Published Documents
| Document Title |
Date |
Download |
Usage Share of Windows Operating Systems: September 2009
This statistical analysis presents iolo Labs findings on the usage share of Windows operating systems. The report details the percentage of the global Windows market held by Windows 7, Windows Vista, Window XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows NT 4. |
09/25/2009 |
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Windows Startup: Observed Changes Over Time
This study measures whether startup time lengthens over a period of time and, if so, what factors may contribute to this impact. The study quantifies changes over time by observing machines starting from a brand-new PC to one that is two years old. Researchers found that over a two-year period, Windows startup time more than doubled, with an increase of 267%, the number of unnecessary startup tasks increased, from zero to 12, and the impact of unnecessary startup tasks sharply increased, accounting for 89% of the CPU usage. |
07/10/2009 |
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The Impact of Time/Usage and PC Tune-Up Software on Selected PC Performance Factors
This study was designed to measure whether PC performance does worsen over time and whether PC tune-up software has an impact on such performance degradation. For each of the tested indicators of performance, researchers found significant degradations over time and found that a PC tune-up is effective in reversing this performance degradation. |
07/10/2009 |
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PC Responsiveness: Observed Changes Over Time
This study measures whether startup time lengthens over a period of time and, if so, what factors may contribute to this impact. The study quantifies changes over time by observing machines starting from a brand-new PC to one that is two years old.
Researchers found that over a two-year period, Windows startup time more than doubled, with an increase of 267%, the number of unnecessary startup tasks increased, from zero to 12, and the impact of unnecessary startup tasks sharply increased, accounting for 89% of the CPU usage. |
07/10/2009 |
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Registry Optimization: Beyond Registry Cleaning
This white paper describes the importance of the registry, explains how the registry becomes corrupted over time, and provides guidance on the best approaches for safely fixing and optimizing the registry. Readers will better understand how the registry becomes corrupted and bloated and how they can keep this critical component operating at its peak. |
07/07/2009 |
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Clean Up Your Startup, Speed Up Your PC
This white paper explains how the programs that start with Windows can slow down the boot process, describes how unwanted programs add themselves to startup, and describes different approaches for removing unneeded programs from startup. Readers will better understand how their Windows startup can become cluttered and how they can keep this processing streamlined. |
07/07/2009 |
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0-month: a type of machine state.
Specifically, a PC simulated by iolo Labs to represent
the typical state of a computer that is either brand-new or recently had its
operating system installed. A 0-month PC is also referred to as clean state
or zero state.
'X'-[unit of time] PC: a type of machine state, where 'X' is replaced with
a certain number. Specifically, a PC simulated by iolo
Labs to represent the typical state of a computer that has been used for a
certain number of months. The number of months used varies by iolo Labs study.
clogged PC:
a computer with unneeded files, errors, and obsolete or corrupted settings that
cause one or more of its tracked performance traits to be reduced by at least
25%. See also un-tuned PC.
CPU idle usage: the percentage amount of
CPU usage that occurs
when a computer is idle. During idle time, a PC may be
running desired actions, such as a virus scan, but a consistently high
percentage indicates an excessive number of background processes are running and
thereby reducing the resources available to the PC. For this reason, iolo Labs
uses CPU idle usage as an indicator of PC performance.
machine class: a category of both PC and PC user that is used by iolo Labs for testing performance. Each class is defined based on user
qualities (usage behavior and intended use) and machine qualities (operating
system and other configuration details). Currently, iolo Labs defines five
different machine/user classes; refer to refer to machine class for a
detailed explanation of each.
Read more...