lifehack.guide

Note - You will need to install the "Take Ownership" registry key to be able to delete most of these unwanted files/directories.After the registry key is installed; just right click on any system folder you want to delete and click on  "Take Ownership"  and you will be able to delete any systems folder you previously weren't allowed to.

1.) Delete unwanted files from these folders in your Account-

1. Downloads
2. My Documents
3. My Pictures
4. My Music
5. My Videos

2.) Windows Features Tweaks-

1. Disable Pagefile if you don't use high-end memory demanding applications and have RAM > or = 4GB.
2. Disable Hibernation, also only enable it temporarily when required.
   A. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
   B. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
   C. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
   D. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off, and then press ENTER.
   E. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.
3. Disable File Content Indexing by unchecking “Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties” option in your Drive’s Properties.
4. Enable NTFS Compression to Compress files and folders you don't use regularly, Note - don't enable this on SSD's.
5. Make your Service Pack Permanent by deleting the Service Pack Backup Files using the “Clean up System Files” option in Disk Cleanup.
6. Delete Shadow Copies by deleting all the restore points under System Restore and Shadow Copies using the “Clean up System Files” option in Disk Cleanup.
7. Use CompactOS to remove windows' file duplicates that exist across Winsxs and Windows' backup WIM file:
   a) Run Command Prompt as administrator.
   b) Verify that your system is not already compacted by entering "Compact.exe /CompactOS:query"
   c) If not already compacted, use command "Compact.exe /CompactOS:always" to start the process. It may take ~20minutes and you shall have ~4GB of diskspace free from your OS disk partition.
   d) Also run the following commands to cleanup the windows image stored on your drive:
   Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
   Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore 
   Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
   Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded

3.) Clean or disable or reduce the space allocated to-

1. System Restore.
2. Recycle Bin.
3. Web Browser’s Cache.

4.) Remove Applications/Programs/Softwares/Features-

1. Uninstall unwanted Programs from the Apps/Programs & Features menu in the control panel.
2. Turn Off unwanted Windows Features from the "Manage Additional Options / Turn windows features on or off" in the Apps/Programs & Features menu in the control panel.
3. Delete unwanted windows default programs from:
   C:\Users\Your Account Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft
4. Delete unwanted Windows Apps from - 
1. C:\Users\Your Account Name\AppData\Local\Packages
2. C:\Program Files\WindowsApps
3. C:\Windows\SystemApps
4. C:\Windows\InfusedApps

5.) Search and delete windows generated unwanted files-

1. *.log – Logging files.
2. *.bak — Backup files.
3. *.tmp — Temporary application files.
4. *.old — old application files.
5. *.bkp — Backup files.
6. *.$$$ — Work files.
7. *.diz — Marketing files that come with shareware programs.
8. *.~* — Temporary application files.
9. ~*.* — Usually Microsoft work files.
10. *.gid — Hidden index files created when you access Windows help files.
11. MSCreate.dir — Small control files Windows places into directories you create.
12. Readme.txt — Startup files that accompany most packages.

6.) Delete unneeded temporary files from-

1. C:\Windows\Temp
2. C:\windows\system32\dllcache\
3. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\

7.) Delete unwanted windows files-

1. Fonts from C:\Windows\Fonts
2. Windows Sounds from C:\Windows\Media
3. Themes from C:\Windows\Resources\Themes
4. Lockscreens and Wallpapers from C:\Windows\Web
5. Globalization folders from C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT & C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS
6. Windows Update setup files from C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
7. Microsoft Office setup files from C:\MSOCache
8. Unwanted User Accounts from C:\Users

8.) Delete your old Windows’ left over files from-

1. C:\Windows.old
2. C:\WINDOWS.~Q
3. C:\$INPLACE.~TR

9.) Delete unwanted language folders from-

1. C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ink
2. C:\Windows\Boot\
3. C:\Windows\Boot\PCAT
4. C:\Windows\SysWOW64
5. C:\Windows\System32

10.) Delete unwanted language files (not more than 15 at once) from-

1. C:\Windows\BitLockerDiscoveryVolumeContents
2. C:\Windows\WinSxS\FileMaps
3. C:\Windows\WinSxS\Backup
4. C:\Windows\WinSxS\Manifests

Miscellaneous*
Run Disk Cleanup or use CCleaner to get rid of most of the junk files.
Find and remove duplicate files and folders using a 3rd party software like Easy Duplicate Finder.
If you use an E-Mail Application, locate and delete its temporary E-Mail files.

 

Here are our exclusive Top 33 Hacks/Tweaks to Speed Up Windows and Increase your Laptop's Battery Life.
Researched and Compiled to make your PC fast and efficient!

1. Uninstall programs you never use. Also never install softwares you are actually never going to use.
2. Uninstall all bloatware. These are the unwanted preinstalled softwares from vendors.
3. Disable Unwanted Startup Programs.
4. Turn Off  unrequired Windows Features.
5. Disable Unwanted Startup Services.
6. If you are not using an SSD, Defragment your hard disk regularly. Use MyDefrag, it is the best disk defragmenter yet.
7. Clean up your hard drives of all unnecessary data. Keep special care of the drive containing Windows.
8. Check and repair your disks for errors regularly.
9. Disable unwanted and overrated Visual Effects. (Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings > Performance Settings)
10. Disable the windows Aero theme, Screen Saver and Wallpaper.
11. Disable Aero Peek and Aero Snap features. Disable them only if you dont use them to your work flow advantage.
12. Remove all Malware, Spyware and Adware using security softwares. Removing viruses is the most important step to speed up windows.
13. Install faster and more reliable security softwares. Windows default security softwares are the best. Example - Windows Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials and  Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.
14. Turn off show recent items list feature. This stops windows from recording what you did and hence help speed up windows.
15. Turn Off Sync In Sync Settings In Control Panel.
16. Turn Off  Search Indexing. This will speed up windows for users who dont use Windows Search. Also users who use Windows Search extensively should tune Search Indexing specific to their search directories. Both ways, it will speed up windows.
17. Clean up your desktop of all the unwanted icons and folders.
18. Tweak Folder Options, to build a balance between speed and usability.
19. Turn Off unwanted and annoying System Sounds.
20. Set Up and use ReadyBoost for Extra Speed. It is one of the features even developers forget to use to speed up windows.
21. Configure and change your Power Plan as per your requirement, you may choose "High Performance" or "Power Saver". This will highly speed up your windows or increase your laptop's battery life.
22. Unplug all external devices like USBs, CD/DVDs, Printers etc. They consume extra power and system resources.
23. Restart your PC regularly. This lets windows clean up all temporary data and Refresh itself.
24. Install or Upgrade to the latest edition of Windows.
25. Update your windows regularly. Windows updates contain security as well as performance fixes which speed up windows.
26. Remove/Delete Unwanted Fonts. This prevents loading of unwanted fonts into every application.
27. Disable User account control (UAC), this will highly speed up windows.
28. Disable Telemetry, disable user history, disable user data access, disable apps' access to personal information and other apps.
29. Remove/delete Windows' Metro Apps, Microsoft Defender and other bloatware that is infused into your Windows ecosystem.
30. Turn off paging. If you dont use programs which demand large memory and you have RAM>=4GB. This may speed up windows, in PC’s with large amounts of memory.
31. 
    
32. Learn and use windows shortcuts. Interface and keyboard shortcuts highly speed up the work flow process.
33. Optimize your system using Registry Tweaks and Tweaking Softwares.
34. Disable startup scripts in Task Scheduler (Win+R > taskschd.msc > Task Scheduler Library (on the Left side).
35. Use Microsoft Apps (Like Edge instead of Chrome) as Microsoft apps are optimized to perform on Windows and thus are seen to offer more efficient performance.
36.