JLeary1:Sorry to argue with a fellow Aussie, Shrude, but
Naw, never an argument, but a discussion with differing opinions it may be.
JLeary1: cleaning the registry is not needed for system optimisation, despite the myriad of websites saying the opposite.
Well I disagree with this.
If a user is installing and uninstalling programs, deleting files and shortcuts on the system, shutting down incorrectly, etc etc then the registry is affected. In a lot of cases programs are written that work well in practice but dont clean themselves up properly, this could be because they have integrated in with other programs or simply bad authoring.
Subsequently the registry searches for all these orphaned files or parameters not only on boot but quite often on simple click commands, if related programs are still in the systray or somehow still in the shell.
I would suggest a registry clean every month for a heavy user, maybe once every 6 months for someone who just does the same thing repetitively on their machine.
& in the latter occurrence possibly not a crucial task.
You have spelt out some nice points as well, that every Windows user should be looking at whether they are a WGT gamer or not.
However this isn't the place for tutorial on these, simply do your research on how to.
JLeary1: *running services.msc and disabling or setting to manual all unneccesary services
I think this is probably the singularly most important thing for any user and especially for WGT the easiest way of checking these is with MSCONFIG. EXE which also gives an ability for the layman to simply check everything that starts with Windows (Systray)
All the crap i see loaded up on peoples machines running all the time that arent needed is sometimes so excessive there is no memory left for simply functions.
This can be anything from audio software, to printer monitors and adobe PDF updaters.
JLeary1: *set automatic updates to "Notify to download/install"
Again, something often overlooked but also important to freeing up the RAM. It might be convenient for programs to start automatically and do their thing (windows update) but more often than not, problems can occur.
JLeary1: *disable system restore, disable remote assistance
Hmmmmm not too sure about this one. Although toomany users use sytem restore too many times , i thin it is a good service to maintain as a last resort for the average user.
Remote assistance on the other hand really depends on wether you feel you can fix most things yourself or if you love to get on the windows help line and fiddle with their brain.
JLeary1: But the reality is that if you have done all that, have a good computer, the 3 biggest variables that are responsible for meter smoothness, in no hard order, are:
1. Wgt
2. Browser and browser config
3. Flash and flash version
4. Internet speed - network at your end or wgt's network load
And yet.... these options are what most rely on and insist should be providing their smooth meter without any of the considerations above.
Personally right now as of today - (touch wood)- i'm not getting any meter issues. Dont usually either. Maybe one in 50 swings, that are minimal. I dont get the huge speedups and great pauses I used to get when I first appeared here.
Tell you the truth , i havent noticed the blinking ball either... I will have to pay more attention!
But I am annoyed at the rest, camera flips and views and everything else.
Mostly annoyed with the recurring inability for WGT to 'get it right' & provide their updates without all the glitches. Each time. Every time.