fixes offered by the service in three categories: "Appearance and personalization," "Hardware and sound," and "Print." You might think that's pretty slim pickings when you consider the range of PC problems, but if your PC's malady has been as thorny as my friend John's balky CD/DVD drive, MATS is worth a try.
Recently, my Vista notebook has been popping up an error message about not finding a Bluetooth driver when it boots. I don't use any Bluetooth devices, so I haven't worried about it. But I thought that was a good enough excuse to take MATS out for a test drive.
It took several minutes for the PowerShell and ActiveX control to download and install, after which I was presented with two options: identify and fix problems automatically, or detect them and let me decide what to fix.
The Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services' Fix it feature lets you find and repair Vista problems.
(Credit: Microsoft)I chose to detect but don't fix because I wasn't convinced there was really a problem. The only thing the scan came up with was the possibility that recent hardware changes hadn't been detected.
Review fixes MATS detects before beginning the repair.
(Credit: Microsoft)The resulting "Troubleshooting is complete" screen was ambiguous in this instance. It indicated that the issue of hardware changes not being detected was "Detected," according to the "Fix status." I assume that means the issue was detected, not the hardware changes themselves, but I'm not sure.
The result shown in the "Troubleshooting is complete" screen is ambiguous for this test.
(Credit: Microsoft)Before the troubleshooter closed, it offered three resources for further research into my problem: search Microsoft Answers communities, search Microsoft Help and Support, or open a Microsoft support request, which would send the test results to a "support professional." I chose to leave well enough alone.
MATS gives you three options for further research into your problem before closing.
(Credit: Microsoft)I wouldn't hazard a guess at the odds of your particular Vista problem being addressed by one of MATS' automatic fixes, but running MATS beats a call to a "support professional" by a country mile.
A reader named Eric found himself locked out of his Vista administrator accounts:
"Somehow, my account and my son's accounts were downgraded to standard user on his new computer using Vista Home 32-bit. I cannot seem to log in to make any changes to the accounts now. It prompts me to enter a password but no password box is available to type it in. How can I log in to change my account back to administrator?"
In a post last year, I described how to enable Vista's hidden administrator account and password-protect XP's default administrator account. Of course, this tip works only if you use it before you actually need it because it requires administrator privileges.
I found another approach described by Microsoft MVP Ronnie Vernon on the Soft32 forum. Here it is in a nutshell:
• Restart your PC and press F8 repeatedly before Windows loads to open Vista's Advanced Boot Options screen.
• Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode and press Enter.
• On the low-res Windows Welcome screen, choose the Administrator account, which by default has no password.
• click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts and either change your standard account to an administrator one or create a new administrator account.
Choose Safe Mode on the Vista Advanced Boot Options menu to restore or create an administrator account.
(Credit: Bert Kinney)When you restart the machine normally, you'll have access to the administrator account you just restored or created. (Note that I wasn't able to verify this tip because I'm not willing to risk losing the administrator accounts on my Vista PC just to test it.)
Gmail encrypts transmissions, not messages
Another reader named Ian contacted me about some misinformation in a post from last month entitled "Five simple PC security tips":
"In this article, you refer to 'encrypting Gmail' where you urge people to turn on the https: feature when using Gmail. Technically, while any e-mail read/written is encrypted in transit between your browser and Gmail's server, the e-mail is nevertheless still stored in the clear.
"Perhaps you could clarify the wording somewhat so people might potentially avoid interpreting your remarks so as to conclude that their stored e-mail is somehow encrypted on Gmail's servers."
Right you are, Ian, which is why you want to think twice about storing confidential information on Google's servers or any other Web servers that don't support encryption. Google is reportedly considering changing Gmail to default to encrypted sign-ins, as explained by Brian Krebs on his security blog earlier this week.
This doesn't affect your stored messages, however, nor the files you share via Google Docs & Spreadsheets, nor any of your other personal data accessible through Google free services. That's the best reason I know not to keep any sensitive information in Gmail or any other Google app.
In a future post, I'll describe secure online services. You can bet none of them will have "Google" in their name.
PC users don't agree on much, but they're close to unanimous in their low opinion of Vista's performance. There are plenty of manual tweaks you can make to grease Vista's skids--I ran down five of them a couple of weeks ago. You can also use one of the many Vista utilities to optimize the operating system. I described the free Ultimate Windows Tweaker and $29.95 Vista Smoker Pro in a post last week.
Two other commercial Vista system tools are Stardock's $19.95 TweakVista and System Mechanic from Iolo Technologies, which costs $39.95 for the first year as part of a limited-time promotion ($49.95 is the regular price) and $29.95 per year thereafter. Unfortunately, TweakVista does little to automate Vista system-tuning, and while System Mechanic provides a range of Vista tune-up and customization options, casual PC users may find the program's price tough to justify.
Vista tweaker's trial version is pretty worthless
Several years ago, I discovered Stardock's $19.95 WindowBlinds utility that customizes the appearance of Windows XP (there's also a version for Vista). Based on my experience with that program, I had high hopes for the company's TweakVista utility, but using TweakVista was a big letdown.
The first unpleasant surprise was that many--if not most--of the program's features are unavailable in the trial version. My impression of TweakVista didn't improve much once I got the full-function release. The program displays plenty of system information, but it lacks the one-click performance and maintenance tools found in similar utilities.
For example, the Assessment Overview screen shows the same information as Vista's Performance and Information Tools applet in Control Panel. Likewise, the start-up screen's Programs tab merely lists your start-up apps. I expected to see more information about each entry when I clicked its question-mark icon, but instead I saw a pop-up indicating that no information about the program was available.
The Profile tab on TweakVista's Services screen lets you select from a handful of preconfigured user types, including games, media center, or server. However, the various options don't give you any information about the configuration beyond one descriptive phrase.
TweakVista's Services screen lists options for tweaking system performance but lacks details on what each choice does.
(Credit: Stardock)
You get more customization options under the Features tab of TweakVista's Services window.
(Credit: Stardock)While TweakVista puts plenty of system information in one place, the shortage of information about the program's options and the lack of clearly defined one-click fixes limit the utility's usefulness. Vista Smoker Pro does a much better job in both areas for just $10 more.
A wealth of system tools at a high price
System Mechanic's lineup of performance and maintenance helpers is impressive, and the program's single-click tuneup options are real time-savers. Even with these useful tools, the program's big price tag makes it difficult to recommend for your average, everyday Vista user. Still, anyone looking for the full complement of system tools in a single package will be pleased with this utility's breadth and depth.
I started by using System Mechanic's one-click repair option, which reported that my Registry had 221 "problems." Since I had recently tuned up my test system, the high number of Registry orphans surprised me. The scan also pointed out 14 security vulnerabilities, multimegabytes of system clutter, and three unnecessary start-up items.
System Mechanic's one-click repair tool identified security, Registry, start-up, and other problems.
(Credit: Iolo Technologies)You get more granular control over the program's cleanup tools by choosing one of the Automated Tasks in the ActiveCare section. These include disk cleanup, Registry scrubbing, start-up optimization, disk defragging, and Internet-connection tweaks. I was particularly impressed with System Mechanic's disk defragger, which completed the defrag in just a few minutes and shows its progress in a multicolored graph.
You get plenty of feedback via the graph used by System Mechanic's disk defragmenter.
(Credit: Iolo Technologies)Browsing the tools and system information offered by System Mechanic made me wish Vista had the same fast and easy-to-use system tools. As helpful and informative as the program can be, its initial license--even with the $10 discount--and the subsequent $30-per-year fee make System Mechanic an extravagance for most PC users.
Last week, I described five ways to squeeze a little more juice out of Vista by using features built into the operating system. A simpler approach that achieves the same system-tuning effects is to use a utility that lets you make the same type of Registry edits and configuration changes without having to navigate 10 rows deep into some obscure hierarchy of "keys" with undecipherable names.
I looked at a free program from Microsoft MVP Anand Khanse called Ultimate Windows Tweaker and the $29.99 Vista Smoker Pro from WareSoft Software (as close to a palindrome as company names get). The freebie acted up a bit on my 64-bit Vista machine, but it's suitable for casual system tweakers. Those who are even a little serious about fine-tuning their PCs will find Vista Smoker Pro worth the investment. A full-function, seven-day trial version is available, so you can take the program out for a spin before you buy.
(As always before making any Registry changes, make a backup of your Registry by creating a restore point. Better yet, get a copy of the free Emergency Recover Utility NT (ERUNT), which works on all versions of Windows, despite the name.)
Ultimate Windows Tweaker tries to be Tweak UI for Vista
There's a lot to like about this Vista enhancer, though the program falls short of its goal of being Tweak UI for Vista. Also, every time I used the utility to change a Vista setting, an error message popped up stating that the change couldn't be made when in fact it was in effect. To top it off, the option to Send Error Report was grayed out.
The free Ultimate Windows Tweaker generates a bogus error message whenever you change a system setting.
(Credit: Anand Khanse)You're not likely to need all 130-plus tweaks the program packs into its 380KB executable file. Still, with just a half-dozen clicks on two or three screens you can make changes that in Vista require navigating through dozens of arcane, out-of-the-way windows and dialog boxes.
Shorten your wait for hanging apps and processes and change menu speed via slider controls in Ultimate Windows Tweaker.
(Credit: Anand Khanse)Ultimate Windows Tweaker's System Performance options let you shorten the wait for hanging apps and processes and quicken your menus via slider controls. You can also make changes to user accounts and User Account Control, change your security settings, and alter the Vista interface.
Maximize your system-tweak options with Vista Smoker Pro
You could spend the better part of an afternoon twiddling with the many settings in Vista Smoker Pro. Of course, you'll gain a good portion of that time back via Vista's enhanced speed. The program gives you more than 20 categories of tweaks that cover start-ups, disk cleaning, services, passwords, and--of course--performance.
Vista Smoker Pro makes performance-enhancing Registry tweaks easier to reach.
(Credit: WareSoft Software)My favorite Vista Smoker Pro feature is the Control Center, which puts just about every Vista research two or three clicks away. The Startup Manager lets you view and delete start-up items in more than a dozen far-flung Registry keys. But one of the nicest touches of the program is its main screen, which shows your system's total RAM and page-file size, as well as the amount of each in use and free.
Get a graphical view of your system's RAM and page file on Vista Smoker Pro's main window.
(Credit: WareSoft Software)Anyone who frequently accesses Vista configuration settings will save plenty of time reaching into the OS' various nooks and crannies by using Vista Smoker Pro.
I split my work time about evenly between Windows XP and Vista. Let me tell you, I'll take Vista 99 days out of 100. Vista's safer than XP, it looks better than its predecessor, and it runs at least as fast as XP.
Performance has been a knock on Vista since the operating system was released, but there are some relatively simple ways to give Vista a little goose so it performs some common operations a tad faster. These five tips should shorten your workday:
Put an encrypt/decrypt option on your context menu
If you frequently encrypt files or folders to protect your privacy, you can access this function via the right-click menu by changing a Registry key. Editing the Registry is always risky, so back it up first by creating a restore point. To do so, press the Windows key, type systempropertiesprotection.exe, and press Enter. Click Create, give the restore point a name, and choose Create again.
With your Registry backup in place, press the Windows key, type regedit, and press enter. Navigate to and select this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Right-click in the right pane, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it EncryptionContextMenu. Double-click the new entry, give it a value of 1, and click OK. After you restart your system, you'll see an Encrypt/Decrypt option when you right-click a file or folder.
Disable DOS-era 8.3 file-name compatibility
Most hard drives on Vista systems are partitioned using NTFS rather than the older FAT32 format. But Vista still supports the old 8.3 file-name convention of DOS and early versions of Windows. This is handy if you still run DOS-era 16-bit programs, but most of us have no need to retain this backward-compatibility. You can speed up your file accesses a bit by disabling this feature.
To do so, open the Registry Editor as described in the previous tip and navigate to and select this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Double-click the key named NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation, change its value from 0 to 1, and click OK.
Do without last-access file updating
Whenever you open a file on an NTFS partition, it gets a date stamp that's separate from its "last modified on" date and time. If you can do without this information, you can disable it and open your files a skosh faster.
Start by opening the Registry Editor as described above. Navigate to and select this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Double-click NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate, change the DWORD value from 0 to 1, and click OK.
Change this Registry key to disable the last-file-access feature to open files faster.
(Credit: Microsoft) Access Vista's report on your start-up and shutdown speeds
Among the interesting performance-measuring tools in Vista is the Event Viewer's log of your system's start-up and shutdown performance. To view these reports, press the Windows key, type event, and press Enter. Navigate in the left pane to this entry:
Applications and Service Log\Microsoft\Windows\Diagnostics-Performance
Double-click Operational in the middle pane to view the most recent events. Look for entries numbered from 100 to 199 to indicate start-up items, and ones numbered from 200 to 299 for shutdown items. Click the Details tab below the event log and make sure Friendly View is selected.
Vista's Event Viewer records your boot times and other performance information about your start-ups and shutdowns.
(Credit: Microsoft)You'll see the boot and shutdown times in milliseconds and other information about your start-ups and shutdowns. Compare the numbers for each system start and shutdown to determine whether your machine's slowing down. If it is, try paring your list of start-up applications using the tips in this post from last October. And use the tips in this post from March 2008 to put Windows to bed in a jiffy.
Let Vista tell you how it's doing
A little-known addition to Vista is the System Health Report Generator, which gives you an inside look at how well your PC is running. To access the tool, press the Windows key, type perform info, and press Enter. Click Advanced tools in the left pane and choose Generate a system health report.
About a minute later, you'll see the test results in various categories. For help deciphering the information and on using other components of the Performance and Reliability Monitor, check out this guide on Microsoft's TechNet site.
If it were up to me, I'd never defragment my PC's drives. I'm one of those people who prefers to have Windows' maintenance operations done in the background, without my direct intervention.
So it comes as no surprise that I'm a big fan of Vista's automatic-defrag setting. But I also know better than to put all my faith in Microsoft's ability to keep my system healthy. Last year, I started using Auslogics' free Disk Defrag utility, which works with Windows 2000 and up.
If you prefer to use Windows' defragger, you can open it by pressing the Windows key (or Ctrl-Esc), pressing R (in XP), typing defrag in Vista or dfrg.msc in XP, and pressing Enter. The interface of Vista's Disk Defragmenter is nonexistent; the utility is clearly designed for behind-the-scenes operation. Your only options are to set the defrag schedule, select the volumes to defrag, and run the defragger.
Vista's Disk Defragmenter utility is a no-frills affair.
(Credit: Microsoft)XP's version of the Disk Defragmenter isn't much more functional, although it does give you a little more graphical feedback about the state of your drives.
You get more control over your disk defrags by running Windows' defragger utility from a command prompt and entering command switches that modify its actions. Start by opening a command-prompt window. One way is by pressing the Windows key (or Ctrl-Esc), pressing R (in XP), typing cmd, and pressing Enter. Or click Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
At the command prompt, type defrag ? to see a list of available command switches. In both XP and Vista, you can add -a to the "defrag" command to analyze the drive only, -f to force a defrag with less than 15 percent free space, -b to defrag only boot files, and -v to show a "verbose" report of the defrag.
Vista adds a couple of other switches: -i defrags even when the PC isn't idle, -c works on all drives, and -w processes chunks of files smaller than 64MB; without this switch, Vista's defragger ignores all file fragments smaller than 64MB.
Type defrag ? at a command prompt and press Enter to see a list of available command switches.
(Credit: Microsoft)For example, to defrag all your Vista volumes regardless of fragment size and when there's less than 15 percent free space, enter this line at the command prompt and then press Enter:
defrag -c -w -f
The utility will display a report on the selected volumes prior to beginning the defragmentation.
Windows defrag utility will show a report on the selected volumes prior to defragmenting the drives.
(Credit: Microsoft)Unfortunately, defrags run from a command prompt aren't any faster than those conducted via the graphical interface. That's the biggest advantage of specialty defrag programs such as Auslogics' Disk Defrag, which is much speedier than the defragger in Windows.
The fact is, Vista's automated defrags were doing a great job of keeping my disk space nice and compact. I didn't notice much of a performance improvement after I manually defragged my Vista PC, but the defrag did wonders for my ancient XP box, which I admit I had neglected to defrag for many months.
The other day, I was talking to a guy who wanted a PC but didn't want Vista. He asked me how long he would have to wait for new PCs running Windows 7. When I told him that such systems were still several months away, he indicated that he'd buy a machine from a company that let you "downgrade" Vista to XP.
I didn't say anything, but part of me thought he was crazy. I'll take Vista over XP any day of the week. Not having to run a disk-defrag utility is only one of the reasons why. (Yes, I know you can automate disk defrags in XP via Scheduled Tasks, as Microsoft explains in this Knowledge Base article, but doing so is too much hassle for the average Windows user.)
