Why Command Line Scripts?

Having experience with both commercial and free backup programs, I always find command line scripts to be, by far, the most effective tool for the job. Here are a few reasons why:

• Native Commands: What better way to backup data than by using the functions made available through the program which creates the data. Whether this is the operating system itself via a simple file copy command or a database command to produce a restorable binary file, the source program knows how best to back itself up.
• Ultimate Control: Since a command line script follows a simple step-by-step procedure, you know exactly what is happening and can easily modify the behavior.
• Fast: Since everything is a native command, nothing is subject to interpretation. Again, you are using commands provided by the program itself, so overhead is kept to a minimum.
• Powerful: I have yet to see a backup task which cannot be accomplished through a command line script… and I have done some funky stuff. Albeit, some research and “trial and error” may be required, unless you need something incredibly unique, typically the built in functions and features of the scripting language you are using is more than sufficient.
• Free and Flexible: Obviously, a command line script does not cost anything (outside the time to develop it), so the emphasis I want to make is command line scripts can be copied to and implemented on other systems and quickly adapted with little to no time or cost. Compare this to the cost of purchasing licenses for backup software on several servers and/or desktop machines.

A Quick Overview Of The Backup Batch Script

Since a lot of people do not have the need/time/desire to learn command line scripting, it is considered somewhat of a “black art”. So to demonstrate the power of the command line, I am providing a simple Windows batch script to backup your important data. This configurable and customizable script does not
require any knowledge (or willingness to learn) of the Windows batch scripting language.

What the backup script does:

1. Creates full or daily incremental (see below for a definition) backups of files and folders you specify in a separate configuration text file (see below).
   • When a folder is provided, that folder and all sub-folders are backed up.
   • When a file is provided, just that file is backed up.
2. Compresses (zips) the backed up files. After all files to be backed up are copied, they are compressed to save space. 7-Zip is required to be installed on your system for this to work.
3. Dates the compressed file and moves it to a storage location. After the backup files are compressed, the resulting archive is given a file name according to the current date and then moved to a configured storage location, such as an external drive or network location.
4. Cleans up after itself. After all tasks are completed, the batch script cleans up all the temporary files it created.

Requirements:

Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista,
7-Zip (it’s free).

Configuration file:

The configuration file is simply a text file which contains files and folders to backup, entered one backup item per line. This file must be named “BackupConfig.txt” and be located in the same folder as the backup script. Here is an example of a BackupConfig.txt file (note, the first line is always ignored):

# Enter file and folder names, one per line.
C:\Documents and Settings\Jason Faulkner\Desktop
C:\Documents and Settings\Jason Faulkner\My Documents\Important Files
C:\Scripts\BackupScript.bat

The example above would backup the Windows user Jason Faulkner’s desktop (and all folders on the desktop), the folder called “Important Files” inside of My Documents (and all folders inside “Important Files”) and the file “BackupScript.bat” inside the C:\Scripts directory.

Types of backups:

The Data Backup Windows Batch Script

I want to emphasize this script is very basic, as all it does is create backups by a utilizing a simple file copy. There are some configuration options you can set:

• The backup storage location where the resulting compressed backup files are stored.
  
• The day of the week the full backup is run (any other day would run an incremental backup).
• Location of where 7-Zip is installed on your computer. The script is automatically set to look in the default location.

If you have any suggestions or feature requests, please comment below. I would really love to do a follow up article to this post which features an updated script based on reader input.

If you need instructions on how to “use” this script or set up a scheduled task, take a look at the links below the script source.

Without further ado, here it is:

@ECHO OFF

REM BackupScript
REM Version 1.0, Updated: 2008-04-19
REM By Jason Faulkner (articles[-at-]132solutions.com)

REM Performs full or incremental backups of folders and files configured by the user.

REM Usage—
REM   > BackupScript

SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

REM —Configuration Options—

REM Folder location where you want to store the resulting backup archive.
REM This folder must exist. Do not put a ‘\’ on the end, this will be added automatically.
REM You can enter a local path, an external drive letter (ex. F:) or a network location (ex. \\server\backups)
SET BackupStorage=C:\Backup

REM Which day of the week do you want to perform a full backup on?
REM Enter one of the following: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, *
REM Any day of the week other than the one specified below will run an incremental backup.
REM If you enter ‘*’, a full backup will be run every time.
SET FullBackupDay=*

REM Location where 7-Zip is installed on your computer.
REM The default is in a folder, ‘7-Zip’ in your Program Files directory.
SET InstallLocationOf7Zip=%ProgramFiles%\7-Zip

REM +———————————————————————–+
REM | Do not change anything below here unless you know what you are doing. |
REM +———————————————————————–+

REM Usage variables.
SET exe7Zip=%InstallLocationOf7Zip%\7z.exe
SET dirTempBackup=%TEMP%\backup
SET filBackupConfig=BackupConfig.txt

REM Validation.
IF NOT EXIST %filBackupConfig% (
  ECHO No configuration file found, missing: %filBackupConfig%
  GOTO End
)
IF NOT EXIST “%exe7Zip%” (
  ECHO 7-Zip is not installed in the location: dir7Zip
  ECHO Please update the directory where 7-Zip is installed.
  GOTO End
)

REM Backup variables.
FOR /f “tokens=1,2,3,4 delims=/ ” %%a IN (’date /t’) DO (
  SET DayOfWeek=%%a
  SET NowDate=%%d-%%b-%%c
  SET FileDate=%%b-%%c-%%d
)

IF {%FullBackupDay%}=={*} SET FullBackupDay=%DayOfWeek%
IF /i {%FullBackupDay%}=={%DayOfWeek%} (
  SET txtBackup=Full
  SET swXCopy=/e
) ELSE (
  SET txtBackup=Incremental
  SET swXCopy=/s /d:%FileDate%
)

ECHO Starting to copy files.
IF NOT EXIST “%dirTempBackup%” MKDIR “%dirTempBackup%”
FOR /f “skip=1 tokens=*” %%A IN (%filBackupConfig%) DO (
  SET Current=%%~A
  IF NOT EXIST “!Current!” (
    ECHO ERROR! Not found: !Current!
  ) ELSE (
    ECHO Copying: !Current!
    SET Destination=%dirTempBackup%\!Current:~0,1!%%~pnxA
    REM Determine if the entry is a file or directory.
    IF “%%~xA”==”" (
      REM Directory.
      XCOPY “!Current!” “!Destination!” /v /c /i /g /h /q /r /y %swXCopy%
    ) ELSE (
      REM File.
      COPY /v /y “!Current!” “!Destination!”
    )
  )
)
ECHO Done copying files.
ECHO.

SET BackupFileDestination=%BackupStorage%\Backup_%FileDate%_%txtBackup%.zip

REM If the backup file exists, remove it in favor of the new file.
IF EXIST “%BackupFileDestination%” DEL /f /q “%BackupFileDestination%”

ECHO Compressing backed up files. (New window)
REM Compress files using 7-Zip in a lower priority process.
START “Compressing Backup. DO NOT CLOSE!” /belownormal /wait “%exe7Zip%” a -tzip -r -mx5 “%BackupFileDestination%” “%dirTempBackup%\”
ECHO Done compressing backed up files.
ECHO.

ECHO Cleaning up.
IF EXIST “%dirTempBackup%” RMDIR /s /q “%dirTempBackup%”
ECHO.

:End
ECHO Finished.
ECHO.

ENDLOCAL

If you need help getting started with implementing this script, here are a couple of links to help you out:

• How to create a Batch file.
• How to create a Windows Scheduled Task.

This is the same script I use to backup my computer daily (with a couple of modifications of course), so I know it works very well. I hope you find it useful.

Enjoy.

To remedy this, I installed the DFMirage display driver on my Windows 2000 machine. This instantly boasted performance and dropped my CPU usage to about 5%. Because the DFMirage driver communicates with the TightVNC service to only broadcast changes in the current screen instead of the screen as a whole (much like the way Terminal Services work), resources required are drastically reduced.

If you use TightVNC on Windows 2000 or XP Home, then DFMirage is a must have for optimal performance.

Gigabit routers are available, but they are usually pretty pricey. I have a solution that can work with your current setup for under $50. It can definitely be worth the extra money if you intend to do any file transfers. Time is money, you know. Here’s what I recommend:

• Check out your favorite computer warehouse – I will use Newegg for sample prices – to find a simple gigabit switch that has 4 ports or more.
• Dlink and Linksys both have switches available for under $35 at Newegg which can be used for this purpose
• When you get the switch, you will want to shut off your router and modem
• Unplug all the ethernet cables on your router except the one that goes to your modem
• Plug the switch into the router with an Ethernet cable
• Plug all computers and other networked devices directly into the switch

Using this process allows all the computers on your home network (assuming they are all wired into this switch) to communicate at gigabit speeds, without investing in a gigabit router.
In my house, I have Ethernet wired in the walls to a few different locations. All the drops lead to the furnace room where they are mounted in the wall. I have it set up so that there is a gigabit switch in the furnace room supplying signal to two of the locations, and the other lead goes to my room, where I have it go into another gigabit switch with my equipment plugged in there. Then, from there, that switch goes into the router.

My overall network speed has seen a very noticeable increase since the switch to gigabit. For me, it was well worth my time. I hope it can be worth yours too!

How nice would it be if your computer would start up just as fast as it did the day you brought it home? Often, that is the first thing people will notice about their computer when they start it up for the first time. Unfortunately, that dream goes away when we start installing programs, downloading plug-ins, and generally make a mess of things. Add to that the fact that we are impatient beings, and we want our applications yesterday, not 30 seconds from now. To appease our foot-tapping selves, here are some tips that will open up the doors to PC freedom once again.

For OEM (store bought) Computers

If you bought your computer as a pre-built machine from a store (see Dell, HP, Gateway, etc.), chances are that it has a load of trial software on it. PC World actually has an article all about this, and states that “As shipped, nearly all of the 15 PCs [they] tested had more than 80 processes–tasks from the OS or from applications–running. After [they] disabled all of the nonessential junk on each test machine, the number of processes dropped to the mid-thirties.” Extra processes not only steal resources from what you are working on, but also slow down startup dramatically, as Windows has to go through each process and activate it. So what do you do about it? Get your hands on this free tool and run it. It is called the PC Decrapifier, and it was designed to, well, de-crapify your PC. Instructions for use can be found on their website. It picks up on the programs in your computer that you potentially do not need, and shows you a list of what it sees. Select what you want to whack, and it will kill it, processes and all. If you do not know whether or not you should get rid of it, you can visit our forums and ask, or use a search engine and hunt for the answer that way. It will also take care of more minor things like desktop icons and the like. If you feel so obliged, they also give you the option to donate to them for offering you a free, very useful program.

Resource-Sucking Programs

Aside from running the PC Decrapifier, there are a few other things that you can do to boost overall performance on startup.

You need to hunt down some of the other programs or startup processes that are bound to slow things down. Programs like Adobe Reader, iTunes, and Quicktime by default have a startup process that allows you to open the program in question a little quicker (called “pre-loading”). Honestly, the trade-off isn’t really worth it. Details and instructions on another very handy free tool that removes these things easily can be found here. Take special note of when Rich goes through the details of the startup menu. He tells you everything you will need to know.

Other good things to pay attention to are programs that hog resources from the time they get going, all the way through your working day. Believe me when I tell you, one myth that needs debunking is that Norton Internet Security or Norton Anti-Virus products are actually beneficial to system performance. These programs are just about guaranteed to inflate your startup times to ridiculous proportions, and you need to get rid of them promptly. A removal tool can be found here. I am continually amazed that people still recommend this software, when there are solutions out there with a much smaller footprint (that is, they use less resources), for free, that can get the job done just as well, if not better. For a good list of free/cheap applications that will serve you well in this department, check out this page in our forums. Another system security application that falls into the incredibly slow category is McAfee, and arguably Spy Sweeper.

Defrag

So far, we have walked you through some major program elimination that has likely already given you a boost in startup times. On that note, you will have freed up some space on your hard drive by now. Double-click on My Computer, right click your hard drive and select “Properties.” This will show you what kind of space you have left, and also gives you a pie chart to look at. Once you cross the 85% threshold (approximately), you are likely to experience slightly less performance in all areas, including startup. It is here, and after every program install/uninstall that you might consider running a ‘defrag’ on your computer. This will basically rearrange the files on your hard drive so that it can access data easier/faster. Enter your Control Panel, and switch to the Category View if you have not already. Click on “Performance and Maintenance”, and then “Rearrange items on your hard disk to make programs run faster”. This will bring you to the Defrag utility within Windows. Click “Analyze” just to see the damage. You will get a message that informs you as to whether or not you need to defrag at that point.

In Windows Vista, it is slightly different. You want Control Panel>System and Maintenance>Administrative Tools>Defragment your hard drive.

XP Users Only

Try out BootVis. This program originally belonged to Microsoft, but they have stopped supporting it. It still works, and you can download it here.  Follow these instructions and you will be analyzing and reconfiguring your system startup to give you a 30-second-or-better boot time. Be sure to close all programs and bookmark this page for reference. There are a few different ways to use this program. Here is just one:

Once you open it, go File>New>Next Boot + Drivers Trace. You will see a window pop up that asks you how many reboots and how many traces you want to run. The default is fine, but you can increase those numbers if you choose. Click OK. This will give you a countdown for a reboot. Once your computer is back up and running, BootVis will open up automatically and show you a record of Boot Activity, among other things. You can use this to manually disable processes that are taking a really long time to initialize, and see how much of your boot process is actually taken up by various tasks. If you want BootVis to do the work for you, go Trace>Optimize System. This will automatically shuffle tasks and try and find a boot sequence that can speed up your times. Beware though, this is an automatic configuration, meaning it might do something you do not want it to. You will not run into any critical errors, but it may end up disabling something you want.

For the Vista Users

Some of you will be able to take advantage of a cool trick that Microsoft came up with called ReadyBoost. The basic principle is that you can use a USB flash drive as extra RAM. Simply plug it in, and if it/your version of Vista is ReadyBoost compatible, you will be given that option in the autoplay menu. If said menu doesn’t appear for whatever reason, just enter Computer, right click on the flash drive, and select Properties. There will be a tab labeled “ReadyBoost.” Once in that tab, you can select the amount of space on that drive that you want to use as RAM. Also remember to NOT unplug the drive until it is safely disconnected by using the “Safely Remove Hardware” feature.

Because most, if not all, of us still use mechanical hard drives, the actual reduction in boot time directly related to ReadyBoost is uncertain; you are more likely to see a performance boost within applications. However, flash drives are very cheap right now (as in “$30 can get you 4 gigs” kind of cheap), and if you do use Vista, you cannot really go wrong by trying this option.

Improvements I Saw

On a Vista laptop (Acer Aspire 5110): Before using any tweaks mentioned here and before ReadyBoost, I timed an agonizingly slow 2:45. ReadyBoost by itself shaved 5 seconds off, and after applying tweaks the time dropped all the way down to 1:30.

On my XP desktop, before a standard cleaning (which I do about once a week), my average startup time was ~50 seconds. After cleaning and using BootVis (which was new to me) my time shot down to 28 seconds.

Disclaimer

Just keep in mind that with all of these tips, mileage may vary. I cannot say how fast your PC will be after you do all of these things because every PC is different, as is the one that uses it. I tried to keep it relatively simple while also giving you a taste of some very cool things that can be done with Windows. There are many more complicated things that you can do (ie registry tweaking) but that is beyond the scope of this article. On that note, some of these tips still require you to ‘geek out’ a little, meaning you can screw something up if you aren’t careful. When in doubt, search it.

So, I decided to look into the different types of file systems and look for an answer. Is the file system Windows uses responsible for the difficulties?

The Different File Systems

File Allocation Table (FAT). This is a file system developed by Microsoft for MS-DOS and was used up to Windows ME. A disc formatted using FAT consists of a boot sector, file allocation tables, and the data. The boot sector contains the code necessary for your computer to boot up. The file allocation tables are a mapping of where on the disc certain files and directories reside. Then you have your data itself. The problem with the FAT file system is that when a file is deleted or a new file is removed, that blank space on the drive can be written to by something else. FAT does not take care of the location of new files when this happens, and that leads to file fragments being written all over the disk. The file allocation tables do allow the data to be found, but the read/write head on the hard drive would need to gather your data from disparate parts of the disk. This is why you see a performance decrease. The FAT file system is particularly susceptible to fragmentation by its very design. More information about FAT can be found on Wikipedia.

NTFS is short for New Technology File System. It was, again, developed by Microsoft for its Windows NT line of operating systems. That means NTFS is used in any version of Windows based on the NT kernel, including Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Server 2008 and the venerable Windows Vista. The major difference with NTFS is that it is based around metadata. Metadata is “data about data”, according to Wikipedia. In other words, the metadata is like a little mini-database on the drive which stores all kinds of information about the files and directories on the hard drive. NTFS supports things like compression, file-level security and other things useful to enterprise and those attributes are stored in the metadata. The cool thing about this way of dealing with files is that it is extendable to support other features. In fact, Microsoft has released five different versions of NTFS, each successive update providing more features. For information on NTFS can be found on Wikipedia.

As for fragmentation, NTFS is much more improved than FAT and is more efficient in how it handles data location on the hard drive. But, NTFS is subject to fragmentation. There was a myth for awhile that NTFS was not subject to fragmentation, but again, it was a myth. The NTFS file system is a very flexible one. As new attributes or capacity is called for from NTFS, it makes room and stores that information in the Master File Table. If a certain amount of space was set aside for a small file, and then that file becomes very large, portions of that file will need to be stored in other areas of the drive as NTFS creates new data storage areas are created. Also, the NTFS file system used clusters, just like FAT. So, yes, NTFS might have a reduced capacity for fragmentation, but it is still susceptible.

Ext3 is the file system used by Linux. What makes ext3 most notable in contrast to any Windows file system is that it is a journaled file system. A journaled file system is one where any and all changes to any file are logged into a journal before actually being written to the drive. The journal is stored in a designated area of the drive. By its nature, a journaled file system is much less likely to be corrupted. The journal is a running record of ALL actions to be performed on a file. So, in the event of interruption (such as a power failure), the events in the journal can simply be “replayed” to recreate the consistency between the journal and the files on the drive.

The nature of ext3 makes fragmentation all but non-existent. In fact, Wikipedia says that the Linux System Administrator Guide states, “Modern Linux filesystem(s) keep fragmentation at a minimum by keeping all blocks in a file close together, even if they can’t be stored in consecutive sectors. Some filesystems, like ext3, effectively allocate the free block that is nearest to other blocks in a file. Therefore it is not necessary to worry about fragmentation in a Linux system.”

However, when you look into OS X’s file system, which is also journaled, you begin to see why Linux is subject to fragmentation as well…

Hierarchical File System (HFS) is the file system used by Mac OS X. It was developed by Apple itself. We have the original HFS file system (often called Mac OS Standard) and the more recent revision HFS Plus (referred to as Max OS Extended). HFS has been through many revisions. HFS is hardly used anymore. HFS Plus was introduced with Mac OS 8.1. Most notable to our discussion is that Apple introduced journaling to their file system with Mac OS 10.3, along with several other features key to the way OS X operates.

There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to defragmentation in OS X. Some say that it is not necessary because it is using a journaled file system. Other say that it is unnecessary, just not in the same way as Windows. OS X has the built-in ability to take care of file fragmentation and it will do this on it’s own. However, what can occur is drive fragmentation - small bits of free space between files. Performance-wise, it is almost a non issue and you will rarely gain any performance gain by doing a traditional defrag of an OS X machine. Drive fragmentation really only becomes an issue if you begin to fill your drive up to near full capacity. This is because OS X will run out of room for its own system files.

So, in short, there is no need to defragment in OS X unless you are beginning to fill up your hard drive. As this proceeds, you may begin to experience random OS X “weirdness” due to the OS running out of space for it’s temp files. When this occurs (or preferably before), a defrag of your hard drive will get rid of any slack space between files on the drive and recover space for the use of OS X.

I believe this will also be the case with Linux.

Other reference content:

• Does Mac OS X need a disk dragmenter/optimizer?
• Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
• Why Does Linux Need Defragmenting?

So, In Short

If you are running Windows, you are subject to fragmentation. FAT32 systems are VERY prone to it. NTFS is less prone, but still enough so. Linux and Mac users are subject to fragmentation, but unlike Windows, it does not cause any performance drag on the machine. Also, Mac users really only need to worry about fragmentation as their drives near capacity. The issue with Linux and Mac is not file fragmentation (as with Windows), but drive fragmentation.

Hope that helps. And, as always, I welcome any people with knowledge of this area to comment. I did the best research I could on this, but it is certainly possible I got something wrong. And when you throw the Linux and Mac “defrag debates” into the mix, there are certain to be opinions on both sides.

My PC takes for ever to reboot. Could you show me ways to speed it up?

Let me count the ways, actually. The problem of a slow boot process is one that has about as many solutions as it has causes. But, here is one piece of data that, if you understand, will simplify the entire thing for you:

The more stuff that Windows has to start up during boot, the longer it will take to complete.

So, with that in mind, the first thing you need to do is start unloading programs which are set to start automatically when you boot Windows. There are two places, primarily, that you want to look at:

1. Look in the “Startup” folder in your Start Menu. Anything in that folder is set to start automatically. To remove a program from this folder, simply navigate to the “Startup” folder in your Start Menu, right-click on the item you want to remove, and choose “Delete” from the menu. This will not delete the program…only the shortcut to it.
2. There are a lot of programs set to start automatically that do not put themselves conveniently in the “Startup” folder. To get to those, you have to get into the Windows registry. Now, I don’t recommend tinkering with the registry unless you’re already familiar with it (and chances are if you are getting anything out of this post, you’re not). So, it is best to use another utility to get to it. The “built-in” way is to go to the Start Menu > Run and type in “msconfig” and press Enter. The “System Configuration” window will appear. Go to the “Startup” tab to get a full list of programs that are starting up automatically. Uncheck the ones that you want to disable. Then press “OK” to save your changes. On the next reboot, you will be warned about selective startup. Just click through it because it is OK.

Now, sometimes when you are looking into processes that start automatically, you can tell upon inspection what program it is. Other times you can’t, or you don’t know enough about it to know whether it is safe to disable or not. For this, I recommend the Ultimate Troubleshooter, a utility which looks at your Windows processes and provides a plain-English description of what it is and whether you can turn it off or not.

Aside from automatically starting programs, you also want to clean out general “gunk” from your system. For this, I recommend CCleaner. It is a free utility which will help you scan for and remove crap that is not needed. It will also scan your registry and help you clean it up. It also, conveniently, will allow you to view and disable startup processes, just like “msconfig”.

While you’re at it, check out your list of Windows services. Any service which is set to start automatically will do just that. But, many of those processes may be unnecessary because you rarely if ever use the feature which they enable. If this is the case, you can go and turn the startup mode for the service to “Manual”.

And lastly, let me give you a little list of other items you can look into to speed up your boot process:

1. Add more memory. More memory (up to 2 gigabytes) always makes Windows run more smoothly.
2. Reduce the number of fonts installed under Windows. The more fonts you have, the more Windows performance is impacted.
3. Get a hard drive with a faster RPM speed.
4. Fine tune your security software. If you have anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software installed at maximum settings, this can slow down your computer a great deal.
5. Defragment routinely.

Yeah, users of other operating systems probably laugh at how Windows slows down so much when you load it up. Such is the nature of using an operating system which uses a registry. But, until Microsoft decides to completely change the way Windows operates, we will have to think about the above when trying to figure out why Windows runs so slow.

But, what do you do with your PC in the wee hours? It can just sit there and hum, doing nothing. But, that is a waste of electricity. If you’re going to leave it on, you might as well have it doing something useful, right?

So, let’s look at some ways of putting your computer’s time to use when you are counting sheep and studying the backs of your eyelids. Your computer doesn’t need any sleep, so let’s see what we can do to keep it busy.

Data Backup

Data backup is one of the more useful things you can have your PC do automatically overnight. It needs to be done (most definitely), however you don’t want it slowing down your computer when you’re trying to use it. And the best kind of backup is the kind that just happens without bothering you.

Using optical media isn’t an option here, because somebody needs to physically put the disc into the drive. And you’ll be sleeping. Another way to go about it is to use a second hard drive. By having two hard drives in your system, you can use one for data and the other for backups of that data. A program like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage can create full disk images of your computer’s hard drive at scheduled times and store the images anywhere you please (such as your second hard drive).

If you have broadband access, you might want to use an online backup service such as Carbonite or Mozy. These services work well because the data is backed up automatically at scheduled times. The data is also stored off site, which is more secure and redundant.

Virus/Spyware Scans

Scanning your hard drive for spyware or viruses can be a resource hog while it is happening. Why not schedule your PC to perform these scans at night when you’re sleeping? Most notable virus scanning utilities can do this. Most scans will result in nothing found, but you have the peace of mind of knowing it is being done. If something is found, then you might awake to your computer waiting for you to tell it what to do with it (ignore, delete or quarantine). But, the point is that it was found - and that’s because you had the scan being performed for you.

Defragging

One of my personal favorite features of Windows is how, over time, it throws data willy-nilly all over your hard drive and slows your computer down. I mean, you really gotta love that. If you want to speed your computer back up again, you need to perform routine defragging of your hard drive. Windows comes with a built-in defrag utility which will get the job done. Unfortunately, it does not have an obvious interface for scheduling it to run at certain times. Instead, use the Windows Scheduled Tasks feature to manually run “Windows/System32/defrag.exe c:” (with “c” being the drive letter you want to defrag) at the times you choose. A better defrag option would be Diskeeper, which makes scheduling automatic defrags a breeze.

Downloading Big Files

Sometimes we need to download really big files. This could include anything from a large Linux distribution, something off of BitTorrent, or even backups from your web server. These things can be done overnight. If you want to download something big, just remember to set it up to start downloading before you go to bed. For routine automated downloads, you might want to look into the macro interface for your FTP client. Many FTP clients offer a way to control the FTP engine using scripting. Using this in combination with Windows Scheduled Tasks can allow you to perform automated downloads while you snooze.

Video Rendering

If you do any video work with your PC, you know how long rendering a video can take. Why not set it up so that it renders while you sleep?

SETI

Donate some CPU power to the search for alien beings. From the SETI@Home website:

SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

Not everything your PC does has to be maintenance related. Throw a bone to science.

Tips and overview on how to optimize your website using Linux.

Overview of the Ultimate Troubleshooter v.4.21 Product.

More and more, gamers, performance addicts, and adventurous computer enthusiasts are getting deeper and deeper into tweaking and overclocking their computers.  To facilitate this process, and unlock a plethora of additional features related to the performance of your nVidia GeForce Video Card(s), Coolbits answers the call.  Not only does Coolbits void the necessity of third-party Video Card tweaking software, it is also relatively easy to enable.  In the following article I will detail the steps required to enable Coolbits, explain what some of the major unlocked features are, and how to use these new features to enhance performance.

**But first, before getting into the juicy, exciting part, I need to cover the legal part with the following disclaimer.  PCMechanic, nVidia, and myself cannot be held responsible for any and all damage (hardware and software related) which the user might bring upon their computer through the features which Coolbits unlocks.  Additionally, I am taking the liberty to assume that anyone who attempts to use Coolbits to Overclock their nVidia Video Card(s) understands the risks involved.  Such risks include, but aren’t limited to, failure of hardware, voiding warranties, and data corruption.

Enabling Coolbits - SLI
First thing first, we need to enable Coolbits before we can take full advantage of the many wonders it unlocks.  To do so, I have attempted to consolidate the required steps into a melody of step-by-step instructions and assisting images.  Keep in mind that Coolbits will only work on 55.xx (and up)  nVidia Drivers.  Also, remember that Overclocking your Video Cards voids the current warranties, so be careful and only attempt Tweaking and Overclocking if you are prepared to possibly replace hardware.  These are the instructions for enabling Coolbits on a computer with dual Video Cards in SLI, if this doesn’t apply to you, skip ahead.

1.)  Click on ‘Start’ and then click on ‘Run’.

2.)  Type “regedit” (without the quotation marks) and click ‘OK’.

3.)  Begin navigating to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/NVIDIA Corporation/Global/NVTweak“.  To do so, expand the following directories in the same order: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > NVIDIA Corporation > Global > NVTweak.  At this moment you should be viewing a window similar to this:

4.)  Under the column titled ‘Name’, right-click and select ‘New DWORD Value’.

5.)  Replace the name ‘New Value #1′ with “Coolbits” (without the quotations).

6.)  Right-click on Coolbits and select ‘Modify’.  Under ‘Value Data:’, type:
1A - to unlock SLI AA options, advanced features, and overclocking abilities (or)
18 - to enable the SLI AA options and advanced features only

7.)  Click ‘OK’ and exit the Registry Editor.

Now, if everything worked correctly, Coolbits should have effectively unlocked  a magnitude of features and functions to do with your Video Cards.   For verification purposes, your Registry, after the addition of the Coolbits DWORD, should look similar to this (with possible variations on the Coolbits Value Data):

Enabling Coolbits - Single GPU
As I only have a computer with dual Video Cards, I was unable to verify what the ‘Value Data’ of the Coolbits Registry Key should be on a Single GPU computer.  Being overwhelmed, I found websites and guides throwing around the values 1, 3, and 8, and other websites where they recommended using an application called “Coolbits 2.0″, which automatically edits the Registry.  Reading reviews, I came to a conclusion that “Coolbits 2.0″ is the easiest, most reliable way enable Coolbits on a Single GPU Computer.  Though, it appears that a little tweaking will still have to be done to enable the Application Profiles (see below).

Download “Coolbits 2.0″ Here: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=815

After running “Coolbits 2.0″, your updated Registry should look like this:

Opening Application Profiles (Single GPU + “Coolbits 2.0″)
By default (Note: Word on the street is that certain nVidia Card Series and Drivers will not require the following tweak.  So, first check to see if you can access your Application Profiles before adding to the registry), after using “Coolbits 2.0″ and allowing it to add entries to the Registry, you will notice that you no longer have and Application Profiles menu under Video Card properties.  In place of the Application Profile options, you will notice OpenGL and Direct3D tabs.  To gain control over which tabs are shown and not shown, there is a Registry tweak you can do yourself to modify the Video Card  control panel options to include Application Profiles.  I know, you are probably thinking that this is getting all-too confusing, but the overall performance gains and tweaking options are worth it.  Follow the steps below:

1.)  Click on ‘Start’ and then click on ‘Run’.

2.)  Type “regedit” (without the quotation marks) and click ‘OK’.

3.)  Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/NVIDIA Corporation/Global/NVTweak“.  To do so, expand the following directories in the same order: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > NVIDIA Corporation > Global > NVTweak

4.)  Under the column ‘Name’, right-click and select ‘New DWORD Value’.

5.)  Replace the name ‘New Value #1′ with “NvCplEnableAppProfilePage” (without the quotations).

6.)  Right-click on the DWORD which was just added and select modify.  Change the ‘Value data’ from 0 to 1.  (Hint : If you want to revert the changes again and view the OpenGL and Direct3D tabs, return this value to 0)

7.)  Select ‘OK’, exit the Registry Editor, and Reboot your PC for the changes to take effect