SUBJECT: Tune-Up Tips To Run Windows Faster The following are tips for running Windows at a faster speed. 1. For faster performance in Windows, load your system with extended memory, and start using a disk-caching program. 2. If you regularly run two or more Windows apps together on a system with less than 4M of RAM, invest in more memory chips. 3. Include a line in your CONFIG.SYS file for a disk cache so that your disk drive does not spin its wheels with unnecessary disk activity. 4. If your processor is 386 or 486 and you have at least 2M of memory and you seldom run non-Windows applications, try running in Standard mode. You can do this by typing WIN /S or WIN /2 at the DOS command line. a. Running in 386 Enhanced mode offers many advantages for working with DOS apps, but it does nothing for Windows programs--it may even slow them down. b. For DOS 5.0 users that use EMM386.EXE to load TSRs and device drivers into high memory, Windows will refuse to run in Standard mode. You'll have to choose between the extra conventional memory or the quicker Windows performance. 5. Keep your hard disk optimized by running a defragmentation utility on a regular basis. An optimized hard disk lets your system store larger amounts of data in contiguous disk sectors, reducing the amount of time Windows spends reading and writing swap files. 6. If you run Windows in 386 Enhanced mode and can afford the disk space, set up a permanent swap file. This allows Windows to bypass normal DOS file I/O routines and move information in and out of memory more quickly. a. The drawback is that the disk space assigned to a permanent swap file cannot be used for other proposes, even when you're not running Windows. b. To create or delete the permanent swap file, start Windows in Real mode and run the SWAPFILE program. Windows will recommend an optimal size based on available disk space. Try 5M for starters, and if you don't see a lot of disk activity as you work, you might be able to reduce that figure somewhat. 7. In the program information files (PIFs) you create to run non-Windows apps in 386 Enhanced mode, don't select any of the Monitor Ports options. Most programs don't require them, and leaving them unchecked will improve performance. Windows' default PIF has one of the monitor Ports options selected. It is a good idea to create a PIF for every DOS app you use. 8. If you run Windows with a Super VGA, 8514 or other high-resolution driver, consider switching back to normal VGA. The same advice applies to using a 256-color driver instead of the 16-color variety. For everyday wordprocessing, you might use ordinary 16-color VGA, reserving the more colorful displays for desktop publishing and other apps that can really benefit from additional colors. 9. SMARTDRIVE.SYS will by default use 1024 or 2048 for the maximum cache size which can slow you down on a machine with only 2 or 4M of RAM. The reason is that even though the disk cache is larger, it can force more disk activity by reducing the amount of RAM available for WINDOWS and its applications. Optimizing Windows (Speed) More RAM usually means More Speed: The most valuable resource running under the Windows environment is RAM. Whether you have an 80286, 80386 or a 80486 based machine the best way to increase your overall speed and performance is to add more RAM. With an 8088 or 8086 based CPU, adding RAM will help to some extent but you will always be limited to running in Real mode (remember, WPWin requires 2M of RAM (4M recommended) and you must be able to run in either Standard mode or 386 Enhanced mode.) Set up a Disk Cache: Adding more RAM helps the speed of Windows (and thus WPWin 1.0), but only if you use it properly. The best use of your extra RAM would be to set up the right-sized disk cache. Windows comes with a disk caching device driver called: Smartdrive (SMARTDRV.SYS), but Windows usually sets it up in a way that is a compromise to most users. The size of your cache should be as big as you can make it, without eating into the memory requirements of Windows or WPWin. The recommended size is to allot no more than one-third of your memory as cache, but maintain a minimum of 1.5MB for Windows and WpWin (e.g., on a 4M CPU, the CONFIG.SYS file should read: DEVICE=SMARTDRV.SYS 1536 512. This means that the cache will be no bigger that 1536K and no smaller than 512K). These numbers will work well for word processing and simple desktop publishing. Although Smartdrive doesn't offer the level of control of some caching programs like Super PC-Kwik) it's better than nothing. Fast Hard drive - More Speed: Along with lots of memory, Windows and WPWin (as well as any program) like fast hard drives. When you move from a typical 28 to 40 ms AT-class drive to a 23ms or faster drive, you will increase your speed by at least 15 percent! Faster Video: Computers, operating systems and programs are only as fast as their slowest link, a slow 8-bit EGA board, although sufficient to run Windows and WPWin, can slow your entire system down to a crawl. The ideal video system would be a 16-bit VGA adapter with built in video RAM (again the more the better). Replacing an old VGA or EGA adapter with a new VGA 512K video RAM cache will improve speed by 15 percent or more. Simple Wallpaper: Although wallpaper can be exciting it takes up RAM, and as we discussed above, RAM means speed. Disk Housekeeping: Windows and WPWin both create dozens of temporary files to swap information to and from. If Windows or WPWin do not have a lot of contiguous free disk space to work with, they won't run as fast. Run a disk reorganizer periodically, even if it does not look like you have any fragmented files. The idea being that you want to keep large, contiguous areas of hard disk space free. (Note: BE CAREFUL WHICH DISK ORGANIZER YOU ARE USING-MAKE SURE IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR HARDWARE. ALSO, DO NOT RUN THE DISK DEFRAGMENTER FROM WITHIN WINDOWS.) Sources of Information 1. Microsoft Windows User's Guide. Microsoft Corporation, 1985-1990. 2. Microsoft Windows Resource Kit. Microsoft Corporation, 1990. 3. Microsoft MS-DOS Version 5.0 User's Guide and Reference, Microsoft Corporation 1991. If WPWin is not running optimally, have them try the following steps: 1. Decrease the number of Windows applications which are running before launching WPWin. 2. Increase the file handles in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, if the command reads FILES=20, change it to read FILES=30 (Microsoft recommends at least 30 file handles be allocated. Remember to reboot after making these changes.) 3. Decrease the SMARTDrive command values in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, if the command reads DEVICE=SMARTDRV.SYS 2048 1024, change it to read DEVICE=SMARTDRV.SYS 512 256 or DEVICE=SMARTDRV.SYS 256 128. For more information on using SMARTDrive, see Using SMARTDrive under Optimizing Windows (Chapter 13) in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide. 4. If the customer is using a program which condenses data as it is stored on the hard drive (e.g., Stacker, DRDOS Superstore), redirect the temporary files to a hard drive where information is not automatically condensed. (Note: this does not apply to data compression performed by hardware such as "RLL" drive controllers.) 5. Minimize program groups so there are fewer icons. 6. Disable the Ruler, Button Bar, and Vertical and Horizontal Scroll Bars as defaults for starting the program.