TuneUp Utilities - 2003 User Manual

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TuneUp Utilities 2003

The Manual

TuneUp Utilities 2003 was developed by:

TuneUp Software GmbH, Donnersbergring 22, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany

Web: www.tune-up.com

The software manual was written by:

Redaktionsbüro Typemania, Carsten Scheibe Web: www.typemania.de

To receive software support, contact:

E-Mail: tu2003@tune-up.com Web: www.tune-up.com/support

Table of Contents ____________________________________ 3

1. Dear Users ________________________________________ 6

System Requirements____________________________________8

2. Software Installation_______________________________ 10

Starting the Installation _________________________________ 10

Starting the Software ___________________________________14

3. Customize & Analyze ______________________________ 15

TuneUp SystemControl _________________________________ 16

Viewing - Animations & Effects ______________________________ 17 Viewing - File Types _______________________________________ 21 Viewing - Folder Options ___________________________________ 24 Usage - Input options_______________________________________ 27 Usage - Start menu_________________________________________ 30 Usage - Taskbar ___________________________________________ 32 Communication - Network___________________________________ 34 Communication - Internet Explorer ____________________________ 36 Communication - Mail Programs______________________________ 38 Communication - Privacy ___________________________________ 39 Administration - User Logon _________________________________ 42 Administration - Drives _____________________________________ 45 Administration - Memory and Cache___________________________ 46 Administration - Start and Maintenance ________________________ 47 Administration - System ____________________________________ 50

TuneUp Icon Engineer _________________________________ 52

System Icons _____________________________________________ 52 Drives and Folders_________________________________________ 55 Appearance ______________________________________________ 57 Repair __________________________________________________ 58

TuneUp StartUp Manager ______________________________ 59

TuneUp System Information ____________________________ 61

4. Clean & Repair ___________________________________ 64

TuneUp RegistryCleaner _______________________________ 65

The Scan ________________________________________________ 66 Evaluation _______________________________________________ 67 Cleaning_________________________________________________ 70

TuneUp DiskCleaner___________________________________ 72

The Analysis _____________________________________________ 72 Evaluation _______________________________________________ 74 Cleaning_________________________________________________ 77

5. Optimize & Improve________________________________ 78

TuneUp MemOptimizer ________________________________ 79

TuneUp System Optimizer ______________________________ 83

Quick Maintenance ________________________________________ 84 System Advisor ___________________________________________ 85 Internet Optimization Wizard ________________________________ 86 System Optimization Wizard_________________________________ 87

6. Administer & Control ______________________________ 90

TuneUp Process Manager _______________________________ 91

TuneUp Registry Editor_________________________________ 94

TuneUp Uninstall Manager ______________________________ 95

7. File recovery & Destruction _________________________ 98

TuneUp Shredder ______________________________________99

TuneUp Undelete _____________________________________ 101

8. TuneUp RescueCenter ____________________________ 105

Undo changes ________________________________________106

System recovery ______________________________________ 107

9. TuneUp UpdateWizard ____________________________ 109

10. TuneUp RegistryDefrag __________________________ 111

Launching the tool ________________________________________ 112

11. Glossary _______________________________________ 115

12. Index _________________________________________ 127

1. Dear Users

Most computers used worldwide run Windows XP or one of its previous versions as an operating system. Windows is well suited to starting programs and managing files. But if users want to adapt the system, optimize it or slenderize it, they will soon realize that this is much more difficult than it might sound.

Actually, however, anything is possible. Windows controls the programs which are automatically activated during start-up. It determines the commands that are available in the start menu. Windows also determines the look of the icons on the desktop. But: How can a user change these settings?

"It's all very easy", is what the professional says. All important variables are hidden in the Windows configuration files and in the registry, after all. The registry is the central database in Windows, which both programs and hardware modules save their current settings to. Using the appropriate editors, it is possible to open these specific system files and to expertly modify the variables. The problem, however, is that only well-informed professionals know where to look for the variables they are interested in amongst all the cryptic entries. For most users, an opened registry is nothing but a mystery.

TuneUp Utilities 2003 is designed to help both the novice user and the expert in adapting Windows to their individual demands. In numerous windows, all important system options are listed. They can subsequently be activated and deactivated point-and-click. TuneUp Utilities then independently attends to changing the appropriate entries in either the registry or the configuration files.

However, TuneUp Utilities does not only meet the claim to "prettify our Windows". It is also possible to clean up and optimize the system by simply pressing a button. The program then removes all redundant entries from the registry and optimizes the existing settings, thus considerably increasing system speed.

All modules of TuneUp Utilities can be accessed from a shared graphical interface which is loaded immediately upon starting the software and makes available the following buttons:

Customize & Analyze: With this button you can attend to all cosmetic aspects in your cooperation with Windows, determining how the system looks and behaves. In addition, you can change the user interface symbols and manage the programs intended to open during windows start-up. The section is rounded off with a system analysis option.

Clean up & Repair: Two modules clean up the Windows registry and delete superfluous files from the hard drive. These activities considerably speed up the system.

Optimize & Improve: The program searches the system for speed obstacles and removes them. In addition, TuneUp MemOptimizer constantly optimizes memory in the background.

Administer & Control: Three modules help with editing the registry, supervising running programs and safely removing all applications that are no longer needed.

File recovery & Destruction: Safety is feasible. The Shredder for example is able to delete sensitive files in a way that renders them impossible to restore. On the other hand, TuneUp Undelete can be used to restore programs that had already been deleted from the Windows recycle bin.

The RescueCenter is available to revert changes and restore files deleted by the Utilities. The UpdateWizard helps with keeping the software up to date and downloads updates from the Internet point-andclick.

System Requirements

TuneUp Utilities 2003 profoundly changes the Windows system. The operating system, however, often changes considerably from one version to the next. Even so, TuneUp Utilities is able to adapt to differing Windows versions and supports the following Windows releases: Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000 and XP. TuneUp Utilities does not support Windows NT.

From a functional range point of view, the program always adapts to the current operating system. In Windows 95/98/Me for example, the module TuneUp RegistryDefrag is available for defragmenting the registry while it is not installed in Windows 2000/XP. SystemControl also adapts its functional range to the functions offered by the respective systems.

Minimal system configuration:

♦ Microsoft Windows 95 ♦ Graphics mode 640x480 with 256 colors ♦ 30 MB free hard disk space ♦ Intel Pentium or AMD K5 processor with 133 MHz ♦ 64 MB RAM ♦ CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

Recommended system configuration:

♦ Microsoft Windows Me/2000/XP ♦ Graphics mode 1024x768 with 16.7 m colors ♦ 50 MB free hard disk space ♦ Intel Pentium 4/5 or AMD Athlon processor with 500 MHz ♦ 128 MB RAM ♦ CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive ♦ Internet access

2. Software Installation

Before you can use TuneUp Utilities on your computer, you have to install the software. During installation, program files are transferred to the hard disk. You can then start and use the Utilities without inserting the program CD into your CD-ROM drive.

Starting the Installation

If the Autoplay function is enabled for your CD-ROM drive, the TuneUp Utilities installation routine will start automatically. In this case Windows attends to calling the file.

If the Autoplay function is disabled on your computer, nothing happens after inserting the program CD into the CD-ROM drive. In this case, use Explorer or some other file management program to run the file SETUP.EXE in the root directory of the CD-ROM. To do this, doubleclick on the file.

The installation routine will now welcome you. Right at the beginning you are asked to close all other open Windows programs. To do this, switch to these applications with ALT+TAB and close them with the shortcut ALT+F4. This way, possible disturbances and interferences during the installation are prevented. In addition, TuneUp Utilities now can also update and overwrite system files which might otherwise have been in use. Press the Next button to proceed.

Please close all other open Windows programs.

The program now shows the license agreement. Please read the text once to find out about the terms for using the program. Afterwards, activate the I accept the license agreement option and proceed by pressing Next.

You have to accept the license agreement to proceed.

On the next screen you are asked to fill in the User information. The program wants to know your name and the name of your organization/company. The installation routine will attempt to automatically fill in this information for you. The Serial number can be found on the front cover of this manual.

For Windows XP and 2000 users: At this point it is also important whether the application is supposed to be available to all users of the computer or to a single user only. In order to install TuneUp Utilities 2003, you need to have administrator rights on the computer.

Please personalize your copy of TuneUp Utilities.

Now we get down to business. On the next screen you have to name a Destination folder. That is the directory on the hard disk supposed to accommodate TuneUp Utilities. As a default, the program uses the path C:\Program Files\TuneUp Utilities\. If you want to use another target directory, press Browse to select one from a file browser.

Press Next to begin copying the files. During this activity, a bar graph will show you the operation's progress. Please wait until the program reports that "TuneUp Utilities has been successfully installed". Then press the button Finish to close the installation routine.

Starting the Software

There are two different ways of starting the program.

During installation, the program creates a new icon on your Windows Desktop. To directly start the software, double-click on the icon labeled TuneUp Utilities.

Alternatively, it is possible to use the Windows Start menu. Open it and go to the Programs folder. Here you will find a new group labeled TuneUp Utilities. By clicking on the TuneUp Utilities entry, you can load the tools' menu system. You can also start each tool separately, if you already know which program module will be required. In this case, Utilities opens an additional cascading menu, where all modules are listed. Clicking on one of the names listed causes the according tool to start.

3. Customize & Analyze

The category Customize & Analyze helps you to get a grip on four different problems at the same time.

In this section, various functions are available which help you change the

appearance and functionality of Windows.

TuneUp SystemControl undertakes cosmetic changes to Windows.

Here you determine what the Desktop looks like and how it works. You will be surprised how many options TuneUp offers in this module. For the most part, they are functions innately offered by the Windows registry. So far, however, only professionals were able to activate these options in the registry.

TuneUp Icon Engineer module is responsible for the icons. It exchanges existing symbols for new ones and simultaneously changes a number of system settings.

TuneUp StartUp Manager disables annoying startup programs. These are programs which are automatically started together with Windows – often against your wishes. The module lists all startup programs and lets you decide which ones you want to have present in the background from now on.

To let you know which components are installed on your system, the module TuneUp System Information endeavors to create a status report. Point-and-click.

TuneUp SystemControl

To start the program that will help you to fundamentally change the appearance of Windows, click on the button TuneUp SystemControl in the selection menu.

TuneUp SystemControl is probably the most powerful module of the software. As soon as the program window has opened, it presents its numerous options in many different categories that are shown on the left. These categories are labeled Viewing, Usage, Communication and Administration. For each of these categories there are several subcategories as well.

As soon as you chose a category, the program lists the appropriate options on the right side – mostly again in several tabs. On the next couple of pages, we will attempt to briefly present the most important functions.

Very important: In case of doubt, the Restore Defaults button helps you to cancel all changes made and to re-establish the old status quo.

One more information: TuneUp SystemControl always adapts to your system and only offers the options that make sense. On the following pages, only the settings for Windows XP will be specified, since this is the current operating system. The context help in the program (which can be reached by right-clicking any option) is available for every operating system, though.

Viewing - Animations & Effects

• Tab Effects

Here you can activate settings which are used for showing and operating Windows elements. In the Settings section, numerous options are listed. The options marked with a check are active at the moment. If you want to deactivate an option, simply click into the box with your mouse to erase the checkmark.

The individual options are divided into the subject areas Visual Effects and Usage. Here options like Show window contents while dragging, Show color shading in the title bar or Show mouse pointer shadow can be activated. They all show nice optical effects, but slow the system down considerably as well. If you want to know more about an option, select it with the mouse. In the Description field, a short explanation will be shown immediately.

Press the Best Appearance button to select all options in a way to have Windows show really excellent looks. If you prefer performance, press

the Best Performance button. With Restore Defaults, the original settings are reloaded.

Enabling and disabling visual effects.

• Tab Animation

When using windows and lists, animations may come into operation.

In the Window and Note Animation section you can determine whether windows or tooltips will be animated or not. Here you can specifically enable Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing. If the option Use the following animation with tooltips is activated, you can for example choose an option like Fade effect from the Effect pull-down menu.

In the Animation of Elements section you can decide in which display and control elements both scrolling and opening will be animated. You can activate the three options Animate list view & tree view, Slide open combo boxes and Smooth-scroll list boxes.

Click on Best Performance to disable all options that are only straining after effects. With Restore Defaults you reactivate the predetermined Windows status quo.

Care for some animation?

• Tab Menu Appearance

Here you determine the look and behavior of context menus and of the application standard menus.

In the Animation section you decide whether menu elements will be hidden after being called. In addition, you can select to Use the following display effect from the pull-down menu.

In the Effects section you choose whether Windows will use flat 2D menus or if open menus ought to cast a small shadow on the area underneath.

• Tab Font Smoothing

Texts on screen can actually only be read smoothly, when they have been smoothed in the Standard mode. Otherwise they show ugly jagged pixel edges which are particularly obvious in large headlines. The font smoothing technique ClearType is quite modern. It smoothes the character more precisely than usual and is particularly suited for LCD monitors.

In this section you decide on one of the three available modes. Preview the characteristics of an option and then determine the Smoothing in a pull-down menu.

What form of Font Smoothing do you prefer?

Viewing - File Types

• Tab Menu Operations

In the Drives and Folders section you chose which of the entries listed are supposed to be shown in the folders' context menus. The Show

"Explore from here" option opens a folder in a new window. The Show "Prompt here" option opens the prompt at the location desired.

In the Files and Folders section you determine which commands are to be shown in the context menus of both files and folders. Here you can upgrade the four commands Show "Send To" menu, Show "Copy To

Folder…", Show "Move To folder…" and Show "Encrypt" and "Decrypt" (not available for XP Home Edition) if required. Commands

already active are marked with a check.

And again: The Restore Defaults button will re-establish the original Windows settings.

You can influence the context menus of both folders and files.

• Tab New Menu

In the desktop, explorer and save dialog context menus, the command "New" can be found. It opens a cascading menu and offers various file types which can be newly created point-and-click.

With TuneUp Utilities you can determine which Templates are to be shown in the "New" menu. If you want to disable individual file types, click into the according checkbox to remove the checkmark there. Remove completely eliminates entries from the list. With Add more file types can be added to the list.

Under Options you can decide whether the "New" menu will be shown in the context menus of both the desktop and the free space in folder windows.

Changing predetermined settings for the "New" menu.

• Tab Opening Files

Here you decide how Windows is to react when opening unknown file types. In the Default Application field you determine one of two options. Either the "Open with…" dialog will be shown or a file will automatically be opened with a predetermined program, for example Notepad. To pick the second option, enter the application path/start name in the Open with field.

• Tab Advanced

In the New Shortcut Prefix section you can choose whether the "Shortcut to" text will automatically precede each new link name. If you do not want this to happen, simply disable the option offered. If the text is to remain, leave the option enabled.

In the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer section you determine if picture and fax files will continue to be loaded into the Windows Picture and Fax viewer via double-click. If this is the case, leave the display enabled.

Here you can disable the shortcut prefix.

Viewing - Folder Options

• Tab View

In this section you can decide how folder windows and the objects contained in them will be shown.

In the Save View Settings section you can determine if Windows is to remember the position and size of windows and symbols when closing the windows.

The Pop-up Description section deals with tooltips windows which can show further information matched to desktop elements and folders. Here they can be inserted for the elements mentioned.

In the File and folder Names View you either enable or disable the option Enable capitals in file and folder names.

• Tab Navigation

Here you determine the settings for navigating folder windows and decide how the Explorer is to react to user input.

In the Opening of Folders section you can enable the Show compressed ZIP archives as folders option if you want a double-click on a ZIP archive to show its compressed content – as if the archive was a normal folder. The Always show tree view in folder windows option can either be enabled or disabled as well.

In the section Automatic Completion on the Address Bar you decide if and how entries into the Explorer and Internet Explorer address fields are to be completed automatically. Originally the options Use inline AutoComplete and Show list with suggestions (sorted by similarity) are active. You can also determine that lists are opened upwards – instead of downwards.

• Tab Thumbnails

In folders, Windows can show you small thumbnail previews matched to a picture collection. Here you decide how these preview pictures will look like.

In the Thumbnail Size you determine the dimensions of the thumbnails. The default is 96 pixels. You can, however, enter any other value.

In the Picture Quality section, use the slider to determine the quality of the generated thumbnails. The better the picture quality, the more disk space the previews will need.

In the Thumbnails section you decide if the thumbnails will be stored intermediately in a file called THUMBS.DB . The file is then simply saved with the folders and can later be read out particularly quickly.

• Tab Colors

This is another place where we deal with the look of folder windows. You can determine the color which individual elements will be highlighted in on mouse-over. If you are using the NTFS file system on your partition, you can let the system show encoded and compressed files in a very particular color as well.

• Tab Advanced

In the Desktop section you determine which typical Windows modules with an Icon should be present on the Desktop . Press Settings to show a selection of the possible elements in a separate window. You can, for example, check the Recycle Bin and the Planned Tasks and thus accept their icons for the desktop.

In the My Computer section you can scan an overview of all drives shown from the Windows module My Computer with Settings. If you remove a check in front of a volume entry, the according drive will no longer be shown on My Computer.

Usage - Input options

• Tab Mouse Functions

In the Swap Mouse Buttons section you can exchange the left and the right mouse button. You then basically do mouse-clicks with the right button and activate software context menus with the left one.

Many mice are equipped with a scroll wheel by now. Convenient for the Microsoft Intellimouse and compatible models you can, in the Scroll Wheel section, determine what is to happen when using the wheel. The default is Scroll by 3 lines, whereas you can still change this number. Alternatively you can extend to Scroll one screen page or enable the No scroll option which deactivates scrolling completely.

A rewarding function is offered in the Set Pointer Automatically section. If this option is active, the mouse pointer automatically moves to the button highlighted when a dialog box if opened, enabling you to immediately click the button.

Changing mouse settings in TuneUp SystemControl.

• Tab Mouse Sensitivity

In the Mouse Sensitivity section you determine the mouse movement tolerated in a double-click and necessary for dragging. The values are given in pixels, the default is four pixels. Try the new settings on the Test Icon immediately.

In the Hover Settings section you can also change the Movement tolerance and the Hover time of the mouse pointer - based on the hover effect. This occurs as soon as the mouse pointer rests on an icon for a certain time span. A Test Icon is available here, too. It lights up as soon as the mouse pointer rests on it.

• Tab Active Window Tracking

In this section you can enable a function which some users value as very helpful and others deem particularly annoying: The automatic window activation.

If you enable the Activate active window tracking option, it from then on suffices to simply move the mouse pointer over an inactive window to activate it so that you can work with the program. If the function is enabled, it is possible to enable Delay before activation. This determines for how many milliseconds the mouse pointer has to hover over a window for it to be activated. The option in the Foreground section also has to be enabled. It makes sure that the activated window is moved to the top.

• Tab Keyboard

The settings in this section refer to work with the keyboard. You can, for example, Activate flashing cursor in the Flashing Cursor section. In a word processing program the cursor will then blink and thus be easier to detect. You determine the flashing frequency via a slider. The Preview shows the changes made. If desired, the cursor width can be adapted to individual notions by entering a new pixel value.

Enable the Activate key combinations with the Windows key in the Windows key section to enable Windows to create hotkeys including the Windows key.

Usage - Start menu

• Tab Special Menu Items

In the Special Elements section you can specifically determine which commands are to be shown in the Windows start menu. Simply mouseclick into a checkbox to set a check or to remove it again.

In the Search section you chose the elements which will be listed under the start menu command "Search". You can highlight individual entries and remove them from the overview with Delete.

Determine the commands that should be shown in the start menu.

• Tab Usage

In this section you choose the look of the start menu and determine menu behavior on mouse events.

In the Open Cascading Menus section you can, with the aid of a slider, define the span of time passed before a menu opens after the mouse has moved over a menu entry. Combined with this option, the Open menus automatically after time given below option has to be enabled. Alternatively you can enable the Open menus only via mouse-click option.

In the Further Settings section you can either enable or disable the Enable Drag & Drop option.

• Tab Advanced

The Documents Menu section attends to the menu command "Documents" in the start menu. As is known, this allows you to quickly access the documents last used. If this service is to remain, the Enable history for the most recently used documents option has to stay enabled. In the Number of documents in Start menu field you determine how many documents the menu command will refer to. The default is 13.

In the Configure Start Menu section you can press the Sort Entries by Name button. This will sort the folders and program names in the start menu by alphabet. If you want to delete individual entries from the program menu, use the Customize button.

Usage - Taskbar

• Tab Flashing Buttons

During the input of texts and other content the activation of other windows is prevented. A flashing button in the taskbar draws your attention to the fact that another software needs your attention. If this flashing is to remain, the option Enable flashing taskbar buttons has to stay enabled.

In the Flashing Frequency section you determine how often the button in the taskbar is to flash. There are two options available. The first option keeps the button of a window in the taskbar flashing until clicked on. The second option limits the flashing to a number which can be set by the user. The default here is 3.

In the General section you determine how much time the system will wait before other windows can activate again.

• Tab Button View

Here you specify if and how windows are represented by buttons in the taskbar.

If you want an open window to at the same time deposit a button on the taskbar, the Show windows as taskbar buttons has to stay enabled.

View section: Specify the Maximum width of buttons in pixels. The default is 154 pixels. The Show animated buttons option can be enabled or disabled.

In the Grouping section you can determine that several windows of one and the same application are represented by a shared button on the taskbar. If you want this kind of grouping, enable the Group similar

taskbar buttons option. Matching this setting, also enable the Group any application with at least X windows option. By default grouping

happens as soon as two windows of one application are shown on screen and there is no space left on the taskbar.

Several windows belonging to one application can be

grouped on the taskbar.

• Tab Minimized Window

If you size down an application, sometimes only the title bar remains which will then automatically be moved to the lower border. In the Position and Alignment section you determine the exact target position of these bars. The default is Left Bottom, where several bars are shown Side by side.

In the Spacing section you specify how much pixel distance will be left between the individual bars.

• Tab Advanced

Windows XP often shows balloons on the right side of the system tray which notify you of important events or ask you to do various things - to save new data to CD for example. If these memos are supposed to keep appearing, the option Show balloons in the notification area has to remain enabled.

Communication - Network

• Tab Sharing

In the Encrypted Password Transfer section, the Transfer only encrypted passwords for shared resources option can be activated. But when using Linux/Unix Samba it might be necessary to deactivate encoding for compatibility reasons.

In the section Administrative Shares you can deactivate the option that allows a third party to access your drives via the network.

• Tab Performance

In the section Automatically Search for Shared Resources you activate or deactivate the option Search network for shared resources automatically. When the option is activated the network is searched for released folders and printers at regular intervals. But this can reduce the performance of the computer.

In the section Automatically Search for Scheduled Tasks you can activate or deactivate the option Search computers for scheduled tasks. When the option is activated and computers within the network are accessed they are always browsed for planned tasks. But this can also reduce the performance of your computer.

In the Quality of Service section you can acquire bandwidth and at the same time you can set a limit for the bandwidth. Following the QoS service can acquire bandwidth for important packages right away if required. This has influence on the capacity of data transfer.

• Tab Security

This tab deals with various security aspects. The Password Storage section deals with the Windows service that memorizes passwords that have been put in before. This is especially useful when connections for data communication are installed. The memorization of passwords is, of course, a security risk. Here you can block or allow the password storage for net services and for NT domains.

The Universal Plug and Play section deals with the Windows service that can recognize devices newly connected to the network automatically. This recognition is also a security risk that can be removed by disabling the option Enable Universal Plug and Play.

• Tab Internet Time

It can be quite annoying if the system clock of the computer is always fast or slow. In this case, it is sensible to synchronize the computer clock with the atomic clock via the Internet. If you want to use this function, the following option has to be activated: Synchronize with Internet time server automatically.

In the section Available Time Servers TuneUp SystemControl already mentions two well-known standard time servers. If you know more online addresses you can upgrade them by using Add.

• Tab Internet

Here you can configure the data transfer via the Internet protocol TCP/IP.

In the section TCP/IP Settings press the button Settings to view the current TCP/IP settings. They can be manually edited.

If you want the data transfer to be accelerated automatically press the button TuneUp System Optimizer.

Communication - Internet Explorer

• Tab View

In the section Title Bar choose Text and then put in which written line should be shown in the title bar of the Internet Explorer. The default is "Microsoft Internet Explorer".

In the Background Image section you can decide whether you want an image behind the tool bar of the Internet Explorer. If you wish this, activate the Show own background image option and select your own image by using Browse.

By using Select in the Show Source Code section, you define a program that will be started to visualize the source code of a website. The program used by default here is Notepad.

You can influence the appearance of the Internet Explorer.

• Tab Usage

In the File Menu section you define what happens when you call the command "New" in the menu "File". You can either have the computer show the submenu command "New Window", which simply starts a new browser entity, or you induce the program to show a submenu.

In the Favorites section you can activate and deactivate the file "Links" in the Internet Explorer favorites. Therefore you have the option Show Links in Favorites menu. Press the button Sort Favorites By Name, in order to have the favorites arranged in alphabetical order.

• Tab Security

This tab deals with settings within the Internet Explorer that are relevant for security.

In the section Internet Explorer User Agent String you define how the Internet Explorer identifies itself at the websites frequented by you.

In the Download Confirmation section you select whether the Internet Explorer is allowed to accept certain downloads, such as videos or music, without confirmation. If you want an inquiry, the following option has to be activated: Always confirm before downloading files.

• Tab Performance

Here you define the Profile that is most suitable to the bandwidth of your Internet connection. In the Description field you can read how many simultaneous server connections are needed for an accelerated website build-up.

Communication - Mail Programs

• Tab Outlook Express

If you use Outlook Express, you can change the writing in the title bar in this tab. Furthermore you can decide if the splash screen is supposed to be shown during the start. If you wish, the Microsoft Messenger can be loaded parallel to the start of Outlook Express.

• Tab Outlook XP Appearance

In the "Type a question for help" Field section, you define if this field is shown in the Outlook XP tool bar. From here you have a quick access to the help functions of the software.

In the Minimize Outlook XP section you select if Outlook XP should be shown as an icon in the taskbar or the system tray when the window is minimized. If you decide for the system tray, activate the option Minimize Outlook XP to notification area.

In the section Live Scrolling in Word you can select, whether the section of emails and documents shown in Word during the scroll is updated immediately or not until the mouse button is released.

• Tab Outlook XP Security

When Outlook XP gets attachments within an email, the opening of certain file types should be prohibited generally. Otherwise, script viruses could be activated. In the section Blocked File Types you can see all file types that by default cannot be opened with Outlook XP. You can call off such a prohibition singly or cancel them all completely by using the option Block None.

Communication - Privacy

• Tab Clear Traces

Activate the Delete history lists at logoff option when Windows should empty the lists of the documents and programs last used while the computer is shut down. That way, nobody can reconstruct what you have done on the PC.

Activate the option Empty Internet Explorer cache when exiting if you want the web browser to delete the cache when it is finished. This should only be the case, if you are very safety-conscious and you would not like a third party to be able to reconstruct what you did online by using the data in the cache.

• Tab Internet Explorer

You should activate the option Block information on surfing habits through "Alexa" if you want to deactivate the Windows "souvenir" Alexa. It sends information about your surf habits over the Internet to the company that created Alexa to allow the "Show Related Links" service.

When the option Disable integrated Windows authentication is activated, Internet Explorer does not try anymore to log on to websites automatically via the Windows authentication.

When the option Prevent check for updates is activated, Internet Explorer does not frequently contact the Microsoft Server anymore to inform you about possible updates.

• Tab Update

This tab deals with the Windows function called "Windows Update". If the option Activate automatic Windows updates is turned on and an Internet connection exists, Windows is allowed to connect to the Microsoft server to check whether updates for your system are available.

The option Activate step by step installation can be activated if you want to be in control of your computer's actions. As a result, Windows asks for your permission before downloading updates instead of silently

downloading them in the background without asking for your permission.

• Tab Media Player

The Windows Media Player also communicates a lot with the Internet. On this page, you find three options that make sure that your privacy is considered. The button Highest Security activates all three options at once.

Do not acquire licenses automatically: The Media Player is not allowed to acquire licenses for protected media data.

Do not allow websites to identify player: A website is not able to uniquely identify your Media Player. If the identification is allowed, a globally unique number identifying your Media Player will be sent to every website that you visit to watch videos or to listen to music.

Disable automatic Codec download: The Media Player can download a compatible play software from the Internet for music formats and video formats that it does not know. That upgrade can be prevented if you wish to.

• Tab Advanced

After a system crash, Windows XP sends an error report including the user's system configuration to Microsoft. Press the Error Reporting button to open an overview of the various reports. They can all be activated via mouse click.

Administration - User Logon

• Tab General

At the start of Windows XP a welcome screen is loaded showing your user name, which you can click directly to log in. If you have chosen the option Use Windows Welcome screen, this welcome screen remains. In addition, you can define more options by using Customize.

Besides that, you can activate the option Use old logon prompt, where you have to put in your data manually. This login method is more secure than using the welcome screen because a possible attacker doesn't see a list of valid user names. Again this screen can be configured with the Customize option.

How would you like to log on to Windows in the future?

• Tab Automatic Logon

You can work around this logon into your system by logging on a certain user automatically. In that case, simply switch on the option Enable automatic logon and write your access data into the place holders.

Within the security option, you define whether avoiding the automatic login by using the shift key is allowed or not. In addition, the system can be forced to perform a login right away after a logout.

• Tab Messages

In the section Notification Before Logon, a gimmick can be activated that shows all users a predefined notification before logon, such as a warning from the boss not to surf the Internet at the company's expense. First of all, activate the option Show message before logon, then write the headline and then write the actual text into the place holder.

In the Logon and Logoff Troubleshooting section, activate the offered option if you want detailed status notifications to be shown during the logon and the logoff process.

• Tab View

In the Screensaver section you can select a screensaver. It will be shown when no user is logged onto the computer. Select a screensaver from the pull-down menu. Then define the idle-time until its appearance in minutes.

Please do not confuse the logon screensaver with the normal screensaver that you can specify in the Display Properties dialog of Windows. The logon screensaver that can be chosen in this tab is independent from your normal screensaver.

• Tab Tour

Newcomers to Windows XP can go on a tour after the start of the system. During the tour, all important modules of Windows are introduced to the user.

Choose Settings and activate the option Show Windows Tour after logon, if the invitation to the tour should be announced after the start of the computer. In the Scope section you can also decide if this option is only for the current user or for all users.

Administration - Drives

• Tab General

The Enable UDMA66 Support section deals with IDE hard disks with UDMA support. If you as an owner of such a hard disk activate the offered option, the data transfer is accelerated.

In the NTFS File System section you can activate two options if you use the NTFS file system on your hard disks. These options are Save date of last file access and Save short (DOS) file names.

• Tab Disk Space

Windows raises an alarm automatically when there is almost no disk space left on a drive. A cleanup can be started point-and-click. To deactivate that alarm, turn off the option Show low disk space warning – if you feel disturbed by it.

• Tab AutoPlay

In the Media Change Monitoring section, activate the option Monitor CD drives for media change. In that case, Windows controls the CD drives. As soon as a new data carrier is inserted, Windows reads it and tries to start its content automatically.

In the AutoPlay section, press the button Advanced to define the play settings for various media, such as music CDs.

• Tab Advanced

In the My Computer section, press the Settings button to define which elements in the Windows My Computer area are shown.

The Button TuneUp Icon Engineer calls up the Icon Engineer module of TuneUp Utilities. With its help, you can replace the icons of single drives and drive types.

If you want to defragment your drives and to arrange your files optimally on your hard disk, so that they can be found faster, press the button Defragment.

Administration - Memory and Cache

• Tab Memory Management

The Virtual Memory section deals with PC systems with more than 256 MB memory. Here, the performance can be increased by deactivating both driver and core removal. They define whether the drivers and the Windows-System core are always stored in the memory or if a removal during idle-time is allowed.

In the Page File section, TuneUp gives the option to overwrite the content of the Windows swap file with zeros in order to delete it when the system is shut down. That function disables a spy to find out what you have worked on while at the PC.

• Tab Memory Usage

In the Memory Usage section you define whether the computer should reserve more memory for the programs or for the system cache.

If you want to optimize the memory, press the button Start TuneUp MemOptimizer.

• Tab Advanced

This tab allows you a fast point-and-click access to the three tools

TuneUp StartUp Manager, TuneUp Process Manager and TuneUp System Optimizer. These three tools will be introduced in the manual

later on.

Administration - Start and Maintenance

• Tab System Start

The Enable boot defragmentation option results in the data needed for booting being arranged on the hard disk in a way that lets it be found very quickly.

If the option Do not show boot logo and error messages is not activated, Windows does not only disable the showing of the logo, but does not show any alarm messages during booting.

The section Delay for Disk Scan deals with the CHKDSK module. It starts automatically when the computer has not been shut down correctly and checks whether the data on the hard drives is intact. The scanning process can by interrupted by the user by pressing a key. Here, you put in how many seconds CHKDSK should wait for the user's interruption before the scan starts.

The boot defragmentation accelerates the system start.

• Tab Terminate program

What is Windows supposed to do when single applications "freeze" that means crash? In the Idle time without Feedback section, you define the time in milliseconds that the system gives the program to send feedback. After this, it will be closed either in the task manager or when the computer is shut down.

In the section Close Applications Automatically you have the choice between the two options Show the "End Program" dialog and Close applications automatically. Please be careful with the latter option as applications asking for user input on shutdown (i.e. "Do you want to save the file XYZ?") will be terminated automatically after the specified time-out period.

• Tab Desktop and Taskbar

The section Desktop and Taskbar in Separate Processes deals with an important question of stability. By default, the desktop and the taskbar are carried out together with the Explorer. If the Explorer crashes, the desktop and the taskbar crash with it. That is the reason why you can provide the desktop and the taskbar with their own process. But to do so, you will need 8 MB of additional memory.

It is best to activate the offered option in the section Restart desktop and taskbar automatically after errors. It makes sure that after a crash of the desktop and the taskbar both modules are restarted automatically. As a result the system remains usable.

• Tab Error Handling

Activate the option Play acoustic signal when errors occur if you would like the system to warn you with a sound about errors and wrong inputs.

In the System Errors section, you define what should happen when the system was stopped because of a critical system error. You can choose between "Restart the system automatically" and "Show an error message (blue screen)" in the pull-down menu.

Administration - System

• Tab General

In the General section, you can change the name and the company of the user, who has registered the present Windows version. Here you can also find the serial number.

In the section Windows Installer – User Data, insert both the name and the company name, which will be inserted into user information automatically when new software is installed.

With the Settings button in the Support Information section, a configuration window is opened. Here you can adjust the features of the system for the information shown.

• Tab Common Dialogs

In this tab you define the appearance of the common dialogs for opening and saving files.

In the Elements section, you decide which navigation elements for simplified operating are shown in common dialogs. At this point, you can activate the "Back" button and let yourself be shown an additional selection field with the files used latest.

In the Places Bar section you decide whether a location bar is shown on the left hand side of the standard dialogs and which locations it should refer to. Press the Customize Places button to create references such as "My Recent Documents", "Desktop" or "My Documents".

• Tab Search

The options on this screen have influence on the optics and the performance of the search dialog.

The Disable Indexing Service option assures that the cataloguing of your documents, which is automatically carried out in idle time, is prevented by the index service.

The option Use classical search in Explorer takes over the classical search dialog style, known from Windows ME and Windows 2000, instead of the modern style.

In the section Searched File Types you can define which text types and file types are scanned for certain content by using the File Types button.

• Tab Special Folders

Here you can define to which physical paths special folders, such as "My Documents" should refer to. Highlight a special folder and press Change to adjust the path to your notions.

• Tab Repair

In this tab, TuneUp SystemControl presents numerous problems to you, which can occur when using Windows. Select an entry from the pulldown menu Potential Problems, which applies to your system and then press Repair Now to solve the problem. An example for such a problem would be: "The Recycle Bin icon is missing from the desktop".

TuneUp Icon Engineer

Without icons, Windows will not get far. The small square symbols can be found everywhere – in the start menu, in the file dialogs and, of course, on the desktop.

TuneUp Utilities dedicates an own program to the icons. Start TuneUp Icon Engineer to give your icons a digital "fresh cell regimen". Immediately a program window is loaded that offers you options on four different tabs.

System Icons

In the System Icons tab, you have the opportunity to exchange the default icons for new motifs.

After you have opened the tab, the Desktop icons are shown to you automatically, as you will be able to see in the list on the left hand side. Highlight one of the icons shown if you want to change it.

Press Change Icon to view a variety of potential icons. The program reads the icon library SHELL32.DLL, which is enclosed in Windows. If you have an own icon library, it can be read by using Browse. When you have selected a particular icon, highlight it and then press OK to apply it.

You can exchange all of these icons.

Select an appropriate icon.

When you have exchanged an icon, you can undo the change by using Reset. After several changes, you can use the button Default Icon to get back to the original Windows icon.

If you want to change the appearance of Windows, you do not have to restrict your decoration to the desktop only. In the left bar Categories you can also switch to the Start Menu or you can take a closer look at the icons of Drives, Folder and Files.

By the way, TuneUp Icon Engineer includes complete alternative icon packages. It is possible to exchange the old-fashioned Windows icons with the new icons in one step. To do so, press the Icon Packages button. A new window opens and shows you all icon packages available. Highlight one in the list and press OK to activate it. Further icon collections are offered to you on the TuneUp Software web page.

TuneUp Utilities offers its own icon packs.

Drives and Folders

Each drive and each folder gets assigned a standard icon by Windows. With the Icon Engineer you now have the opportunity to edit individual icons.

You can, for example, equip your computer games section with a particularly funky fun-icon, while the hard disk containing your office applications keeps a rather businesslike symbol. The exchange of particular icons is, of course, pure gimmickry.

Go to the Drives and Folders tab to view the icons activated at the moment. Next, highlight an icon that you would like to exchange und

press the Change Icon button. The program then reads the icon library Shell32.DLL that is enclosed in Windows. If you have your own icon library it can be read by pressing Browse. When you have found a suitable icon, highlight it and then press OK to use it.

Whenever you press the Default Icon button, the old icon is activated again and the exchange is undone.

Notice: You will have to log onto Windows XP again to exchange the drive icons. Exchanging the icons of the folders is possible right away.

Exchanging the hard disk and folder icons.

Appearance

Go to the Appearance tab. At this point, the program works with the icons on the Windows desktop again. Here you can edit a variety of features that influence the representation of the icons.

Notice: The program window shows you a preview of all modifications that you make here on the left hand side. That way you can control yourself.

In Windows XP it is impossible to manipulate the maximum color depth of the icons, because it is always 32 Bit (which is the maximum). If you are using an older operating system you can raise the value here.

The desktop icons have a size of 32 x 32 pixels. By using a slider you can modify the size of the icon. Making the icons smaller is not a problem, but when you make them bigger, annoying jagged pixel edges might occur.

At the very bottom of the window you can define the spacing of the icons on the desktop. You can set the distance in pixels - vertically and horizontally.

You can change the size and spacing of your desktop icons.

Repair

Surely it is fun to modify the Windows icons and to put in personal settings. But what will you do if the modifications desired for the icons are not implemented or Windows even interchanges individual icons?

In that case go to the Repair tab and press the Reload Icons button. It makes sure that the chaos comes to an end.

TuneUp StartUp Manager

Many programs start automatically with the Windows system without further enquiry. That often happens on purpose when resident tools, such as the virus scanner, an ISDN call monitor or a text module administration are loaded.

But often enough, newly installed programs set themselves up as startup programs. This is annoying when the application is not used or when the user is harassed by tedious requests when starting the computer.

Many users know that the startup commands can be found in the Startup folder in the start menu und can also be deleted from there. But this is not the whole truth: Some start commands are entered directly into the registry and cannot be reached through the Startup menu. The tool TuneUp StartUp Manager is fortunately able to find any startup program - no matter how well it has hidden its start command.

Right at the start, the utility lists all startup programs. On the left hand side of the Folder Bar the entry All is highlighted. You can reduce the list by clicking on a branch such as Startup Folder or Registry. As a result, only the startup entries that are administered there are shown.

The overview of all detected startup commands.

All startup programs are usually checked and therefore activated. If you remove the pre-selection by clicking on the particular boxes which are checked, the commands concerned will not be carried out anymore at the next start. This way you can find out if an entry is as unimportant as it seems. In case of emergency you can always check the box again via mouse click.

Entries marked can be removed from the list completely by using Delete. Press Refresh afterwards to re-import the list. Now you can control whether the annoying Startup programs have really been removed.

If you wish to add a new Startup program to the list yourself, mark the folder in the bar and press the Add button. Insert the name of the application into the dialog und select the path to the start file of the software in the Target field. The Find button helps you.

You can add an Startup entry of your own.

TuneUp System Information

TuneUp System Information takes a deep look into your computer and gathers numerous facts and information about your hardware and software in only a few seconds. This data can be important for you when you want to upgrade the system or when you are asked by a support technician if certain components are installed on your computer.

The particular facts are compiled within nine tabs. The most important one is the Overview. It includes the most important information about the most important equipment. Here you can see which processor is installed in the computer, there is information about the memory, the performance of the graphics card, which mouse is used and which facts can be given about the various drives.

The overview page shows the most important components of your PC.

In the other tabs you get acquainted to following information:

Windows: The program provides you with detailed information about what Windows version is installed on your computer, when you have started the computer the last time and which version of the Internet Explorer is used.

Display: All essential Information and supported modes and features of both the monitor and the graphics card are listed.

Memory: This module shows the current memory load and tells you which programs have been loaded at the time as well as how much memory they take up.

Performance: You can read all facts concerning the physical memory, the size of the swap file and the kernel. Three animated real-time monitors show you the processor load, the state of the physical memory and the usage of the swap file.

The Performance tab including three animated monitors.

Drives: Matched to every single hard disk in the computer, the module

names the hardware facts and shows the drive usage. Here you can see how many gigabytes are still free to use on your drives.

I/O Devices: At this point all important ports, the installed printer drivers and the audio devices are listed.

Communication: Two real-time monitors show the data received and sent via the network during an online connection in kilobytes per second.

System Devices: Information about the processor and about the BIOS is given.

4. Clean & Repair

The category Clean up & Repair is responsible for slenderizing your system.

The two tools in the category Clean up & Repair can easily be accessed

through the graphical interface.

Each program that is newly installed writes entries into the registry. These entries are often not fully removed after deleting the software. As a result, the registry gets larger and takes more and more memory on the hard disk. In addition, Windows accesses the registry frequently. The larger it is, the longer it takes to find and access the data requested. That leads to a creeping slowdown of the system. TuneUp Utilities removes useless entries from the registry.

A lot of data trash collects on the hard disk as well. This can be temporary files, but also redundant backups, which are created by many programs but are never removed later. TuneUp Utilities helps to detect these useless files and deletes them.

TuneUp RegistryCleaner

To clean your registry, choose TuneUp RegistryCleaner from the main selection list.

After the module loads it displays a welcome message explaining its purpose: "You can use TuneUp RegistryCleaner to purge the registry of unnecessary entries created during installation, deinstallation and normal work with your system."

Any changes that the module makes to your system are logged and can be undone via the RescueCenter.

The module runs in two modes: The Complete option scans the whole registry and other configuration data. The Choose tests option allows you to select which types of tests you would like to run. It is recommended that you run all tests by choosing Complete and then pressing the Next button.

It is recommended that you choose "Complete" to run all tests

on the registry.

The Scan

RegistryCleaner will now scan your System. In the program's window you can see each step of the scan process. The yellow arrow indicates the step that is currently being run; a green tick indicates that this step has been completed. The bar below the list shows the total progress of the scan.

After the scan completes, the program will display a message stating that the scan has finished. Click the Show Errors button to get a list of the errors that RegistryCleaner has found.

Please wait until the program completes its scan.

This may take a while.

Evaluation

In the evaluation window you initially see the summary page which shows you that the scan has completed. It also displays the total number of errors found.

TuneUp RegistryCleaner can find the following types of errors:

File types: Some file types are registered to programs that are not installed.

ActiveX and COM: ActiveX/COM objects were found that use libraries that are not installed on your computer.

Shared files: The registry contains links to shared files which were required by multiple applications, but these files have been removed from your computer.

Fonts: The registry contains links to fonts which do not exist on your computer.

Help files: The registry contains links to help files which do not exist on your computer.

Startup: Your computer is trying to automatically start programs which have been removed.

Application paths: Records of application paths were found for paths which have been removed from your computer.

Software removal: The "remove software" control panel item contains entries of programs that have been already removed.

Sounds: The "Sounds" control panel item contains links to sound files which do not exist.

Histories: Some shortcuts in your history list point to files that have been removed from the hard disk.

Shortcuts: These shortcuts point to files which do not exist.

As you can see, the process of deleting files and removing applications from your computer can leave many unnecessary items in your registry. RegistryCleaner finds these items for you and allows you to easily delete them.

RegistryCleaner has found many errors and allows you to remove

them safely and easily.

If you click on one of the Categories in the list, the main window changes and displays a list of all errors found in that category.

To get a detailed explanation of an error, make sure the Details button is clicked and select the error in the list. An explanation box will appear in the lower half of the main window.

By default RegistryCleaner wants to remove all errors it finds. If there is a specific error you don't want RegistryCleaner to fix, simply uncheck the box next to that error. RegistryCleaner will then ignore this specific error during the cleaning stage.

So many errors on my system? TuneUp RegistryCleaner can explain every

single error to you point-and-click.

Cleaning

Press the Start Cleaning button to begin the cleaning process. RegistryCleaner will then process all marked errors in the error list and remove them from your Windows registry.

The wizard that launches will take you through the steps of cleaning the registry. First it will display the number of errors to be fixed. Next it will explain how to undo any changes using TuneUp RescueCenter. Press Next when you're done reading the wizard's messages.

The next screen shows an animated bar displaying the progress of RegistryCleaner. Please wait until RegistryCleaner completes and displays its "completed" message.

You can watch what RegistryCleaner is currently doing during the

cleaning process.

When RegistryCleaner completes it displays a message stating that it has successfully cleaned your registry. Click on Finish to close the wizard. This will take you back to the main window of TuneUp RegistryCleaner. By choosing Quit from the File menu you can close TuneUp RegistryCleaner.

TuneUp DiskCleaner

To clean up your hard disk, select TuneUp DiskCleaner from the main selection list.

After the module loads, it displays a welcome message explaining its purpose: "TuneUp DiskCleaner helps you clean up your disk drives. The files selected for deletion can be backed up in compressed format and restored at any time with a special utility called TuneUp RescueCenter".

The Analysis

Before DiskCleaner can begin its analysis, it needs to know which partitions you would like to scan. DiskCleaner automatically selects all hard disk partitions. By clicking in the box next to a partition, you can add or remove it from the list of partitions that will be scanned. Only drives with a checkmark will be scanned.

DiskCleaner displays the available space and the total space of each partition to aid you in the selection of which partition to clean. On most computers, the drive C: contains many unnecessary files that can be removed.

Press the Next button to continue.

Choose the drives that DiskCleaner should analyze and clean.

DiskCleaner will now begin analyzing your drive. Please wait until it completes its analysis. Even large partitions are scanned quickly with DiskCleaner. However, if you have many hard disks the analysis can take a while.

The yellow arrow marks the drive that is currently being scanned. Green ticks indicate drives that have already been scanned. The bar at the bottom of the window shows the total progress of the analysis.

When the analysis completes DiskCleaner displays a message stating this. Click the Next button to display the list of errors that DiskCleaner has found.

Evaluation

In the next window TuneUp DiskCleaner displays the result of its drive analysis. The table on the right contains a list of problems found on the system (e.g. "0-Byte-Files") grouped into categories along with how much hard disk space this error category is using up.

Here you recover your lost hard disk space.

The following unnecessary files are detected by DiskCleaner (these can usually be safely removed from your system):

0-Byte files: These files do not contain any data.

Secured lost cluster: Many partition repairing programs create files

containing recovered clusters. After being recovered, these files are rarely used.

Internet Cache: When surfing the web, your browser saves copies of images and animations on your hard disk to speed up web page loading

times. From time to time these files should be deleted to remove copies of unnecessary files.

Recycle bin: Files in the Recycle Bin have been deleted and can be safely removed from your hard disk.

Log files: Some applications create log files to ease the debugging of the application. These log files are generally only useful for programmers.

Backup files: Some applications create backups of their own files during upgrades or installations. These backups are mostly not required later on and can be deleted.

Temporary files: Many applications create temporary files during installation or when running. These files should normally be deleted after the application is closed or the installation is complete. You can always safely delete these files.

Temporary helpfiles: These files are created to speed up the loading of help pages that were opened already.

Important: You shouldn't let DiskCleaner delete all the files it reports without inspecting what it finds first. DiskCleaner can find many files that probably aren't needed on your computer. However the program can sometimes report files as "not required" when in fact they may be vital for the normal operation of an application. For example: A *.SAV file could be an unnecessary backup of a file or the saved state of a computer game. A 0-Byte file could be trash filling up your hard disk or a copy protection system of an application. Deleting the file would cause the application to stop.

So how can you choose which files DiskCleaner will delete?

Your first option is to exclude whole categories such as "Backup files" or "Log files" from the deletion process by removing the tick in the check box in front of them.

By clicking on a category and selecting Backup with RescueCenter you're always on the safe side: All files that will be deleted in that category will be backed up with TuneUp RescueCenter. They can later be recovered in case something stops functioning after the cleaning process.

Click on show details to display a detailed table of all files that are to be deleted in this category. You can exclude a file from the deletion process by removing the tick from the check box in front of the file name. Click on Open file to open the file and see what it contains.

Choose the files to delete by ticking their check boxes.

Cleaning

When you're done selecting the files for deletion, click on the Next button. A status window will show you the number of files that will be deleted and how much hard disk space you will recover.

By pressing Next, the cleaning process is started. A blue bar indicates the progress of the cleaning process. Please wait until DiskCleaner shows a message stating that the cleaning has completed.

By clicking on Finish, you can exit DiskCleaner and return to the TuneUp Utilities main menu.

Done! DiskCleaner has removed all unnecessary files.

5. Optimize & Improve

The category Optimize & Improve is responsible for improving your system. Many default settings in windows reduce the performance of your computer. Normally, only experts know how to change these settings to improve performance. You can use the two modules that TuneUp Utilities 2003 offers in this category to do the same.

Boost the performance of your system.

TuneUp MemOptimizer monitors the system memory of Windows and optimizes it regularly or in critical situations.

TuneUp System Optimizer checks your registry for settings that slow down your system and improves your configuration. It also removes unnecessary items from your registry and your hard disk.

TuneUp MemOptimizer

Select TuneUp MemOptimizer from the menu to launch the tool.

The program consists of three tabs. The overview tab displays an animated graph showing the current usage of your system's memory. You can use it to watch how Windows is using your system resources. The Free physical memory and Free space in page file fields display the amount of physical and virtual memory available.

The graph displays the current memory usage vs. time.

A box below the graph informs you that the AutoOptimize module is running. This module monitors your memory and warns you when the

memory available drops below a certain value. To change the module's settings click on Change settings.

In the configuration window the option Enable AutoOptimize should be checked. By unchecking the check box you can deactivate this module.

The Physical Memory box allows you select the "memory left" value at which the module begins optimizing (e.g. at 50 Megabytes). The field Increase free memory to specifies the amount of memory you wish to have free after the optimization is complete.

Tick the Monitor processor usage check box to ensure that MemOptimizer runs at times that your processor isn't being fully used already. By choosing the Use SmartOptimize option MemOptimizer will automatically choose settings that reduce the work load on your computer.

Click on OK to apply your new settings. If you wish to restore the default settings of this window, click the Recommended button.

AutoOptimize monitors your system and optimizes its memory.

If you don't want to use the AutoOptimize features, you can still optimize your memory manually by selecting the Manual Optimization tab.

By moving the slider in the Clear Manually box you can select how much free memory you would like to have after the optimizing process completes. Click on Clear Now to begin the optimization process. The program removes DLLs and other data from your memory that isn't required anymore.

You can also purge your clipboard by clicking Empty Clipboard in the Clipboard box. The box also displays the amount of memory your clipboard is currently consuming.

Manual memory optimization point-and-click.

The Program Options tab allows you to set up a few other options of the program. By activating the Load automatically on Windows startup option you can have MemOptimizer begin optimizing your memory right after Windows starts. The Show icon in taskbar option chooses whether you would like to have a small icon in your task bar showing the current status of MemOptimizer.

You can also optimize your memory by pressing a key combination when you feel your system is starting to slow down. The current hot key setting is shown in the Key combination field: CTRL+ALT+O. You can change the hot key at any time via this tab.

TuneUp System Optimizer

You can start TuneUp System Optimizer from the main selection menu. This tool allows you to find discrepancies in your system and optimize your computer's performance.

When the program finishes loading, it displays some information about itself and states that anything it does can be undone via TuneUp RescueCenter. You can select a task to run by clicking it or by clicking the appropriate link on the left side of the window.

TuneUp System Optimizer's start-up screen.

Quick Maintenance

The Quick Maintenance task cleans your registry and hard disk. To run this task, click on the Quick Maintenance link on the left side of the window.

The Quick Maintenance task is designed to be just that: quick. A simple click on Start Examination starts the scanning of your registry and hard disk. While the tool scans your system, the status window informs you about the program's progress. When the scan completes, click on Fix Problems to fix the problems that have been found on your system. By clicking Finish you can close the tool and return back to the main screen of System Optimizer.

Quick Maintenance is running.

System Advisor

The System Advisor analyzes your hardware and software settings and suggests changes that you could make to your system to improve performance. Click the Examine System button to begin the examination process.

After a few seconds the results are displayed. The problems found are grouped into categories such as display or system. A short summary such as "High resolutions delay image display" immediately explains the problem. Click the short summary of the problem to display a detailed description of the problem.

The advisor finds configuration settings that are slowing down

your system and tells you how to solve them.

Not all problems can be solved directly by TuneUp System Optimizer. If TuneUp System Optimizer can solve a problem for you, a link to the

module that will help you is displayed. The solution to other configuration problems may require your manual intervention.

Internet Optimization Wizard

What is "optimal" for your system depends on how you use it. If surfing the Internet is important to you, a few windows settings need to be changed. By default, Windows is not set up correctly for fast Internet browsing.

To optimize your Internet connection, choose Internet Optimization in the Wizards section. The wizard will now take you through the procedure step by step.

Choose the type of Connection you have in the first window. To do this, choose one of the options in the drop down menu (e.g. Modem, ISDN or DSL). When you've chosen the type, click the Next button to continue.

The wizard now checks if your Windows settings match the optimal settings for this connection type. A green Already optimal message appears if Windows is already configured optimally. Otherwise the message Not optimal appears: in this case TuneUp System Optimizer can help you to optimize your settings.

Click on the blue titles to display a detailed report of what the Internet Optimization Wizard would like to change. Click Next to begin the optimization process.

Your Internet settings are not optimal yet.

TuneUp System Optimizer will now optimize your settings. Some changes that the tool makes may result in a Reboot required message. Please do so if the wizard tells you to. Click Finish to close the wizard.

System Optimization Wizard

If you want to optimize the general performance of your computer, launch the System Optimization wizard.

The wizard asks you to state information on how you use the computer. Select the corresponding items from the drop down menu that most closely match the way you use your computer. In the Visual Effects menu you can choose if you require Maximum Performance in terms of graphics or if Windows default settings are enough. In the menu Use of the computer you select how you use your computer (e.g.

Workstation without network or Internet connection). Click Next when you have selected all appropriate items.

System Optimizer has found items that can be optimized.

The wizard now uses your specifications to analyze your system's settings and groups the results into the Visual effects and System configuration categories. Click on the blue category title to view the exact changes TuneUp System Optimizer would like to make. Within the detailed view you can deselect a particular suggestion by removing the tick within the checkbox in front of that suggestion. Click Next when you're done choosing which changes you would like TuneUp System Optimizer to make for you.

TuneUp System Optimizer now modifies your system according to what you selected in the previous window. When it completes, you can close the wizard by clicking on Finish.

In most cases you will have to restart your computer after TuneUp System Optimizer completes. TuneUp will inform you of this when necessary by displaying a Reboot required message.

Select which optimizations TuneUp System Optimizer

should make.

6. Administer & Control

The category Administer & Control provides three modules which allow you to acquire more control over Windows.

Take control of your computer.

TuneUp Process Manager allows you to see which programs are currently running and allows you to close these if necessary. TuneUp Registry Editor is a tool with which you can modify keys in your Windows registry directly. TuneUp Uninstall Manager shows all programs installed on your system and can remove installed programs when told to do so.

TuneUp Process Manager

Choose TuneUp Process Manager in the Administer & Control section to start the module.

The module displays all currently running processes in the Processes tab. The table contains the names of all processes along with the priority at which these are running and the amount of CPU time and memory these are using.

To view details about a program that is running, select it in the table and click Show Details. To force a program to quit click the End Process button. This is useful if an application is not responding or if the application (e.g. a dialer) doesn't allow you to quit it.

The list of currently running processes.

The Performance tab provides a lot of useful information about the current load on your computer. The graph in the top left displays the current CPU usage. The graph next to it displays the CPU usage over time. Below, the memory usage over time is displayed. The tab also displays the current usage of your physical memory and page file in kilobytes.

Find out what your system does at the moment.

TuneUp Process Manager also offers a menu with which you can shut down Windows and change the priority of any running application. Choose File / Exit Windows to shut down or restart your computer. Select View / Refresh Now to reload all information in the current module. Choose Edit / Set Process Priority to change how much priority an application gets when Windows is assigning CPU time and memory.

TuneUp Registry Editor

The registry contains information about all hardware and software installed on your computer. As you add hardware and software to your computer, the registry grows and over time becomes big and filled with unnecessary entries.

If you're looking for a tool with which you can manually manipulate the cog wheels that run Windows then TuneUp Registry Editor is the tool for you.

The editor displays the registry: a tree structure of keys and sub keys which are grouped according to categories. The left window named Folder contains a directory structure. Each directory represents a single key. Double click a key to view its sub keys. When you reach a leaf key in the hierarchy the right window will display keys and their values which you can then edit.

Right click a value to display a pop-up menu that contains options for manipulating this value. Delete removes this value from the registry. Rename renames the key. Change allows you to change the value stored in the key.

Right clicking a directory displays a different popup menu containing more options. Search allows you to search for directories and values in the registry. Set bookmark adds a virtual bookmark to your bookmarks list so that you can quickly find this directory if you ever require it again. Bookmarks are shown in the lower third of your screen in the Bookmark tab. The Search Results tab contains all matches found for the search you issued.

The TuneUp Registry Editor window.

TuneUp Uninstall Manager

Any software you install on your computer stores an uninstall entry in your registry. This entry allows you to completely remove an unrequired application from your system.

TuneUp Utilities 2003 allows you to completely remove an application from your hard disk using TuneUp Uninstall Manager.

The program lists all applications, games and tools installed on your computer which are represented by an uninstall entry in the registry.

If you would like to remove an application from your computer, mark it in the list and click on Uninstall. This will only work for applications in the list marked by a green tick.

An uninstallation program is launched to remove the application. This uninstallation program will not only remove all application files from your system, but will also remove any icons, start menu items and keys in the registry that the application created. Follow the instructions provided by the uninstallation program to remove the application.

These programs are currently installed on your computer.

Some users manually delete programs from their computers. This unfortunately does not remove keys in the registry and leaves the uninstallation entry in the list although the application has been removed from your computer already. To remove the entry from your system mark the application in the list and click the Delete button.

To search for an installed program choose the Search function. Enter the name of the application you're looking for and click Search. The tool will mark the first entry in your uninstall list matching your query.

7. File recovery & Destruction

TuneUp Utilities provides two modules to allow you to recover deleted files and to safely remove files from your computer so that they cannot be recovered again. These modules can be found in the category

File recovery & Destruction.

Safely remove sensitive files permanently from your hard disk.

The module TuneUp Shredder removes files from your hard disk so that even data recovery experts can't restore these files. TuneUp Undelete does exactly the opposite; it can try to recover files that have

previously been deleted from your computer. Files deleted by TuneUp Shredder are of course unrecoverable.

TuneUp Shredder

When you delete a file on your computer, it is put into the Recycle Bin. Even a computing beginner can recover the deleted file from the Recycle Bin, so most users empty the recycle bin regularly or delete the file directly, bypassing the Recycle Bin.

As you may or may not know, Windows doesn't actually delete a file when you choose the Windows delete command. The file remains on your hard disk and Windows only removes the entry to it from the FAT (File Allocation Table) so that the system doesn't see the file. But with the right tool (such as TuneUp Undelete), these files can be found and recovered again as long as they haven't been overwritten by new data yet.

TuneUp Shredder ensures that files you delete via Shredder can't be recovered by hackers. The tool uses a method developed by the US Department of Defense to ensure that files are permanently removed from your hard disk. This is done by overwriting the files with redundant data, destroying any previous data that was there before.

The module loads a wizard which asks you to choose if you would like to delete Files or a whole Folder. Make your choice and click Next to continue.

If you choose Files, Shredder will display the filenames and explain that it will delete the contents of these files. If you tick the Delete assigned

free space option, Shredder will also overwrite the so-called "slack", the file's reserved free space.

You can add files to the destruction process by either dragging them from your hard disk to the TuneUp Shredder Files window or by clicking the Add button and choosing them in the emerging dialog. After you have added all files, press Next to continue.

Choose the files you wish to shred.

Next you have to select the way Shredder should delete the files. To do this, choose one of the following two options in the Deletion method section.

Quick delete: Overwrites the files with a single character. After being deleted, the files no longer contain the original data; instead they contain a single character repeated over and over.

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TuneUp Utilities - 2003 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

System Requirements

2. Software Installation

Starting the Installation

Starting the Software

3. Customize & Analyze

TuneUp SystemControl

Viewing - Animations & Effects

Viewing - File Types

Viewing - Folder Options

Usage - Input options

Usage - Start menu

Usage - Taskbar

Communication - Network

Communication - Internet Explorer

Communication - Mail Programs

Communication - Privacy

Administration - User Logon

Administration - Drives

Administration - Memory and Cache

Administration - Start and Maintenance

Administration - System

TuneUp Icon Engineer

System Icons

Drives and Folders

Appearance

Repair

TuneUp StartUp Manager

TuneUp System Information

4. Clean & Repair

TuneUp RegistryCleaner

The Scan

Evaluation

Cleaning

TuneUp DiskCleaner

The Analysis

Evaluation

Cleaning

5. Optimize & Improve

TuneUp MemOptimizer

TuneUp System Optimizer

Quick Maintenance

System Advisor

Internet Optimization Wizard

System Optimization Wizard

6. Administer & Control

TuneUp Process Manager

TuneUp Registry Editor

TuneUp Uninstall Manager

7. File recovery & Destruction

TuneUp Shredder