Tweaking for Speed: Installing Software

Tweaking for Speed

Installing software for more performance

Getting the right software

The first step in installing software is getting the right software. The software that works best for your system will be the version that was made for you operating system version, and if that is an older one then the software made when it was current is often the best. There are some suggestions for very integrated software on the page Choosing Software. For those types of software not mentioned there, here are a few guidelines to help you choose a program:

Match your operating system and associated software	Always determine the version of the software made as closely for your version of operating system. When looking for software that depends on other software (like plugins for large programs, or programs that require Internet Explorer) be careful to check the system requirements. In some cases it may be best to get slightly older software and update, or get the most current bundled version with patches already integrated - which leads to our next section...
Research	This is often poorly done and can be critical to your results. Just asking a friend or stranger without consideration of their system's configuration and use habits (to say nothing of qualifications) will not yield the best answer. Differing opinions, fully explained, are good! If you can try the software, especially in a system sharing many characteristics with yours, do it! An extra day without some software could save you days of cleaning up, recovering data, and reformatting your system. Remember that some software can not be effectively uninstalled.
Source	Where you get software is often a key factor in the quality and security of the software you install. The best place to get software when the author (person or company) is still 'in business' is their own distribution source. Downloading software from other locations when the original is current can result in trojans, virii, and other exploits. Critical patches may not be present. At very least you may never be able to obtain support legitimately, if that matters to you. Take extreme care when using those sources, but it is still at your own risk. For older software or for software that doesn't have the benefit of an author with a distribution network of it's own, download archives with quality reputations are out there: Download.com , oldversion.com , ZDNet , TuCows are just a few of the biggest names. Going back to the previous section, researching the source of the software is nearly as important.
Installer package	This goes back to version somewhat, but is important enough to deserve it's own mention. Many programs allow you to choose an installer that bundles only what you want or allows you to tailor the software to your desire. This is always a better option than just 'letting it do it's thing'. Web based installers, or 'install/run from here' is not a good option, as it tends to do what it wants and you don't end up with a copy of the installer for backup. Zipped bundles can save space and download time, but of course you have to have the ability to unzip the archive file - the exact kind of archive it came as. Even if you think you can extract it properly there can be catches, so be warned. If you lack much space to store such installer backups, burning them to CD is your best option. Always keep a copy of the installer unexecuted somewhere, so you can properly reinstall it.

Running the installer

Do this for each program you install, one at a time

Once you have obtained the software you need, you need to install it with the deliberate care it deserves.

If you obtained your software from an archive, file sharing program, or person to person source, scan it with an anti-virus program. If you got your software from a factory made CD, or downloaded it from the original author's source, scan it anyway. Although quite rare, mistakes have been made and malicious code included with reputable software.

Install the right software first. The more integrated the software is the earlier in the life of the operating system it should be installed. Some of these were mentioned in the Choosing Software section. Others of great importance are anti-virus programs, firewalls, programming applications, and image editors. Games and other software 'toys' come last. Installing software in the right order gives you the greatest chance of avoiding conflicts and data loss, and starting over.

Put your system in the right state. If your operating system is set up for multiple users, if it is a managed user system (like NT based) log in as the administrator, or if it is a personalized preference user system (like that used in 9x) log in as the default user for system wide critical software (such as anti-virus) or as the user that will be using the software for less critical software. Shut down everything else. You should have scanned your software with anti-virus before you got to this point. Right click and close everything in the system tray (by the clock) and hit Ctrl+Alt+Del in 9x to open Close Program and close everything but explorer and systray or Ctrl+Shift+Esc in NT based to Open Task Manager and shut down all Applications and known unnecessary Processes.

Follow any documentation data that came with the software. Some may require you to create a directory for it manually or have you run the installer from a particular directory. If there are no such instructions, run the installer directly from CD if it can be, or from your desktop - remember to use a copy of the installer on the desktop, not the original.

Choose the installation method that gives you the most control. Custom is the best possible way to install software, even if you install it all. It will allow you to see and choose what is being installed, where, and how. Look for an option named Custom, Advanced, Expert, or "Let me choose..." as it will walk you through what is installed piece by piece. If you have multiple drives, for programs not integrating heavily with the operating system it is best to install to the drive that does not have the operating system on it. When Windows and a program are 'talking' to each other if they are not doing so from the same drive it takes less time, even if it is just a little bit less.

When the program asks to run at startup, unless it is security software that should be running full time, just say NO. Starting a program manually frees resources when it isn't in use, allows you to choose more effectively what does what, and creates less conflicts. Unless it must run at startup, don't let it.

Choose where and how shortcuts are set up. How many desktops have you seen covered in icons, Start menus with multiple entries for the same program, and Quicklaunch bars that covered the whole taskbar? These small bites into your space and resources add up and slow you down.

Configure product integration, registration, and updating. If you don't want the program to take things over, don't let it. Most cases you can tell it to take over more later if you find you prefer to do things with it. Automatic registration can be good for retail purchased software, and very bad for shareware and freeware. Read carefully every option, and don't give out personal info or sign up for email, postal, or phone advertising if you can avoid it at all. Once spam starts, it breeds and is hard to stop. Updates can keep things running right, secure, and stable - or they can loose settings, introduce bugs, open security holes, and destroy data. Automatic updating is best used for anti-virus, but in most cases you can choose when to update yourself, and what you want and need to update. Choose wisely.

Reject surprise extras. This is how adware and spyware get into your system very often, and with your permission. If you install software and see some nice pitch in the description of the package about 'bringing products to you' chances are it will mean pop ups, spam email, hijacked homepages, and other annoyances and intrusions.

The rest of the choices are yours. My advice is if you don't need it or understand what it's for don't install it.

Once all the software has installed, clean out the mess it left behind. Delete any entries it left in C:\Temp or C:\ Windows\Temp. If you run the program and it crashes or fails without these, reinstall it. In the software world the consensus is that Temp is what it says, temporary. What is stored there should be able to be lost without harm. If the program installed shortcuts on the desktop, Start menu, Quicklaunch bar, system tray, or any other place you don't want it check the settings, options, or preferences for the program to see if it can remove them itself. If not, delete them manually. Check the Start menu and Add/Remove Programs for programs that showed up since you installed the intended software (surprise! you wanted that adware/spyware didn't you?). Remove the surprises and run the program. If it fails, you probably should consider other software.

Restart.

Run Disk Defragmenter.

Run the program.

Check for changes counter to your settings you made to the software. Set them back. If the program uses caching/temp folders, clear them from within the program. Shut down the program and check the cache/temp folder directory manually. If there are still .tmp files, or content (like pictures, html documents, cookies, text files) you recognize and wanted to remove, delete them.

Restart.

Run the program.

Check again.

If things are as you intended them to be, you are set. If things keep changing back, check to see if it has a way to 'save settings'. If so, test it. If not, then you have to decide if the headache is worth it for the program. Changing your mind after trying it out is not a mistake.

Apply any patches or updates already known to be needed.

Run the Program.

If there are manual tweaks to the program via plugins, helper programs, or the registry now is when to do them. Be careful with these. As before, research is critical as is backing up your work.

Run the program.

I think you get the idea...

Time taken here to set things up right will pay off in a system and program that is faster, more stable, and does more precisely what you want it to do.

Now on to the last step: Keeping it Fast

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