[Windows 8 Development and Hacking] goldflame09:
This is guide made for Windows 8, but can be used with any version of Windows. The options might just vary a little.

**This guide is meant to provide a way to improve performance on your computer. This is in no way, shape, or form, a fool-proof method (although i tried to make it fool-proof). I will not be responsible for any damage done to your computer by using any of these tools in this thread.**​

This guide will show you ways that I have found to optimize windows to get the most you can out of any computer. Some of these tools come with windows, while others I will provide links for your convenience.

To make some of this easier, i have created a '.bat' script for your use.

​

HDD – Hard Drive

Free up space: Using Windows Tools

This first tool comes with windows. It is the disk cleaner.

The easiest way to find this tool is to go to the start page and type in: “cleanmgr.exe” and click on that.

This takes a little while to sort through your hard drive. Here are the categories that I recommend cleaning:

[LIST]
[*]Downloaded Program Files
[*]Temporary Internet Files
[*]Recycle Bin
[*]System error memory dump files
[*]Temporary files
[*]Thumbnails
[*]Any of the user error reporting categories if you want
[/LIST]

There is the option to clean system files, which requires administrator privileges. Here are the additional categories that I recommend you clean:

[LIST]
[*]Previous Windows Installation(s)
[*]Windows Update cleanup
[/LIST]

Depending on how much data is going to be erased, this may take awhile. This tool also tends to use a lot of CPU

Free up space: Using CCleaner

This second tool is not part of windows, but is simple and easy to use. It is called CCleaner. This is a program that has a lot of options that are explained in the different sections (Registry)

- Link: CCleaner

For this category, you will be using the cleaner section which is opened by default when you open the program.

Everything that is checked, I recommend keeping checked. You may choose whatever you want though.

1st click analyze and let it sort through your HDD

It may pause and ask you if you want to force close Chrome or any other conflicting program. Go ahead and let it force close them.

2nd look at what it is going to remove a second time and make sure it’s all stuff that you don’t care about. After that, you may click clean.

There is a third tool that is under the “tools” section in CCleaner. It is the driver wiper.

When you go to this section, you will only wipe the free space on your HDD.

The 35 passes option is a little overkill. Feel free to choose what ever option you want though.

If you have an SSD, DO NOT do the 35 passes. this will only shorten the SSD's life. See more info regarding this in post #4

This could take many hours to complete so make sure you have time.

This also may not give you a whole lot of space, but it should give you some.

Make your disk load files faster:

The major thing that many people recommend to do often, is to defragment the HDD. For people with SSD's, this is not needed

This program is found by going to the start menu and typing in “defrag” in the settings section.

When this opens, click on your HDD, and then click on analyze. It will then scan your HDD and tell you the amount of your HDD is fragmented.

You then click on optimize and this process will take a while as it does about 13 passes over the HDD

Registry

*For this procedure, you will be using CCleaner again. For those who skipped the HDD section, link for this program is in that section.*

In CCleaner, click and on the registry section and then click: “scan for issues”

After it scans, you can take a look at what it has found before it removes them. You can also choose what to delete.

Click fix issues, and this is when it will ask to backup the registry. I HIGHLY recommend doing this.

It will then ask you one by one what you want to do with each entry. You also have the option to fix all issues with one click

Uninstalling programs

For uninstalling programs, the windows uninstaller does not do it for me. I use revo uninstaller

- Link: Revo Uninstaller

This program is pretty self-explanatory but it does more than just uninstalling the program. After the program is uninstalled revo will scan your HDD and your registry to find anything that it believes it left over from the program.

BEWARE:

make sure you choose wisely what you delete. Revo does make a system restore point before it uninstalls the program, but this is not a fool-proof method.

**On windows 8, there is a small bug, as far as I know, that when scanning all of this, it will use a decent amount of your CPU.**​

*If any of you have ideas on how I can make this guide better whether it is by adding methods, or just clarifying some of these directions as this is the first time that I have written a reference guide like this. Any help is greatly appreciated. :fingers-crossed:

Thanks:

Microsoft: for Windows

Piriform: for CCleaner

VSRevo Group: for Revo Uninstaller

BillP Studios: for WinPatrol (Next post)

GoodDayToDie: for giving some major tips.

Awidawad: letting me use his code as a guide

Tips:

GoodDayToDie: Post #4

SixSixSevenSeven: Post #5