hard drive optimization ( hot tips & tricks )

Dear TuneUp Utilities User,

Did you know that the biggest bottleneck of your PC or laptop is the built-in hard drive? Even the fastest processors and memory chips are slowed down by the lagging data of the mechanical drive. This leads to:

-slow copying and moving of files

-delayed program start

-irritating pauses when working

-jolting and interruptions when playing games and videos

In the third part of the series “The fastest Windows of all times in just 5 minutes!” TuneUp shows you how to fire up the afterburners and get everything you can out of your hard drive.
Use the cache!

Normally, Windows and applications write directly to the hard drive, which can quickly lead to a bottleneck. Because whenever a lot of data is written simultaneously, the hard drive quickly reaches its limits, which slows down your PCs performance. However in Windows Vista™ and XP™ it is possible to switch on the cache. The data to be written is first saved “virtually,” which considerably accelerates the write access. Later, when the computer is no longer working at capacity, the data is written from the cache to the hard drive. In this way you work significantly more efficiently and quickly!
How to activate the cache:

Search for the “Device Manager.” To do this press the “R” key while holding down the “WINDOWS” key. Enter the command “devmgmt.msc” in the “Run” dialog box that appears and confirm with “OK.”

Now double click on “Disk drives” and then on the hard drive of your computer. (Note: USB drives, card readers, etc. are also shown under “Disk drives”)

In the next window click on “Policies” and on “Optimize for performance.” Then select “Enable write caching on the disk” and, if available, also “Enable advanced performance” (only Windows Vista™). Finish by clicking on “OK” and then restart the system.

Congratulations!
Now your computer's hard drive access will speed up noticeably. In our tests, for example, copying a 2GB file was accelerated by 25% by using this tip.

There is, however, a small residual risk: Since the cache is a virtual memory, in the rare case of a power failure your data is not saved.
With laptops this is not a problem since the battery prevents a sudden loss of power. This is why TuneUp recommends: switch the cache on!
There is a slight risk for desktop PCs. However a loss of data would occur only if a power failure coincided with a cache that has not yet been written to the hard drive. In this case decide for yourself whether increased security upon power failure or long-term improvement of your PC's performance is more important.
Conclusion:

With the cache switched on the hard drive works more efficiently than ever – and the speed of your data increases considerably. However, carry out regular maintenance of your hard drive in order to benefit from improved access times in the long run. You can do this with TuneUp Drive Defrag, which is included in TuneUp Utilities 2009.
Try out the effective defragmentation now and test the 30-day trial version of TuneUp Utilities 2009 free of charge. Apart from TuneUp Drive Defrag there are numerous other functions with which you can speed up and improve your Windows.
(from : tuneup newsletter)