Starting up Windows XP with 500MB of memory already used means reformatting and reinstalling Windows XP. And so I spent the week reinstalling and fine-tuning many programs.
It seems that every time I reinstall XP, I learn something new. This time, I got to know some programs that I knew before but obviously did not know enough about.
WinRAR
I’ve always used WinRAR, despite the fact that it’s a trial. This time though, it caused me hours trying to debug its problems. Under certain conditions, installing WinRAR on Windows XP will create a shell bug in explorer.exe, causing it to crash upon system shutdown or user logoff. It wasn’t until I created system restore point after every installation of a program that I realized that WinRAR is a piece of crap.
7-Zip
Unlike WinRAR, 7-Zip is open source, free, and bug free. The latter two of those three features made me jump up and down. It works just like WinRAR and caused me no trouble switching over. This will stay on my list for the next reinstall of XP.
Winamp
I switched to iTunes about a year ago because it seemed to be the trend (and because of my iPod). But I decided to give Winamp a try — smartest decision of the day. Winamp has a 4MB installation, as opposed to the 70MB installation of iTunes. Winamp uses about 10MB of memory, while iTunes uses up to 100MB. Winamp is fast, iTunes interface is really laggy. Best of all, Winamp supports the iPod too, with the iPod support plugin.
Notepad++
Maybe I’ve been under the rock for the last two years, but I’ve been using Notepad++ 3.0 and never updated. The newest version is 3.5 and damn it shines on my monitor! The UI has improved so much that I doubt I’ll install Dreamweaver. The icons have changed from the ugly oldschool 8-bit bitmaps to shiny gradient PNG icons. Maybe it was because my previous Windows was getting really bloated, but this new version seems to launch really quickly — as fast as Windows Notepad itself.
I spent a couple of minutes checking through the options in each program too. Now with a working computer, the start-up memory usage is less than 110MB!
Notepad++ is definitely da bomb. I use Winamp to listen to stream their media (great selection of music on there), but for mp3s I prefer iTunes…it just looks so freaking cool.
Wow, you really cleaned up your computer there. Sorry if my comment’s a little sparse, I just finished a computer science midterm a couple of hours ago, and computers is the last thing I want to think about. XD
Personally I hate WinRAR. Why can’t we all use Winzip or something else like that? I’ll have to check out 7-zip.
I still can’t believe you use Winamp. What happened to good old Windows Media Player? It’s fast and nice and it’s a really simple interface. It’s always been a favourite of mine.
Is the new notepad really that good? Coolies. I’m gonna take a look. Dreamweaver’s a piece of crap in my opinion. Good old notepad is all you need. XD
Wow. That’s a huge reduction though. Congrats on speeding up the computer. :P
*head implodes from spending the day cramming for comp sci, writing comp sci, and then mentioning something about computers after the fact*
Hey,
The only program above that I use is WinRAR. I just use WMP for music. Anyways, what security (anti-virus, anti-spyware…) software do you use? I’m planning to install Spybot S&D, Lavasoft SE, and ZONE ALARM for my reformatted computer.
I think our stories of time and again reformatting the hard disk is very much similar. Due to some or the other reason, I have to reformat my disk. The last time I reformatted the hard disk, to end the regime of Linuxes from my PC and give home to only Windows xp, I also came across certain realities about certain softwares(when reinstalled these), like the memory requirements of iTunes and Winamp, as you have mentioned in your post. Nevertheless, now my PC is stable and working great with XP.
Dreamweaver swallows lots of resources and takes a long time to start up. Notepad++ is definitely a good option to replace it!
As for music, like what Kris said, I’m happy with Windows Media Player. :)
Wow.. I actually switched from Winamp to iTunes. I still miss the Winamp interface and some of the features like playlist-to-html but overall I still prefer iTunes because it can organize the songs unlike Winamp. :)
Jarrod, no anti-virus for me. I’m behind a router and I know what sites to visit and what not to visit.
Wow I didn’t know so many people use WMP. I’m just really used to the Winamp interface ever since Winamp 2.
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