TuneUp Utilities 2003 The Manual
TuneUp Utilities 2003 was developed by: TuneUp Software GmbH, Donnersbergring 22, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Web: www.tune-up.com The software manual was written by: Redaktionsbüro Typemania, Carsten Scheibe Web: www.typemania.de To receive software support, contact: E-Mail: tu2003@tune-up.com Web: www.tune-up.
Table of Contents Table of Contents ____________________________________ 3 1. Dear Users ________________________________________ 6 System Requirements____________________________________ 8 2. Software Installation_______________________________ 10 Starting the Installation _________________________________ 10 Starting the Software ___________________________________ 14 3.
TuneUp Icon Engineer _________________________________ 52 System Icons _____________________________________________ Drives and Folders_________________________________________ Appearance ______________________________________________ Repair __________________________________________________ 52 55 57 58 TuneUp StartUp Manager ______________________________ 59 TuneUp System Information ____________________________ 61 4.
6. Administer & Control ______________________________ 90 TuneUp Process Manager _______________________________ 91 TuneUp Registry Editor_________________________________ 94 TuneUp Uninstall Manager ______________________________ 95 7. File recovery & Destruction _________________________ 98 TuneUp Shredder ______________________________________ 99 TuneUp Undelete _____________________________________ 101 8.
1. Dear Users Most computers used worldwide run Windows XP or one of its previous versions as an operating system. Windows is well suited to starting programs and managing files. But if users want to adapt the system, optimize it or slenderize it, they will soon realize that this is much more difficult than it might sound. Actually, however, anything is possible. Windows controls the programs which are automatically activated during start-up. It determines the commands that are available in the start menu.
However, TuneUp Utilities does not only meet the claim to "prettify our Windows". It is also possible to clean up and optimize the system by simply pressing a button. The program then removes all redundant entries from the registry and optimizes the existing settings, thus considerably increasing system speed.
The RescueCenter is available to revert changes and restore files deleted by the Utilities. The UpdateWizard helps with keeping the software up to date and downloads updates from the Internet point-andclick. System Requirements TuneUp Utilities 2003 profoundly changes the Windows system. The operating system, however, often changes considerably from one version to the next.
Recommended system configuration: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Microsoft Windows Me/2000/XP Graphics mode 1024x768 with 16.
2. Software Installation Before you can use TuneUp Utilities on your computer, you have to install the software. During installation, program files are transferred to the hard disk. You can then start and use the Utilities without inserting the program CD into your CD-ROM drive. Starting the Installation If the Autoplay function is enabled for your CD-ROM drive, the TuneUp Utilities installation routine will start automatically. In this case Windows attends to calling the file.
Please close all other open Windows programs. The program now shows the license agreement. Please read the text once to find out about the terms for using the program. Afterwards, activate the I accept the license agreement option and proceed by pressing Next.
You have to accept the license agreement to proceed. On the next screen you are asked to fill in the User information. The program wants to know your name and the name of your organization/company. The installation routine will attempt to automatically fill in this information for you. The Serial number can be found on the front cover of this manual.
Please personalize your copy of TuneUp Utilities. Now we get down to business. On the next screen you have to name a Destination folder. That is the directory on the hard disk supposed to accommodate TuneUp Utilities. As a default, the program uses the path C:\Program Files\TuneUp Utilities\. If you want to use another target directory, press Browse to select one from a file browser. Press Next to begin copying the files. During this activity, a bar graph will show you the operation's progress.
Starting the Software There are two different ways of starting the program. During installation, the program creates a new icon on your Windows Desktop. To directly start the software, double-click on the icon labeled TuneUp Utilities. Alternatively, it is possible to use the Windows Start menu. Open it and go to the Programs folder. Here you will find a new group labeled TuneUp Utilities. By clicking on the TuneUp Utilities entry, you can load the tools' menu system.
3. Customize & Analyze The category Customize & Analyze helps you to get a grip on four different problems at the same time. In this section, various functions are available which help you change the appearance and functionality of Windows. TuneUp SystemControl undertakes cosmetic changes to Windows. Here you determine what the Desktop looks like and how it works. You will be surprised how many options TuneUp offers in this module.
TuneUp Icon Engineer module is responsible for the icons. It exchanges existing symbols for new ones and simultaneously changes a number of system settings. TuneUp StartUp Manager disables annoying startup programs. These are programs which are automatically started together with Windows – often against your wishes. The module lists all startup programs and lets you decide which ones you want to have present in the background from now on.
Very important: In case of doubt, the Restore Defaults button helps you to cancel all changes made and to re-establish the old status quo. One more information: TuneUp SystemControl always adapts to your system and only offers the options that make sense. On the following pages, only the settings for Windows XP will be specified, since this is the current operating system. The context help in the program (which can be reached by right-clicking any option) is available for every operating system, though.
the Best Performance button. With Restore Defaults, the original settings are reloaded. Enabling and disabling visual effects. • Tab Animation When using windows and lists, animations may come into operation. In the Window and Note Animation section you can determine whether windows or tooltips will be animated or not. Here you can specifically enable Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing.
In the Animation of Elements section you can decide in which display and control elements both scrolling and opening will be animated. You can activate the three options Animate list view & tree view, Slide open combo boxes and Smooth-scroll list boxes. Click on Best Performance to disable all options that are only straining after effects. With Restore Defaults you reactivate the predetermined Windows status quo.
In the Animation section you decide whether menu elements will be hidden after being called. In addition, you can select to Use the following display effect from the pull-down menu. In the Effects section you choose whether Windows will use flat 2D menus or if open menus ought to cast a small shadow on the area underneath. • Tab Font Smoothing Texts on screen can actually only be read smoothly, when they have been smoothed in the Standard mode.
What form of Font Smoothing do you prefer? Viewing - File Types • Tab Menu Operations In the Drives and Folders section you chose which of the entries listed are supposed to be shown in the folders' context menus. The Show "Explore from here" option opens a folder in a new window. The Show "Prompt here" option opens the prompt at the location desired. In the Files and Folders section you determine which commands are to be shown in the context menus of both files and folders.
And again: The Restore Defaults button will re-establish the original Windows settings. You can influence the context menus of both folders and files. • Tab New Menu In the desktop, explorer and save dialog context menus, the command "New" can be found. It opens a cascading menu and offers various file types which can be newly created point-and-click. With TuneUp Utilities you can determine which Templates are to be shown in the "New" menu.
Under Options you can decide whether the "New" menu will be shown in the context menus of both the desktop and the free space in folder windows. Changing predetermined settings for the "New" menu. • Tab Opening Files Here you decide how Windows is to react when opening unknown file types. In the Default Application field you determine one of two options. Either the "Open with…" dialog will be shown or a file will automatically be opened with a predetermined program, for example Notepad.
• Tab Advanced In the New Shortcut Prefix section you can choose whether the "Shortcut to" text will automatically precede each new link name. If you do not want this to happen, simply disable the option offered. If the text is to remain, leave the option enabled. In the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer section you determine if picture and fax files will continue to be loaded into the Windows Picture and Fax viewer via double-click. If this is the case, leave the display enabled.
In the Save View Settings section you can determine if Windows is to remember the position and size of windows and symbols when closing the windows. The Pop-up Description section deals with tooltips windows which can show further information matched to desktop elements and folders. Here they can be inserted for the elements mentioned. In the File and folder Names View you either enable or disable the option Enable capitals in file and folder names.
In the Thumbnail Size you determine the dimensions of the thumbnails. The default is 96 pixels. You can, however, enter any other value. In the Picture Quality section, use the slider to determine the quality of the generated thumbnails. The better the picture quality, the more disk space the previews will need. In the Thumbnails section you decide if the thumbnails will be stored intermediately in a file called THUMBS.DB .
Usage - Input options • Tab Mouse Functions In the Swap Mouse Buttons section you can exchange the left and the right mouse button. You then basically do mouse-clicks with the right button and activate software context menus with the left one. Many mice are equipped with a scroll wheel by now. Convenient for the Microsoft Intellimouse and compatible models you can, in the Scroll Wheel section, determine what is to happen when using the wheel.
Changing mouse settings in TuneUp SystemControl. • Tab Mouse Sensitivity In the Mouse Sensitivity section you determine the mouse movement tolerated in a double-click and necessary for dragging. The values are given in pixels, the default is four pixels. Try the new settings on the Test Icon immediately. In the Hover Settings section you can also change the Movement tolerance and the Hover time of the mouse pointer - based on the hover effect.
• Tab Active Window Tracking In this section you can enable a function which some users value as very helpful and others deem particularly annoying: The automatic window activation. If you enable the Activate active window tracking option, it from then on suffices to simply move the mouse pointer over an inactive window to activate it so that you can work with the program. If the function is enabled, it is possible to enable Delay before activation.
Usage - Start menu • Tab Special Menu Items In the Special Elements section you can specifically determine which commands are to be shown in the Windows start menu. Simply mouseclick into a checkbox to set a check or to remove it again. In the Search section you chose the elements which will be listed under the start menu command "Search". You can highlight individual entries and remove them from the overview with Delete. Determine the commands that should be shown in the start menu.
• Tab Usage In this section you choose the look of the start menu and determine menu behavior on mouse events. In the Open Cascading Menus section you can, with the aid of a slider, define the span of time passed before a menu opens after the mouse has moved over a menu entry. Combined with this option, the Open menus automatically after time given below option has to be enabled. Alternatively you can enable the Open menus only via mouse-click option.
Usage - Taskbar • Tab Flashing Buttons During the input of texts and other content the activation of other windows is prevented. A flashing button in the taskbar draws your attention to the fact that another software needs your attention. If this flashing is to remain, the option Enable flashing taskbar buttons has to stay enabled. In the Flashing Frequency section you determine how often the button in the taskbar is to flash. There are two options available.
taskbar buttons option. Matching this setting, also enable the Group any application with at least X windows option. By default grouping happens as soon as two windows of one application are shown on screen and there is no space left on the taskbar. Several windows belonging to one application can be grouped on the taskbar. • Tab Minimized Window If you size down an application, sometimes only the title bar remains which will then automatically be moved to the lower border.
In the Spacing section you specify how much pixel distance will be left between the individual bars. • Tab Advanced Windows XP often shows balloons on the right side of the system tray which notify you of important events or ask you to do various things - to save new data to CD for example. If these memos are supposed to keep appearing, the option Show balloons in the notification area has to remain enabled.
In the section Automatically Search for Scheduled Tasks you can activate or deactivate the option Search computers for scheduled tasks. When the option is activated and computers within the network are accessed they are always browsed for planned tasks. But this can also reduce the performance of your computer. In the Quality of Service section you can acquire bandwidth and at the same time you can set a limit for the bandwidth.
In the section Available Time Servers TuneUp SystemControl already mentions two well-known standard time servers. If you know more online addresses you can upgrade them by using Add. • Tab Internet Here you can configure the data transfer via the Internet protocol TCP/IP. In the section TCP/IP Settings press the button Settings to view the current TCP/IP settings. They can be manually edited. If you want the data transfer to be accelerated automatically press the button TuneUp System Optimizer.
You can influence the appearance of the Internet Explorer. • Tab Usage In the File Menu section you define what happens when you call the command "New" in the menu "File". You can either have the computer show the submenu command "New Window", which simply starts a new browser entity, or you induce the program to show a submenu. In the Favorites section you can activate and deactivate the file "Links" in the Internet Explorer favorites. Therefore you have the option Show Links in Favorites menu.
• Tab Security This tab deals with settings within the Internet Explorer that are relevant for security. In the section Internet Explorer User Agent String you define how the Internet Explorer identifies itself at the websites frequented by you. In the Download Confirmation section you select whether the Internet Explorer is allowed to accept certain downloads, such as videos or music, without confirmation.
• Tab Outlook XP Appearance In the "Type a question for help" Field section, you define if this field is shown in the Outlook XP tool bar. From here you have a quick access to the help functions of the software. In the Minimize Outlook XP section you select if Outlook XP should be shown as an icon in the taskbar or the system tray when the window is minimized. If you decide for the system tray, activate the option Minimize Outlook XP to notification area.
Activate the option Empty Internet Explorer cache when exiting if you want the web browser to delete the cache when it is finished. This should only be the case, if you are very safety-conscious and you would not like a third party to be able to reconstruct what you did online by using the data in the cache. • Tab Internet Explorer You should activate the option Block information on surfing habits through "Alexa" if you want to deactivate the Windows "souvenir" Alexa.
downloading them in the background without asking for your permission. • Tab Media Player The Windows Media Player also communicates a lot with the Internet. On this page, you find three options that make sure that your privacy is considered. The button Highest Security activates all three options at once. Do not acquire licenses automatically: The Media Player is not allowed to acquire licenses for protected media data.
Administration - User Logon • Tab General At the start of Windows XP a welcome screen is loaded showing your user name, which you can click directly to log in. If you have chosen the option Use Windows Welcome screen, this welcome screen remains. In addition, you can define more options by using Customize. Besides that, you can activate the option Use old logon prompt, where you have to put in your data manually.
How would you like to log on to Windows in the future? • Tab Automatic Logon You can work around this logon into your system by logging on a certain user automatically. In that case, simply switch on the option Enable automatic logon and write your access data into the place holders. Within the security option, you define whether avoiding the automatic login by using the shift key is allowed or not. In addition, the system can be forced to perform a login right away after a logout.
• Tab Messages In the section Notification Before Logon, a gimmick can be activated that shows all users a predefined notification before logon, such as a warning from the boss not to surf the Internet at the company's expense. First of all, activate the option Show message before logon, then write the headline and then write the actual text into the place holder.
Administration - Drives • Tab General The Enable UDMA66 Support section deals with IDE hard disks with UDMA support. If you as an owner of such a hard disk activate the offered option, the data transfer is accelerated. In the NTFS File System section you can activate two options if you use the NTFS file system on your hard disks. These options are Save date of last file access and Save short (DOS) file names.
The Button TuneUp Icon Engineer calls up the Icon Engineer module of TuneUp Utilities. With its help, you can replace the icons of single drives and drive types. If you want to defragment your drives and to arrange your files optimally on your hard disk, so that they can be found faster, press the button Defragment. Administration - Memory and Cache • Tab Memory Management The Virtual Memory section deals with PC systems with more than 256 MB memory.
• Tab Advanced This tab allows you a fast point-and-click access to the three tools TuneUp StartUp Manager, TuneUp Process Manager and TuneUp System Optimizer. These three tools will be introduced in the manual later on. Administration - Start and Maintenance • Tab System Start The Enable boot defragmentation option results in the data needed for booting being arranged on the hard disk in a way that lets it be found very quickly.
The boot defragmentation accelerates the system start. • Tab Terminate program What is Windows supposed to do when single applications "freeze" that means crash? In the Idle time without Feedback section, you define the time in milliseconds that the system gives the program to send feedback. After this, it will be closed either in the task manager or when the computer is shut down.
• Tab Desktop and Taskbar The section Desktop and Taskbar in Separate Processes deals with an important question of stability. By default, the desktop and the taskbar are carried out together with the Explorer. If the Explorer crashes, the desktop and the taskbar crash with it. That is the reason why you can provide the desktop and the taskbar with their own process. But to do so, you will need 8 MB of additional memory.
Administration - System • Tab General In the General section, you can change the name and the company of the user, who has registered the present Windows version. Here you can also find the serial number. In the section Windows Installer – User Data, insert both the name and the company name, which will be inserted into user information automatically when new software is installed. With the Settings button in the Support Information section, a configuration window is opened.
• Tab Search The options on this screen have influence on the optics and the performance of the search dialog. The Disable Indexing Service option assures that the cataloguing of your documents, which is automatically carried out in idle time, is prevented by the index service. The option Use classical search in Explorer takes over the classical search dialog style, known from Windows ME and Windows 2000, instead of the modern style.
TuneUp Icon Engineer Without icons, Windows will not get far. The small square symbols can be found everywhere – in the start menu, in the file dialogs and, of course, on the desktop. TuneUp Utilities dedicates an own program to the icons. Start TuneUp Icon Engineer to give your icons a digital "fresh cell regimen". Immediately a program window is loaded that offers you options on four different tabs.
You can exchange all of these icons.
Select an appropriate icon. When you have exchanged an icon, you can undo the change by using Reset. After several changes, you can use the button Default Icon to get back to the original Windows icon. If you want to change the appearance of Windows, you do not have to restrict your decoration to the desktop only. In the left bar Categories you can also switch to the Start Menu or you can take a closer look at the icons of Drives, Folder and Files.
TuneUp Utilities offers its own icon packs. Drives and Folders Each drive and each folder gets assigned a standard icon by Windows. With the Icon Engineer you now have the opportunity to edit individual icons. You can, for example, equip your computer games section with a particularly funky fun-icon, while the hard disk containing your office applications keeps a rather businesslike symbol. The exchange of particular icons is, of course, pure gimmickry.
press the Change Icon button. The program then reads the icon library Shell32.DLL that is enclosed in Windows. If you have your own icon library it can be read by pressing Browse. When you have found a suitable icon, highlight it and then press OK to use it. Whenever you press the Default Icon button, the old icon is activated again and the exchange is undone. Notice: You will have to log onto Windows XP again to exchange the drive icons. Exchanging the icons of the folders is possible right away.
Appearance Go to the Appearance tab. At this point, the program works with the icons on the Windows desktop again. Here you can edit a variety of features that influence the representation of the icons. Notice: The program window shows you a preview of all modifications that you make here on the left hand side. That way you can control yourself. In Windows XP it is impossible to manipulate the maximum color depth of the icons, because it is always 32 Bit (which is the maximum).
You can change the size and spacing of your desktop icons. Repair Surely it is fun to modify the Windows icons and to put in personal settings. But what will you do if the modifications desired for the icons are not implemented or Windows even interchanges individual icons? In that case go to the Repair tab and press the Reload Icons button. It makes sure that the chaos comes to an end.
TuneUp StartUp Manager Many programs start automatically with the Windows system without further enquiry. That often happens on purpose when resident tools, such as the virus scanner, an ISDN call monitor or a text module administration are loaded. But often enough, newly installed programs set themselves up as startup programs. This is annoying when the application is not used or when the user is harassed by tedious requests when starting the computer.
The overview of all detected startup commands. All startup programs are usually checked and therefore activated. If you remove the pre-selection by clicking on the particular boxes which are checked, the commands concerned will not be carried out anymore at the next start. This way you can find out if an entry is as unimportant as it seems. In case of emergency you can always check the box again via mouse click. Entries marked can be removed from the list completely by using Delete.
You can add an Startup entry of your own. TuneUp System Information TuneUp System Information takes a deep look into your computer and gathers numerous facts and information about your hardware and software in only a few seconds. This data can be important for you when you want to upgrade the system or when you are asked by a support technician if certain components are installed on your computer. The particular facts are compiled within nine tabs. The most important one is the Overview.
The overview page shows the most important components of your PC. In the other tabs you get acquainted to following information: Windows: The program provides you with detailed information about what Windows version is installed on your computer, when you have started the computer the last time and which version of the Internet Explorer is used. Display: All essential Information and supported modes and features of both the monitor and the graphics card are listed.
Performance: You can read all facts concerning the physical memory, the size of the swap file and the kernel. Three animated real-time monitors show you the processor load, the state of the physical memory and the usage of the swap file. The Performance tab including three animated monitors. Drives: Matched to every single hard disk in the computer, the module names the hardware facts and shows the drive usage. Here you can see how many gigabytes are still free to use on your drives.
4. Clean & Repair The category Clean up & Repair is responsible for slenderizing your system. The two tools in the category Clean up & Repair can easily be accessed through the graphical interface. Each program that is newly installed writes entries into the registry. These entries are often not fully removed after deleting the software. As a result, the registry gets larger and takes more and more memory on the hard disk. In addition, Windows accesses the registry frequently.
A lot of data trash collects on the hard disk as well. This can be temporary files, but also redundant backups, which are created by many programs but are never removed later. TuneUp Utilities helps to detect these useless files and deletes them. TuneUp RegistryCleaner To clean your registry, choose TuneUp RegistryCleaner from the main selection list.
It is recommended that you choose "Complete" to run all tests on the registry. The Scan RegistryCleaner will now scan your System. In the program's window you can see each step of the scan process. The yellow arrow indicates the step that is currently being run; a green tick indicates that this step has been completed. The bar below the list shows the total progress of the scan. After the scan completes, the program will display a message stating that the scan has finished.
Please wait until the program completes its scan. This may take a while. Evaluation In the evaluation window you initially see the summary page which shows you that the scan has completed. It also displays the total number of errors found. TuneUp RegistryCleaner can find the following types of errors: File types: Some file types are registered to programs that are not installed.
ActiveX and COM: ActiveX/COM objects were found that use libraries that are not installed on your computer. Shared files: The registry contains links to shared files which were required by multiple applications, but these files have been removed from your computer. Fonts: The registry contains links to fonts which do not exist on your computer. Help files: The registry contains links to help files which do not exist on your computer.
RegistryCleaner has found many errors and allows you to remove them safely and easily. If you click on one of the Categories in the list, the main window changes and displays a list of all errors found in that category. To get a detailed explanation of an error, make sure the Details button is clicked and select the error in the list. An explanation box will appear in the lower half of the main window. By default RegistryCleaner wants to remove all errors it finds.
So many errors on my system? TuneUp RegistryCleaner can explain every single error to you point-and-click. Cleaning Press the Start Cleaning button to begin the cleaning process. RegistryCleaner will then process all marked errors in the error list and remove them from your Windows registry. The wizard that launches will take you through the steps of cleaning the registry. First it will display the number of errors to be fixed. Next it will explain how to undo any changes using TuneUp RescueCenter.
The next screen shows an animated bar displaying the progress of RegistryCleaner. Please wait until RegistryCleaner completes and displays its "completed" message. You can watch what RegistryCleaner is currently doing during the cleaning process. When RegistryCleaner completes it displays a message stating that it has successfully cleaned your registry. Click on Finish to close the wizard. This will take you back to the main window of TuneUp RegistryCleaner.
TuneUp DiskCleaner To clean up your hard disk, select TuneUp DiskCleaner from the main selection list. After the module loads, it displays a welcome message explaining its purpose: "TuneUp DiskCleaner helps you clean up your disk drives. The files selected for deletion can be backed up in compressed format and restored at any time with a special utility called TuneUp RescueCenter". The Analysis Before DiskCleaner can begin its analysis, it needs to know which partitions you would like to scan.
Choose the drives that DiskCleaner should analyze and clean. DiskCleaner will now begin analyzing your drive. Please wait until it completes its analysis. Even large partitions are scanned quickly with DiskCleaner. However, if you have many hard disks the analysis can take a while. The yellow arrow marks the drive that is currently being scanned. Green ticks indicate drives that have already been scanned. The bar at the bottom of the window shows the total progress of the analysis.
Evaluation In the next window TuneUp DiskCleaner displays the result of its drive analysis. The table on the right contains a list of problems found on the system (e.g. "0-Byte-Files") grouped into categories along with how much hard disk space this error category is using up. Here you recover your lost hard disk space. The following unnecessary files are detected by DiskCleaner (these can usually be safely removed from your system): 0-Byte files: These files do not contain any data.
times. From time to time these files should be deleted to remove copies of unnecessary files. Recycle bin: Files in the Recycle Bin have been deleted and can be safely removed from your hard disk. Log files: Some applications create log files to ease the debugging of the application. These log files are generally only useful for programmers. Backup files: Some applications create backups of their own files during upgrades or installations. These backups are mostly not required later on and can be deleted.
So how can you choose which files DiskCleaner will delete? Your first option is to exclude whole categories such as "Backup files" or "Log files" from the deletion process by removing the tick in the check box in front of them. By clicking on a category and selecting Backup with RescueCenter you're always on the safe side: All files that will be deleted in that category will be backed up with TuneUp RescueCenter. They can later be recovered in case something stops functioning after the cleaning process.
Cleaning When you're done selecting the files for deletion, click on the Next button. A status window will show you the number of files that will be deleted and how much hard disk space you will recover. By pressing Next, the cleaning process is started. A blue bar indicates the progress of the cleaning process. Please wait until DiskCleaner shows a message stating that the cleaning has completed. By clicking on Finish, you can exit DiskCleaner and return to the TuneUp Utilities main menu.
5. Optimize & Improve The category Optimize & Improve is responsible for improving your system. Many default settings in windows reduce the performance of your computer. Normally, only experts know how to change these settings to improve performance. You can use the two modules that TuneUp Utilities 2003 offers in this category to do the same. Boost the performance of your system. TuneUp MemOptimizer monitors the system memory of Windows and optimizes it regularly or in critical situations.
TuneUp MemOptimizer Select TuneUp MemOptimizer from the menu to launch the tool. The program consists of three tabs. The overview tab displays an animated graph showing the current usage of your system's memory. You can use it to watch how Windows is using your system resources. The Free physical memory and Free space in page file fields display the amount of physical and virtual memory available. The graph displays the current memory usage vs. time.
memory available drops below a certain value. To change the module's settings click on Change settings. In the configuration window the option Enable AutoOptimize should be checked. By unchecking the check box you can deactivate this module. The Physical Memory box allows you select the "memory left" value at which the module begins optimizing (e.g. at 50 Megabytes). The field Increase free memory to specifies the amount of memory you wish to have free after the optimization is complete.
AutoOptimize monitors your system and optimizes its memory. If you don't want to use the AutoOptimize features, you can still optimize your memory manually by selecting the Manual Optimization tab. By moving the slider in the Clear Manually box you can select how much free memory you would like to have after the optimizing process completes. Click on Clear Now to begin the optimization process. The program removes DLLs and other data from your memory that isn't required anymore.
Manual memory optimization point-and-click. The Program Options tab allows you to set up a few other options of the program. By activating the Load automatically on Windows startup option you can have MemOptimizer begin optimizing your memory right after Windows starts. The Show icon in taskbar option chooses whether you would like to have a small icon in your task bar showing the current status of MemOptimizer.
TuneUp System Optimizer You can start TuneUp System Optimizer from the main selection menu. This tool allows you to find discrepancies in your system and optimize your computer's performance. When the program finishes loading, it displays some information about itself and states that anything it does can be undone via TuneUp RescueCenter. You can select a task to run by clicking it or by clicking the appropriate link on the left side of the window. TuneUp System Optimizer's start-up screen.
Quick Maintenance The Quick Maintenance task cleans your registry and hard disk. To run this task, click on the Quick Maintenance link on the left side of the window. The Quick Maintenance task is designed to be just that: quick. A simple click on Start Examination starts the scanning of your registry and hard disk. While the tool scans your system, the status window informs you about the program's progress.
System Advisor The System Advisor analyzes your hardware and software settings and suggests changes that you could make to your system to improve performance. Click the Examine System button to begin the examination process. After a few seconds the results are displayed. The problems found are grouped into categories such as display or system. A short summary such as "High resolutions delay image display" immediately explains the problem.
module that will help you is displayed. The solution to other configuration problems may require your manual intervention. Internet Optimization Wizard What is "optimal" for your system depends on how you use it. If surfing the Internet is important to you, a few windows settings need to be changed. By default, Windows is not set up correctly for fast Internet browsing. To optimize your Internet connection, choose Internet Optimization in the Wizards section.
Your Internet settings are not optimal yet. TuneUp System Optimizer will now optimize your settings. Some changes that the tool makes may result in a Reboot required message. Please do so if the wizard tells you to. Click Finish to close the wizard. System Optimization Wizard If you want to optimize the general performance of your computer, launch the System Optimization wizard. The wizard asks you to state information on how you use the computer.
Workstation without network or Internet connection). Click Next when you have selected all appropriate items. System Optimizer has found items that can be optimized. The wizard now uses your specifications to analyze your system's settings and groups the results into the Visual effects and System configuration categories. Click on the blue category title to view the exact changes TuneUp System Optimizer would like to make.
In most cases you will have to restart your computer after TuneUp System Optimizer completes. TuneUp will inform you of this when necessary by displaying a Reboot required message. Select which optimizations TuneUp System Optimizer should make.
6. Administer & Control The category Administer & Control provides three modules which allow you to acquire more control over Windows. Take control of your computer. TuneUp Process Manager allows you to see which programs are currently running and allows you to close these if necessary. TuneUp Registry Editor is a tool with which you can modify keys in your Windows registry directly. TuneUp Uninstall Manager shows all programs installed on your system and can remove installed programs when told to do so.
TuneUp Process Manager Choose TuneUp Process Manager in the Administer & Control section to start the module. The module displays all currently running processes in the Processes tab. The table contains the names of all processes along with the priority at which these are running and the amount of CPU time and memory these are using. To view details about a program that is running, select it in the table and click Show Details. To force a program to quit click the End Process button.
The list of currently running processes. The Performance tab provides a lot of useful information about the current load on your computer. The graph in the top left displays the current CPU usage. The graph next to it displays the CPU usage over time. Below, the memory usage over time is displayed. The tab also displays the current usage of your physical memory and page file in kilobytes.
Find out what your system does at the moment. TuneUp Process Manager also offers a menu with which you can shut down Windows and change the priority of any running application. Choose File / Exit Windows to shut down or restart your computer. Select View / Refresh Now to reload all information in the current module. Choose Edit / Set Process Priority to change how much priority an application gets when Windows is assigning CPU time and memory.
TuneUp Registry Editor The registry contains information about all hardware and software installed on your computer. As you add hardware and software to your computer, the registry grows and over time becomes big and filled with unnecessary entries. If you're looking for a tool with which you can manually manipulate the cog wheels that run Windows then TuneUp Registry Editor is the tool for you.
The TuneUp Registry Editor window. TuneUp Uninstall Manager Any software you install on your computer stores an uninstall entry in your registry. This entry allows you to completely remove an unrequired application from your system. TuneUp Utilities 2003 allows you to completely remove an application from your hard disk using TuneUp Uninstall Manager. The program lists all applications, games and tools installed on your computer which are represented by an uninstall entry in the registry.
If you would like to remove an application from your computer, mark it in the list and click on Uninstall. This will only work for applications in the list marked by a green tick. An uninstallation program is launched to remove the application. This uninstallation program will not only remove all application files from your system, but will also remove any icons, start menu items and keys in the registry that the application created.
Some users manually delete programs from their computers. This unfortunately does not remove keys in the registry and leaves the uninstallation entry in the list although the application has been removed from your computer already. To remove the entry from your system mark the application in the list and click the Delete button. To search for an installed program choose the Search function. Enter the name of the application you're looking for and click Search.
7. File recovery Destruction & TuneUp Utilities provides two modules to allow you to recover deleted files and to safely remove files from your computer so that they cannot be recovered again. These modules can be found in the category File recovery & Destruction. Safely remove sensitive files permanently from your hard disk. The module TuneUp Shredder removes files from your hard disk so that even data recovery experts can't restore these files.
previously been deleted from your computer. Files deleted by TuneUp Shredder are of course unrecoverable. TuneUp Shredder When you delete a file on your computer, it is put into the Recycle Bin. Even a computing beginner can recover the deleted file from the Recycle Bin, so most users empty the recycle bin regularly or delete the file directly, bypassing the Recycle Bin. As you may or may not know, Windows doesn't actually delete a file when you choose the Windows delete command.
free space option, Shredder will also overwrite the so-called "slack", the file's reserved free space. You can add files to the destruction process by either dragging them from your hard disk to the TuneUp Shredder Files window or by clicking the Add button and choosing them in the emerging dialog. After you have added all files, press Next to continue. Choose the files you wish to shred. Next you have to select the way Shredder should delete the files.
Secure delete: Deletes the files using a method described in the US regulation DoD 5220.22-M. The file is deleted by overwriting it many times with alternating bit patterns. Choose how often to repeat the deletion by entering a number in the Repeat the delete operation field. Click Next to begin the deletion process. When completed, the wizard displays a message stating that the files have been deleted successfully. Click on Finish to close the wizard.
backups, of course, and hours of work seem to be lost forever. This is where TuneUp Undelete comes in; it may still be able to recover the file and save your work. After starting TuneUp Undelete, a wizard appears that will lead you through the recovery process step by step. In the first step, it displays a list of the drives connected to your computer. Select the drive you wish to recover the file from. Click Next to continue. Choose which drive contained the deleted file.
There are two other options that help you filter out more files. If you tick the Don't show 0-byte files option files containing no data will not be displayed. By choosing the Show only files in good conditions option, you can let TuneUp Undelete filter out files that it won't be able to recover. You can specify which types of files should be displayed. TuneUp Undelete now scans the selected hard disks for deleted files. The progress is shown within the search result table, which is initially empty.
button. After you have selected all files you want to restore, press the Restore button to begin the recovery process. TuneUp Undelete will then try to restore the selected files so that they are available to Windows again.
8. TuneUp RescueCenter TuneUp Utilities 2003 provides you with a number of tools that can edit and change your computer's settings. You might modify a setting while tuning your system and then later decide that that was a mistake. Or you might delete a file you thought was wasting hard disk space when in fact your system still needed it. That's why TuneUp Utilities provides TuneUp RescueCenter, a tool with which you can undo all changes made with TuneUp Utilities point-and-click.
Undo changes Click Undo changes in the Tasks section in the left part of your window. TuneUp RescueCenter displays a chronological listing of all saved data. RescueCenter displays both files that were cleaned off of your hard disk and registry settings that were removed. The table contains the date at which the task was originally run. The space the data originally required on your computer is also displayed as well as which TuneUp module created the backup and how many files/settings were modified.
The listed backups can be restored. System recovery From time to time Windows XP creates a system restore point. Should your computer begin to malfunction, you can use the system restore point to recreate the state of your computer at that particular moment – all settings that have been changed after this point are dropped. Choose the System recovery tab to list all system restoration points available on your computer.
You can create your own system restore points.
9. TuneUp UpdateWizard TuneUp Utilities is being developed and updated by the programmers. Modules are being improved and bugs found in the software are being removed. Technology is also constantly changing, so some tools have to be kept up to date. Make sure you regularly update your product. If you own the full version of TuneUp Utilities, you have the possibility to receive small updates to the software automatically and free of charge via the Internet.
With TuneUp UpdateWizard you can keep your product up to date. To do this, you have to tell the program what type of Internet connection you're using. Choose a connection type from the list provided by the wizard. Depending on your connection you my also have to specify your proxy settings via the Proxy Settings button. After making the appropriate selections, press Next to continue. Choose your connection type.
10. TuneUp RegistryDefrag The module TuneUp RegistryDefrag is only available for Windows 95/98/Me and can not be loaded under Windows 2000/XP. This is why the module is only mentioned at the end of this manual in its own chapter – it's only useful for users of older Windows versions. Any new program you install and any new hardware you add registers itself in the Windows 95/98/Me registry. The registry grows and grows and because of its size Windows requires longer to find single keys within it.
Launching the tool Choose Optimize & Improve from the main selection menu. You will see TuneUp RegistryDefrag as one of the listed modules. This module isn't available on Windows 2000/XP machines – the problem that TuneUp RegistryDefrag fixes does not occur here. Click on the module name to launch it. Launch the Module. After launching TuneUp RegistryDefrag, a wizard appears and tells you that the module would like to create a new registry to remove defects and improve the structure of the registry.
Close all other applications before clicking next. It can take a while before the tool finishes the scan. When the scan completes, the tool displays the amount of space it can recover from your registry (in percent and kilobytes).
The size of the registry can be reduced. Click Finish to restart your computer. During the restart, the old registry will be replaced by the new, smaller registry. This happens invisibly to the user; when Windows completes starting up it will be running off the new registry already. You do not have to reload the program after Windows has booted.
11. Glossary Access privileges A privilege to use computer information in some manner. For example, a user might be granted read access to a file, meaning that the user can read the file but cannot modify or delete it. Most operating systems have several different types of access privileges that can be granted or denied to specific users or groups of users. Administrator The person responsible for configuring and maintaining a network.
Benchmark A tool to compare the speed of multiple entities. Benchmarks exist for hardware, software and services. BIOS Short for "Basic Input Output System". Responsible for initializing your computer so that your operating system can load. Bit Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of information on a machine. The term was first used in 1946 by John Tukey. A single bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. More meaningful information is obtained by combining consecutive bits into larger units.
Disk caching works under the same principle as memory caching, but instead of using high-speed SRAM, a disk cache uses conventional main memory. The most recently accessed data from the disk (as well as adjacent sectors) is stored in a memory buffer. When a program needs to access data from the disk, it first checks the disk cache to see if the data is there.
Clock Frequency The number of commands per second a device can process (also known as hertz [Hz]). The higher the clock frequency the faster the device is. Often used in conjunction with the processor speed: A Pentium running at 200 MHz (Megahertz) is slower than a Pentium running at 400 MHz. CMOS Short for "Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor". CMOS is a manufacturing method that only requires a small current and does not generate much heat. Most PC clocks use a battery based CMOS chip.
Defragmentation The process in which data that belongs together is gathered from different clusters and stored contiguously so that it can be accessed faster. Desktop Term for the main work space of Windows on which you find icons, the start menu, the task bar and the system tray. Dialog box A Windows pop up asking the user to select options and then to click OK. DLL Short for "Dynamic Link Library". DLLs contain functions which programs can use.
DUN Short for "Dial Up Networking". The process of connecting a computer via a modem to a larger network such as the local network of a company or the Internet. FAT Short for "File Allocation Table". A table on the hard disk which stores the position of all files on the hard disk. File Allocation Table See FAT. File attributes Attributes that can be assigned to files by the operating system. MSDOS provides Archive, Read Only, System and Hidden attributes.
the operating system needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous clusters. This is entirely invisible to users, but it can slow down the speed at which data is accessed because the disk drive must search through different parts of the disk to put together a single file. To improve computer performance one should "defragment" the hard disk once a month. Hotkey A key combination allowing to access a predefined application or application function (e.g.
Media Item on which you store data. Disks, CD-ROMS, hard disks, magnetic tapes are all media. Net / Network The interconnection of computers and other resources (printers) to share the resources. This interconnection can be local (LAN) or global (WAN, Internet). Operating System The most important program that runs on a computer. Every generalpurpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs.
Permanent swap file A special swap file created by Windows that is always stored in the same position and contiguously. Since the file is contiguous and always at the same position it is faster to access and so improves the performance of Windows when used instead of a temporary swap file. Path A path points to a position where a file is stored. E.g.: a file called "logo.bmp" in a folder called "windows" on the hard disk "c" would have the path "c:\windows\logo.bmp".
Resolution (Graphics Card / Monitor) For graphics monitors, the screen resolution signifies the number of dots (pixels) on the entire screen. For example, a 640-by-480 pixel screen is capable of displaying 640 distinct dots on each of 480 lines, or about 300,000 pixels. The higher the resolution the more "space" is available on your screen. The maximum resolution is dependant on the amount of memory your graphics card has, the refresh rate your card is running at and the color depth it is set to.
Swap file A temporary file that modern operating systems such as Windows and OS/2 create on the hard disk to enlarge the total amount of memory available to your applications. Data in your physical memory that isn't currently being used is "swapped out" to the file on the hard disc. This allows the operating system to run applications that require more main memory than your computer provides. Swapping to disk The process of moving data from the physical memory to the hard disk.
Oebbeke, modified by Carsten Scheibe and translated by Patrick Wolowicz.
12. Index Activate active window tracking ......30 Show color shading in the title bar ...18 Alexa ................................................41 Show compressed ZIP archives as Autoplay ...........................................46 folders..........................................26 Balloons in the notification area .......35 Show window contents while dragging Boot defragmentation .......................48 .....................................................18 Clean up & Repair ............
