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toggle all the sliders off. To complete the process, head back out to the main “” menu. Under “Privacy Settings,” you’ll find “Speech” and “Inking and typing personalization.” Turn both of these off to cut down the amount of data gathers from your typical PC usage. You can also block all apps from accessing your camera and microphone GENERAL on the “Privacy” page. DISABLE STARTUP APPS We’ve all been there, booting up our TIPS FOR PC to get a quick task completed, 03 only to be waylaid by Spotify, Steam, Uplay, and Discord introducing WINDOWS themselves like the worst barbershop quartet of all time. Windows has you covered, though—the Keeping Windows up “Startup” page under “App Settings” lets you view 10 to date can feel like a which apps are set to start up immediately (albeit rather Sisyphean task in the background) when you log into Windows, and at times. also which ones have a higher impact on your boot KEEP WINDOWS FULLY times. Toggle off any of these that you want to open UP TO DATE manually, such as Spotify or OneDrive, and your Ah, the . Truly the system should start up faster. 01 modern-day raven, rap-tap-tapping on Edgar Allen Poe’s operating DISABLE BACKGROUND APPS system with menacing intent. Taking control of your This one comes down to preference, updates is objective number one for anyone trying and isn’t so necessary on more to optimize their PC, so jump into “Update Settings” 04 powerful systems with plenty of and remember to smash that “Check For Updates” memory and high-speed storage. button. You can turn on auto-updates, too, under Under “Privacy Settings,” you can individually select “Advanced options,” but if you have a metered which apps you want to run in the background, and connection, we advise against this, and instead disable the rest. There’s a ton of tools included with recommend manual updates. You can also pause that you might use sometimes, but don’t all updates for up to two weeks; useful if you want to ever want running in the background. Windows try something in a specific version of Windows 10. News? Disabled. Voice Recorder? Deactivated. Console Companion? Begone! SHUT CORTANA UP Get her out! For the vast majority of UNINSTALL UNWANTED users, Cortana is little more than APPLICATIONS 02 a frustration baked into the core Speaking of stuff included with of Windows 10. Annoying pop-ups, 05 Windows 10, there’s plenty of constant data-gathering, and forced Bing search bloatware you can just get rid of. The (come on, …) make Cortana the least most obvious contender is of course Candy Crush, helpful voice assistant in the biz, but fortunately, but if you take a trip into “App Settings” and scroll shutting her down is reasonably straightforward. through the “Apps & features” list, you may find a Find the Cortana page under “Settings,” then surprising amount of software you never use, and We’re sure a select few of our readers find Cortana helpful. We do not.

Keep your background apps to the bare minimum whenever

possible. © MICROSOFT

26 MAXIMUMPC APR 2020 maximumpc.com LAPTOP TIPS

If something isn’t working, check all of your drivers are up to date in the . Switching to Power Saver plan can be useful for prolonging battery life. never intend to use. Click on a program to view Check Your action.” Just toggle off the slider options, and uninstall it from there. If you’re unsure Power Plan marked “Get tips, tricks, and what a piece of software does, always look it up 08 It’s worth taking a suggestions as you use Windows.” online before removing it. peek at your power plans in the on a Manage Your UPDATE DEVICE DRIVERS laptop, found under “Hardware Temperatures Better Updating your drivers is often a and Sound.” If it’s a powerhouse 10 As we said earlier, handy fix for something not working laptop that you’re essentially it’s a good idea to use 06 with a PC, but it’s a good idea to using plugged-in as a desktop third-party software, such as keep your device drivers up to replacement, slap that high HardwareMonitor, to keep an eye date whenever possible. To check for updates, performance plan on and call on your system temperatures. right-click the “Home” button and select “Device it a day; otherwise, you’ll want This is even more critical with Manager,” then right-click the device you want to to take a trip into the advanced laptops, where keeping your CPU update the drivers on. You can also scan for new power plan settings. The default cool is an even more difficult hardware here; if you change something about your balanced plan is usually a good endeavor. If you’re regularly using physical setup, you might need to relocate it within call, but even then you might want demanding software on your the Device Manager in order to update the drivers to make some adjustments; like laptop—3D rendering tools, for and ensure everything is working properly. disabling certain ports while the example—then heat spikes are monitor is asleep, for example. inevitable, but there are a few LOG IN FASTER things you can do to alleviate the The Windows 10 lock screen is a Disable Tips temperature load on your poor pointless innovation. Having to Windows 10 wants laptop. The general optimization 07 swipe up or hit the spacebar before 09 to be helpful, but tips elsewhere in this article are a logging in slows things down a bit, like a bumbling good start, but making sure you’re and using a conventional password is slower, too. manservant, sometimes that help positioning your laptop right is First up, assign a PIN rather than a password for is actually less than helpful. By important, too. Don’t actually logging in; four digits and no need to hit Enter, default, Windows 10 scans your put it on your lap, for starters. either. If your system supports it, Windows Hello system periodically to give you Ensure that all the air vents are is pretty speedy, too. You can even remove the lock (usually unwanted) advice, and clear, and only use it on hard, flat screen altogether, going straight to the login screen this can have a small impact on surfaces. If you have problems upon boot. Annoyingly, how you do this is different mobile processor performance, with temperature, consider using for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. For particularly in cheaper laptops. something to prop your laptop Windows 10 Home edition, you need to run regedit You can turn it off in System up, creating more empty space from the “Run” prompt, make your way to “HKEY_ Settings, under “Notifications and beneath it for better airflow. LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft” and right-click “Windows,” select “New > Key” and call it “Personalization.” Once created, CREATE A RESTORE POINT AND right-click this key and add a new “DWORD (32-bit) RESTORE YOUR SYSTEM Value,” with a name of “NoLockScreen.” Double If all hope is lost, returning to an click this and set the “Value” to 1. For Win 10 Pro, 11 earlier save point is the best course hit Win-R, type “gpedit” and hit Enter. Double-click of action. This advice holds true “Administrative Templates,” double-click “Control for both videogames and Windows 10, although Panel,” click “Personalization,” then double-click hopefully you’ll never have to use it. In the Control “Do not display the lock screen,” and click “Enabled.” Panel, go through “Security and System > System Click “Apply,” and then “OK.” Job done. > System Protection,” and you’ll open up the

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window for options. You can hit the big “System Restore” button to revert your version of Windows to a saved restore point; your PC should regularly create these by default, but it saves over the previous one when it does so. Hit “Configure” and you can tweak your restore settings, or create new restore points. This isn’t something you need to do too often, but it’s worth having restore points for each of your drives, just in case a new software or OS update causes problems.

TRACK CPU USAGE AT ALL TIMES There’s a handy function has hidden in its box of 12 tricks. When the Task Manager window is open, you should see a tiny square icon with a grid pattern in the bottom-right corner of your screen, in the notification area. It Task Manager has always err on the side of caution when it comes to may be hidden in the expanded menu; just click the evolved over the downloading new programs. arrow and drag it on to the if needed. That years, becoming a icon is a microcosm of your CPU usage, showing a powerful system- USE TASK MANAGER BETTER tiny graph that indicates how much of your CPU is monitoring tool. Making the best use of Task Manager currently being utilized, and placing your mouse is key to mastering control over over it shows exact percentages. To keep it present 14 Windows 10. First up, access it faster when Task Manager isn’t open, select “Hide when by right-clicking the “Home” button minimized” from the Task Manager’s “Options” and selecting it; no need to Ctrl-Alt-Del here. drop-down menu, then minimize the window. You’re also going to want to get rid of the simplified view by hitting “More details” to expand to the full CHECK FOR MALWARE Task Manager experience. Here, you can monitor Of course, ideally you won’t have a component usage, view the full suite of active and single bit of malware on your PC, but background processes, and a whole lot more that 13 if you suspect something is amiss you won’t need to fiddle with. What is useful here is (or you watched in slow motion from the ability to check exactly how much pressure each across the room as your child clicked an extremely program is putting on your CPU, GPU, memory, and dubious link), Windows 10 can scan your system drives. If one background app is chewing up CPU for viruses. Find the “Windows Security” tab under power, or you want to compare the RAM impact of “Update & Security Settings,” and select “Virus two different browsers, this is the place to do it. You & threat protection.” From this menu, you can can end any task manually by right-clicking it, but run quick security scans on your system, or set be careful—there are lots of background processes up full scans that take longer. Windows Defender that are vital to your system’s operation, so don’t automatically scans your system for malware shut off anything you don’t recognize. periodically; you can tweak that in this menu, too, Third-party check for security updates, and manually input antivirus software DISABLE RESUME APPS exemptions from Defender’s scans. That last point can be a hassle, but ON STARTUP can be particularly helpful for users who deal with Windows Defender Another matter of preference, here a lot of unlicensed software or shareware, but is decent and free. 15 we’ll explain how to disable apps and browser tabs resuming upon booting up. If you use your system a lot and have numerous Chrome tabs you want to preserve, skip this step, but otherwise, take a trip into “Accounts Settings.” Under “Sign-in options,” at the bottom of the page, there’s a slider for reopening your apps “after an update or restart.” It tries to resume the active programs you had running when you last shut down your PC, potentially including non-essential background processes, and that slows down your PC’s boot time. Toggle it off.

FREE UP DRIVE SPACE The less stuff on your drive, the better it runs. This is more true of 16 older hardware, but can also affect SATA SSDs to a significant degree. Clearing up your drive on a semi-regular basis is a

good idea, as it can also improve the drive’s effective © MICROSOFT

28 MAXIMUMPC APR 2020 maximumpc.com lifespan. There’s a few ways to do this, which work best when done in conjunction: First off, empty the LOW-END SYSTEM TIPS recycle bin. It’s easy to forget about that little white trash can on your desktop, but emptying it regularly is a good idea. Windows 10 also has a built-in tool, found under “Windows Administrative Tools” in the “Start” menu. If you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10, this is worth doing; it can safely erase old system files. If you can, move files to a cloud storage solution, such as Google Drive or OneDrive—that can help, too!

CHECK YOUR SYSTEM HEALTH WITH Another handy tool in Windows 10’s 17 repertoire is the Performance Monitor. Activate it by punching “perfmon /report” into the search bar (without the quotes) and give it a few minutes to gather system Disabling search indexing in Windows is useful on older machines. data. It then spits out a highly detailed interactive report; any major issues with system files or Use ReadyBoost remember to defrag that drive processor loads should be highlighted immediately, Here, we’re going to now and then, lest long-term and you can also check through a series of system 21 specify tips that are fragmentation ruins your data. checks and a resource overview, which can identify only really useful for Fortunately, Windows 10 has a if one part of your system is working overtime older or super-budget systems defrag tool built-in, although it’s when it shouldn’t be. with limited hardware, such as been shuffled around a few times HDDs instead of SSDs, or less between version updates. Punch TRACK YOUR TEMPERATURES than 8GB of RAM. ReadyBoost is “defrag” into the search bar, There is a multitude of third-party a feature for such PCs, and uses open “Defragment and Optimize tools that can let you check your removable storage (typically Drives,” select your hard drive, 18 system’s operating temperatures, a USB flash drive or SD card and hit “Optimize.” Depending but our recommendation would be with at least 12GB of storage) to on the size of the drive and the CPUID’s HardwareMonitor app, available for free from temporarily cache data and speed degree of existing fragmentation, www.cpuid.com. Not only does it enable you to up your system. You can activate it could take a while, so leave this track in real time the temperatures of all your it by plugging in an empty flash until last if you’re taking some PC’s components, but it also shows you operating drive, right-clicking the drive time to clean up your PC. frequencies, voltages, fan speeds, and more. It’s a in , and selecting great way to quickly check whether your system is the “ReadyBoost” tab under Disable Search overheating or throttling elsewhere; if you see temps “Properties.” Select “Dedicate Indexing striking above 70 C when your system is idling, it this drive to ReadyBoost” and 23 Windows 10’s search might be time to look into some cooling upgrades. reserve all available space for function is great, caching. We advise against using but the indexing process can DISABLE SYNCHING flash drives with data stored on be fairly resource-intensive on Windows 10 has a bit of a digital them for this; while it shouldn’t be older (or super-budget) systems. hard-on for synching everything; a problem, it reduces the available Access the indexing menu by 19 whether that’s banal things such as storage space for ReadyBoost to searching for “indexing options” appearance themes, or important use, and constantly caching files in the Control Panel, hit “Modify,” stuff, such as passwords, search history, and cloud can reduce the drive’s lifespan. then hit “Show all locations.” data. If you use Windows on numerous devices, this If you want to fully disable can be helpful; otherwise, it just puts extra strain on Run Defrag for HDDs indexing, select everything your system, and potentially poses a cybersecurity If you’re still rocking here, and click “OK.” This stops risk. You can shut off a number of these under 22 an HDD in your Windows Search from indexing “Sync your settings” in “Accounts Settings,” but you system in 2020 (hey, your results, freeing up system might also want to disable OneDrive synching, too. we don’t judge), it’s important to resources to speed up your PC. To do this, you have to open up OneDrive and head into the settings, then select “Unlink this PC” under the “Account” tab. that needs to keep things as simple as possible. Under the “System Properties” menu, there’s a tab DISABLE VISUAL EFFECTS entitled “Advanced.” Hit the “Performance settings” Look, Windows 10 is great, but button on this page to open up full customization it’s undeniable that some areas of all the visual effects baked into Windows 10. Hit 20 are overdesigned. This step does “Custom” and you can tweak to your heart’s content; come down to personal preference you probably won’t want to disable everything, but regarding aesthetics, but it can also be useful if there are some animations here that can safely you’re running a system with integrated graphics be turned off.

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OPTIMIZE WINDOWS FOR GAMING

DISABLE HARDWARE Steam has plenty BLOCK AUTO-UPDATES ACCELERATION ON MOUSE of interesting beta IN GAME LAUNCHERS If you’re a serious gamer, you’ve tools that are worth This is a must-have, particularly 24 probably done this already. checking out. 25 if you’re on a metered Internet Hardware acceleration for computer connection. Steam is easy enough; mice smooths out the overall pointer experience select “Downloads” under “Steam Settings,” by making your cursor move further if you move and toggle the settings to your heart’s content. In the physical mouse faster, but this can be ruinous particular, we advise unchecking “Allow downloads in first-person shooters, where snap movements during gameplay” if you play online games. Origin and to aim at a target can overshoot their mark. Hop Epic don’t have quite the same array of choices, but do into the Control Panel and select “Hardware and still allow for blocking auto-updates; Epic even allows Sound,” then find your mouse settings. Under you to tweak update choices on a per-game basis. “Pointer Options,” you can deselect “Enhance pointer precision”—this is what Windows 10 calls REVERT GAME VERSION in-OS hardware acceleration. You can tweak This is a somewhat niche tip, but it baseline mouse sensitivity here, too, although we can be a lifesaver if an update tanks recommend doing that via the physical DPI controls 26 one of your games. Steam has a on a gaming mouse. beta feature—not available in every REACH FOR YOUR WALLET

Upgrade Your Drive More Memory Move Beyond SSD storage used to be If your system is running Integrated Graphics 31 expensive, but nowadays 32 slow, upgrading the RAM 33 Rocking a new budget affordable SATA SSDs are can often provide that extra system with integrated commonplace. Even smaller M.2 drives bit of oomph it needs. It’s also one of graphics is no bad thing; modern APUs (around 120GB) are quite cheap, with the easiest components to upgrade, are great, and with Intel’s 10th-gen models from reputable manufacturers especially if your system has excess Iris Plus chips headed to desktop costing as little as $25. Using one of DIMM slots. For modern systems, 8GB (eventually), integrated graphics are these as a main OS drive guarantees of memory should be considered the in a great place right now. However, if faster boot times, and there’s no need absolute minimum amount, with 16GB you’re still rocking an older dual-core to get rid of your old drives; they can working perfectly well for most tasks. APU, it might be time for an upgrade. become bulk storage for files that If you use video-editing or rendering That could just mean jumping up to don’t need to be rapidly accessed. Note: software on the regular, though, a newer processor (such as AMD’s Win 10 takes up at least 20GB, so buying upgrading to 32GB or even 64GB might excellent Ryzen 5 3400G), or it might a really tiny M.2 drive isn’t a great plan. be a good call. mean getting a GPU. Snap up a Radeon RX 550 for under 100 bucks, or aim Upgrading to a little higher and snag something an M.2 drive like an RX 570 or Nvidia’s trusty is ideal, but GTX 1050 Ti—neither should break SATA SSDs are the bank, but will smash integrated still good. graphics on older APUs. © MICROSOFT

30 MAXIMUMPC APR 2020 maximumpc.com game, but it’s easy to check—that allows you to roll back your game version to a previous update. Right- FAKE NEWS click the game in your library, select “Properties,” and navigate to the “Betas” tab. From here, you can opt in to older versions of the game in the drop- WHAT NOT TO DO... down menu, let the game update, and boom—you’re running a previous update. It doesn’t work for most online multiplayer games, of course; you need to be running the same version as everyone else.

DISABLE FOCUS ASSIST This is the big one: Get rid of Focus Assist. Have you ever been midway 27 through a high-stakes online match, only to be yanked out of it as Windows tabs you back to the desktop to inform you that you’ve received an email from your co-worker? Yeah, that’s got to stop. Find the “Focus Assist” tab under “System Settings,” and slap it to “Alarms only”—there’s no option to turn it off completely, but you can also disable it during gameplay or screen sharing. Lastly, you can deactivate the option to show you “what you missed” when you return to the desktop; an unnecessary irritant, for our money. While RAM disks sound cool, their applications are niche at best. KEEP YOUR GPU DRIVERS UP TO DATE Don’t Defrag an SSD to have regular automatic Another potentially obvious tip for Defragmentation backups to your physical drive, 28 gamers is to keep your GPU drivers 34 software can be and to reload the RAM disk image up to date. No, that doesn’t mean helpful, but only for back into your memory every time installing GeForce Experience—the clutter-free older drives. If you have a SATA you boot up your system, which way to do this is simply to head to the manufacturer’s SSD or M.2 NVMe drive, you don’t takes time. Unless you have a website and locate the most recent drivers for your want to try defragging it; there staggering amount of memory GPU. Both AMD and Nvidia have handy search are no significant performance to spare, it just isn’t worth it. functions to help you find your exact GPU, and what benefits (because SSDs have no drivers it needs. Remember to select the “Game moving parts, there’s no risk Don’t Tweak Power Ready” drivers if you’re using a newer Nvidia card, of mechanical latency building Plans on Desktop rather than the “Studio” version. up over time), and the lengthy 36 Simply put: There’s defragmentation processes can no point. If your PC is ENABLE GAME MODE actually wear out the memory connected to mains power, set the A simple change to make, although cells and ruin the drive’s lifespan power plan to high performance it isn’t likely to improve game if you do it too many times. Just and call it a day. Some will 29 performance by much on most don’t bother. claim that there are benefits to systems. Under “Gaming Settings,” using the other plans; we’re not find “Game Mode.” Make sure this is toggled on and RAM Disks Aren’t saying those people are wrong, your PC will manage temperature and available That Useful but we are saying that any benefits memory better to (theoretically) improve frame 35 Also known as RAM will be practically unnoticeable. rates in games. While we’re not sure it really boosts drives, these nifty frame rates, it does also block Windows Update data storage solutions use third- Don’t Reinstall from doing anything while you’re in-game. It’s party software to partition a Windows possible that some games see more stable frame given amount of your memory to 37 A complete fresh rates—perhaps Microsoft’s own stuff, as Game be used as data storage instead install of Windows Mode is officially listed as an Xbox-branded tool. of random-access memory. The should only ever be a last resort, advantages jump out immediately; when other attempts to salvage INSTALL DIRECTX 12 RAM is a lot faster, netting you your system have failed. System You might already have DX12 vastly improved data transfer restore points are a more useful installed, but there’s an easy way speeds for your virtual drive. If resource, and it’s generally a good 30 to check if you do have the latest you’re moving files around a lot idea to have both cloud-based and version of the widely used Microsoft and only have an HDD or SATA physical backups of your data. API tool. Hit the and R to open the SSD, it seems like a no-brainer. Reinstalling Windows is often like Run function, then type “” (again, no quotes), However, RAM disks are volatile bringing a broadsword to a knife and hit Enter. This should bring up the DirectX memory; if your PC loses power, fight; effective, but far too much Diagnostic Tool; on the bottom of the page, it shows that data is wiped. It’s necessary effort and potentially messy. you which version of DX you have installed. If DX12 isn’t installed, go check your Windows Updates!

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