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Is it possible to keep that fresh install feel?

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Is there anyway possible to keep your system feeling as fast as it did the day you reformatted? Only one could wish for it :(

I literally have not installed anything on my system since I reinstalled for a new build a couple months ago. I use my laptop for everything now, to see if I can REALLY keep that new system install on my desktop. :laugh:

 
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Install OS and programs to SSD, install everything, downloads etc on a big HDD. Keep defrag on automatic daily, and c-clean every weeks end to remove temporary files.
NEVER click create desktop icon.
Still that fresh install feeling after a year :toast:

NOTE: you dont need a desktop shortcut to avast, you have a system tray icon for that. I havent used desktop icons in 2 years!
 
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NOTE: you dont need a desktop shortcut to avast, you have a system tray icon for that. I havent used desktop icons in 2 years!

I know, I don't mind icons on my desktop :)
But as you stated. I shall be not adding any more desktop icons. Any reason how these slow your system down? Guessing on startup the seek time for the shortcut to be connected to the file it is opening?
 
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Hi



on an SSD; are sure about that? may damage the drive!

atb (all the best)

Law-II

You cant defrag an ssd on daily defrag, at least mine doesnt show up, and i know it ruins the ssd if you do. It just defrags all my other drives.

I know, I don't mind icons on my desktop :)
But as you stated. I shall be not adding any more desktop icons. Any reason how these slow your system down? Guessing on startup the seek time for the shortcut to be connected to the file it is opening?

Desktop shortcuts increase desktop loading time from a few milliseconds to a second or two.
 
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I thought its not a good idea to defrag ssd's! I found a really good SSD info page where its says ten steps to optimise your ssd, I cant find it :( but it included turning cache off, win search off etc and said do not de frag!

mine boots in a couple seconds, but when I change settings/new installs etc, it slows down then all I do is drain the power from it, i.e let the mobo lights etc go out. then itll boot back in a couple seconds. im astonished how fast I can boot and get into game

the ssd just has games, os, and drivers. and little in start up!

and like said above remove temp files, malware, virus scans registry clean....keep the girl STI free and clean lol
 
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I thought its not a good idea to defrag ssd's! I found a really good SSD info page where its says ten steps to optimise your ssd, I cant find it :( but it included turning cache off, win search off etc and said do not de frag!

mine boots in a couple seconds, but when I change settings/new installs etc, it slows down then all I do is drain the power from it, i.e let the mobo lights etc go out. then itll boot back in a couple seconds. im astonished how fast I can boot and get into game

the ssd just has games, os, and drivers. and little in start up!

and like said above remove temp files, malware, virus scans registry clean....keep the girl STI free and clean lol

Again I'll repeat, daily defrag DOES NOT SELECT ssd by default, and often removes the drive from the selection list.
Also i forgot about MSCONFIG, jump in there and remove damn near everything from startup, there is also services.msc which you can delve into to remove things from startup too.
CCleaner is nice enough to remove pointless dll HKeys from the registry too.
 

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Startup on HDDs will always take ~1-2 minutes.

Unless there's something causing startup to be really slow, the pay off is little for going through Windows startup with a fine tooth comb.

Keep HDDs below 50% capacity (for sure 75%). The more full they get, the slower their read/write times on all additional data written to the drive.

Windows 7 stays surprisingly snappy compared to Windows XP. Windows XP would need an annual format to stay quick. I've gone two-three years since my last format on Windows 7 and really feel there's no reason to.
 
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Startup on HDDs will always take ~1-2 minutes.

Keep HDDs below about 50% capacity. The more full they get, the slower their read/write times.

Windows 7 stays surprisingly snappy compared to Windows XP. Windows XP would need an annual format to stay quick. I've gone two-three years since my last format on Windows 7 and really feel there's no reason to.

XP was always one of those rabid cats that crapped outside of its sandbox and never buried. Just sat in its own crap and made more of it.
 
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Also i forgot about MSCONFIG, jump in there and remove damn near everything from startup, there is also services.msc which you can delve into to remove things from startup too.

I have four things which run at startup :rockout:

Next thing on the list is an SSD. Are they as hard as they are made out to be to maintain? All I will use it for is OS only. All programs and games will be put onto my hdd. What necessary maintenance will be needed then?
 
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lol rcoon, just your first post I was saying about ssd and defrags, and then you updated about ssds! im using windows 8 and its pretty quick, I got a new mobo coming today and itll need a fresh install :D
 
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This install and system is from November and it's still going good. I have an SSD drive (Samsung 840 120GB) and Server 2012 does a good job with it.

I just have the OS, Programs, and games on the SSD and the HDD (1.5TB Seagate SATA) is where my general files and program installers, etc reside.

My system boots in 10-15 secs including loading Rainmeter and the lil bit of lag for Stardock Fences to kick in.

My printer takes longer to boot up then my computer does. LOLz.
 
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Frick

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Dont add things to the startup and youre there.
 
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I have four things which run at startup :rockout:

Next thing on the list is an SSD. Are they as hard as they are made out to be to maintain? All I will use it for is OS only. All programs and games will be put onto my hdd. What necessary maintenance will be needed then?

mine ran into some trouble once, locked up on 100% usage and kept freezing my pc, very strange. had to install new etc. think the cable was to blame.

but apart from that its been maintenance free, just search some tips for improving optimisation and its great......best buy to improve speed ever!

may even time startup.... 6-7 seconds from beep
 
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I have never really understood why you would not put programs and some games on an SSD. Those are the things you use. How much time do you spend only using Windows? I'm betting it's not a lot. Why wouldn't you want your programs quicker as well?
 
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I have never really understood why you would not put programs and some games on an SSD. Those are the things you use. How much time do you spend only using Windows? I'm betting it's not a lot. Why wouldn't you want your programs quicker as well?

I'm going to buy a 60GB SSD to begin with.

But yes if I had a higher capacity drive I would most likely put some of my most used apps/games on there. But I think many people DON'T for the fear of burning out their drives with the large amounts of read/write.
 

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I'm going to buy a 60GB SSD to begin with.

But yes if I had a higher capacity drive I would most likely put some of my most used apps/games on there. But I think many people DON'T for the fear of burning out their drives with the large amounts of read/write.

Which is kinda silly. By the time the drives would "burn out" they would be quite old anyway.

Also, I guess you're strapped for cash? Here there is not a lot of 60GB drives left and the jump up to 120GB will generally not make a lot of difference.
 
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I'm going to buy a 60GB SSD to begin with.

But yes if I had a higher capacity drive I would most likely put some of my most used apps/games on there. But I think many people DON'T for the fear of burning out their drives with the large amounts of read/write.

haven't they got warranty on things like that? and i keep a few games, drivers and os on a 120gb ssd (which actually reads as 111gb) and has 50gb spare so far.

60gb may be too small, i would think! in all honestly this was a pricless buy..... i see a hdd boot next to mine and i laugh everytime. even when loading games i smirk at the hdd :nutkick:
 
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Which is kinda silly. By the time the drives would "burn out" they would be quite old anyway.

Also, I guess you're strapped for cash? Here there is not a lot of 60GB drives left and the jump up to 120GB will generally not make a lot of difference.

Nope, but I had my mind set on OS only, but yes you are right. The drive will be 6+ years old by the time it dies, and within 2 years there will be a better drive out warranting a necessary upgrade to thirst your e-peen.

Is this any good?
http://ijk.com.au/branch/ijk/product_info.php?cPath=27_502&products_id=139864
 
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lol rcoon, just your first post I was saying about ssd and defrags, and then you updated about ssds! im using windows 8 and its pretty quick, I got a new mobo coming today and itll need a fresh install :D

My bad, i was talking about the HDD's i have in my system. CCleaner deals with my SSD trash. I install everyting i use frequently to the SSD, everything else to machanical if i dont need the speed.
 
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I was just reading up on how to improve ssd optimisation, and seen in a forum apparently the main and only important thing to do is have AHCI enabled. @anandtech
 

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I installed W7 64-bit in June 2010 and it feels as snappy as it did back then.

It's also been migrated across two motherboards and had loads of stuff installed and uninstalled on it over time.

Microsoft have really fixed the grunginess that afflicted their older operating systems, including XP, which could bog down quite badly over time. I can't see me ever having to reinstall W7 due to performance issues. :)

The only maintenance I do on it is to delete temp files with ATF Cleaner and run a defrag once in a while, along with installing all the latest updates from Windows Update and driver updates.
 

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I installed W7 64-bit in June 2010 and it feels as snappy as it did back then.

It's also been migrated across two motherboards and had loads of stuff installed and uninstalled on it over time.

Microsoft have really fixed the grunginess that afflicted their older operating systems, including XP, which could bog down quite badly over time. I can't see me ever having to reinstall W7 due to performance issues. :)

The only maintenance I do on it is to delete temp files with ATF Cleaner and run a defrag once in a while, along with installing all the latest updates from Windows Update and driver updates.

This and this again. When I had Windows 7 the only time I restarted the machine was when it updated something. As you say it really is different now.
 
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