Tweaker Showdown

OK what's the best XP Tweak software? TweakXP or Tweak-XP

 

Tweak-XP, but my favorite is x-setup. winner tweak is another good tweaker.

 

thanks for the additions WSFuse, x-setup looks very powerful - i've just started looking at tweakers - there seems to be a plethora on the market. there is always the temptation to want to dabble with settings. Many of them include registry cleaning and tweaking - i'm wondering whether it's better to buy specialised software for that like Registry Mechanic rather than rely on jack of all trades software?

i like features like remove "unremovable programs" such as Windows Messenger and a startup manager to add or remove progs from the startup list and registry.

have you used Microsoft's Power Toys Tweak UI?

i've also run Firetune for Firefox but i'm not sure it's really made any difference.

Are there any "must have tweaks" in these Tweakers that really improve performance or make dealing with booting, shutdown and crashes smoother?

 

i usually do use seperate software, mostly just ccleaner. ill use tuneup utilities 2006 once it comes out in english too.

yes, autopatcher installs it and i use it for initial or basic tweaking.

i use that too. first i tweak using firetune then i finish off by using the tweak network and configuration mania extensions. they can make a difference. for example after tweaking, u can download more than 2 file fom the same server.

idk, u just have to try them for ur self tho one i use if to keep the windows kernal in main system memory. i also tweak the i/o page lock limit and others. and lastly i forgot another tweaker: winxp manager. and btw winxp manager and winner tweak both have wizards for tweaking settings. u may want to try that.

 

thanks for the comprehensive reply WSFuser - i will check out the firefox extensions and winxp manager too.

 

this is a site i am a member of - Decent Downloads, if you want to tweak XP go to the link below and get - X-Setup Pro (last freeware version), Tweakui and TuneXP.

also, if you don't have Crap Cleaner, Diskeeper Lite (although i use Buzzsaw and Dirms instead, with them, it means i never have to defrag, it's all done on-the-fly), Everest Home Edition, JV16 Powertools, Pagedefrag and NTREGOPT (as well as NTREGOPT i use the other program by the same developer called ERUNT. every time i boot it makes a copy of the registry, after 30 days it gets rid of the older backups. that is with the .exe version of ERUNT. the .zip version doesn't autostart and make those backups it just gives you the option to make backups when you want them. it's also good if you want to try a program. use ERUNT to backup the registry and make a Restore Point. then, it has to be before you make any other changes, if you want to cleanly uninstall it, use System Restore, then ERUNT. it has saved me afew times when i have made mistakes in the registry. i think OMG what am i going to do, then remember ERUNT )

http://decentdownloads.x-istence.com/Tweakfiles/Tweakfiles.html

BTW thinking back if you use system restore the ERUNT. system restore may corrupt ERUNT, so maybe use ERUNT first then SR. test it out and see what happens, because i think it would be best if you could do a system restore then use ERUNT. although, maybe some could let us know - does it matter which way around ERUNT and SR are run? thanks

 

thanks for the info iceni60 - i wish i knew what taking a system restore point actually does - for example does it do registry back up like erunt? if it doesn't then system restore would be pointless? i would have thought that registry backup and restore would be fundemental to any system restore type function - negating the need for ERUNT? same goes for third party install monitoring packages - if system restore did it's job these wouldn't be needed either?

windows is so incredibly complicated and convoluted in what it does - half the time you don't know where you are - you really have to dig around to get definitive answers. they say a camel is an example of design by commitee - i hate to think what example windows is.

 

this is by far my favourite tweaking program. all it is is a .chm file. as well as tweaks it gives troubleshooting tips, useful software tips, useful links and lots, lots more. there is one slight draw-back, but i don't think it is, all the tweaks it shows you are shown manually. so if there's a tweak you want to do, it shows you where to go in the registry and do the tweak, instead of the program doing it for you. maybe use ERUNT before you use it.

it's well worth taking alook at even if you don't like the idea of doing the tweaks yourself.

here are some screenshots.
http://windowsxp.homedns.org/xp/asp/twg/twg-screenshot.asp

here's the home page for the download.
http://windowsxp.homedns.org/xp/asp/twg/twg.asp

 

thanks Ice - lot's of good reading there

 

system restore does backup the registry. it will not completly uninstall a prgramme though as any folders the program made will still be there, plus it's own folder. you will have to remove them yourself. i think you can do one of two things to uninstall a new programme

1, make a restore point before the install. to uninstall, remove from add/remove programs first. then do a SR.

2, same as above but use ERUNT instead of SR - run before the install then again afterward, both will compltely remove the program from the registry, this bit in red is an edit -you may have to delete some folders from Program Files though

forget what i said in my first post. i use an install monitor so hadn't really thought about it much recently.

 

thanks for the clarification Ice

 

Here's some more for you, i use the first one, and it's not just for XP either !


The xp-AntiSpy is a little utility that lets you disable some built-in update and authentication 'features' in WindowsXP.

For example, there's a service running in the background which is called 'Automatic Updates'. I don't know what this service transfers from my machine to other machines on the internet, especially the MS ones. So I play it safe and disable such functions. If you like, you can even disable these functions manually, by going through the System and checking or unchecking some checkboxes. This will take you approximately half an hour. But why wast time when a little neat utility can do the same in 1 minute? This utility was successfully tested by lots of users, and was found to disable all the known 'Suspicious' Functions in WindowsXP. It's customiseable, but comes up with the Default settings, which are recommended.

Free

http://xp-antispy.org/content/view/12/40/


Samurai repairs all of the major flaws known to exist in Microsoft Windows operating systems. Unlike signature-based protection, Samurai repairs the problem, so that all attacks capitalizing on a specific vulnerability are stopped, not just attacks with known signatures.

Today’s security solutions mix firewalls, anti-virus software, patches, detectors, host and network intrusion prevention and all manner of encryption to achieve a high level of security. This layered approach has proven to be the only viable solution to Internet connected computing. Unfortunately, this approach creates a great deal of complexity. Is your firewall configured properly? Is your anti-virus software up to date? Do you have the latest service pack for your operating system? And how do you know if your computer is being used by someone else through a backdoor or a rootkit? Fortunately, you don’t need to be a security expert to have expert security.

Samurai provides the most extensive host based security available today without adding to the complexity of your existing security solution. There are no complicated installation procedures, no complicated user interfaces, no complicated enterprise deployment procedures, no complicated licensing requirements and no complicated update procedures. Just download and run; select all of the solutions from the solution list; and hit Apply Configuration. That’s all there is to it! Security professionals may elect to customize security settings and save specific configurations for enterprise deployment, but Samurai does not require security expertise.

Free

http://turbotramp.fre3.com/


Award winning tweaking utility designed specifically for Windows XP a.k.a WinXP. XP Smoker Pro allows you to change a multitude of settings in the registry. These settings can improve the performance of your computer drastically. XP Smoker Pro includes a State-Of-The-Art internet optimizer that runs a series of tests to optimize your internet connection for blazing fast surfing no matter what connection speed you have whether it be broadband or dialup.

http://www.xp-smoker.com/


StevieO

 

well, they are my excuse for getting it wrong in my first post. the big difference between the SR methood and an install monitor are:

when you use the SR methood you are totally restricted to having to uninstall right away. you can't make any other changes to your system during that time, or install more software and be able to keep it when you do the last SR. so you only have a small time limit, or are limited to making no other changes to your system.

with an install monitor only the exact changes the install makes are recorded. so you can go on for days, weeks, months, then decide to uninstall and any changes you have made to your system since the install won't be lost when you uninstall using the install monitor because during the uninstall the only changes made are those the software made when installed.

hope that makes sense?

 

hey StevieO - thanks very much - some cool links there - by the time i'm finished i should have downloaded at least a dozen of the recommended tweakers in this thread - i just hope windows can take a tweakfest

 

thanks for that Ice

 

you could get the last freeware version of Total Uninstall, alot of people use it here, i find it abit long-winded, but it's not too hard to get working.
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page10.html#Total Uninstall

 

cheers Ice - i seem to remember reading that some of these third party installers have problems if the install includes a reboot - is that the case?

 

I like XP-Smoker for performance tweaks. All beef, no fat - http://www.xp-smoker.com/

For general Windows tweaks I like FreshUI. Maybe not as much as X-Setup, but it's still got lots. Free registration required, but they don't give out the address, only send you update notifications. Their other software is really good, too. - http://www.freshdevices.com/

 

sorry i don't know about Total Uninstall, the one i use works with a reboot, Ashampoo, but it's not free. i'll fix the link above to Total Uninstall now.

 

thanks for your input Notok - much appreciated

 

i've seen Ashampoo Uninstaller free on magazine cover disks lately

 

are you going to try it? i've tried alot of things by Ashampoo from CD covers, some need an email address. they send alot of emails - spam. i can't find the disk, but i'm certain that's how i got this version.

 

XP Smoker 2.4.0 - Rareware ( freeware version )

http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?catid=49&shownews=4422

Regtick Pro 0.21 - i use it

http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?catid=49&shownews=2829

Windows Configurator 0.6 - i use it
http://www.klitetools.com/screens/w/windconf.gif
http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?catid=93&shownews=2594

 

thanks paul - looks like xpsmoker has a lot of fans