Is This Windows Tweak Safe?

http://www.webtlk.com/2010/04/19/how-to-increase-computer-speed-by-deleteing-dll-files-from-windows/

 

Not that the boys on this forum would know what they're talking about. Maybe someone here'll prove'm wrong?

 

I used to try it. I found a few others over the years. One was supposed to always check the local directory of an application to see if a dll was there, and if so, it would use it instead of going to the system directories for dlls. In this way you were "supposed" to be able to house dlls with the application so you don't go into "dll hell" as they say.

None of them have ever made a noticable difference that I can tell.

Can't hurt to play though if you have backups. That is the fun of computers IMO.

Sul.

 

No, this 'tweak' will certainly not work, only before Windows 2000.

if you search MS you will find that it is not supported.

 

See, this is one of the reasons a lot of people screw up their system all to hell. You'll get somebody who will have a system that is as slow as a handicapped snail start up Google and search for speed tricks, services they can disable, programs to make their system run faster (I've tried that in years past, I can't believe how idiotic that was), and all sorts of other things. Here's my quick and dirty guide to a speedy, useful system:

1. Get more RAM. If you have 1GB of memory, and you're running Photoshop (good luck with that), have 10 or more browser windows open, have an AV running, maybe even an AM, and are listening to music, all at the same time, guess what is going to happen genius? That's right, your system is going to be slow. Actually, if you're doing all that with a Photoshop that is halfway recent, your system is going to suicide.

2. Get a newer processor: I'm awful sorry, but trying to play even a 5 year old FPS or online game, while doing ANYTHING else, isn't going to happen on that little single-core Celeron, no matter how fast it is.

3. Stop running so many programs in the background: Why, dear reader, do you see it wise to run 100 different processes at the same time? Why do you let an application you aren't even using at the moment, run idling in the background? Are you listening to music at the moment? No? Shut off WinAmp Agent then. Are you using that photo editor? Kill its process, please. Need I go on?

4. Never, ever, ever use a program to speed up a slow system: Let me ask you, and think about this real hard...what sense does that possibly make? If running programs makes you slow, well, um, gee Einstein, what do you think is going to happen when you add ANOTHER program to it?

5. Defragment your system: No, a few weeks of normal usage isn't going to affect a darn thing. But after a few months of daily file access, loading games, and more, it will. I know, watching the pretty bars move piece by piece so slowly sucks...use a defrag program with prettier bars.

6. Don't use 2 or 3 different programs to accomplish the same thing: This especially occurs in securing a system. "But if this AV/AM misses something, the other will catch it!".....BS, stop. If you're that worried about malware being missed, you might want to worry about just what exactly you're doing with that PC of yours. All you are doing by running different programs that accomplish the same thing, is slowing the hell out of said programs' scanning and also setting yourself up for conflicts. Pick a program that is known to give good results, and be done with it.

7. Don't get infected: "But but, drive-by downloads, how could I have known?!"....Shut...up. Guess what drive by downloads MAINLY consist of? Pop-ups, "Your system is infected, oh noes!" messages...on a freaking website, "You don't have Flash/Java, get it here, hurry hurry, clickie clickie!" messages....when you were JUST using Flash/Java 10 minutes ago elsewhere. If you can't keep from being a clicker, hit the power button, walk away from the keyboard, and find something else to do. It's one thing to not be "up to speed" on the latest security threats/prevention. It's another to be an ID10T...see what I did there?

8. Leave services/the registry alone. For the MOST PART, if a service or registry entry is running, chances are it's needed SOMEPLACE. Leave it alone! If you're having issues, disabling a needed service or screwing around in the registry is not very likely to help matters. And, if you're a clicker who doesn't know anything, you know, the type of person I spoke to in number 7?...Then you for SURE need to stay away...hey, why are you still here anyway? I told you to unplug....go watch TV or something, kthnxbye.

Okay, I've made my point I think

 

Thanks, dw426, for your most sound and practical things to do or not to do to improve your computer's performance !

I agree with all of them though some of the points can be said in a kinder way....well, maybe, that's just me.

 

I sound harsh, I know. I've dealt with so, so many people over computer issues over the years, and the general attitude of people have gotten to me I guess. Computers aren't supposed to fail according to many, the vendor claims on the sticker on the side of the box regarding performance is considered the Bible, and on and on. And, in the security world, it's mostly the same. "Nothing can happen to me, I'm using the safest browser according to this magazine I read", "If it says I need a codec...hey, what IS a codec anyhow?...and I can't view this website because I don't have this codec and, and....well, darnit, I'm gonna install this codec 'cause I wanna see so and so nekkid!".

Years of articles, tests, and experts telling us NOT to click on things we weren't expecting and didn't ask for, and STILL they click. I'm sick and tired of backing these people up and giving them the benefit of the doubt by thinking "Well, maybe they just didn't know"...No, they just didn't read. Grandma and Grandpa can be forgiven for being a bit careless or not knowing. Most of them never had a TV growing up, let alone a personal computer. Sonny boy that bought that system for them however, not so much.

I've gone back and forth between "Well, security is hard" and "Why can't their thick heads be penetrated?". There's a difference between knowing you need an AV and knowing about something like HIPS. I understand not getting HIPS, hell I think they are more complicated than they need to be myself. But where is the line drawn between security knowledge and common sense?

I'm tired of people not using the computer inside their bony skull. You know, the one that says "Hey, since I only have a single copy of this presentation/financial record/secret of the universe on my hard drive, MAYBE I should make a copy and store it elsewhere."

/ end rant. Lol

 

@dw426

Agreed, except no.8 maybe.
Your advice only applies to the clueless average user.
Running services you don't have any use for is just an useless waste of resources and might become a security issue as well.

 

Number 8 is a difficult one for me. The registry and services all contain a little bit of "useless" parts. Some of us, myself included, do a quick search for registry entries left behind from old, removed software, and we will sometimes clean it out. However, we also back those entries up, just in case. The thing is, we do it because we want tidiness, not because those entries harm anything. Most people will just run a registry cleaner and anything in red gets wiped. That's not the way to do things safely and properly.

In regards to services, the resource issue is a problem when not following points 1 and 2 of my previous post. Security, well, generally only the "remote access" services are truly harmful, and even then a system has to be exploited in order to use those services against you, which is covered in point 7. Places like Black Viper are wonderful..in the right hands of people willing to put in the time to understand what they are doing. In the hands of the impatient and desperate (remember them? "Help, my system is slow!"), Black Viper and the like are disasters waiting to happen.

 

Exactly. And more often than not, problems WON'T show up until later.

 

Reminds me of something that happened to me. A year and a half ago I was trying to hook my desktop PC into my brothers wireless internet service. I went out and bought a wireless card. Installed it and the software and nothing. Could not get it to connect. No way, shape, or form was that PC going to connect no matter what I tried. I went and returned the PCI wireless card and bought a USB card with same results.

Long story short. By the time it was said and done I had tried multiple brands of USB and PCI cards and various different tips and tricks over several days time.

When I figured the real reason why that PC would not connect it was a serious :FacePalm: reaction. When I built that PC and installed the OS and programs. I had then went in and did my usual tweaking and one of the tweaks was turning off the wireless service. DU'OH, a total Homer Simpson moment.

Changed my outlook on system tweaks let me tell you. I have now went a year and a half without any tweaks to this PC and not noticed any difference at all between a tweaked or untweaked system.

 

Tweaks -- Ahhh! I love them. I can't get enough of them. I try them all. And I keep many of them. Lots of them I put on others computers. One needn't fear them if one knows what to look for.

For the average user, I agree completely, most "speed" and "performance" tweaks that actually work require some further knowledge to understand that "one day" you might need to fix that tweak for compatability.

Services, my number one item I have focused on since win2000. Some say this, some say that. All I know, is since I have been tweaking services on the NT platform, every computer, from p133 to my c2d, ALL benefit, to varying degrees.

Take for example tweaks to the network interface or tcp/ip. I have messed extensively with those. On my 10/100 NICS, with a good machine etc, I used to be able to achieve a 98-100% throughput. How? With tweaks. The machines were stable, the data rate was very stable, not many spikes at all. Was it worth it? It was then. Did I have issues ever? Yes, sometimes. But I was willing to sacrifice that extra 20% bandwidth for any future issues.

I have messed with these same areas over and over on gigabit networks. Good hardware, good cat6 cabling. Many different drivers, physical cards and tweaks later, I can still only acieve about 80% throughput across two raid 5 10k scsi machines. Maybe 60-70% on desktop machines.

I have no point here LOL, I am just saying I love tweaks. It is what makes these stupid electronic boxes fun. Without them, well, I would just as soon use Linux if it werent for games.

Sul.

 

This tweak is utter BS and has no effect whatsoever from Windows 2000 onwards.

Reference

 

I am sure most of you are familiar with Black Viper's site already. It has detailed info on what the various services running under different versions of Windows are good for, and gives you a good idea what services you can disable (based on your configuration and your specific needs).

regards,
T

 

dw426, you put it superbly! The only qualifier I'd add is have a very recent backup image in place so that if one wants to experiment, then screwing up is only a minor inconvenience of restoring that image to a previous pristine state. Preventing certain, unimportant services from starting has been a favorite pastime of mine.

 

I've use the dll cache clearing tweak years ago on XP and found it only had an impact on PCs running 1GB or less. Not worth the effort on 2GB machines in my opinion. Windows does the maid work on those machines. Is it safe? Well, according to my experiences - yes. Is it practical? Not if you have more than 1GB memory. At least that's my uneducated opinion.

SourMilk out

 

Yeah, that's called placebo effect.

 

It is not supported above Windows 2000 including XP - only NT, 98...

edit : question and answer also posed here

links given above here and here.