PC Pitstop Optimize performs four main functions: removes “junk” files to free up disk space; adjusts Internet settings for better performance; removes invalid registry keys; and adjusts several registry settings that can improve overall performance. Here are answers to common questions about the application.
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- What are the system requirements?
- What files does it delete?
- What system settings does it change?
- Can I undo the changes it makes?
- What if I have a technical question?
What are the system requirements?
| Operating System: | Microsoft Windows Vista, XP, 2000, ME, 98 |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 100MHz or greater |
| Memory: | 64 MB or greater |
| Hard Disk: | Need 10 MB or more of free space |
| Video: | Super VGA, 15-inch monitor, 800×600 resolution |
What files does it delete?
Windows often forgets to clean up many files that are no longer needed by the system. The space taken up by these files can clog your disk and cause slower disk access. These files are in three major categories:
- Recycle Bin. Files are not actually removed from the drive when you delete them with Explorer. Instead, the files are moved to the Recycle Bin where you can retrieve them if you later decide that you should not have deleted them. Optimize empties your Recycle Bin to reclaim this disk space.
- Internet Cache. Internet Explorer creates temporary files that are not needed after you finished surfing. These files can take up large amounts of space and should be removed periodically. Although you can clear the cache in Internet Explorer, Optimize uses a more thorough method that deletes files left behind by IE.
- Temporary Files. Windows and applications create various temporary files that are not needed after the application exits or Windows is shut down. In many cases, however, the applications do not always clean up after themselves.
After scanning your system, Optimize gives you the option to review the files that it found and to select which files should be deleted.
What system settings does it change?
Optimize has three parts that changes your system registry, internet optimization, registry cleaning, and system performance optimization. The settings changed in the internet optimization part of the application are set according to your connection type. Settings that may be changed for Internet optimization include:
| Maximum Transfer Unit(MTU) | The maximum packet size that is sent and received over the internet. |
|---|---|
| TCP Receiving Window Size | The amount of data that is received before confirmation. |
| Default Time to Live | The length of time the data is kept before being discarded. |
| Automatic MTU Detection | Allows your system to identify the MTU size. |
| Blackhole Detection | Checks if connected systems supports Automatic MTU discovery. |
| Large TCP Windows | Support for larger amounts of data before confirmation of received. |
| Fast retransmission and recovery | Allows for a fast transaction recovery after lost packets. |
| Selective Acknowledgements | Allows for recovery without re-sending existing data after lost packets. |
| Number of Allowed Simultaneous HTTP Connections | Number of open connections to a single web site at one time. |
Invalid keys that are removed from the registry cleaning part of the application are entries in the registry containing information about COM and ActiveX objects. These objects are parts of programs and when you remove the programs these keys sometimes still exist. Optimize safely removes these keys if the COM object no longer exists. Areas of the register we look for the invalid keys are:
- Invalid Class IDs(CLSID)
- Invalid Program Identifiers (ProgID)
- Invalid Type Libraries (TypeLib)
- Invalid Interfaces
The performance section of the application changes some registry settings that help get the most out of your PC. These setting include:
| DisablePagingExecutive | Specifies whether user-mode and kernel-mode drivers and kernel-mode system code can be paged to disk when not in use. |
|---|---|
| ContigFileAllocSize | The size of the contiguous space that is used for when allocating disk space |
| NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate | Determines whether NTFS updates the last-access timestamp on each directory when it lists the directories on an NTFS volume. |
| DisableScreenSaver | Turns the system screen saver on or off. |
| AlwaysUnloadDll | Determines whether Windows cache’s system DLLs. |
| DisablePagingExecutive | Specifies whether user-mode and kernel-mode drivers and kernel-mode system code can be paged to disk when not in use. |
| LargeSystemCache | Determines whether the system maintains a standard size or a large size file system cache, and influences how often the system writes changed pages to disk. |
Can I undo the changes it makes?
The hard disk clean-up permanently removes unnecessary files and cannot be undone. All of the other utilities in Optimize can be completely reversed. The very first action Optimize does before making any registry setting changes is to make a backup of these settings. When you run Optimize it will give you the option to restore the registry settings back to any point before the application was run.
What if I have a technical question?
For any technical questions–before or after you purchase the product–please use our Optimize forum. That way, you can get quick answers and share your questions with other users. If you have a computer issue unrelated to Optimize, please use our support forums.