TuneUp Utilities 2004
User Manual
TuneUp Utilities 2004 was developed by:
Company: TuneUp Software GmbH
Address: Donnersbergring 22
64295 Darmstadt
Germany
Internet: www.tune-up.com
Support for this software can be obtained at the following addresses:
E-mail: tu2004@tune-up.com
Internet: www.tune-up.com/support/
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .....................................................5
Preface ......................................................................9
Installation..............................................................11
System Requirements............................................ 11
Starting the Installation......................................... 12
Entering Your User Name and Serial Number........ 13
Selecting the Installation Location......................... 14
Introduction to TuneUp Utilities ............................15
Starting the Software............................................ 15
Structure and Use of the Software ........................ 15
The Five Categories ............................................... 16
Customize and Analyze ..................................... 16
Clean up and Repair .......................................... 17
Optimize and Improve....................................... 17
Administer and Control ..................................... 17
File recovery and Destruction ............................ 17
Table of Contents
Customize and Analyze ..........................................18
TuneUp SystemControl.......................................... 20
Usage ................................................................ 20
Appearance Æ Animations and Effects ............. 21
Appearance Æ File Types................................... 22
TuneUp Utilities 2004 5
Table of Contents
Appearance Æ Folder Options........................... 24
Usage Æ Input Options..................................... 25
Usage Æ Start Menu ......................................... 26
Usage Æ Taskbar............................................... 27
Communication Æ Network.............................. 28
Communication Æ Internet Explorer ................. 29
Communication Æ E-mail Programs.................. 30
Communication Æ Privacy ................................ 30
Administration Æ User Logon ........................... 32
Administration Æ Drives ................................... 33
Administration Æ Memory and Cache............... 34
Administration Æ Start and Maintenance ......... 34
Administration Æ System.................................. 36
Wizards Æ Correct Problems............................. 36
Wizards Æ Copy Settings .................................. 37
TuneUp StartUp Manager ..................................... 39
Usage................................................................ 39
TuneUp System Information.................................. 42
Usage................................................................ 42
TuneUp WinStyler ................................................. 45
Usage................................................................ 45
System Elements ............................................... 46
File System ........................................................ 50
Appearance....................................................... 51
Repair................................................................ 52
Logon Screen .................................................... 53
Visual Style........................................................ 55
Clean up and Repair ...............................................57
TuneUp RegistryCleaner ........................................ 59
Usage................................................................ 59
The Main Window............................................. 61
Clean-up............................................................ 63
6 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Table of Contents
TuneUp DiskCleaner .............................................. 65
Usage ................................................................ 65
Analysis ............................................................. 66
Clean-up............................................................ 68
Optimize and Improve............................................70
TuneUp MemOptimizer......................................... 72
Usage ................................................................ 72
Configuring AutoOptimize ................................ 73
Manual Optimization ........................................ 74
Program Options............................................... 75
TuneUp RegistryDefrag ......................................... 76
Registry Analysis................................................ 76
Defragmenting the Registry .............................. 77
TuneUp System Optimizer..................................... 78
1-Click Maintenance.......................................... 78
The System Advisor ........................................... 79
Optimize Internet Connection ........................... 80
System Optimization ......................................... 82
Administer and Control..........................................84
TuneUp Process Manager...................................... 86
Processes........................................................... 86
Open Files ......................................................... 87
Performance...................................................... 88
Menu Bar Functions .......................................... 88
TuneUp Registry Editor.......................................... 90
Usage ................................................................ 90
TuneUp Uninstall Manager.................................... 92
Usage ................................................................ 92
File recovery and Destruction.................................94
TuneUp Shredder .................................................. 96
What does TuneUp Shredder Do? ..................... 96
Usage ................................................................ 96
TuneUp Utilities 2004 7
Table of Contents
Global Modules ....................................................105
Deleting Files..................................................... 97
Deleting a Folder............................................... 97
Deleting the Contents of the Recycle Bin........... 98
Selecting the Deletion Method.......................... 98
Shredding a File After Deletion.......................... 99
TuneUp Undelete ................................................ 100
Usage.............................................................. 100
Enter Search String.......................................... 101
Search Results ................................................. 102
Recovering Files............................................... 103
Data Recovery 101 .......................................... 103
Deleting Sensitive Files the Right Way ............. 104
TuneUp RescueCenter ......................................... 106
Undoing Changes............................................ 106
System Recovery.............................................. 108
TuneUp UpdateWizard........................................ 110
Usage.............................................................. 110
Installing Updates ........................................... 111
Glossary ................................................................113
Index ..................................................................... 126
8 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Preface
Preface
1
Windows XP or one of its predecessors are installed on most
computers in use around the world. Windows is an excellent
operating system for standard tasks such as working with
applications and managing files. But things aren’t so simple
when a user wants to customize, optimize or streamline the
system – ease of use is quickly forgotten here, and many
things cannot be done at all with the tools that come with the
operating system.
But everything is possible. Windows controls the programs
that are loaded when it starts up. Windows specifies which
commands can be seen in the Start menu. Windows also
controls how the icons on your desktop look. But how can a
user change these settings?
Nearly everything
can be changed – if
you know where and
how.
Your personal
Windows expert
TuneUp Utilities 2004 9
It’s all easy, says the expert. All of the parameters are hidden
in the boot files and the Windows registry. The registry is the
central database for the operating system and is used by your
applications and hardware modules to save their current
configurations. With the help of suitable editors, you can
open this special database and manipulate all of the system’s
parameters. The problem is that only experienced experts
know where to find the pertinent parameters among the
myriad cryptic entries in the database. Most users have no
idea what they are looking at when they open the registry.
This is where TuneUp Utilities 2004 comes in. This software
helps normal users and experts alike to better adapt Windows
to their needs and tastes. All important system options are
Preface
explained clearly and can be enabled or disabled with a click
of your mouse in many different modules. TuneUp Utilities
2004 takes care of changing the corresponding parameter in
the registry or in the boot files.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 is not only about making Windows
more attractive. It can also be used to optimize or clean up the
system with a single mouse click, removing unneeded files
from your hard drive and deleting superfluous entries from
your registry. And all configurations are optimized so that
Windows runs noticeably faster than before.
Automatic
adaptation to your
operating system
To make all of this possible, TuneUp Utilities 2004 delves
deeply into the Windows operating system. But Windows
itself changes significantly from year to year. For this reason,
our software adapts automatically to all supported Windows
versions. As a user, you normally do not notice this an d can
simply use the software and all of its features.
10 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Installation
Before you can use TuneUp Utilities 2004 on your computer,
you must install it. This copies the program files to your
computer so that you can start and use the program any time
without inserting the CD.
System Requirements
Your system must fulfill certain minimum requirements in
order to be able to properly install and use TuneUp Utiliti es
2004. These requirements are not demanding, and should be
met by any fairly modern computer.
Installation
2
Minimum system
configuration
Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows XP
800x600 screen resolution with 256
colors
25 MB free disk space 40 MB free disk space
133 MHz Intel Pentium or AMD K5
processor
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Internet access
TuneUp Utilities 2004 11
Recommended system
configuration
1024x786 screen resolution with
16.7 million colors
Intel Pentium II or AMD Athlon
processor
Installation
Starting the Installation
Insert the included CD in your CD-ROM drive. The
installation should start automatically as soon as Windows
recognizes the CD.
If nothing happens when you insert the CD, the AutoPlay
function has been deactivated for your drive. In this case,
open your Explorer and double click the file Setup.exe in the
root CD directory to start the installation.
Please close all other
programs.
The installation program now displays an introductory screen
asking you to close all other open programs. To do this, press
Alt+Tab to switch to any open applications and close them by
pressing Alt+F4. You must do this to ensure that no problems
occur during installation. This also makes it possible for the
installation program to update system files that may otherwise
be locked because they are in use. Once you have closed all
other programs, click Next to continue.
The program now displays the license agreement. Read the
entire text to learn under what conditions you are allowed to
use the program. Then select I accept the license agreement
and click Next.
12 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Installation
You must accept the
license agreement to
continue.
Entering Your User Name and Serial Number
On the next screen, you must enter your User Information.
Here, the installation program requests your name and the
name of your company or organization. These boxes are
normally already filled in with the correct information. If this
is not the case, please enter the correct information. The
Serial number can be found on the front of this manual.
Personalize your
copy of TuneUp
Utilities
If you use Windows XP and 2000, you can sp ecify whether
the program should be available for all users on the computer
or only for you in the next step.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 13
Installation
After you have entered all necessary information, click Next
to continue.
Selecting the Installation Location
You’re almost done. Now, you have to specify the folder on
your computer in which TuneUp Utilities 2004 should be
installed. The default location suggested by the program is
C:\Program Files\TuneUp Utilities.
You can normally use this folder. But if you wish to install
the program in a different folder, click Browse.
Start the installation.
Then click Next to begin copying the files.
A progress bar shows you how far along the installation is.
Wait until the program displays the message “TuneUp
Utilities 2004 was installed successfully”.
Then click Finish to complete the installation.
14 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Introduction to
Introduction to TuneUp Utilities
TuneUp Utilities
Starting the Software
There are a number of ways to open the TuneUp Utilities
2004 Start Center. The most important are explained below.
A new icon is added to your desktop when you install the
software. Double click this yellow icon with the name
TuneUp Utilities 2004 to start the program directly.
You can also start the software through the Windows Start
menu. To do this, open the Start menu and then the folder All
Programs. This folder contains a folder called
TuneUp Utilities, which is created when you install the
software. Click the TuneUp Utilities icon in this folder to
open the Start Center.
You can also start each of the TuneUp Utilities 2004 modules
individually if you are familiar with the software. To do this,
open the subfolder Utilities in the Start menu folder, which
contains icons for each of the modules. Simply click one of
these icons to start the corresponding module.
3
Structure and Use of the Software
TuneUp Utilities consists of a number of useful modules that
can be accessed through a common graphical Start Center.
This center is divided into five categories to make it easier to
select the appropriate modules for what you want to do.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 15
Introduction to TuneUp Utilities
The five TuneUp Utilities 2004 categories can be seen on the
left side of the window. Click one of these names to open the
corresponding category.
The modules of the selected category are shown on the right
side of the window in the form of blue buttons. You can start
a module by clicking the corresponding button.
When you have finished working with a module, simply click
the red X in the upper right corner to close it and return to the
Start Center. Here, you can either select another module, or
close TuneUp Utilities 2004.
The Five Categories
Customize and Analyze
These modules allow you to delve deeply into Windows and
adapt the system to your needs and wishes. You can, for
example, change the appearance of the interface and manage
the programs that are automatically run when Windows starts.
This category also includes a powerful diagnostic module that
displays detailed and useful information on the hardware and
software in your system.
16 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Introduction to TuneUp Utilities
Æ Page 18
Clean up and Repair
A large number of unneeded files and system errors gather as
you work with your computer every day. This category
provides you with the tools you need to rid yourself of this
unneeded ballast. One module cleans up the Windows
registry and corrects errors, while another deletes unneeded
files from your hard drive to free up space. This can
noticeably speed up your system.
Æ Page 57
Optimize and Improve
One module analyzes the configuration of your computer to
identify settings that could be slowing it down and corrects
them if you wish. Another module repairs and defragments
the Windows registry. A memory manager also works in the
background to optimize memory usage in your system.
Æ Page 70
Administer and Control
Three modules for expert users help you edit the registry,
monitor running processes and safely remove unneeded
applications from your system.
Æ Page 84
File recovery and Destruction
Safety and security at your fingertips. The Shredder can for
example delete sensitive information in such a manner that it
cannot be recovered. And if you ever accidentally delete a
file, the undelete module is ready to recover files that have
even been deleted from the Recycle Bin.
Æ Page 94
TuneUp Utilities 2004 17
Customize and Analyze
A
Customize and
nalyze
You can tweak
Windows to your
heart’s desire here.
4
The modules in the Customize and Analyze category help
you adapt the operating system to your needs.
TuneUp SystemControl is the most extensive module in
TuneUp Utilities 2004 and lets you specify exactly how your
Windows system should look and work. You will be surprised
at how many options you can configure with TuneUp
SystemControl.
TuneUp WinStyler takes care of the appearance of
Windows. You can use this module to change the icons on
your desktop and in your Start menu, an d can also change the
18 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
icons for your drives, folders and Favorites. Under Windows
XP, you can even change the appearance of the logon screen
and install new visual styles that change the way the
Windows interface looks entirely.
TuneUp StartUp Manager lets you finally put a stop to all
of the irritating programs that load themselves automatically
when you start Windows, even if you don’t want them to.
And TuneUp System Information provides you with a clear
overview of your hardware and software so that you know
exactly what is installed in your system. This provides you
with all the information you need so that you can, for
example, tell a service technician which graphics card you
have in your computer, the manufacturer of your main board,
how much RAM you have installed, and much more.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 19
Customize and Analyze
TuneUp SystemControl
TuneUp SystemControl is a kind of control center that
allows you to quickly and easily adapt your Windows
operating environment to your needs and tastes.
Regardless of whether you want to change the visual effects,
the desktop, the way users log on, the security of your syste m
or memory management, TuneUp SystemControl lets you
configure and optimize any setting, down to the smallest
detail.
And the program even protects your privacy if desired by
deactivating Internet functions that automatically contact
Microsoft or that collect information on your surfing habits
without asking permission.
All changes are monitored by TuneUp RescueCenter and
can be undone at any time.
Usage
TuneUp SystemControl is a very powerful module. You can
use it to easily and safely configure hundreds of Windows
settings.
Extensive but easy to
use: TuneUp
SystemControl
contains over 300
options, structured
and clearly explained
for easy use.
20 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
As soon as the program opens, the various categories that you
can configure are shown on the left side of the window. These
categories are Appearance, Usage, Communication,
Administration and Wizards. Each of these categories
contains multiple subcategories.
As soon as you click one of the subcategories with your left
mouse button, the available options are shown on the right
side of the window. Take a look at all of the settings that can
be configured with the program, you will find many
interesting and useful options.
TuneUp SystemControl adapts to the installed operating
system automatically and only offers the options that are
supported by your system. Don’t be surprised when you see
different options under Windows 98 and Windows XP, for
example. If you need help with a particular setting in TuneUp
SystemControl, use the integrated context-sensitive help,
which can be accessed through the context menu for nearly
every option.
Tip: Use the context-sensitive help !
Click any option in TuneUp SystemControl with your right mouse
button and select What’s This? to view detailed information for the
selected option.
Appearance Æ Animations and Effects
Effects
You can configure the appearance and behavior of the system
interface elements here.
Disabling various unneeded effects can lead to a significant
increase in speed depending on your system.
Click Best Appearance to enable the most impressive visual
settings. If speed is more important to you, click Best
Performance. Click Restore Defaults to restore the original
Windows settings.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 21
Customize and Analyze
Animations
You can specify which animations should be displayed when
you work with windows and lists here.
Click Best Performance to disable all optio ns that are only
eye candy. Click Restore Defaults to restore the original
Windows settings.
Menu Appearance
You can configure the appearance and behavior of context
menus and standard application menus here.
Under Animation, you can specify whether menus should
fade out when they close. You can also select a display effect
from a drop-down menu.
Under Effects, you can specify whether Windows should use
flat 2D menus or whether a small 3D shadow should be
displayed beneath an open menu.
Font Smoothing
In order to improve the readability of text on your computer,
you can select the font smoothing method that looks best to
you under this option.
The smoothing method ClearType is especially interesting. It
is designed for flat screen monitors (TFT and LCD) and
makes use of their so-called subpixels in order to effectively
smooth the edges of small fonts. Click ClearType Settings to
adapt these settings to your individual monitor.
Appearance Æ File Types
Menu Operations
In this tab, you can specify which entries should be shown in
the context menus for drives and folders. This can let you
open the command prompt directly under My Computer by
right clicking a folder, for example.
22 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Remove unneeded
entries from the
menu and add your
own!
Customize and Analyze
New Menu
You can specify which file types are displayed in the New
menu in the context menu for the desktop, the Explorer and
the Save dialog here.
If you wish to remove a file type from the menu, click the
check box in front of the desired file type to remove the check
mark. Click Remove to delete the file type from the list
entirely. New file types can be added by clicking Add.
You can also specify whether the New menu is displayed at
all in the context menu for the desktop and free areas of folder
windows under Options.
Opening Files
If you try to open a file that Windows doe s not know , you are
normally asked with which program you wish to open the file.
Here, you can specify that all such files should be opened
with a specific program automatically instead of having this
dialog displayed.
Advanced
You can specify whether the prefix Shortcut to should be
added to the names of new shortcuts, and whether pictures
TuneUp Utilities 2004 23
Customize and Analyze
and photos should automatically be opened with Windows
Picture and Fax Viewer here.
Appearance Æ Folder Options
View
You can specify how folder Windows and the objects
contained in them should appear here.
Navigation
Here, you can configure the settings for navigating in folder
windows and special sorting settings for numbered files.
Thumbnails
You can configure the settings used for the automatic display
of preview images for folders containi ng pi ct ures he re.
Colors
If you select the folder option “Single-click to open an item”
in the Explorer, files and folders are selected as soon as you
position the mouse pointer over them. You can select the
color used to highlight selected files here. You can also
specify the color in which encrypted and compressed files are
displayed in the Explorer here (regardless of whether “Singleclick to open an item” is selected or not).
Advanced
Here, you can specify which special items should be show n
on the desktop and under My Computer. You can also easily
hide entire drives and customize the behavior of the address
box in the Explorer, Internet Explorer and the Run dialog.
24 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Do you want to hide
a drive from prying
eyes? No problem, a
click on
My
Computer
possible.
makes it
Customize and Analyze
Usage Æ Input Options
Mouse Functions
You can configure the functions of your mouse here by
swapping the mouse buttons and changing the behavior of the
scroll wheel.
Mouse Sensitivity
You can configure how sensitively your mouse should react
to click and drag actions here. You can change how long the
computer will wait between two mouse clicks and still
recognize a double click, for example.
Active Window Tracking
Here, you can activate a little-known Windows function that
could entirely change the way you work with windows, socalled Active Window Tracking.
When you select the Active Window Tracking function, all
you have to do to activate a window is move the mouse
pointer over it.
The option in the Foreground section can also be selected if
you wish to have the activated window brought to the front
automatically.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 25
Customize and Analyze
Keyboard
You can configure how Windows is controlled with the
keyboard here, for example by configuring the behavior of the
Windows key.
Usage Æ Start Menu
Behavior
You can configure how the Start menu reacts to specific
mouse actions here.
You can navigate
through menus
much more quickly if
you reduce the
opening delay here.
Submenus
Here, you can specify how many of your most recently used
documents and files should be shown in the Start menu,
among other things.
You can also click Setting in the Special menus section to
call up a window in which you can specify the commands that
should be shown in the Windows Start menu.
26 TuneUp Utilities 2004
You can customize
or deactivate button
flashing here.
Customize and Analyze
Programs
Here, you can configure the Start menu settings that affect
programs. One option is, for example, to customize the list of
Frequently Used Programs.
Advanced
You can configure the display of your user name in the Start
menu and call up other TuneUp Utilities modules that are
relevant for the Start menu here.
Usage Æ Taskbar
Flashing Buttons
This function prevents other windows from “barging” their
way to the front while you are working on a document in a
text editing program. Instead, the button of the program on
the taskbar will blink when the program needs your attention.
Button Appearance
You can specify whether and how windows should be
represented by buttons on the taskbar.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 27
Customize and Analyze
Minimized Windows
Sometimes when a window is minimized, all that can be seen
is the title bar that is moved to the lower edge of the screen,
just above the taskbar, automatically. The behavior of
windows that are minimized in this manner can be configured
in accordance with your wishes in this tab.
Advanced
You can customize general display and behavior options for
the taskbar and the notification area here.
Communication Æ Network
My Network Places
Here, you can configure a number of settings that affect the
display of shares under My Network Places. These include
preventing your computer from being shown under My
Network Places on other computers.
Advanced
Here, you can deactivate the Windows Universal
Plug and Play service for security reasons. You can also
remove the Windows Messenger here.
Passwords
Saving your passwords means that you don’t have to enter
your password every time you dial into the Internet, access
password protected shares, etc. However, hackers may be
able to access and misuse these passwords. You can
deactivate the automatic saving of passwords here.
Internet Time
You can specify whether and how Windows should
synchronize your system clock with an Internet time server
here. You can also add additional time servers to the list.
Internet
A variety of expert settings for your Internet connection can
be configured here.
28 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
Communication Æ Internet Explorer
Explorer Bars
Here, you can configure the behavior of the bars in Internet
Explorer. For example, you can specify that the search bar
always searches using Google.
View
Here, you can customize Internet Explorer to suit your tastes.
You can for example change the window title bar and specify
a background picture for the toolbars.
Favorites
You can hide unwanted Favorites folders and their contents
here. Please note that the contents of your Favorites folders
are not shown here, but only the existing folders so that they
can be hidden or displayed.
Menu
Here, you can customize the File menu of Internet Explorer,
and under Settings, you can add many useful commands to
the context menu that is called up when you click on a web
page with your right mouse button.
Security
Make downloading files with Internet Explorer more secure
and hide your browser version from sites you visit.
Performance
You can accelerate the loading of websites here by adapting
the number of simultaneous connections to the bandwidth of
your connection.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 29
Customize and Analyze
Surf the Internet
faster with this
option!
Communication Æ E-mail Programs
Outlook Express
Specify what should happen when you start Outlook Express,
what text should be displayed in the window title bar and
which executable attachments should be blocked.
Office Outlook Appearance
You can configure options that affect the appearance of
Office Outlook here.
Office Outlook Security
Office Outlook blocks potentially dangerous files in e-mail
attachments for security reasons. Here, you can specify which
file types should be subject to this blocking feature.
Communication Æ Privacy
General
Here, you can configure settings that affect your privacy and
security when working on the computer.
30 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Cover the tracks you
leave while working
on your computer
and surfing the
Internet here.
Customize and Analyze
Cover Tracks
Here, you can configure settings to eliminate the traces of
your work with documents and of web sites you’ve visit.
Activate Delete history lists at logoff to have the lists of
most recently used documents and programs emptied when
you shut your system down. This prevents other persons from
using these lists to find out what you have done on the
computer.
Select Empty Internet Explorer cache when exiting to have
the browser cache deleted as soon as you close the program.
You should only select this option when maximum security is
important to you and you do not wish others to be able to find
out which sites you visited on the Internet by viewing the
cache.
Internet Explorer
Here, you can configure security settings that affect your
privacy when working with Internet Explorer.
Media Player
You can configure all of the Windows Media Player settings
that affect your privacy here.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 31
Customize and Analyze
Advanced
Here, you can configure Windows XP and Microsoft Office
Error Reporting and go directly to other privacy options.
Prevent your product
ID from being
transmitted to
Microsoft!
Administration Æ User Logon
General
Here, you can switch between the Welcome screen and
classic logon prompt, and can customize both by clicking
Customize.
Automatic Logon
In order to save yourself the trouble of logging on to your
computer every time you use your system, you can have
yourself logged on automatically.
Messages
Here, you can specify whether all users should be shown a
message before they log on.
View
Specify here which screensaver should be shown when no
user is logged onto the system.
32 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
Tour
Here, you can activate or deactivate the Windows tour, which
offers an introduction to basic Windows functions and
features. When this is activated, it will be shown each time
you log on.
Administration Æ Drives
General
A number of settings that affect your drives can be configured
here. You can enable UDMA66 support to accelerate access
to your drives, for example.
Disk Space
Windows displays a warning automatically when too little
free space is available on a drive. If this warning bothers you,
clear the check box in front of Show low disk space
warning.
AutoPlay
Under Media change monitoring, you can select or deselect
Monitor CD drives for media change depending on whether
you want Windows to automatically detect when you insert a
disc into your CD and DVD drives.
Under AutoPlay, click Advanced to configure the automatic
playing settings for different media types such as music CDs.
Advanced
Under My Computer, click Settings to specify which drives
should be shown under My Computer. You can use this
setting to effectively hide drives from prying eyes.
The button TuneUp WinStyler opens the TuneUp module
that you can use to customize the icons for individual drives.
If you wish to defragment all of your drives and optimize the
locations of all of your files on your drives so that they can be
accessed more quickly, click Defragment.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 33
Customize and Analyze
Administration Æ Memory and Cache
Memory Management
Here, you can configure settings that affect the management
of your physical and virtual memory. If you wish, you can
have the entire paging file overwritten with zeros when you
shut your computer down to protect your privacy.
Memory Usage
Here, you can adapt how Windows makes use of your
physical memory to meet your needs.
Do you have 512 MB
RAM or more? Then
try the option
system cache
Prefer
!
Advanced
This tab contains links to other TuneUp Utilities modules that
you can use to optimize your memory usage. All of these
modules are described in their own sections in this manual.
Administration Æ Start and Maintenance
System Start
This tab contains a number of settings that affect how your
computer starts.
34 TuneUp Utilities 2004
What should
Windows do with
crashed programs?
You decide.
Customize and Analyze
Programs
What should Windows do when individual programs freeze,
or when they cannot be closed?
Under Idle time without feedback, you can specify how long
the system will wait for a program to respond in milliseconds.
Once this time has passed without a reaction, it will be forced
to close by the Task Manager or when the computer is
shutting down.
Desktop and Taskbar
You can have the desktop and taskbar run in a separate
process here. This increases the stability of your system in the
event that the Explorer crashes.
Error Handling
Configure various options that affect how Windows deals
with errors and faults. Among other things, you can
deactivate Windows XP and Microsoft Office error
reporting here.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 35
Customize and Analyze
Administration Æ System
General
Here, you can change the name of the company and name of
the person to whom Windows is registered. You can also
specify the user and company name that are entered
automatically when you install programs using the Windows
Installer.
Common Dialogs
Here, you can configure the appearance of the common
dialogs for opening and saving files.
Search
Here, you can configure settings that affect the appearance
and behavior of the Windows search function. The Windows
Indexing service causes higher disk activity and can be
deactivated here.
Special Folders
Special folders such as My Documents and the Start menu are
assigned to specific directory paths on the hard drive. These
paths can be changed here. Please be sure to follow the
warnings displayed by the module.
Command Prompt
You can configure the appearance and behavior of the
command prompt here.
Wizards Æ Correct Problems
The Correct Problems wizard can help when Windows no
longer does what it should. This includes problems like
incorrect icons, a lost taskbar and many more.
After you start the wizard, a brief introduction is displayed.
Click Next to continue.
36 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Select the problems
you wish to correct.
Customize and Analyze
The wizard then lists common Windows problems. Select the
check boxes in front of the problems that you are
experiencing with your system. Then click Next to continue.
The wizard shows a list of all problems that you selected.
Click Next to begin repairing your system.
After all problems are successfully corrected, you can close
the wizard by clicking Finish.
Wizards Æ Copy Settings
You can configure many settings with TuneUp
SystemControl to change the way the system looks and acts to
suit your tastes and needs. Unfortunately, these changes are
normally only applied to the current user.
The Copy Settings wizard allows you to transfer these
settings to other user accounts, and even to the Windows
logon screen.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 37
Customize and Analyze
The wizard
welcomes you.
The wizard starts with a short introduction. Click Next to
continue.
The wizard then presents a list of settings that can be copied.
Select the desired settings and click Next again.
You can now specify to where you wish to copy the selected
settings. One possibility is the logon screen (depending on the
settings you selected). If more than one user has been set up
on your computer, all users are also shown. Select where you
want to copy the settings to, and then click Next to begin
copying. After copying is completed, you can close the
wizard by clicking Finish.
38 TuneUp Utilities 2004
TuneUp StartUp Manager
Many applications start automatically together with Windows
without asking for your permission. There is often a good
reason for this, for example to provide you with important
functions and services such as your virus scanner, an ISDN
call monitor or a text module administration system.
In addition to these sensible applications, there are often also
useless or even dangerous applications that also start together
with your system. Newly installed programs sometimes add
themselves to the Startup folder without asking for your
permission, causing Windows to start more slowly. And
what’s worse, some of these programs even bother you with
messages and dialogs.
Customize and Analyze
The limits of the
Startup folder in the
Start menu.
How do I find out if
a program that
starts automatically
is necessary?
Many users know that programs that are started automatically
often simply add a shortcut to the Startup folder in th e Start
menu, and that these shortcuts can be deleted there. But that’s
only half of the story. Some start commands are added
directly to the registry, and cannot be found in the Startup
folder. TuneUp StartUp Manager finds every application
that launches itself automatically, no matter where they hide
their start commands.
Usage
TuneUp StartUp shows a list of all startup commands found
on your computer in the main window. The entry All is
selected in the folder list when you start the program. You
can reduce the number of start entries shown on the right side
of the window by selecting one of the entries in the list, for
example Startup folder or Registry. In this case, the right
side of the window only contains the startup entries at that
location.
When you select a startup entry in the list, TuneUp StartUp
Manager displays detailed information on the program in the
blue Details box at the bottom of the window. You can easily
determine whether or not you wish to have the program
started on the basis of the Product name and Company. If
TuneUp Utilities 2004 39
Customize and Analyze
you have never heard of the company or the product, then the
entry is probably not needed.
An overview of all
automatic start
commands.
Deactivating and
deleting entries
When you start the program the first time, all startup entries
have a check mark in front of them and are active. Click the
check box in front of an entry to clear it, and the program will
no longer be started the next time you start Windows. In this
way, you can find out for certain whether the entry is needed
without removing it from the list entirely. If something
doesn’t work properly the next time you start Windows, all
you have to do is select the check box again.
If you are certain that you no longer need an entry, you can
remove it from the list entirely by clicking Delete. But don’t
worry, if need be, you can still restore the entry with TuneUp
RescueCenter.
40 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
Adding a new
startup entry
If you wish to add a program to one of the startup folders
yourself, select the desired folder in the list and then click
Add.
Enter the name of the desired application in the dialog and
enter the directory path of the program file in the Target box.
You can use the Find button to help you find the file.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 41
Customize and Analyze
TuneUp System Information
TuneUp System Information asks the computer the question
of all questions: what about the hardware? The module takes
a deep look inside your computer and gathers an extensive
range of facts and information that can be useful when you
want to upgrade your system, or when a technician asks you if
specific components are installed in your system.
Usage
The information on your computer is broken down into nine
sections, each with its own tab. The first section you see when
you start the program is the Overview, where you can find
the most important information on the main components.
Here, the module tells you what processor you have installed
in your computer, how much memory you have, what the
graphics card has to offer and what mouse you are using, and
last but not least, all about your drives.
The other tabs contain the following information:
Windows
This section tells you exactly which Windows version is
installed on your computer, when you last started your
computer, and what version of Internet Explorer you are
using.
Display
All important information, including the supported display
modes and the abilities of your monitor and graphics card can
be found here.
Memory
This section shows the current usage of your memory and
tells you which programs are currently running and how
much memory they are using.
Performance
Here, you can view detailed information on your physical
memory, the size of the paging file and the kernel. Three real-
42 TuneUp Utilities 2004
The performance tab
with real-time
graphs.
Customize and Analyze
time graphs show the current processor usage, physical
memory status and how much of your paging file is currently
being used.
Drives
This section provides you with complete hardware
information for each drive in your computer, and shows how
much space is used and available on each.
I/O Devices
All important ports, installed printers and audio devices are
shown here.
Communication
When a dial-up connection is open, two real-time graphs
show how much data is being sent and received in kilobytes
per second.
Note: Please note that this window only displays the data
transfer volume for the dial-up connections in your system.
Data traffic over the network is not shown here.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 43
Customize and Analyze
System Devices
Information is shown here for your processor and BIOS.
Click Processor details to view detailed information on the
features of your processor.
Use the context-sensitive help !
If you are not sure what the information or a function under
one of the areas in TuneUp System Information means, you
can use the so-called context-sensitive help to view a brief
description. To do this, click the desired text or button with
your right mouse button and select What’s This? from the
context menu.
44 TuneUp Utilities 2004
TuneUp WinStyler
Windows would not be very useful without its graphical user
interface. How important an attractive interface is can be seen
on the basis of Windows XP and how the entire system feels
at once fresher and more modern.
But just as in fashion, it’s easy to get tired of the new design,
not to mention the people who have always been bothered by
all of the “eye candy” in the interface. Wouldn’t it be
practical to be able to change the appearance of Windows?
Customize and Analyze
Can you change the
appearance of
Windows?
Yes, you can – with
TuneUp WinStyler!
Take the icons for example. These little square pictures are
everywhere, in the Start menu, in file dialogs and of course on
the desktop. Is there a way to lend all of these icons a new
look with a few mouse clicks?
And what about the logon screen? Anyone who shares their
computer with others or has a password to protect his user
account sees it every day: a mixture of different blue tones.
And there is no way built into Windows to change this.
Windows also only provides you with a limited number of
options for changing the appearance of all windows and
buttons (the so-called visual style): you can choose between
the new Luna interface, or the old Windows Classic
interface.
In order to help you with all of these changes and to let yo u
adapt how your Windows interface looks, TuneUp Utilities
2004 has a separate module dedicated entirely to the
appearance of Windows: TuneUp WinStyler. Start this
module whenever you want to give your system a digital
makeover.
Usage
The TuneUp WinStyler window is broken down into two
sections: a blue navigation bar on the left and a large area on
the right to display the options.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 45
Customize and Analyze
The customization options in TuneUp WinStyler are divided
into six categories, each of which can be selected directly in
the navigation bar at the left.
All functions can be
accessed quickly
from the main
window.
System Elements
In this category, you can replace typical Windows icons with
icons with a common theme. You can also change the name
of many elements, such as the Recycle Bin, My Computer
and My Network Places.
After clicking System Elements in the navigation bar, all
system icons that can be changed are shown in a hierarchical
list on the right side of the window. The Desktop level is
selected by default, under which you can see all special
desktop items. Select one of these items to change it.
46 TuneUp Utilities 2004
TuneUp WinStyler
lets you change the
icons and names of
many elements.
How to change an
icon
The file
shell32.dll
which is included
with Windows,
contains a large
number of icons.
Customize and Analyze
Click Replace icon to open a dialog in which you can choose
a new icon for the selected item. The module always shows
the icon library in which the current icon for the item is
contained. This is normally the library shell32.dll, which is
included with Windows. If you have an icon lib rary of your
own, you can view its contents by clicking Browse.
,
As soon as you have found the desired icon, select it with
your mouse and click OK to record your change.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 47
Customize and Analyze
Important: All of the changes that you make to system items
are not applied immediately. The program records your
changes for the individual items, and indicates that a change
has been saved by adding a small red star next to the
respective entry in the list. Your changes are not applied until
you click Apply in the lower right corner of the window.
Undoing changes
Undoing changes for
multiple items
If you have selected a different icon for an item, you can undo
this change at any time as long as you have not yet clicked
Apply. To do this, select the corresponding item in the list
and click Discard unsaved changes made to this item.
If you have already clicked Apply, you can still undo changes
to an item by resetting it to the Windows defaults at any time.
To do this, select the desired entry in the list and click Reset
item to Windows defaults. Please note that this link is only
shown when the selected icon is not set to the Windows
defaults already.
If you should want to undo changes made to multiple items,
you can click Reset category or Reset all categories.
Here, “category” refers to the five levels into which the
system items are divided, namely Desktop, Start menu,
Explorer, File Types and Control Panel. The first link only
resets the items in the currently active category, while the
second resets all system items that can be changed with
TuneUp WinStyler without exception.
After either of the links is clicked, a dialog is shown that asks
you if you wish to reset all items to the Windows defaults, or
if you only wish to discard any unsaved changes for these
items. The second option is of course only available when
changes have not yet been applied.
Icon Packages
It is rather tedious to change all Windows icons one at a time
to change the appearance of your system. For this reason,
TuneUp WinStyler also allows you to replace all of the icons
in Windows with a new look in one fell swoop. To do this,
click Icon Packages in th e lower right corner of the window.
Many good icon packages dedicated to different themes can
be found on the Internet.
48 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Practical: icon
packages let you
change all icons at
once.
Customize and Analyze
Managing and Installing Icon Packages
Click Icon Packages to open a new window wh ere you can
install and manage icon packages.
A new window opens in which you can see all available icon
packages. Select the desired package in the list and click
Install to have the new icons shown in the main window.
You can also add new icon packages to the list by clicking
Add at the top of the list. Here, you can either add an icon
package from a file on your computer, or download new icon
packages from TuneUp Online, where you can select from a
large number of packages.
Creating Your Own Icon Packages
You also have the ability to prepare your own icon package
from your current icons. You can then save this package to
install it again at a later time, or send it to friends via e-mail.
To do this, click Create New Package at the top of the list.
After you click this button, a wizard opens that will guide you
through the process of creating an icon package:
TuneUp Utilities 2004 49
Customize and Analyze
Step Description
1.) Information on the
author
2.) Package name
and description
3.) Optimizing the
size of the package
4.) Creating the icon
package
5.) Finish the wizard The icon package has been created successfully
File System
Windows assigns a default icon to each drive, file folder, Start
menu folder and Favorite. Click File System in the navigation
bar to change any of these icons.
Assign new icons to
your drives!
Here, you can add your name, e-mail address and
Internet address to the icon package.
Enter a descriptive package name here. If you wish,
you can also enter additional information on the
package in the Description box.
Use the options in this step to make sure that your
package is not too large so that it can be sent via email without problems.
The icons are now collected and optimized if
needed, after which they are saved together in an
icon package.
and is added to the list of icon packages when you
click Finish. Click Open folder to go to the icon
packages folder of TuneUp WinStyler, after which
you can copy the icon package to a different
location, or attach it to an e-mail.
50 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
Here, you can assign a cool icon to the drive where all of your
games are installed, and an icon with a serious appearance to
the drive where your office applications are installed, for
example.
You can do the same with folders. A few carefully chosen
icons can make it much easier to find your way around drives
that contain a great deal of data.
Start menu folders
Internet Explorer
Favorites
Undoing changes
You can also use TuneUp WinStyler to assign an individual,
descriptive icon to each folder in the Start menu. To do this,
open the Start menu node in the tree by clicking the plus sign
in front of it.
Note: This function is only available for Windows 2000 and
higher.
You can even assign special icons to your Favorites in
Internet Explorer. This way, you can find your most
frequently used Favorites in the long list more quickly.
Select the desired item in the tree and click Replace icon to
select a new icon for the item. Please note that this cannot be
done with the three main nodes My Computer, Start menu
and Favorites. You must open one of these nodes by clicking
the plus sign in front of it and then select a subnode.
A new icon is selected in the same manner as for the System
elements. Once you find the desired icon, select it and click
OK to apply the icon.
You can apply the default icons and undo your changes at any
time by clicking Reset item to Windows defaults.
If you would like to undo changes to multiple icons at the
same time, you can use the Restore backup link. This link
opens TuneUp RescueCenter and lets you undo the changes
you have made with TuneUp WinStyler on a specific dat e.
Appearance
Click Appearance in the navigation bar. Here, you can
change a large number of settings that govern how icons are
displayed on the desktop, such as the color depth, the icon
TuneUp Utilities 2004 51
Customize and Analyze
size and the icon spacing. Please note that changing the color
depth and icon size here may affect the display of icons
elsewhere as well.
A preview of your
changes can be seen
at all times in the
left pane.
Under Windows XP, you cannot manipulate the maximum
color depth of icons, as this is always 32 bit (the highest
value). If you use a different operating system, you can
increase this value here.
The default size for desktop icons is 32 x 32 pixels. You can
use the slider to increase this size up to 64 x 64 pixels if the
icons are too small for you, or you can also make the icons
smaller so that you have more space on your desktop.
You can even specify how much space should be between the
individual icons, both vertically and horizontally.
How to get rid of the
shortcut arrow
The Show shortcut arrow option is very interesting. If you
do not wish to have the small arrow displayed on shortcuts,
you can disable it by clearing the check box in front of this
option. Many users are bothered by this arrow.
Repair
It is of course fun to change the Windows icons and to add
your personal touch here and there. But what do you do when
52 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
your changes are not applied, or when Windows starts mixing
up your icons altogether?
In this case, click Repair in the navigation bar and then click
Reload Icons. And the display errors will disappear.
The fix for persistent
problems
Pep up your system
with a custom logon
screen.
If reloading the icons doesn’t help, there may be a serious
problem in your icon cache. The icon cache is a file in which
Windows stores all of the icons that it has ever displayed so
that they can be shown more quickly in the future. And when
a mistake makes its way into this file, this can corrupt all of
the icons. Fortunately, this problem can be corrected directly
in TuneUp WinStyler. All you have to do is click Repair
Icon Cache. You must restart to complete the repair.
Logon Screen
If you share your computer with other users, or if you use a
password to protect your account, you are familiar with the
Windows XP logon screen. Here, you can see a list of all user
accounts. A user can log on by clicking one of these accounts
and entering a password, if one is set for the account.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 53
Customize and Analyze
With TuneUp WinStyler, you can completely change the
appearance of the logon screen. Click Logon screen in the
navigation bar to go to this area.
As soon as it is started, the module lists all available logon
screens. When you use the module for the first time, you will
only see the standard Windows screen. You can add
additional logon screens by clicking Add at the top of the list.
Then, you can select an existing logon screen from a file on
your computer, or you can download new screens from
TuneUp Online. The module supports all Logonui.exe
screens, the LogonStudio format (LogonXP) and the TuneUp
WinStyler (TLS) format.
By the way: Unlike other programs that simply replace the
entire file when installing a Logonui.exe file, your computer
cannot be infected by a virus when you install a logon screen
with TuneUp WinStyler. Here, the entire file is not replaced,
but only the relevant parts such as the pictures and the texts
that are shown on the screen.
Select the desired screen in the list and click Install Logon
Screen in the lower right corner of the window.
Using the text from
the logon screen
Most logon screens are in English, but not all. When you
install a new logon screen, the text on the screen may be in a
different language. For example, instead of “Click your user
name to log on”, you may see “Klicken Sie auf Ihren
Benutzernamen, um sich anzumelden”.
For this reason, the module asks you if you want to use the
text in the new logon screen, or if you want to use the English
text from the standard logon screen. After you select the
desired option, a progress dialog is displayed while the new
screen is installed.
Try a new logon
screen!
How to restore the
default screen
After the new screen is installed, you can test it right away by
pressing the Windows key and L key at the same time.
If you ever decide that you no longer want to use your new
logon screen, you can restore the default Windows screen at
54 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Customize and Analyze
any time. To do this, click Restore Defaults. The default
screen is then shown in the list automatically. Click Install
Logon Screen to save the change.
Visual Style
The new visual style of Windows XP makes it possible to
lend a new look to all modern applications. Click Visual
Style in the navigation bar to customize your visual style.
When you select a visual style in the list, a preview and
additional information are shown on the right. As soon as you
have chosen a visual style, click Apply Visual Style to
activate it. Your screen is grayed out briefly while the style is
applied to your system. As soon as the wait screen is closed,
you can view your interface in all of its new glory.
Downloading visual
styles from TuneUp
Online
You can download new visual styles at any time from the
TuneUp website free of charge. To do this, click Add and
then Download Visual Styles From TuneUp Online. This
will open your Internet browser and go to the TuneUp
website, where you can select from a wide range of different
styles. Click on a style to add it to the list in TuneUp
WinStyler.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 55
Customize and Analyze
Adding a style from
a file
Resetting and
deleting a visual
style
You can also use the option Install Visual Style From File if
you have other visual styles on your computer. This way, you
can use visual styles that you received on CD, for example.
For both options for adding new visual styles, it does not
matter in which format the styles are. TuneUp WinStyler
recognizes nearly all standard formats and can install them
without problems. The following formats are supported:
Type Extension Description
TuneUp Visual
Styles
Microsoft Visual
Styles
Compressed
archives
Self-extracting
archives
.TVS The TuneUp WinStyler format
.MSSTYLES This Microsoft format often includes
additional files that can be found in
the same folder or in subfolders.
.RAR, .ZIP Archives are searched for all file
types in this list, and decompressed
automatically if such files are found.
.EXE These files are searched to see if
they contain compressed RAR or
ZIP archives, which are then
handled as described under
Compressed archives.
If you should ever want to restore the standard Windows
visual style, all you have to do is click Restore Defaults to
select the visual style Luna in the list. Then click Apply
Visual Style to activate your change.
If you wish to remove a visual style from your computer
entirely, select it in the list and click Delete visual style.
56 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Clean up and
Clean up and Repair
Repair
Free your system of
unneeded ballast!
5
The modules in the Clean up and Repair category streamline
your system by removing unneeded ballast and correcting
problems in your configuration.
Every program you install writes entries in your registry –
entries that are often not completely removed when you
remove the program. With time, your registry becomes
bloated and takes up more and more space on your hard drive.
What’s more, Windows constantly has to access the registry.
The larger the registry is, the longer it takes Windows to find
the information it needs. Your system becomes slower, and
does not react as quickly as it used to. The module TuneUp
TuneUp Utilities 2004 57
Clean up and Repair
RegistryCleaner makes sure that there are no unneeded
entries in your registry to slow your system down.
The amount of unneeded data on your hard drive also
increases with time. This includes temporary files, but also
unneeded backups that are created by different programs and
that are not deleted. TuneUp DiskCleaner helps you find
these files and delete them.
58 TuneUp Utilities 2004
TuneUp RegistryCleaner
You can use TuneUp RegistryCleaner to quickly and
thoroughly remove the unneeded data left over when you
install and remove programs and when you work with your
computer every day.
Cleaning up your registry database frees your system of
unneeded ballast so that it can work better and more quickly.
After the module analyzes your system for problems, you can
individually view each of the problems found and call up a
detailed description. If you wish, you can also have all
problems corrected automatically.
All changes to your system are monitored by TuneUp
RescueCenter and can be undone with a few mouse clicks.
Usage
Once the module is started, a wizard is opened automatically
in which you can choose between two options for scanning
the registry.
Decide for a
complete or partial
registry scan here.
Clean up and Repair
TuneUp Utilities 2004 59
Clean up and Repair
The option Complete scan analyzes the entire registry and all
system files. If you select Choose tests, you can specify
yourself which categories should be analyzed by TuneUp
RegistryCleaner. It is best select Complete scan, and then
click Next.
TuneUp RegistryCleaner will now analyze your system. The
individual sections of the registry that will be analyzed can be
seen in the program window. A yellow arrow in front of an
entry means that that section is being analyzed.
Please wait until the
analysis is finished.
This may take several
minutes.
A green check mark indicates that the analysis has been
completed for the section. A progress bar beneath the list
shows the progress of the overall analysis.
When the analysis is complete, the message “The search for
errors has been completed.” is displayed. Click Show errors
to close the wizard and to show the problems found in the
main window.
60 TuneUp Utilities 2004
The analysis has
found a large
number of problems
– correcting them
will bring noticeable
benefits.
Clean up and Repair
The Main Window
The main TuneUp RegistryCleaner window is divided into
two sections. The left side of the window contains a list of
Categories, and the contents on the right side of the screen
change depending on the category selected on the left.
The category Summary is selected by default. Here, the
module shows that the system scan has been completed and
shows how many problems were found in total. Below this,
you can see how many problems were found in each category.
The module can recognize problems in the following areas:
Category Description
ActiveX and COM ActiveX/COM objects were found that are based on
Sounds Some sounds refer to sound files that are no longer
Application paths Some of the application paths in the registry point
Startup Some programs that should be launched
libraries that are no longer available on your
system.
on your system.
to directories that no longer exist.
automatically when the system starts are missing.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 61
Clean up and Repair
Category Description
File types Some file types refer to programs that are no
Shared files The registry contains references to files that w ere
Help files The registry contains entries for help files that are
Fonts References were found to fonts that are no longer
Software Some of the programs listed under Add and
Start menu Some of the shortcuts in the Start menu point to
Shortcuts Some of the shortcuts on your system point to
History lists Some entries in the history list for standard dialogs
As you can see, deleted files can leave behind many “ghosts”
in your registry. TuneUp RegistryCleaner finds these
orphaned entries and can delete them.
longer available on your system.
used by multiple applications that no longer exist
on this system.
no longer available on the system.
available on the system.
Remove Programs in the Control Panel do not
have an uninstall program. These entries will not
work.
files that are no longer available on the system,
and/or references in the registry point to folders
that have been removed from the Start menu.
missing targets.
point to files that no longer exist.
You can call up detailed information for each of the problems
found on your system by clicking one of the individual
categories in the Categories bar.
The program will then show all programs in the category with
a short description. Select one of the entries in the list to view
a more detailed problem analysis at the bottom of the
window. The Details button must be selected in the toolbar in
order for the section with the problem analysis to be visible.
62 TuneUp Utilities 2004
A detailed
description is
available for each
problem, a single
mouse click is all you
need.
Clean up and Repair
TuneUp RegistryCleaner is designed to correct all problems
automatically. This is why the check box in front of each
problem is selected. If you do not wish to have an individual
problem corrected, click the check box to clear it. The module
will then ignore this problem when cleaning up your system.
Clean-up
Click Start Cleaning in the toolbar to have TuneUp
RegistryCleaner do its job – correcting all of the problems
that were found.
A new wizard is opened that takes you through the process
step by step. First, it indicates how many problems were
selected for correction. It also informs you that all changes
can be undone with TuneUp RescueCenter if necessary.
Click Next to clean up your system.
A progress bar indicates how far TuneUp RegistryCleaner is
with its work. The module corrects all problems one after the
other and makes sure that unneeded entries and keys are
removed. Please wait until the clean-up is finished.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 63
Clean up and Repair
Here, you can watch
while the module
cleans up your
system.
Once the module is finished, a message is displayed to tell
you that all problems have been corrected.
Chain reactions in
the registry: the
Check Again
button
Sometimes, the button Check Again is displayed, and the
wizard recommends that you analyze your system again. This
is always the case when the clean-up may have made
additional entries invalid. This is not an error in the module,
but a chain reaction that can occur in the categories ActiveX
and COM and File types.
A simple example: Entry A points to entry B, which in turn
points to the missing file X. In the first scan, TuneUp
RegistryCleaner determines that entry B is invalid because
file X cannot be found on the system. Entry B is deleted
during clean-up. This in turn makes entry A invalid, as it
points to the now missing entry B.
TuneUp RegistryCleaner recognizes when this may happen
and suggests that you analyze the system again. In this case,
click Check Again, and these two categories will be analyzed
again.
All’s well
that ends well.
Click Finish to close the wizard. Repeat the clean-up process
as often as necessary until no new problems are found. You
can now close the module, with the confidence that you have
removed a great deal of junk from your system.
64 TuneUp Utilities 2004
TuneUp DiskCleaner
TuneUp DiskCleaner removes unneeded files from your
hard drive and frees up disk space. All drives are scanned for
unneeded files, which are then displayed according to
category.
If you wish, you can individually specify which files should
be deleted. If you are not sure whether you should really
delete the files found by the module, you can also back them
up in compressed form with TuneUp RescueCenter before
deleting them.
Usage
Before you can begin working with TuneUp DiskCleaner,
you must select all drives that you want the module to
analyze. Click the check box in front of a drive to add or
remove it.
Select the drives you
wish to scan.
Clean up and Repair
The module also displays the total size and the free space for
all drives in the list. This information can help you decide
which drives should be cleaned. Experience has shown that
drive C: normally contains the most unneeded data, usually in
the form of temporary files that are no longer used.
Click Next to continue.
Disk analysis
The module now analyzes the selected drives. A progress bar
beneath the list shows the progress of the overall analysis.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 65
Clean up and Repair
When all drives have been analyzed, the program displays the
message “Analysis completed”. You can then click Next to
view a list of all found files.
Analysis
TuneUp DiskCleaner now shows the results of the search.
You can recover disk
space here.
The right side of the window contains a table that indicates
the number of files found in each category, such as zero-byte
files. The number in the Space used column indicates how
much space can be recovered by deleting all files in this
category.
Additional information on the selected category is shown on
the left.
TuneUp DiskCleaner searches for all types of unneeded data,
which can normally be deleted from your computer without
causing problems.
66 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Clean up and Repair
Category Description
Zero-byte files These files contain no data.
Saved lost clusters Repair programs such as Chkdsk scan your drives for
Internet cache All pictures, texts and animations that you view in
Recycle Bin All files in the Recycle Bin can be safely deleted.
Log files Many programs write log files that can be used to
Backups Many files automatically create backups of your files.
Temporary files These are used by different programs to temporarily
Temporary help
files
lost clusters and save them. These backups are
rarely used.
Internet Explorer while surfing the Internet are saved
in the cache. If you visit a website again, the texts
and images can be loaded from the cache more
quickly than from the Internet. It is nevertheless
advisable to empty your cache from time to time.
analyze their actions. This can be helpful for example
when trying to solve problems. Any log files that you
do not plan on analyzing can be deleted.
These can be deleted if you do not need them.
store data and should normally be deleted by the
program when you are done working. These files can
be deleted in any case.
These files are used to display help files more
quickly.
Don’t take any risks!
It is important that you are careful when using DiskCleaner so
that necessary files are not deleted. The module finds a
number of files that are probably not needed, but the program
can never determine with certainty whether a file is needed or
not. A .sav file can be an unneeded backup copy of a text
document, or a computer game save. And a zero-byte file
could be a useless entry in the file table or part of the copy
protection for a program that won’t work when the file is
deleted.
How can you check which files the program deletes and
which ones it doesn’t?
Exclude categories
First, check whether you can exclude individual categories.
To do this, simply clear the check box in front of the desired
category, for example Backups or Log files.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 67
Clean up and Repair
Backup categories
with RescueCenter
Viewing all files that
have been found for
deletion individually
You also have a second option. Click a category with your
mouse. Details on the selected category are then shown on the
left side of the screen. Here, you can select Backup with
RescueCenter to be 100% safe. All deleted files are backed
up automatically by TuneUp RescueCenter in compressed
form so that you can restore them if need be.
When you click Show Details in the information area,
TuneUp DiskCleaner opens a new window that contains
information on all of the files in the selected category.
You can clear the check box in front of any file by clicking it,
thereby excluding it from deletion. You can also click Open
file to view the contents of the file to see if you can delete it
safely.
Clean-up
Click Next to begin deleting the selected files. The module
then displays how many files you have selected for deletion
and how much space will be recovered.
Click Next again to remove the files from your system. As
always, a progress bar shows the progress of the operation.
Please wait until all files are deleted.
68 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Finished! All
unneeded files have
been deleted.
Clean up and Repair
When the files have been deleted, click Finish to close the
module.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 69
Optimize and Improve
Optimize and Improve
The modules in the Optimize and Improve category speed
up your system.
You will find
everything you need
to speed up your
system here.
6
Many of the default Windows settings actually slow the
system down. Experienced users know this and know where
they have to tinker to speed things up.
With the TuneUp Utilities modules in this category, a few
mouse clicks suffice to optimize your system for maximum
performance – and you don’t have to become a Windows
guru.
70 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Optimize and Improve
One of the most important modules in this category is
TuneUp System Optimizer. This module analyzes your
system for settings that could be slowing you down, corr ects
them with a single mouse click and provides you with
valuable tips for configuring your hardware and software.
Wizards help you adapt the configuration of your system to
your needs in a few steps.
This module also includes the useful 1-Click Maintenance
function, which optimizes your system with a single mouse
click after finding any problems.
TuneUp RegistryDefrag optimizes and defragments the
Windows registry, which becomes increasingly larger and
slower the longer you work with Windows.
TuneUp MemOptimizer monitors system memory usage in
the background and optimizes this usag e automatically when
you are not working.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 71
Optimize and Improve
TuneUp MemOptimizer
TuneUp MemOptimizer monitors your system in the
background and frees up memory whenever needed to
increase the performance of your computer.
The use of TuneUp MemOptimizer is beneficial on any
system with up to 512 MB RAM. If the available physical
memory gets too low, TuneUp MemOptimizer causes the
system to swap old data to the paging file to free up memory
for your applications.
SmartOptimize makes sure that this automatic o ptimization
in the background does not inter fere with your work by only
optimizing your system when your processor usage is low.
Usage
The main window of TuneUp MemOptimizer consists of
three tabs.
This module shows
how much physical
memory is being
used.
The first tab Overview contains an animated graph that
shows the amount of free physical memory over time. This
graph allows you to monitor how Windows uses your system
resources. Free physical memory and Free space in paging
file show exactly how much memory your system is using.
72 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Configuring
automatic
optimization
Optimize and Improve
Beneath the graph, you will find a small box that informs you
whether AutoOptimize is activated. This TuneUp
MemOptimizer function monitors your memory and can
optimize memory usage automatically when the free physical
memory falls below a specific amount.
Configuring AutoOptimize
Calling up the Settings Dialog
If you wish to change the automatic memory optimization
settings for TuneUp MemOptimizer, go to Overview and
click Change settings.
AutoOptimize Settings
This opens the configuration window for the module. Enable
AutoOptimize should be selected so that TuneUp
MemOptimizer runs automatically in the background. If you
do not wish to have your memory usage optimized
automatically, you can disable this function here.
Under Physical memory, you can specify the free memory
level that triggers automatic optimization. This can for
example be set at 50 MB. Under Increase free memory to,
you can specify how much memory you want to free up.
How SmartOptimize
eases the burden on
your computer
Under Processor usage monitoring, you should select
Monitor processor usage so that the module knows how
hard your computer is working. When Windows Media
Player or a game is currently using all of the computer’s
resources, for example, TuneUp MemOptimizer delays
optimization automatically so that the system is not slowed
down unnecessarily. When Use SmartOptimize is selected,
TuneUp MemOptimizer recognizes such situations
automatically and only frees up memory when you are not
working.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 73
Optimize and Improve
How to cause the
module to optimize
more frequently
If you find the default setting too conservative, you can select
Use manual settings to specify the desired processor load in
percent up to which the module can optimize your memory
usage. The higher this limit, the more aggressively TuneUp
MemOptimizer will optimize your system.
Click OK to activate your settings. If you wish to restore the
module to the recommended settings, click Recommended.
Manual Optimization
If you do not use AutoOptimize, or if you want to free up
memory before you start a program that requires a lot of
memory, you can go to Manual Optimization.
Under Clear manually, you can use the slider to specify how
much memo ry should be freed. Cli ck Clear Now to free the
specified amount of memory. The module will then remove
unneeded DLLs and other files from physical memory, which
may require a few seconds.
Under Clipboard, the module shows the current amount of
memory occupied by the data in your clipboard. Click Empty
Clipboard to free up the memory used by this data.
74 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Optimize and Improve
Program Options
Under Program Options, you can select Load automatically
on Windows startup so that TuneUp MemOptimizer can
ensure optimum performance as soon as Windows starts.
Hiding TuneUp
MemOptimizer
Select Show icon in the notification area to have an icon
that shows your current memory usage status in the
notification area next to the clock. If you do not select this
option, TuneUp MemOptimizer will continue to work in the
background, but will be invisible. To access TuneUp
MemOptimizer, you will have to call up the program through
the Start Center or the Start menu.
You can also have your memory usage optimized by pressing
a key combination. The currently configured k ey combination
can be seen in the Key combination box, and is Ctrl+Alt+O
by default. You can change this combination at any time.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 75
Optimize and Improve
TuneUp RegistryDefrag
Every new program and every new hardware component
enters itself in the registry, creating keys and values. Over
time, the central Windows database gets larger and larger.
The larger the registry becomes, the longer the system needs
to find specific information, and this makes Windows slower.
Swiss cheese bogs
the system down
An introductory
screen is displayed.
When you remove the software or the hardware component,
these keys and values are usually deleted, but the registry
doesn’t get any smaller. Why? The space that was occupied
by a deleted key is still in the registry, even if it is no longer
used. Sooner or later, your registry looks like Swiss cheese
with lots of holes. It can be 13 MB in size, but only contain 9
MB of information. This slows your system down and wastes
space, both on your hard drive and in the memory.
TuneUp RegistryDefrag can consolidate your registry and
make it considerably smaller – a trick that can make your
system faster again. To do this, the module analyzes the old
registry and then creates an entirely new version that only
contains the correct entries in the proper order. The old
registry is then deleted and is replaced with the new one after
a restart.
Registry Analysis
First, TuneUp RegistryDefrag must determine how
fragmented your registry is. Click Next to begin.
76 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Optimize and Improve
Before the analysis starts, you will be informed that all other
applications must be closed. Please follow these instructions
and close all other applications before you continue.
Registry analysis
What happens when
you restart?
After you confirm this message, TuneUp RegistryDefrag
grays the screen and shows a wait dialog to indicate that you
cannot use the computer. During the analysis, a small clock
blinks in the upper left corner of the window to show that th e
software is working. Under Windows 2000 and XP, a
progress bar is also shown to inform you of the progress of
the analysis. There is no need to worry even if this bar does
not move for several minutes. On heavily used systems, it can
take some time to analyze the entire registry.
Next, the module shows the results of the analysis. If there is
potential for optimization, you will be told by how many
percent and kilobytes the size of the registry can be reduced.
Defragmenting the Registry
If TuneUp RegistryDefrag determines that your registry can
be defragmented, click Finish to begin defragmenting.
TuneUp RegistryDefrag must restart your computer for this.
While the computer is restarting, the new registry is created
and the old one deleted. As soon as Windows restarts, your
new registry is already being used. The program has done its
job and does not need to be opened again.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 77
Optimize and Improve
TuneUp System Optimizer
TuneUp System Optimizer helps you to find and correct
misconfigured settings and settings that are slowing your
system down.
As soon as you start TuneUp System Optimizer, the module
displays a welcome screen that tells you that you have come
to the right place if you want to perform system maintenance.
The module also tells you that you can undo your changes at
any time with TuneUp RescueCenter.
The TuneUp System
Optimizer welcome
window
You can now select a task and have it completed with a click
of your mouse. The individual optimization functions can also
be accessed by means of the links on the left side of the
window.
1-Click Maintenance
1-Click Maintenance is a function that allows you to quickly
and easily clean up your registry and hard drive. To access
this part of TuneUp System Optimizer, click 1-Click
Maintenance under Wizards on the left side of the screen.
78 TuneUp Utilities 2004
1-Click Maintenance
at work.
Optimize and Improve
1-Click Maintenance does justice to its name. As soon as you
start the program, it scans your registry and your hard drive
automatically for unneeded entries and files. A status window
is displayed during the scan to keep you informed of its
progress. And when the scan is finished, all you have to do is
click Correct Problems to rid yourself of the unneeded
ballast.
And the best thing about 1-Click Maintenance is that you can
schedule it to run regularly to keep your system clean. Once
you set up a schedule, 1-Click Maintenance will run once
each week, for example, without interrupting your work.
You can also have a 1-Click Maintenance icon placed on your
desktop so that you can run a complete check on your system
at any time quickly and easily.
The System Advisor
The System Advisor analyzes your hardware and software
configuration and provides you with important tips for
optimizing your system. After you click the System Advisor
link, the module begins examining your system in detail
immediately.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 79
Optimize and Improve
The advisor helps
you to eliminate
weaknesses in your
system.
In a few seconds, the results of the analysis are shown in the
window. The individual problems are broken down into
categories such as Display, System and Security. A short
text describes the problem, for example: “A high screen
resolution can slow the system down”. Select an entry in the
list to view a more detailed description under Details
And the System Advisor can do more than just tell you what
is wrong with your system. If the corresponding setting can
be changed directly in Windows, the Advisor normally offers
a link under Details that opens the corresponding Windows
dialog, or that corrects the problem automatically.
Optimize Internet Connection
Whether or not your system is optimally configured also
depends on what you want to do with your computer. If
surfing the Internet is important to you, it can be very helpful
to open up some bottlenecks. Because Windows is not
perfectly optimized for surfing the Internet by default.
80 TuneUp Utilities 2004
You may be able to
optimize your
Internet settings.
Optimize and Improve
Under Wizards, select Internet Optimization. A wizard will
then guide you through the necessary procedure step for step.
In the first screen, you must tell the wizard what kind of
Internet connection you have. Select the connection that best
matches yours from the list, for example a modem, ISDN or
DSL connection. Then click Next to go to the next step.
The wizard will now analyze your system to determine
whether it is optimally configured. The most important
factors here are data transmission performance and the time
required to load web pages. A green message Already
optimized means that your system is already optimally
configured for this, and that you need take no further steps. A
red message Not optimal means that your configuration must
be changed.
Click one of the blue headers to view the individual settings
that the Internet optimizer wants to change. Click Next to
have your configuration optimized.
The module will now make all the necessary changes and
display a message indicating that your computer has been
optimized. Note the message Restart required. Windows
must normally be restarted for all of the changes in the
registry to take effect. Click Finish to close the wizard.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 81
Optimize and Improve
System Optimization
Use this wizard to adapt Windows to your specific needs.
Here, you can adapt
the most important
settings to your
needs.
As soon as the wizard is opened, a message is displayed to
tell you that the program needs some information about your
system. Select the options that best describe how you use
your PC from the lists. Under Visual effects, you can specify
whether you prefer maximum performance and a simpler
interface, or if you are willing to sacrifice a certain amount of
performance for a more appealing appearance. Under Use of
the computer, choose the option that best describes your
computer. One option is for example “Computer with
network or Internet connection”. Then click Next to continue.
The wizard now analyzes your complete configuration and
prepares a list of optimization suggestions for Visual effects
and System configuration.
Click a blue header to view detailed information on the
suggested changes. You can reject individual suggestions by
clearing the check box in front of them. Then click Next to
apply the selected change s.
The module now makes all of the selected changes and
displays a message when it has successfully optimized your
82 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Optimize and Improve
configuration. Note the message Restart required. Windows
may have to be restarted for all of the changes in the registry
to take effect. Click Finish to close the wizard.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 83
Administer and Control
A
dminister and
Control
7
The TuneUp Utilities 2004 category Administer and
Control offers three modules that help you get more control
over your operating system.
You can use TuneUp Process Manager to view and, if
needed, terminate all currently running applications and
processes. You can also call up an overview of which files are
currently being used by which programs, and how much of
your system memory and processor are being used.
TuneUp Registry Editor takes a look inside the central
Windows database and allows experienced users to quickly
84 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Administer and Control
and easily find keys and values, and to make any necessary
changes.
TuneUp Uninstall Manager shows you all programs that are
currently installed on your system and lets you remove
unneeded programs.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 85
Administer and Control
TuneUp Process Manager
With TuneUp Process Manager, you have control over the
applications that are running on your system at all times and
can monitor your system activity.
You can find out how much memory is being used by any
program, view details on running processes and terminate
unwanted processes with a single mouse click. The module
also offers live graphs for processor and memory usage and
provides valuable information on what your computer is
doing at any given time. This information is presented in
three different tabs.
Processes
Once the module is started, all currently running programs
and processes are shown in the Processes tab. The names of
the processes can be seen in the table together with their
priority and CPU usage. The module also shows how much
memory is being used by each process.
It’s hard to believe
how many processes
are running on a
freshly started
computer.
If you wish to view more information on an application or a
process, you can select it in the list and then click Show
Details. Click Terminate Process to close a program. This is
86 TuneUp Utilities 2004
The (not so)
wondrous list of files
Administer and Control
a somewhat drastic measure, but is sometimes necessary to
close a program that has hung, or if you want to stop an
unwanted dialer.
Open Files
The Open Files tab provides an overview of all files and
folders that are currently open on the computer, including
information on the file type and location and which pro cess is
currently using the file.
You should not be surprised when some files are shown in the
list more than once. Files and folders can be opened by more
than one process at the same time. It is also normal when files
that are obviously “open” cannot be found in the list.
Applications like Microsoft Word and the text editor Notepad
only open a file briefly to read its contents or to save it, but do
not keep it open the entire time you are working on it.
Tip: When you try to delete a file and the computer tells you
that it is currently in use, you can use this module to find out
TuneUp Utilities 2004 87
Administer and Control
what process is using the file and terminate it. This will let
you delete the file.
Performance
The Performance tab provides detailed information on the
current status of your system.
You can view the current processor usage in percent, and a
graph of the processor usage for the last several seconds. A
similar graph shows memory usage for the last several
seconds. You can also view the current usage of the paging
file and the physical memory on kilobytes.
Keep an eye on your
system in the
Performance
tab.
Menu Bar Functions
The menu bar at the top of the TuneUp Process Manager
window provides you with additional functions.
Click File Æ New Application to open the Windows Run
dialog, which you can use to start a new application or open a
file.
88 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Administer and Control
Click File Æ Exit Windows to shut down or restart the
computer so that new settings can take effect.
If you have selected a process in the list, you can click Edit
Æ Set Process Priority to specify how much processing
power Windows should assign to this process.
Replacing Task Manager
If you click File Æ Replace Task Manager, TuneUp Process
Manager integrates itself into your system so that you can
access the module by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, or by right
clicking on an empty part of the taskbar and selecting Task
Manager.
If you want to use the Windows Task Manager again, simply
select the same menu item to remove the check mark in front
of it.
Note: This function is only available for Windows 2000 and
higher.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 89
Administer and Control
TuneUp Registry Editor
The Windows registry is nothing more than a large central
database. Every hardware component and program that is
installed makes entries in this database. With time, the
registry gets increasingly larger and more chaotic.
The advantages of
TuneUp Registry
Editor
True experts who are looking for a suitable tool to delve deep
into the Windows system and to adapt their configuration
manually should use TuneUp Registry Editor. It not only
offers an extremely fast search function, allows you to create
any number of bookmarks and lets you go to any key via copy
and paste, it also offers the protection of TuneUp
RescueCenter, which means that you can undo your changes
at any time.
Usage
The registry is opened as soon as you start the module. The
registry database consists of countless keys that are divided
into different categories. The editor displays the structure of
the registry in the form of a tree, with the individual keys on
the left side of the window under Folder. Double click a key
to display its subkeys. When you reach the lowest level of the
hierarchy, the individual values will be displayed on the right
half of the window, where you can edit them.
When you click a value with your right mouse button, a
context menu opens with a number of different commands.
Delete removes the entry from the registry. Rename lets you
assign a new name to the key, and Change lets you change
the value of the entry.
When you right click a key, the context menu that is
displayed has a much larger selection of commands. One of
the most useful commands here is Search, which allows you
to look for words in the entire registry. Set bookmark lets
you place a virtual bookmark. These bookmarks are shown in
the lower third of the window under Bookmark, and you can
go to any of these locations by double clicking the
corresponding bookmark.
90 TuneUp Utilities 2004
The main window
Administer and Control
TuneUp Utilities 2004 91
Administer and Control
TuneUp Uninstall Manager
Every program that you install under Windows adds an
uninstall entry to the system registry. This entry makes sure
that the program is removed completely from your computer
when you don’t need it anymore.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 lets you clean up your computer and
remove unwanted programs from your hard drive. All you
have to do is open TuneUp Uninstall Manager.
Usage
When you start the module, it displays an alphabetical list of
all programs, games and tools that have added an uninstall
entry to the registry.
Select an entry in the
list to view more
information about
the program.
If you no longer wish to use a program, select it in the list and
click Uninstall software to remove it completely from your
computer. This function only works when there is a green
check mark in front of the program.
The uninstall program that starts is different from program to
program, but one thing that they all have in common is th at
they not only delete the files from the hard drive, but also all
92 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Administer and Control
associated desktop icons, Start menu entries and keys in the
registry. Follow the instructions in the program to finish the
procedure.
If there is a red X in front of a program instead of a green
check mark, this means that no uninstall program was found
for the software. In this case, you can delete the entry from
the registry by clicking Remove entry, as it has no function.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 93
File recovery and Destruction
File recovery and Destruction
The modules in the File recovery and Destruction category
help to protect your data and your privacy. These two
TuneUp Utilities 2004 modules are ready to help you protect
and securely delete your important data at any time.
8
Whenever you want to dispose of sensitive documents in the
office, you normally use a shredder instead of simply
throwing them away. The risk that someone could take the
documents out of the trash and make use of them would be
too great.
94 TuneUp Utilities 2004
File recovery and Destruction
The module TuneUp Shredder lets you safely remove
sensitive data from your computer. And thanks to the secure
deletion method of the US Department of Defense, you can
delete your data so effectively and securely that even the
cleverest of data thieves can’t recover it.
TuneUp Undelete does exactly the opposite. You can use
this module to recover accidentally deleted files and folders,
even if they are no longer in the Recycle Bin. Unless TuneUp
Shredder got to them first, of course.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 95
File recovery and Destruction
TuneUp Shredder
When you delete a file in Windows, it will probably be
moved to the Recycle Bin. Anybody can get a file back out of
the Recycle Bin. For this reason, many users empty the
Recycle Bin regularly, or delete their files without moving
them to the Recycle Bin.
But you should know that Windows does not really destroy a
file when it deletes it, its entire contents are still located on
the hard drive. Windows simply marks the file as “deleted” in
the file system, and the disk space occupied by the file can be
used to store other data. But as long as nothing is saved in the
area occupied by the deleted file, this “lost” file can be found
and recovered easily with a program like TuneUp Undelete.
What does TuneUp Shredder Do?
TuneUp Shredder makes sure that no data thief can get his
hands on your sensitive data. The tool deletes files
permanently, with no chance of recovery. And if you wish,
you can even use a deletion method that was developed by the
United States Department of Defense, which overwrites files
with certain number patterns multiple times before deleting
them, so that their contents are securely destroyed.
Usage
What
do you want
to delete?
96 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Once you start the program, a wizard opens that asks you if
you wish to delete individual Files, entire Folders or the
contents of the Recycle Bin.
Files: When you select this option, the next window will
show an empty list to which you can add files that you wish
to delete.
Folders: When you select this option, you can select the
folder that you wish to have deleted along with its entire
contents in the next window.
Select the files you
want to delete
File recovery and Destruction
Recycle Bin: Select this option when you want to shred the
contents of your Recycle Bin. You can review the contents of
the Recycle Bin before deletion in the next window.
Select the desired option and click Next to continue.
Deleting Files
Drag and drop the files you wish to delete from the Explorer
into the Files list, or click Add to select the files in a file
browser.
When Delete allocated free space is selected, the Shredder
will also overwrite the free space that has been assigned to the
selected files.
Click Next to confirm your selection.
Deleting a Folder
Enter the complete path of the folder you wish to delete in th e
Folder box, or click Select to select the folder from a tree
view.
When Delete allocated free space is selected, the Shredder
will also delete the free space that has been assigned to the
files in the selected folder.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 97
File recovery and Destruction
Click Next to confirm your selection.
Deleting the Contents of the Recycle Bin
In this step, you can view the contents of your Recycle Bin by
clicking Show Cont ents. All files and folders in the Recycle
Bin will be deleted.
When Delete allocated free space is selected, the Shredder
will also delete the free space that has been assigned to the
files in Recycle Bin.
Click Next to confirm your selection.
Selecting the Deletion Method
How securely
you want to delete
your files?
do
In this step, you must specify how the selected files or folder
should be deleted. Select one of the two methods under
Deletion method.
Quick delete: The files will be overwritten with a single
character. The files no longer contain the original text, but
endless columns of a single letter.
Secure delete: A method that was developed by the US
Department of Defense (Regulation DoD 5220.22M) is used.
The files are overwritten with special data patterns multiple
times before deletion, thereby destroying the original con tents
so effectively that even expensive examinations of the
magnetic structure of the disk in a special laboratory cannot
recover the data.
98 TuneUp Utilities 2004
How many times
should the deletion
operation be
repeated?
File recovery and Destruction
Under Repeat the delete operation, specify how many times
you wish to have the selected deletion method repeated. The
security of the deletion can be enhanced further by increasing
the number of repetitions, but the time required will also
increase.
Click Next to start deletion. Please wait until the program is
completed. If you do not wish to delete any other files or
folders, you can close the wizard by clicking Finish.
If you wish to delete additional files or folders, click Back.
Shredding a File After Deletion
If you have already deleted a file by “normal” means, the only
way to reliably destroy it is by using a special tool that
overwrites all free space on your drives.
Tip: When you defragment a drive, any deleted files are
normally overwritten in the process and cannot be recovered
afterwards.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 99
File recovery and Destruction
TuneUp Undelete
It has happened to everyone. You delete a file accidentally,
and you can’t find it in the Recycle Bin. And you don’t have a
backup, or the one you have is months old. This means that
it’s time for some serious tools.
With TuneUp Undelete, it is usually possible to recover
deleted files and save your valuable work.
Usage
When you start TuneUp Undelete, a wizard is opened that
takes you through the recovery process step by step. First, you
must select the drives you want to search for deleted files
under Drives to be scanned. The list contains all d rives that
are available on your system.
Only select the drive on which the files that you wish to
recover were deleted. Click Next to go to the next step.
100 TuneUp Utilities 2004
It is practical to enter
one or more words
to search for, but
this is not required.
File recovery and Destruction
Enter Search String
On the next screen, the module allows you to narrow the
search to make sure that you don’t oversee your file in an
endless list of deleted files.
You can enter the name of the file in the Search criteria box.
You do not have to enter the complete file name here, a single
word is usually enough to narrow your search. Or if you can
only remember the file extension or part of the name, simply
use a wildcard such as *.doc or Picture??.jpg. You can enter
multiple search terms in the box, but you must separate them
with a semicolon.
If you can’t remember the name of the file at all, or if you
want to search for all recoverable files, simply leave the
search box empty.
TuneUp Utilities 2004 101
File recovery and Destruction
Two additional
options for
narrowing your
search down
Which files do you
want to restore?
There are two additional options that also let you narrow your
search further:
Option Description
Don’t show 0-byte files All files that contain no data whatsoever will be
Show only files in good
condition
ignored.
Makes sure that only files with a good chance of
being recovered are shown.
Click Next to begin searching for deleted files.
Search Results
TuneUp Undelete now scans all selected drives one after the
other. The progress of the search is shown in the empty
Search results box. The search may take some time,
especially on larger hard drives.
As soon as the search is completed, the module lists all
available files that match your search criteria.
102 TuneUp Utilities 2004
Loading...