Running Windows Efficiently

By setting your operating system to run more efficiently, you not only increase the amount of system resources available for your applications, but also ensure that these applications run more efficiently. The following describes how to optimize the hard drive and virtual memory settings, remove temporary files, and disable unnecessary applications running in the background.

Configuring the Windows Virtual Memory

The Windows Virtual Memory allows your system to use hard disk space to store information which is usually stored in the Random-Access Memory (RAM). Since it takes longer to access information on the hard disk than it does to access information on the Random-Access Memory, using a portion of the hard disk as virtual memory can decrease the production performance. In addition, Photoshop cannot use the hard disk space that the system uses for the virtual memory for its scratch disk files, which are used to store image information as you work.

Setting the virtual memory settings prevents the Photoshop scratch disk files from competing for the same space as the virtual memory, especially if you set the virtual memory settings to a different hard drive than the primary scratch disk.

Note: Make sure to use a hard drive with enough free, uncompressed space for both types of virtual memory.

To configure the Paging File Size

  1. Close all running applications.

  2. Go to Start > Control Panel > System, and perform the following:

    • Go to the Advanced tab and in the Performance section, select Settings.

    • Go to the Advanced tab and in the Virtual Memory section, click Change.

    • In the Drive list, select a hard drive that has at least twice the amount of your server's installed RAM. For example, if your server has 4 GB of RAM, select a hard drive that has at least 8 GB of free hard drive space. For better performance, choose a hard drive which is not used for the Photoshop scratch disk(s) (For more information on setting scratch disks, see Assigning Scratch Disks).

    • In the Paging file size for selected drive section, select Custom size, and in the Initial Size text box, enter a value that equals to twice the amount of your server's installed RAM.

    • In the Maximum Size text box, enter a value that equals to four times the amount of your server's installed RAM.

    • Click Set and then click OK.

      A window appears asking you if you want to restart Windows.

    • Click Yes.

The following are recommended for better performance:

  • Place the Paging File on a separate, empty, de-fragmented hard disk.

  • Use different disks for windows paging and for Photoshop scratch files.

Disabling Applications Running in the Background

Upon startup, Windows uses a portion of the installed RAM. Photoshop competes with other running programs for the remainder of that RAM. You may not be aware of some programs which are launched automatically upon startup and run in the background. Therefore, verify that no programs are launched automatically when Windows starts by performing the following:

To remove programs from the Startup folder:

  1. Launch Windows Explorer.

  2. Move all icons and shortcuts from the following location to another folder:

    [Operating system drive letter]/Documents and Settings/[user profile]/Start Menu/Programs/Startup

To disable startup items:

  1. Go to Start > Run.

  2. In the Open text box, enter msconfig and click OK.

  3. Go to the Startup tab, and select Disable All.

  4. Select any startup items that are essential for the uProduce system.

  5. Click OK and restart Windows.

Deleting Temporary Files

When an application is running, a copy of the application data file is stored temporarily on the hard drive. Many applications create *.tmp files and some delete them when closing the application. However, crashes or system errors may prevent an application from deleting these files. These files are accumulated through time and take up disk space. Therefore, it is recommended as part of the periodic server maintenance, to close all running programs and remove all temporary files.

To delete temporary files:

  1. Go to Start > Search > All Files and Folders.

  2. In the File name text box, enter *.tmp.

  3. In the Look In drop-down menu, select Local Hard Drives and click Search.

  4. After the search results appear, go to Edit > Select All.

  5. Go to File > Delete.

  6. Click Yes to move the files to the Recycle Bin.

  7. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Optimizing and Defragmenting Hard Disks

Through time, the computer's hard disk may become damaged or fragmented (unavailable in a large contiguous block). If there is not enough contiguous space for the system to save a file, it saves segments of that file on different locations of the disk. This increases the duration of time it takes for an application to read a fragmented file.

To optimize and defragment the hard disk:

  1. Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter.

  2. Select the partition that you wish to defrag and click Defragment.

To schedule a monthly defragmentation:

The Disk Defragment utility option in Windows 2003 or Windows XP does not provide a solution on how to defragment all the hard drives at the same time. Since in most cases there are at least 2 hard drives in the hard disk (C and D) that we wish to defrag, it is recommended to create a batch file which includes the defrag commands for each hard drive and launch it automatically by creating a scheduled task and running it once a month.

  1. Go to Start > Run.

  2. In the Open text box, enter notepad and click OK.

  3. Verify that Word Wrap is enabled in Notepad:

    Go to Format and select Word Wrap.

  4. Set the commands to defrag the hard drives:

    defrag c: -f

    defrag d: -f

    Repeat this step for each hard drive on the server. For example, if an E hard drive also exists on the server, enter "defrag e: -f" in the next line:

    defrag c: -f

    defrag d: -f

    defrag e: -f

  5. Save the file as a batch file:

    • In Notepad, go to File > Save As.

    • Name the file defrag_hd.bat and save it on c:\.

  6. Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks.

    The Scheduled Tasks window appears.

  7. Double-click the Add Scheduled Task button.

    The Scheduled Task Wizard window appears.

  8. Click Next.

  9. Click the Browse button to select the program you wish to run.

  10. In the File name text box, enter c:\defrag_hd.bat and click Open.

  11. In Perform this task, click Monthly.

  12. Click Next.

  13. Set the desired time and day of the week to defragment the hard drive and click Next.

    For optimal results, select a time when the computer is operating but not in use. It is recommended to set the Start time to 02:00 AM every first Sunday.

  14. Enter the password in the Enter the password text box.

  15. Confirm the password by entering the password in the Confirm password text box and click Next.

  16. Click Finish.

Windows will defragment your hard drive at the time that you have scheduled. During the defragmentation, a command prompt will be displayed. If you are using the computer when the window is displayed, ignore it. The window will close itself automatically when the defragmentation is complete.

Hardware Performances

Processor Speed

The speed of Photoshop is limited by the speed of the computer's processor, or CPU (Central Processing Unit). Since Photoshop manipulates large quantities of data and performs many calculations, its speed depends on the speed of the CPU.

Installed RAM

In order to work with an image, Photoshop requires that the available Random-Access Memory (RAM) will be at least three to five times bigger than the file size of the image. If Photoshop has insufficient memory, it uses the hard-disk space (scratch disk) to process information. Since accessing the information on the RAM is faster than accessing information on the hard disk, Photoshop operates faster when it can process all or most of the image information on the RAM, without using the scratch disk. Therefore, it is recommended to allocate enough RAM to Photoshop to accommodate the largest image file you work with.

Hard Disks

Photoshop reads and writes image information while working on an image. Therefore, the faster the access speed of the hard disk or the scratch disk containing the image, the faster Photoshop can process the image information. To improve Photoshop's performance, work with image files that are saved on a hard disk with fast access speed, such as an internal hard disk, rather than those with slow access speeds, such as a network server (hard disk accessed over a network) or a removable media (for example, Zip disks). A removable media often has a slow access speed and is more easily damaged than a non-removable disk.