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Netbooks are great, especially if you are on the move, or you’re a student, or just want to be able to browse the Internet  and be able to do some work from anywhere. And you don’t want to be carrying a big heavy laptop with you. That’s the case with me – I travel a lot and got really tired of dragging my laptop during the day and my shoulder aching in the evening!

Some people say that netbook are only for browsing the web and running lightweight applications. Of course, that’s partly true, but you can always enhance your netbook experience with a little optimization.

1. First of all, if you’re getting (or already have) a netbook with a 3-cell battery, get a second one or a 6-cell one instead. A 3-cell battery won’t last long enough, which doesn’t really go with the “on the go” idea. This is not really an optimization tip, but will save you a lot of trouble nevertheless.

2. Some netbooks are running Vista. If that’s the case with you, I’d recommend downgrading to XP. Vista is not the OS for netbooks.

3. Upgrade RAM, if your netbook has the capacity. Some of them can be upgraded to 2GB, which is not bad at all and matches some larger laptops specs.

4. Uninstall try-and-buy applications that come pre-installed on some netbooks. Most likely you will never need them and they are only demos anyway.

5. Configure your startup list. The more programs are loading on startup, the longer your netbook takes to boot. Go to Start - Run - type in msconfig – hit Enter and review your startup list.

6. Disable unnecessary services. You don’t want them to waste system resources! One way to do it is to click Start - Run - type in msconfig and hit Enter. Then go to the Services tab and disable what you don’t need. A good list of Windows services can be found here. Be careful and don’t disable any vital services. And backup first!

The easier way to disable services is to download Auslogics BoostSpeed and run Service Manager. It gives you detailed description of each service and advises you which ones are safe to disable and which ones are not.

7. Use the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup tool (Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup) to get rid of junk files. You can’t afford to waste disk space, especially if your netbook has an SSD.

8. Download free Auslogics Registry Cleaner and Auslogics Disk Defrag. Both are lightweight and will help you keep your Registry and disks in top form.

9. If you are like me and Firefox is your web browser, use small toolbar icons. Right-click on the toolbar – click Customize - a new window will open – check the Use Small Icons checkbox.

10. Another tip for Firefox users -  press F11 when you need more space. All toolbars and the status bar will disappear. You won’t have any problems if you want to access tabs – just put your cursor on top of the screen and your tabs will reappear. I found this quite handy when browsing through photos or looking at maps.

Cleaning the Windows Registry in an essential part of computer maintenance because having a clean Registry means having a fast and stable computer. A great way to get rid of Registry junk is to run Auslogics Registry Cleaner – a totally free Registry maintenance tool.

What is the Registry?

Windows Registry is a database that stores Microsoft Windows settings and options. It contains all the information for all hardware, operating system software, other software, and user settings – for example, all user profiles, the applications installed, the type of documents they create and so on.

Why Clean the Registry?

The Registry is one of the most vital and the most vulnerable to errors part of a computer. Programs access the Registry thousands of times per second and new registry entries are created whenever new software or hardware is installed. Most programs delete their entries when they are uninstalled, but some applications leave a lot of their registry keys behind. That’s how invalid entries mount up and the Registry becomes cluttered with unused and corrupted keys and references. As a result the system needs more time to access the Registry and find the entries it needs, which causes dramatic computer slow-downs.

Among other things that can lead to Registry problems are poorly written applications, incorrect program uninstalls, and bloated browser cache. All this can cause system errors, crashes, and failures. That’s why it’s extremely important to keep the Registry in top form by regularly cleaning all the junk and fixing all the errors that accumulate over time.

How to Clean the Registry?

Cleaning the Registry is now as simple as opening a Word document. All you have to do is launch Auslogics Registry Cleaner, select the categories to scan, scan the Registry for errors, and fix them. Of course you could do it the hard way and delete what you think is not needed manually, but that is really dangerous, because you can delete files that are needed by the system to boot and work properly.

Backup First!

Always backup your Registry before cleaning it. That way you will never have to worry about software accidentally deleting a valid entry. Use the Restore changes radio button in Auslogics Registry Cleaner to undo any changes made by the program. Also you can backup your Registry manually. Read this article to learn how to do it on an XP system.

Clean the Registry regularly – for example once a month – and your computer will run fast and stable.