Double your speed
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Quick Turbo Tricks r
eadyBoost is a Windows 7 feature that uses an ordinary USB flash drive to help speed up your computer’s hard drive when it loads frequently-used software and files. ReadyBoost won’t work with any old flash drive though, as it needs at least a 256MB capacity and be fast enough to meet Windows’ requirements. To see if you’ve already got something suitably quick, plug the drive in, click ‘Start > Computer’ and right-click on the drive’s icon, then select ‘Format’ from the menu and leave any formatting options unchanged. Formatting will delete any data that’s already on your flash drive and prepare it for use with ReadyBoost, so if there are any files stored here that you don’t want to lose, back them up first. Once the format is complete, right-click on your hard drive again, but this time select ‘Properties’, followed by the ReadyBoost tab. Should you be met by a message stating that this device cannot be used for ReadyBoost – try clicking the ‘Test again’ button, but if Windows still won’t play ball, it’s time to buy a faster flash drive. Next, select ‘Dedicate this drive to ReadyBoost’ and click ‘Apply’. As Windows learns the software you use most, loading times will gradually reduce. Older PCs with 512MB of RAM will reap the greatest speed increase, and while machines with 1GB or more RAM can benefit from ReadyBoost, don’t expect to be blown away by it.
ADjusT visuAl seTTings W
indows 7 may be a few years old, but it still looks the part thanks to its animations, drop shadows under each window and other eye candy. These effects shouldn’t slow modern PCs down, but an older machine that only just met Windows 7’s minimum requirements when new could be struggling to make the grade. Help it out by disabling some of the frills. Click ‘Start’, type windows performance and press [Enter]. Selecting ‘Adjust for best performance’ will disable all visual effects to give you the biggest performance boost. Click ‘Apply’, but if you now come across something that looks a little too crude like jagged font edges or jerky list scrolling, revisit this menu and re-tick the options.
Increase your PC’s virtual memory
on your hard drive? 1 RAM When your computer runs out of
memory, it borrows a portion of your hard drive to use as virtual memory. To improve performance by allocating more virtual memory, click ‘Start’, right-click on ‘Computer’ and select ‘Properties’.
the sums 2 Do See the amount of ‘Installed memory
(RAM)’ you have listed here? Multiply this figure by 1,024 and then multiply the new number by 1.5. Make a note of the answer, before clicking the ‘Advanced system settings’ link on the left.
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the change 3 Confirm On the Advanced tab, click the
uppermost ‘Settings’ button, followed by the ‘Change’ button. Uncheck the top tickbox, choose the ‘Custom size’ option and enter your previously noted number into both boxes. Click ‘Set > OK’ to finish. January 2014
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