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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Microsoft Windows Vista Help DeskMicrosoft Windows Vista Help Desk

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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Microsoft Windows Vista Help DeskMicrosoft Windows Vista Help Desk

Learn More Buy

The Fruits of Your Efforts: Performance Monitoring

Now, if after all this tweaking and optimizing, you do not see enormous gains in performance, I recommend that you take a hard look at the hardware upgrade section.

Look again at programs running in Startup, as they are the areas where you will get the most bang for your optimizing efforts.

There is one place where you can actually measure the changes you have made. It's called the Reliability Monitor. This is an applet that measures system stability. It tracks how your system has performed day in and day out and graphs it so you get a snapshot of how the system is performing over time.

To check it out, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Windows button.
  2. Type reliability and click the Reliability and Performance Monitor item when it appears in the Start menu.
  3. Click Continue to approve the UAC box.
  4. In the Reliability and Performance Monitor window, click the Reliability Monitor item on the left under Monitoring Tools.
  5. You will see a chart (see Figure 4.33) that tracks your system reliability and shows how it has been performing over the previous weeks.
    Figure 4.33

    Figure 4.33 The Reliability and Performance Monitor is a handy tool you can use to see how your system is performing and whether you have seen any gains in reliability after optimizing it.

Look closely at the marks under Software (Un)Installs because you'll see the impact of removed software.

The rows of events running below the calendar also show various types of failures caused by programs, hardware, Windows, and miscellaneous items. Click on each one to learn more and look for more information below the chart to figure out what happened to the system during that event.

These are all clues to what might be causing problems in performance or what you did that improved performance and reliability on the system.

It's not definitive, but it's one more tool you can use in Vista to help you tweak the system into submission.

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