How to maximize your Netbook's performance

The advent of netbooks has recently taken the PC market by storm. Unfortunately, these mini-notebooks are a little slower than their full PC cousins, but with the right tweaks, you can squeeze the last bit of speed and functionality out of these small machines. This post shows you the best ways to optimize your netbook.

7 great tips and tricks to optimize your netbook :

1. Use a lightweight Media Player and codec pack to play all your favorite videos and music (e.g. Cole2k Codec Pack and Media Player Classic HC 1.2).

2. Uninstall programs you no longer use, especially trial software, as these can clutter up the drive. TuneUp Uninstall Manager of our TuneUp Utilities 2009 helps you immensely with that, because it tells you which programs you regularly use and which you don't.

3. Defrag the hard drive to better manage your data and keep your computer running fast. We recommend using TuneUp Utilities 2009 to safely and consistently do this on a regular basis.

4. Reduce the user interface of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and other Web browsers to better utilize the smaller “real estate” on your netbook. Right-click on the upper menu bar of your browser and uncheck unnecessary menu items.

5. Go back to the classic Windows look and feel. Animations can hinder the system's performance. To do that, right-click on your desktop and go to “Properties” (XP) or “Personalize” (Vista). Under the “Design” entry, select the classic design and hit “OK.”

6. Disable unnecessary devices, such as Bluetooth, FireWire, and Wi-Fi, to save battery power.

7. Don't run too many applications at the same time. Multitasking is better suited for a laptop, whereas netbooks are designed for basic use such as word processing and simple Web browsing.

Windows XP Tricks

1.Replace Microsoft Windows XP “Copying…”animation

The Windows file copying animation is located in shell32.dll. This animation can be replaced or deleted with the help of a tool called Resource Hacker Download it From

http://files1.softwarepod.com/33821/reshack.zip

Shell32.dll can be found in \WINDOWS\system32 directory. Back up this DLL, and open a copy in Resource Hacker.

Expand the AVI folder.Then expand the folder named 160, right-click on the resource 1033, click on ‘Replace a resource’ and browse to the location where the new animation is stored.

Then type :

Resource Type: AVI

Resource Name: 160

Resource Language: 1033

You can now see that the animation has changed. Then expand the folder named 161 right click on the resource 1033, click on ‘Replace a resource’ and browse to the location where the animation is stored .

Then type :

Resource Type: AVI

Resource Name: 160

Resource Language: 1033

To save the changes click on ‘Save’ under the File menu. Remember the location where you have

saved the file as you will need it later. Restart your computer in DOS mode and replace the

shell32.dll in C:\WINDOWS\system32 with the edited shell32.dll.

Restart your computer and see the change by copying a file.

2.Startbutton in Windows XP displays the System Time

Download starclock.

This tiny piece of code comes with startclock.ini file for making configuration changes such as 12-hour clock with seconds, 24-hour clock, load program at startup, refresh rate (be careful while changing this setting; smaller the number, more the CPU usage) and hide tray icon. To exit

this program, press “Ctrl+Alt+x”. That’sit, now you can save precious space on the taskbar by replacing the clock from the system tray.

3.Limit Logon Hours For Users

Parents might want to limit their children’s computer usage, so they can set a time limit only between which they will be automatically allowed to log into their Windows account. Limited usage for particular users for certain time periods can be set through commands.The command for doingthis is:

net user /time:.

For example, “net user Anu /time:M- F,08:00-17:00” will only let the user Anu log in between 8 and 5 from Monday to Friday.

4.Shutdown, Restart, And Logoff Icons On The Desktop

You might want to have shortcuts on the Desktop for shutdown, hibernation, etc. Right-click on the Desktop and make a new shortcut by selecting New > Shortcut. Then in the Type the location of the item: box, enter “shutdown.exe -s -t 00”, where “00” is the delay in seconds.

(You can increase it.) You will then be asked to select a name (call it “Shutdown”, for example). After creating the shortcut, you can change the icon assigned to it by right clicking on the shortcut and selecting Properties. The window that comes up next has a “Change Icon” option, which is easy to use. For a Restart shortcut, use “shutdown.exe -r -t 00”. Replacing -r by -l

gives the code for logging off:“shutdown.exe -l -t 00”. Fast user switching is also possible; the code for that is “Rundll32.exe User32.dll, LockWorkStation”. Similarly one can also make a shortcut for Standby/Hibernation.If Hibernation is enabled, the computer will hibernate, else it will go into Standby.

For this, use “%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll,SetSuspendState”.

Make a USB drive a key to boot into XP

For our task, a USB drive of a capacity ofat least 256 MB is required. If we need to include extra utilities, hotfixes, and sevicepacks, then we need at least a 512 MB drive.

Format the drive using "FAT" filesystem.

After having selected “Show hidden files and folders” and deactivating “Hide protected operating system files”, navigate to the root directory on which Windows is located, usually C:\. Copy the boot.ini, ntdlr,and NTDETECT.COM files from that directory to the USB Flash drive. Rename the “boot.ini” in C:\ to “boot.bak”.Windows will not now be able to boot from the hard drive,and the USB drive will be the key to unlocking the computer.Now to check whether your USB drive works or not! Restart your PC and select the USB drive as the First Boot Device in the BIOS.For this test, deactivate the “Quick Boot” and “Show Full Screen Logo” options in order to be able to monitor any BIOS-reported activities. Also, the “USB Legacy Support” and“USB 2.0 Controller” options need to be activated if available. Save your changes and exit the BIOS, and restart.If you encounter a problem booting, look for an option in the BIOS that extends the

response time of the USB drive, for example, the “USB Mass Storage Reset Delay” option found in the AMI-BIOS. Choose the highestvalue and gradually decrease the value until the problem pops up again. This should work, but if the problem persists, check your motherboard manual or visit the Web site of your motherboard’s manufacturer for a BIOS update.