Lab

System utilities

PCs are a bit like people. In their early years they're quick and sharp, and all the equipment works as it should. They can go fast and cope with several jobs at the same time. But as they get older, problems arise. Starting up can take an age, simple things become a chore, and multitasking is more of a challenge. Every now and then it all gets too much for them and they grind to a halt.

One way to help avoid this is to keep fit. You may not be able to buy your PC a gym membership or send it for a weekend at a health farm, but you can certainly keep tabs on its health and give it a workout now and again. Over the next few pages, we'll walk you through some maintenance tasks to monitor and improve performance using just the tools that come with Windows. Or to make really sure it's keeping in shape, you could hire it a personal trainer. We've tested eight PC tune-up utilities that promise to prevent problems occurring in the first place.

To test these programs' claims, we searched for the most overloaded, junk-filled and crash-prone machines we could lay our hands on - the celebrity screw-ups of the PC world, if you like - to see if we could save them from themselves and keep them on the straight and narrow.

Fight the flab

The warning signs of a deterioration are often all too obvious. You might find programs are slow to load and crash more frequently, and your hard disk is constantly active even when your PC is idle. Sometimes an upgrade is the only solution - for example, adding more RAM or a second hard disk - but often you can get things running smoothly again just by detoxing your system.

Windows XP and Vista include a certain number of housekeeping tools, but neither offers a way of cleaning up and fixing a vital area of Windows that impinges dramatically on performance: the Registry. This is a database that was introduced to avoid the clutter caused in previous versions of Windows by the .INI files belonging to each program you installed. It stores important settings and configuration information for both software and hardware in one place. And, just like putting all your eggs in one basket, that can be convenient but comes with risks.

As you install and uninstall various software during the life of your PC, the Registry tends to get larger and more cumbersome. Every time you add a new program, it creates data entries in the Registry (referred to as 'keys' or 'values') which, for instance, store its user settings or associate its file types. This causes the size of the Registry to increase. The problem is, when programs are uninstalled they often leave behind Registry entries, which become redundant or 'orphaned'. It's rather like when your Desktop fills up with shortcut icons pointing to programs and files that no longer exist - except that the entries are hidden in the Registry, so you don't see the problem. Not only do these unused values accumulate, but Registry entries can also become corrupt, and because everything's jumbled together in one database, an error in one item can have knock-on effects. The end result is an increasingly bloated and fragmented Registry, which can be the root of countless problems, from slow startup and general sluggishness to crashes and unexplained error messages.

It's important, then, to prevent the Registry becoming the beer belly of your system. But keys and values are even more complex and confusing than the latest treadmill at the gym, so you may need some assistance. That's what's offered by Registry cleaning software, a feature of all the utility programs we tested. They can slim down your Registry by removing unnecessary space and rebuilding its entries from scratch. To do this, the software scans the Registry, lists the unused entries, and offers a quick way to delete them.

You need to be able to trust this kind of software, because these operations could be hazardous to your PC's health. Removing the wrong entry could prevent Windows functioning properly or even starting up. To protect against this, the program should make it simple to back up your Registry and revert back to it if anything goes wrong. Not all the utilities were equally easy to use or effective in these tasks, so it's well worth checking out our verdicts before buying.

Run, fat boy, run

One of the most frustrating aspects of a lethargic system is how long it takes to fully load Windows. Most of the utilities we tested provide a way to reduce the time it takes to boot up your PC by revealing which background programs are automatically loading on startup. You can then deselect the ones you don't need.

If you use Outlook Express or Hotmail, for instance, you might find MSN Messenger is loaded at the same time, whether you actually use it or not. This chat program displays a blue and green icon in the system tray (next to the clock in the bottom right hand corner of your desktop) and can take quite a while to load. Not all programs that auto-start are so obvious, though. A classic example would be 'helper' programs that surreptitiously load when you run Windows. Their purpose is to reduce how long it takes subsequently to launch a particular application.

That may be useful if you use this application regularly, but the trade-off is that Windows startup takes longer because of these helpers, whether you plan to use their applications or not. iTunes, Adobe Acrobat Reader and some versions of Office use such pre-loaders, and they can safely be disabled. Windows Services, which also run in the background, are somewhat more complex. Although a few of the tested utilities allow you to disable these, we wouldn't recommend it unless you're a more advanced user. It's sometimes hard to decipher what they actually do, so it's unwise to turn them off.

You may already know that temporary or 'junk' files are created by most PC applications. Web browsers are the prime example. Every time you visit a web page, a version of it is stored in your browser's cache in your Temporary Internet Files folder. These can mount up if not removed regularly. But it's not just a matter of deleting the contents of a given folder or emptying the Recycle Bin. Programs deposit these leftover files in various places, so they can be found littered across the hard disk, slowing down your PC. There are also a number of different file types involved, and searching for them manually would be a tedious task. To clean all this up, the utility suites include junk file cleaners which should flush them out and leave your storage sparkling. Again, though, not all the products were equally good at this.

Since Windows XP, Microsoft has placed more emphasis on the graphical niceties of Windows. Visual effects look great, but they place considerable strain on a PC's resources. A sensible way of improving performance, especially on older and less capable machines, would be to turn some or all of them off. Windows XP and Vista allow you to do this from the Display Settings dialog box, so it seemed a bit pointless that this tool was replicated in several of the utilities we tested. However, the better programs offered the ability to choose from number of preset visual profiles that would offer a good balance between performance and appearance. These were less extreme than those available within Windows.

Piling on the pounds

In other areas, too, some utility programs offer 'added value' features which duplicate those that exist already in Windows. For example, you already have a disk defragmenter, but many of the suites offer one too. Look out instead for genuinely useful extras such as file shredders, file encrypters, and tools that can prevent crashes by allocating memory where it's most needed.

These utilities really can help to fix and maintain areas of your system that aren't catered for by the system tools included with Windows, chiefly the Registry. The following reviews will enable you to choose your software wisely. In use, just remember that fiddling with your PC can occasionally do more harm than good. Always confirm that you're happy with each operation before applying it; if you have any doubts, leave well alone.