Simple Cleaning Process to make PCs Running Great Again (Part 1)

11 November 2018

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Part 2: Disabling Prefetch and Get rid of RegSvr32 running problem (click)

Simple Cleaning Process  to make PCs Running Great Again (Part 1)

Introduction

This topic must have been blogged a thousand times but many users just ignored them as we often come across PCs or  laptops (PCs)  running programs at snail speed.   For example,   one user complained that his PCs took more than 5 minutes to fire up the Google Chrome.  We found that his PC has to start 60 programs during each startup before reaching the Google Chrome pages.  This article serves to simplify the process of cleaning up the PCs and make the PCs running great again.   

What’s Needed? 

Nothing   Absolutely nothing except  a “DARING HEART”,  preparing to delete the unwanted programs;  after all,  most essential programs are self protected to prevent users from deleting them.  Very often,  a restarting will restore all those deleted programs.  So be daring,  not to worry that this simple cleaning process will destroy the PCs.   

Step by Step

I)  The Simple  Clean Up

Description	Action	Remark
1.  Back up the PCs	1.  Press [Win +R] and type [control].  In the search box of  [Control Panel],  type [system protection].  Select [Create a restore point],  the press [Create] to create a [System Restore Point].    2.  Check if the [System Restore Point] has been saved by pressing [System Restore] button  3.  If one really think that this is necessary as an insurance,  download this  [Registry Backup and Restore].   It is a  program which will restore the registry data to its previous glory.	Apply to Win 7 & Win10.    This will help user to restore the Windows should something were to go wrong
2.  Clean up the PCs
a)  Program Required	Download free version [CCleaner] from this website.
b)  Cleaning up	1.  Start up [CCleaner] and in the first screen,  click [Run Cleaner]	The screen will show the steps taken to clean the computer.  Can play around with the various function available to clean more “debris”
3) Clean Auto-Start Program	1.  Click [Tools] and select [Startup].   Just  simply click all those [Yes] and change them to [No]  in each and every folder.	Don’t worry.  One can always  come back and restore them.  Protected programs will not allow users to delete them
4.  Complete Cleaning	By restarting the PC	One should now find the PCs running much faster and more responsive.

II)  Others (Slow Internet Browsing) 

Description	Action	Remark
1.  Check Internet Connections	1.  Test the downloading speed as well as uploading speed using the browser	This should always be the first step,  particularly when this slowness happens during peak internet usage. One can test the internet speed by clicking the following 1.  Ookla Speed Tester; 2.  Fast Speed Tester For normal internet operation, the downloading speed should be at least around 30 Mbps, depending on number of internet users in the household.   Here is one guideline to determine how much one will need the internet speed to be
2.  Remove Add-ons	1.  Go to the setting page of the browser,  click the add-on tabs.  (use HELP of browser to navigate) 2.  Clear or disable as much as possible all the add-ons as many as possible without seriously affecting the browser operation	Add-ons are external programs added to enhance the operation of the internet;  some of these add-ons are CPU or power hungry and might slow down the browser operation

III)  The Advance Steps

To be taken if the above simple clean up does not help;  this method is also effective in removing virus files from the PC.

Description	Action	Remark
1.  Locate the nasty Programs or Processes	Left click the [task bar] and select [Task Manager].  At the bottom of the screen,     click [show all processes from all users] for Win7 or [More details] for Win 10	To bring up the Task Manager and show all processes including the CPU idling process.
	2. In the [Processes] folder,  click the [CPU] tab to sort the processes in terms of usage
	3.  Locate the processes that  use up more than 10% CPU time. Left click at the process  and select [Open file location].  Copy down the file name and its  location.  Now come back to [Task Manager] to click  [End Task] to deactivate the process.	If the Windows is working fine,  CPU should  spend less than 1% at idling.  Ending those tasks with high CPU usage will stop the background programs from running and speed up the PCs.   Do not worry about Ending the processes as they will be restored when PC is restarted unless the files are deleted.
	4.  Check if PC is running faster and if most essential programs still running well.	Double check before proceeding to delete the files in its location.
	5.  After assuring that  the PC  is working fine and much faster,  go to the file location,  change the file name by adding  a [.bak] at the back of file name.	Just in case the file was found to affect the PC's working,  just restored it by deleting [.bak]
	6.  Restart and make sure the process is no longer running	You are done and go to attend to the  next process.

Some Questions and Answers

Questions	Answers	Remarks
1.  Why I cannot end the process of a specific task in Task Manager?	The file could have been locked during windows startup.  Try starting Windows using [Safe Mode]  and repeat ending the task.  If one could find the defaulted file,   go to the file location and change the file by putting a [.bak] at the end of the file name
2.  Why I cannot restore the system?	Some viruses could have locked the restore function of the Windows.  Do the following things 1.  Do a system file check to see if system files have been corrupted or missing and search Web to find a solution 2.  Try starting up Windows in [Safe Mode] and retry the steps.
3.  How to do a system file check?	In the startup search box,  type [cmd] as Administrator and at the [Command Prompt] cursor,  type [sfc /scannow]	SFC will attempt to repair the files but if it fail,  follow its instruction to inspect the log and search Web to find a solution

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How to Change Wall Paper in MiTV

10 November 2018

MiTV does not have its own wall paper changer where one can change the wall paper at will just like the handphones.  This article intends to show how one can be changed the wallpaper using a 3^rdparty called Dangbei.

What Needed?

1.  A Dangbei APK which can be downloaded from here from this link

Step by Step

Description	Action	Remarks (dBclick to enlarge)
1  Preparation	Download Dangbei APK and fire it up in the MiTV App store
2.  Install DBZM	Navigate in Dangbei to its App Store and type [DBZM] in the search box
3.  New Wall Paper	One would be greeted by a totally new Wall Paper
4.  Change Setting	In the menu,  click [Setting]
5.   Change WallPaper	In the setting,  click the [Wallpaper]
6.  Select WallPaper	In the list of pictures,  select the Wallpaper you like and press [Confirm] when prompted
7.  Done

How to Upload WallPapers?

Step by Step

Description	Action	Remarks
1.  Preparation	1.  Making sure that the handphone or the PC is connected to the same LAN network as MiTV. 2.  Navigate or scroll to find the [File Transfer] icon
2.  Upload Picture	If the connection is successful,  one should find the Web address of the handphone or the PC. Follow the instruction to upload the picture into MiTV

The original text can be found here.

Other MiTV articles in this link 

 TinyUrl :  https://tinyurl.com/y8sgm4ev

 

 

Don’t Throw Away that Old PC (Part 2)

1 June  2019  Update

Introducing PrimoCache

What is PrimoCache?

PrimoCache is another caching software that utlilises small capacity solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash drives to accelerate relatively slow Hard Disk Drive (HDD) in PCs.  It is developed by Romex Software.   It is different from the other caching software described earlier as it can also use system memory as well as SSD.  Furthermore,  it is  much easily to install as the installation is using Graphic User Interface (GUI).

The  instructions are shown here in this link.   One can either download the software from Romex Software or from here



7 November 2018

This Part 2 was written for those PCs or notebook (PCs) that cannot use the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) to accelerate their mechanical hard disk drive (HDD).  Part 1 about how to use IRST to speed up the HDD  can be found in this link.

Many older PCs did not comply with the IRST requirement to use small capacity msata SSD drive to speed up the mechanical drives.  Manufacturers like  Acer, ASUS, Samsung, Sony, Lenovo and Fujitsu have to use another similar technology called “ExpressCache”.  If one has such PC,  salvage and revive it for the kids to play computer games;  alternatively,  one can try this technology out before acquiring such old PCs.

What is ExpressCache?

It is a Windows-based SSD caching technology developed by Condusiv Technologies.   Like IRST,  it uses a small SSD drive, usually less than 32 GB,  to cache those programs that are frequently used.  Unlike IRST,  the SSD is not part of RAID drives.  It  is  a standalone unit and therefore,  can be partitioned off from a higher capacity SSD. 

How Does it Work?

It is a general knowledge that the intelligent ExpressCache will remember which software were used frequently.  It will store them in the small SSD drive or load them into the RAM during Windows startups.  This will speed up the booting and the computing processes by 2 to 3 times.

What’re the Advantages?

ExpressCache is more flexible than IRST as it has more settings to play around.

1.  It does not need one to re-install the Windows whether the existing system is in AHCI or IDE or in RAID mode;

2.  One could partition off from a larger SSD so that the remaining of the SSD can be used as virtual memory cache drive to further speed up the PCs; 

3.  One could “preload” the necessary windows files into the SSD cache drive to make the PC boot or run faster.  

What is the Catch?

Unlike IRST which is free,   ExpressCache is an OEM product that requires a license to use.   The software will perform a licensing check at every window startup and will not work if a "key" is not found.   It is not available for sale in the market.

What is a OEM product? Can we use it?

Here is a good article about the OEM product and if we can use it.  

In short,  one cannot use or even transfer ExpressCache from an OEM licensed PC to another.  .   However,  for the purpose of investigation if ExpressCache can be used in older PCs,  this article will only explore the steps to be taken to experiment its uses for the benefit of others to further acquire or explore such OEM technology.

What’s used in this Experiment?

1.  A 120 GB SSD drive to work with the 500 GB mechanical hard disks;

2.  An old PC that has LGA 775 ASUS P5K motherboard with E8400 CPU and 4 GB DDR2 RAM running on Windows 7;

2.  An old ExpressCache setup software downloaded from here  or here

Step by Step

Description	Actions	Remarks (dbclick to enlarge pictures)
1.  Preparing the 120 GB SSD drive and create an ExpressCache drive	1.  Uninstall ExpressCache if it has been installed before.  A  reboot will be required. 2.  Use EaseUS or similar partition tools,  partition 2x60 GB drives;  one marked [Cache] and the other [VM] in the Volume. Note and copy down the disk number (disk # where # is the disk number) of the SSD drive. 3.  Fire up the [Command Prompt] window as Admin 4.   Type [diskpart]  to start the program and then type [select disk #] at next prompt 5.   Type [Clean]  after ensuring the correct disk number is selected in step 4 above as the disk will be erased. 6.  Type [convert MBR], followed by [create partition primary size=####] - where #### equals the size, in megabytes or just type [60000].  7.  Type [set id=73 override]  to set the partition type.  Lastly,  type [exit]	1. Check the installation in Program & Features in Control Panel The VM partition can be used as virtual disk. Prepare the drive as a cache drive;  otherwise,  the Expresscache will not recognise it. Important Note:  all data in selected disk will wiped off.   Use [List Disk} command to check the correct drive selected
2.  Install the Expresscache	1.  Navigate to the folder where Expresscache is downloaded and fire up [Expresscache.exe] 2.  Follow the instructions to install the software.
3.  Successful Installation	A restart will be prompted upon successful installation	On successful installation,  one should not receive any error messages;  otherwise,  goto "Installation problems and Error Message" section to find the solution

Tips and Tricks

Description	Actions	Remarks  (dbclick to enlarge pictures)
1.  Create an ExpressCache drive after installation	1. At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [net stop expresscache] 2.  Then type  [eccmd (space)-partition][diskID] [size] to create the partition; 3.  Then format the drive by typing [eccmd (space) –format] to format the drive	For example [eccmd -partition 1 24GB]
2.  Check if the Caching is working (DOS method)	Restart the PCs.  At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [eccmd –info].  If the cache is working,  one will be shown the screen at the right;  otherwise,  it will show errors such as "Product is not licensed to run on this system"	If the cache is set up properly,  one should have very high read and write %,  higher than 85% after a few Windows restarts.
3.  Erase the Cache	At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [eccmd –format]	This will erase all the contents in the ExpressCache’s SSD disk
4.  Preload a program	At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [eccmd –preload]	One could preload the commonly used programs by Windows to speed up the booting by running this batch file in this link. The conventional wisdom is preload the whole windows folder into the Cache Drive but this is not necessary.
5 No Logo	At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [eccmd –Nologo]	No copyright message will be displayed.
6. Exclude a Drive from Caching	At the [command prompt] as administrator,  type [eccmd –exclude ]  (space) driveletter	Exclude a drive from being cached. for example  eccmd –exclude C to exclude C drive from caching

 

Interpretation of ECCMD –info results

Description	Explanation	Remarks  (dbclick to enlarge pictures)
1.  EC Cache Info	Besides describing the partitioned size, it also describes the capacity left over and how much memory space has been used for storing the cache etc
2.  Tiered Cache Stats	It shows how much and how often the  RAM memory were used to speed up the PC
3.  Cache Stats	It describes how the Cache were being used in terms of size and  number and the %  of time the Cache drive were used.

Installation Problems and Error Messages

Description	Actions	Remarks  (dbclick to enlarge pictures)
1.  Expresscache cannot find SSD drive	Go to "Tips and Tricks" to create an ExpressCache drive	The SSD has not been formatted with the correct id
2  Product is not licensed to run on this system	Expresscache cannot find the licensed key to complete the startup	Here are some keys but they have not been tested yet ASUS,  ACER, HP,  LENOVO, SAMSUNG. 1. Download the above link for respective brands and place the file in the ExpressCache folder and 2. change the existing EC.LMF to EC.LMF.Old and rename the downloaded file to EC.LMF. If the PC is not licensed,  then one will have to use the batch file that comes with the downloaded file to patch Expresscache in order to proceed further.
3.  ExpressCache not working after Windows update or ExpressCache did not run as fast as expected	A re-installation of Expresscache might be required to restore all the essential files 1.  Format the ExpressCache drive and  2. Preload this batch file using this link for Win 7. 3.  Restart Windows to refresh the system file.  This should  restore the ExpressCache.	The following shows that the Cache is not really working though the read count is high;  may be some preloaded program is affecting the operation.
4.  There is 0 cache shown in eccmd -info	Make sure there is no Windows System files installed in any SSD drive	The cache will show 0% if ExpressCache found Window installation in other SSD drive
5  eccmd exited with error 0x10df 4319	Clear the system error;   erase any application installed just before this happen;  do a system restore if necessary.	The PC appears to have a system or application error and could not proceed further

Result

Note:  The test results may not represent the actual working speed of ExpressCache because the result will depend on where the test program were loaded;  for example,  the test program might just have tested the actual speed of the mechanical hard disk rather than the SSD cache drive.

	Before	After
Speed Test before and after the ExpressCache installation
Speed Test after the Windows’ system files were preloaded but .  before and after the Crystaldiskmark were preloaded onto the Cache drive

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Using Cheap Shower Curtains and Save

5 November 2018

We saw a lot of pretty shower curtains in Daiso going for SGD$2/=.  They are of size 180x180 completed with hooks as shown attached;  good enough to cover a long bath in the bath room.   The good ones of similar size would cost several times more,  around SGD$16/=.

What’s  the “Catch”?

The difference between them is the materials used.  The expensive ones are thicker and they usually have reinforcement strips or metal rings for the hooks whereas the $2/= type has only plastic reinforcement rings around the hook;  some just make a hole without any reinforcement.

Very often,  the cheaper one will get torn easily around the hook.  One would have to repair it or replace the curtain frequently.

 

What is the Best?

Buy the cheap shower curtain and make the reinforcement strip for the hook so that it can be glued on to the curtain.   The plastic reinforcement strip can be cut from clear plastic sheet  that is often used for table top.  Thicker plastic sheet  of around 300-500 micron (0.3 to 0.5 mm) is preferred to withstand the wear and tear.

 Materials Required

1.   Plastic reinforcement Strip of about 50 mm width with length to match the curtain

2.   UHU glue to glue the strip onto the curtain

3.   Scissor or hole puncher to make the holes for the hooks

 

Completed Shower Curtain

As shown.  The curtain should last until it is brittle and torn or the dirty curtain is replaced.