Stop Running System Optimizers! Here’s Some Free Optimization Tips

Fact: People love to think “system optimizers” actually work.

Fact: “System optimizers” do not work

For years, both Mac OS X and Windows users have been lied to about system optimizers – programs that promise to clean up your system make it run better. The fact is, they are almost always a complete waste of time and money.

System optimizers promise to do things such as “clean up the registry” and “fix broken permissions”, etc. Just a quick fyi: removing 3 “orphaned dll files” from the registry is not going to suddenly make your computer run 10% faster. It just won’t.

On the Mac OS X side there’s many tools that update application prebindings, erase extension cache, fix permissions, etc. It is quite rare that a permission issue in OS X will cause issues, prebindings (links between programs and their libraries) are automatically updated on the fly, and erasing the kernel extension cache will never make the system faster. On the off chance there is a permission issue – it is quite easy to use the free Disk Utility software, made by Apple, to fix them. It is installed by default on OS X.

There are times when optimizers may work, but the fact is most of the time they are a waste. Even worse are optimizers that run in the background and claim to speed up your machine. Just a tip: running software in the background won’t make your computer faster.

And don’t get me started on all the optimizer malware out there…

Anyway, here’s some things to remember about system optimization:

Windows

• A fresh install will always run faster
• Defragment the drive at least once a month. I prefer to use the built-in tool provided by Microsoft – as I’ve had 3rd party tools (even well-known ones) completely destroy systems in the past.
• Use a good antivirus package
• Real-time antivirus scanning WILL slow down your system. But it is worth it if your system is fast enough (most modern systems are)
• Use CCleaner to clean out temporary files. It’s called “crap cleaner” for a reason.
• Keep the desktop clean. It is amazing how 100 icons on your desktop can slow things down – it has to do with the way they are rendered & displayed.
• Avoid “registry cleaners”. They do nothing and many of them are malware.
• Keep background apps to a minimum. If the bottom-right corner of  your screen has 100 little icons – it’s a sign you need to uninstall some crap.

Mac OS X

• A fresh install will always run faster
• OS X auto-defragments smaller files on the fly (most files are small). Do not run 3rd party tools. Some people love them – but I don’t think so. I’ve been using OS X since it was first released and I’ve never had major fragmentation issues.
• No need for real-time antivirus scanning. Apple has provided builtin tools for preventing malware and there’s no true OS X malware out in the wild. Just don’t download shady files
• Keep your browser cache clean. Might seem odd – but Spotlight loves to index cache files on OS X. It can really slow it down.
• Spotlight on Lion is overactive for many people. I personally turned it off on my system because it constantly ran, no matter what. If you don’t use it – that is an option.
• Once again, keep the desktop clean. OS X displays desktop icons as individual windows. 100 icons = 100 windows = slow.
• If you have permission issues use the built in Disk Utility (in Applications->Utilities)

And that’s it. System optimization isn’t some big mystery – it is actually quite easy to do. There’s absolutely no reason to go out and spend $50 for some crap software to do the same thing you can do for free.