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by Daniel Petri When you make frequent writes and deletions from your hard disk, your disks will become fragmented with time. Fragmentation means that files are not consistent and not contiguous, and thus fragmentation of the disks will result in lower I/O performance. While in NTFS performance degradation is a lot lower than it was in FAT or FAT32 partitions, in order to prevent loss of performance over time, it is best to perform routine defragmentations of your partitions and hard disks. The following article will teach you how to defrag windows 7 in a few short steps. There are several methods of performing defragmentations of partitions and hard disks. In this article I will list two of them. Method #1 – Using the Built-In Windows 7 Defrag ToolFirst, let me cover the internal Windows 7 tool that allows you to defrag windows 7 hard disks. This tool is a lot better than the one available in Windows Vista (at least in its design and in the way it works) but the built-in tool lacks many user options and that is why I offer Method #2, below. To run the Windows 7 built-in defragmenting tool follow these steps: Open Windows Explorer. Right-click the desired partition and select Properties. In the Tools tab, click on Defragment Now.
Note: Since Windows Vista, the defrag tool is no longer available as an MMC snap-in.
BTW, you can reach the defrag tool by typing dfrgui in the Start menu search box.
The Disk Defragmenter tool opens. In it you can perform 3 major actions:
To analyze a partition, select the partition to analyze and click on the "Analyze" button. Process will take a few moments, and will display a textual information message.
To defrag a partition, select the partition to analyze and click on the "Defragment disk" button. Process will take a several moments, depending on the size and disk usage of the partition. Unlike Windows Vista, in Windows 7 there will be a progress status update, telling you if not how much time is left, at least which % of the job was already done.
When completed, the % of the partition defragmentation status is displayed.
To schedule a partition defrag, click on the "Configure schedule" button.
In Windows 7 (like in most previous MS-based OSs), there is also a command line defragmentation tool called DEFRAG.exe which can be used to schedule defrag jobs and perform various actions. More on that in a different article. Method #2 – Using Auslogic Disk DefragFor those that feel that the built-in Windows 7 defrag tool lacks both in functionality and in UI, there are 3rd-party tools that may do a better job. One of them is Auslogic Disk Defrag. Auslogic Disk Defrag is free for personal non-commercial use, and as such I will gladly feature it here in this website. Get it here: Auslogic Disk Defrag - Fast and Safe Defragmenter for Your Disks Installation is easy, just agree to the license agreement and continue with the default settings. I usually remove the desktop icon.
After installing it, run Disk Defrag from the Start menu. You might be prompted to acknowledge it, if so, click on the "Yes" button.
Auslogic Disk Defrag has many interesting features. One of them is the ability to analyze a partition, and get visual representation of the fragmentation status. Select the required partition and press Defrag > Analyze.
With Auslogic Disk Defrag you can also configure the program's algorithm, schedule defrag jobs, and even exclude files or folders. You can also check the partition for errors, and even defrag specific files and folders. It even has a "Defrag & Optimize" mode in which it applies several optimization techniques such as free space consolidation, system files smart placement and moving regular files from the MFT Reserved Zone to the rest of the disk space.
A typical defrag operation is pretty fast.
Cool!
During the installation of Windows 7, you must choose a partition on which to install the operating system. Reading Microsoft's recommendations, you must make this partition at least 16GB in size. However, this is a minimal size and should not be used as the recommended size. As you know by now, the system partition (meaning the partition on which the operating system is installed on) is a place that just begs for more space as time goes by. Hotfixes, Patches, Service Packs, installed applications such as Microsoft Office and many others - all consume a lot of space on that partition. The more it is used, the more space will be consumed by these apps. That is why it is strongly recommended to properly configure the partition's size. While it is possible to extend this partition (if un-used space is available on the hard disk - read my "Extending the System Partition in Windows 7" article), it is best to plan in advance. As a rule of thumb, I personally give that partition at least 40 GB of space, and when using more than one hard disk on the computer, I give it as much as 100 GB. Just in case. Anyway, while it is possible to extend that partition later, even after installation of the OS, it is best to plan accordingly and create the right partition size during the installation process. Read my article on how to install Windows 7 for more information. Starting a Windows 7 installation, after passing the first initial screens, you will get to the screen where you are asked which type of installation you want to perform.
At that point you will need to click on "Custom (advanced)", as this is a fresh installation of Windows 7. The next screen will ask you where you want to install the system, meaning on what partition.
At that point, you need to decide on one of the two options:
If you pick option #1, then you simply click "Next" and get done with it. The setup program will create a partition on the entire hard disk and format it with the NTFS file system. It will then install Windows on that partition.
However, if you pick option #2 you can then create the partition exactly as you want it. Click on "Drive options (advanced)". The screen will change and show you several new buttons: New - to create a new partition. Delete - to delete a specific partition - all data on that partition will be deleted! Format - to format a specific partition - all data on that partition will be deleted! Extend - to extend a partition beyond the barrier of the physical disk, and to span the partition on more than one physical disk. This is useful when you run out of space on that physical hard disk, and have brought in a new physical hard disk that you wish to use. However, unlike using that new disk as a totally new partition by itself, this disk (or part of it) becomes a part of a partition located on the first disk. While useful in some cases, this scenario might cause fault tolerance issues, because this extended partition is NOT fault tolerant, and if something happens to one physical disk, all the data on that extended partition becomes unavailable, and data loss can occur.
To create a new partition click "New". In the "Size" box, enter the size for the new partition. When done, click "Apply".
The setup program will let you know that it will create an additional partition on that drive. That partition will be, by default, hidden, and contain the necessary files to boot the computer. This partition will consume 100 MB of disk space. Note: Actually, even if you do not manually create the partition by using this procedure Windows will still create this partition. However, since you did manually create the partition, Windows will tell you that another partition will also be created.
You can now see the partition you've created, and the hidden boot partition. In most cases, the partition on which Windows will be installed is partition number 2. Press "Format" to format the new partition.
You'll be warned that all data will be deleted. That should pose no issue because the partition was just created, and it is blank.
Installation will now commence as usual. Fact is that there's another way to manipulate partitions during the Windows installation. This is done by using the DISKPART command. This command is very useful for creating, extending, expanding, shrinking and performing other tasks on partitions and disks. To get to it you need to press SHIFT + F10 while the setup program is running. A command prompt window will open. In it, type An interactive command will be displayed.
You can use /? to get to the DISKPART help.
Remember that you can always resize the system partition, but there's no substitution to a proper planning in advance!
A hard drive partition can allow you to easily test out new operating systems (like Windows 7beta) or create a simple way to separate your user data from the operating system install. You can divide your hard drive into multiple partitions, some bootable, others not. The main reasons for having separate partitions are:
Step 1: Download and Install Partition CommanderTo partition your hard drive, you’ll need a partitioning utility. We recommend Partition Commander from Avanquest (previously VCOM). You can find Partition Commander here. Step 2: Start Partition CommanderSelect Create Partition and click the Create Partition option in the main screen:
The Create New Partition Wizard will appear.
Choose the Next button. Step 3: Select the hard drive where you would like to create the partitionPartition Commander will let you select a hard drive where you would like to create your partition. In this example, there is only a single drive. Click the Next button once you’d selected your drive. Step 4: Set the size for the new partition.Drag the slider button to set the size for your new partition. Once you’ve set the size, click the Next button to continue. Step 5: Choose the OS for the partition you are creatingPartition Commander supports all common operating systems including Windows, Novell Netware, Linux, and different varieties of Unix as well as some less common operating systems such as BeOS, CP/M, and Pick.
Select the desired OS and choose the Next button. Step 6: Select the format optionsSelect the format options and choose Next.
Step 7: Choose Apply to create the PartitionPartition Commander lets you select all the options and when you are ready, you choose the Apply button to create the partition.
Other Features… In addition to creating partitions, Partition Manager allows you to:
Supported Partitions Types
Introduction If you have ever taken a look at the Service Control Manager, shown in Figure A, then you know that at any given time, Windows has dozens of services running in the background. Each of these services consumes some amount of system resources, and you can reclaim some of those resources by turning off unnecessary services. In this article, I’ll show you how. Figure A Before I Begin The subject of which services are unnecessary is certainly open to debate. I have seen several different Websites that list the services that can be safely disabled in various versions of Windows. The thing that you have to remember though, is that each service provides some kind of functionality. Whenever you disable a service, you lose the functionality that it provides. I am going to try to avoid telling you to disable services that provide commonly used functionality, even if such services can be “safely” disabled. For example, many of the lists that I have seen tell you to disable the Print Spooler service, but without it you can’t print. I am also going to avoid talking about any services that are configured for a manual startup by default. The other thing that I want to say is that you should set services to Manual, rather than disabling them completely. That way, if Windows has to use a service for some reason, it can at least start the service. Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager You can turn off the Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager service if you are not using the Aero desktop. This service provides services such as thumbnail view from the taskbar, and the Windows Flip3D interface. Diagnostic Policy Service The Diagnostic Policy Service enables the detection, of problems and provides help with troubleshooting and resolving those problems. If you aren’t afraid to troubleshoot problems yourself (which is what most IT professionals do anyway), then this is one service that you can go ahead and stop. IP Helper The IP Helper service provides IPv6 connectivity over IPv4 networks. If you are not using IPv6 on your network, then it should be safe to stop this service.
Windows 7 is at least as speedy as Windows Vista. But that’s not exactly anything to boast about. You can throw the fastest hardware at Microsoft’s latest operating system, and it will be speedy enough. But there’s always room for improvement. The good news: with a few tweaks and some know-how, you can wring the most performance out of Windows 7, regardless of the computer you’re running it on. Here’s how.
Disable visual effectsWindows 7’s interface is laden with little visual effects and animations that, while impressive when you first see them, do little more than slow down the rate at which you can get things done.Luckily, you can turn off most or all of the visual effects while retaining the snazzy look of Windows 7. In fact, you can turn off just the visual effects you want to and leave the rest. To do so, open the Start menu, and type “adjust.” One of the entries that results is “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.” Click that, and Windows 7 opens the Performance Options dialog box. Make sure the Visual Effects tab is selected, and remove the check mark next to the options that say “animate,” “fade,” or “slide.” Click OK. Now windows, dialog boxes, and menus will snap into view immediately rather than gradually. Kill UACUser Account Control (UAC) is the feature that almost single-handedly made Windows Vista the most reviled Windows release in recent memory. UAC was originally designed as a security feature.It keeps an eye out for potentially harmful changes to your system and prompts you to confirm something that might be a threat. Unfortunately, under the rubric of “potential threat” fall such harmless activities as installation a new application or downloading a file from the internet that you know is safe. Microsoft wisely made UAC a bit less obtrusive in Windows 7. But best of all, it makes UAC easy to disable. That’s why one of the first things that savvy Windows users do with Windows 7 is visit the UAC slider dialog box. Do it by opening the Start menu, typing UAC, and selecting “Change User Account Control settings.” In the resulting User Account Control Settings dialog box, move the “notify” slider all the way to the bottom, for “Never notify.” And that will be the end of the annoying UAC slowdowns. Speed up your keyboardPart of what can make Windows 7 — or any previous version of Windows — seem slow is the rate at which the cursor moves when you hold down a key. That’s why one of the first things you should do after a new installation of Windows 7 is to adjust the keyboard speed. Do that by opening the Start menu and typing “keyboard.” Click the Keyboard entry under the Control Panel section, and Windows 7 open the Keyboard Properties dialog box. From there, make sure the Speed tab is selected, and move the Repeat Delay slider to “Short.” Click OK, and from that point forward, Windows will react much faster when you hold down a letter within any text application.Remove unused featuresWindows 7 comes loaded with a bunch of features you probably never use. Whether you use them or not, however, they’ll slow your system down. So turn off the ones you don’t need.Open the Start menu, and type Windows Features. Then click the “Turn Windows features on or off” entry that appears. The Windows Features dialog box opens, and from there, you can de-select any feature that you never use. Prime candidates are the “Windows Gadget Platform,” “Games,” and “Indexing Service.” Set your PC for maximum performanceWindows 7 actually throttles down performance of certain components at certain times in order to save energy. Those components include the hard drive and processor (CPU). So if you’re more concerned with ensuring that your PC always operates at its fastest while you’re using it, you can turn off power saving features. Just open the Start menu, and type “power options.” Click the Power Options entry that appears. In the resulting dialog box, select the “Change advanced power settings” link, and use the control in the dialog box that follows to adjust your PC for maximum performance at all times.Ref: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article2139062.ece
By Greg Shultz Takeaway: In this edition of the Windows Desktop Report, Greg Shultz shows you how to delve in and begin tuning the Windows 7 Search Index. In the article, Take advantage of Search filters in Windows Explorer, I showed you how to use and take advantage of the Search filters built into the Windows 7 Explorer Search Box and in the article Tag your files for easier searches in Windows 7, I showed you how to Tag your files in Microsoft Windows 7 using tools built into Windows Explorer. After both of those articles were published, I received email from readers wondering about how the Search Index in Windows 7 works and if it were possible to customize it. Some readers wanted to add different locations to the Search Index and some wanted to remove certain locations. Others wondered about adding or removing certain file types from the Search Index. I also heard from readers who were encountering problems with the Windows 7’s Search and wondered how to fix it. In this edition of the Windows Desktop Report, I’ll show you how to delve in and begin tuning the Windows 7 Search Index.
Accessing the Search IndexAccessing the Search Index is easier than you might imagine. Just click the Start button and type Index in the Search text box. When the results appear, just select the Indexing Options item. You’ll then see the Indexing Options dialog box, shown in Figure A, from which you can fine tune and troubleshoot the Windows 7’s Search Index. Figure A |
| :: Windows 8 and Future of Cloud Computing :: |
Windows 8 is the next operating system coming from Microsoft after Windows 7. The codename of Windows 8 is Windows Midori. By far, not many rumours about Windows 8 platform features have come. There are a handful definitely, but still, there is no news about Windows 8 cloud computing. No one knows whether Windows 8 will be a cloud operating system or a normal system.
Seeing the trend of today's computing, the big heads in the industry are trying to focus more on cloud computing. First let me tell you with an example, what cloud computing actually is.
In a complex manner, we may define cloud computing as an Internet – based computing in which we share resources on large scale. However, let me just simplify this and make your understand.
Just take the example of Amazon and eBay. These two websites are the world's leading online shopping websites where people order things and get them instantly. Now, just think. On a regular day, eBay and Amazon get an amount of traffic which their servers can easily take care of. They will be able to manage all this traffic because they have a number of servers which are enough to take care of the traffic. But consider a day when there will be a huge bump by people placing orders for gift items and all.
Think about Christmas day. Sites like eBay and Amazon get much more traffic on such celebration days than that in normal days. Suppose they get as much as twenty times higher traffic on the two days. What will happen? Just for the sake of continuing their business for a day, will it be just fine to invest in buying far more number of servers to facilitate their business, their traffic? No. This will not be a wise step, even though they have enough amount of capital to buy more servers.
However, a wiser step would be that eBay and Amazon get the benefit of cloud computing. Throughout the world, they might ask various companies to share their servers for just one day for a specific rate and after that they will come back on their own servers only. This will save a large amount of money as well as get the things done.
This is the benefit of cloud computing. With cloud computing, we get the help of various resources all throughout the world. We need to carry less space for ourselves and all we need is to co-operate and share. This reduces a lot of problems, amount of investment needed, time to be spent on, etc.
Google CR-48 Netbook was a step in the field of cloud computing by Google. Chrome CR-48 netbook has just 16GB of memory and all it depends is oncloud computing.
The question which appears next is that since more companies are trying their hands on cloud computing will Microsoft be behind. Will Microsoft be just making mobile operating systems and computer operating systems? Will it not do something in the field of cloud computing to put up a landmark in the industry of cloud computing? After all, it is the giant which governs a big deal of the software industry.
At such a crucial moment, experts say that it is very much possible that Windows 8 cloud operating system might emerge. Windows 8 might be the project from Microsoft which will be the first step in the field of cloud computing.
If yes, then it is a real challenge for other companies as we all know it is Microsoft today which makes big deals and not Google and Apple. Whatever be their fates but yes, when it comes to marketing things, Microsoft is a raging bull. If Windows 8 cloud operating system emerges (if Windows 8 is a cloud operating system), then definitely other Open Source operating systems like Linux etc. will be taking steps to enter the world of cloud computing.
Be it whatever, but I have enough faith in Microsoft that if they enter the cloud computing business, definitely they will give their rivals, the current and the upcoming a stiff throat cut competition. As we all know that by far Windows has been the most successful operating systems, definitely Windows 8 cloud operating system, if emerges, would be the next big thing. We will all be eagerly waiting to know what features Windows 8 will have if it is a cloud computing operating system.
It is possible that seeing the fate of Windows 8, Microsoft might begin creating desktops of their own, marketing the hardwares from different companies. I am saying this because no one knows business better than Microsoft. They can do things which are not really expected. If they begin making such desktops, then they might have the same feature of low onboard memory but might provide the benefit of memory on the go, that is cloud computing. They might provide us with features like online private web space for free for a specific rate over a period of time. They might bring into practice what Google is doing. They might start manufacturing laptops in a way no one else might.
All these are just the possibilities of Windows 8 and Microsoft's plans. But nothing can be clearly said with certainty. All I would say that if Windows 8 orWindows Midori shake hands with the cloud computing world, then definitely, computing will experience a new phase, a new era, which might be a gift from Microsoft Corporation, the company of uncle Bill.
Ref: Ref:http://www.mywindowsclub.com/resources/4381-Windows-Future-Cloud-Computing.aspx
| :: 10 Key Features in Windows 8 :: |
1. Support for both x86 PCs and ARM tablets
Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows to operate on both ARM-based tabletsand traditional x86 PCs based on ARM processors from Intel and AMD.
“Support for ARM-based chipsets, touch, and sensors makes Windows 8 work beautifully on your choice of a full spectrum of devices, such as 10-inch slates with all-day battery life, ultra-lightweight laptops, and powerful all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens,”Microsoft contends, in a Windows 8 Guide distributed with Windows Developer Preview
In addition, the ARM edition of Windows 8 includes a new mode dubbed “always on, always connected,” designed to let tablets act like smartphones. Tablets can remain in standby mode without disconnecting from the Internet, and then wake up instantly.
Windows 8 is designed to work seamlessly across both PCs and ARM tablets. Yet until developers get a real start on apps for Microsoft’s still empty Windows Store, it’s tough to tell whether that will be universally true.
2. Touch-centric, Tiles-based User Interface (UI)
Although Windows 8 might look and feel like an entirely new “user experiemce,”, Microsoft is actually layering a new animation-enabled user interface (UI) on top of an only somewhat upgraded Windows 7.
The Windows 8 Start Menu is customizable through a mosaic of tiles, which differ from traditional desktop icons by letting you view live information from Windows 8 Metro style apps without actually accessing the apps.
In demoing the tile-based UI at last week’s Build conference , Microsoft showed how the tile for a Windows 8 weather app is able to display the current temperature in a city – along with projected temperatures for the next two days – without requiring you to open up the app. A tile for Windows Live Mail will show you your latest message, while a tile for a social networking app will show you notifications.
“The [Metro] apps are full-screen. They’re beautiful.They’re designed for touch, but of course, they work great with a mouse and keyboard as well if that’s what you have. We wanted to make it really fast and fluid for you to switch between them,” according to Jensen Harris, lead program manager on the Microsoft Office User Experience..
Windows 8 users are also able to access Windows 7 apps. “Everything that runs on Windows 7 will run on Windows 8,” maintained Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows and indows Live division, during a keynote at the Build conference. However, in order to access Windows 7 apps, you need to switch to a different built-in UI.
3. Charms
In large part, ‘charms’ is a new implementation of the traditional Windows start bar. Charms can also be used to quickly configure settings for individual apps. On an ordinary non-touch PC, charms are accessed by dragging the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the screen, to the same spot as the old Windows start button. On a tablet, you swipe from the right side of the screen to bring
up charms.
Microsoft recently applied for a trademark on charms. The charms sidebar offers five sets of options, supporting both app-specific settings and system settings such as volume and brightness. The options include Start, Search, Share, Devices, and Settings. The Start option returns the user to the home screen. The Devices option presents a list of connected devices. Under the Share option, users can see social network sharing apps.
4. Snap Multi-tasking
‘Snap multitasking” is designed to make it easy to run two apps in Windows 8 side-by-side, to resize them, and to switch between them. On the right-hand side of the screen, you can snap an app into place.
You can make an app smaller or larger by dragging the bar for the app. To switch between apps in Windows 8, you swipe from the left-hand part of the screen.
However, Windows 8 does not allow you to view all of your running apps on a single screen.
5. Windows 8 Control Panel
Beyond revamping the Windows task manager, Microsoft has also redesigned the control panel for Windows 8. New options include Personalize, Users, Wireless, Notifications, General, Privacy, Search, and Share.
As Metro style apps become available, you'll be able to use the Personalize menu to customize the Start menu with tiles for calendar, music, e-mail, Netflix, and much more.
In a demo at Build, Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate VP of program management for Windows, showed how you’ll be able to position these Metro apps on the screen, and also to combine them into groups such as friends and games.
6. Web Navigation by Touch
The Internet Explorer (IE) 10 browser built into Windows 8 is designed to offer faster browsing through greater hardware acceleration, along with rapid gesture-based zoom, pan, and Web site navigation.
As in other areas of Windows 8, you can quickly access Windows 8 charms, as well as the two keyboards described below.
7. Two Touch Keyboards
Windows 8 also contains two soft keyboards: an “enhanced” traditional keyboard, plus a new thumbs keyboard for non-touch typists.
In efforts by Microsoft to make typing on a virtual keyboard faster and more accurate, the revised edition of the conventional keyboard suggests words on the screen as you type. You can then tap to selected a suggested word. Microsoft also provides a spellcheck-like feature designed to automatically correct mistyped words – although
like any other spellchecker, this feature carries the potential to cause its own errors.
The keyboards are also aimed at automatically adjusting to whaever human language you choose for Windows. These language settings will automatically apply to the entire computer, instead of only to specific apps
8. ‘Enhanced Copy Experience’
Windows 8 also introduces the ability to perform all current copy operations into a single dialog box, instead of requiring you to perform file copying in separate dialog boxes for each app.
The new dialog box for file copying lets you pause, resume, and stop each sopy operation currently under way. It will also warn you if you’re beginning to copy one version of a file on top of another.
Microsoft has also added a realtime throughput graph. “Now each copy job shows the speed of data transfer, the transfer rate trend, and how much data is left to transfer. While this is not designed for benchmarking, in many cases it can provide a quick and easy way to assess what is going on for a particular [copy] job,” noted Alex Simons, director of program management with the Windows 8 management team.
9. Native USB 3.0 Support
New USB 3.0 ports operate at speeds up to ten times faster than )SB 2.0. To better support these speeds, Microsoft is outfitting Windows 8 with native USB 3.0 drivers.
Meanwhile, though, USB 3.0 will purportedly continue to work under Windows 7, through the use of third-party drivers.
“By 2015, all new PCs are expected to offer USB 3.0 ports, and over 2 billion new ‘SuperSpeed’ USB devices will be sold in that year alone,” said Dennis Flanagan, director of program management for the Windows 8 Devices and Networking Group, in a blog post. “There are also billions of older USB devices that Windows must remain compatible with.”
10. Better Support for Multiple Monitors
Windows 8 also brings increased support for multiple monitors, The Developers Preview of the new OS includes first-time capabilities for extending the taskbar across two PCs, without any need for third-party apps. You can also stretch wallpaper across two monitors, or display the Start screen on one PC and the desktop on the other, for instance.
It's also easy to switch between multiple monitors. The primary monitor has a start button, and the secondary monitor has a switcher button. Clicking or tapping on the switcher button will swap it out for the start button, allowing you to turn the secondary monitor into the primary one.
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New marketing is about the relationships, not the medium ..Ben Grossman