Customizing Windows system tools can significantly improve efficiency, reduce clutter, and streamline daily maintenance tasks. Whether you are a casual home user or a seasoned IT professional, knowing how to tailor your system tools will save time and help you maintain a cleaner, faster PC. Below are seven effective strategies, explained with step-by-step instructions for both beginners and advanced users.
1. Personalizing the Task Manager for Faster Troubleshooting
Beginner Level:
1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Click “More details” at the bottom if you see only the simplified view.
3. Right-click the column headers in the Processes tab and select the data columns you want to monitor, such as CPU, Memory, or GPU usage.
4. Resize columns by dragging the borders so that the most important data is always visible.
Advanced Level:
1. In Task Manager, go to the “Startup” tab.
2. Right-click any unnecessary program and select “Disable” to improve boot speed.
3. Use the “Services” tab to open the Services console for direct control over background services.
2. Customizing System Configuration (msconfig) for Optimized Startup
Beginner Level:
1. Press Windows + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
2. In the “General” tab, select “Selective startup” to manually control what loads at boot.
3. In the “Startup” tab, click “Open Task Manager” to disable unneeded items.
Advanced Level:
1. In msconfig, go to the “Boot” tab and enable “No GUI boot” for slightly faster startup.
2. Set a timeout of 5 seconds or less in the Boot options to reduce waiting time during boot selection.
3. Streamlining Disk Cleanup with Custom Settings
Beginner Level:
1. Open the Start menu, type “Disk Cleanup” and launch it.
2. Select the drive to clean and check boxes for temporary files, thumbnails, and recycle bin contents.
Advanced Level:
1. Use the “Clean up system files” button to include Windows Update cleanup and system cache.
2. Create a shortcut to Disk Cleanup with predefined parameters using the command:
cleanmgr /sagerun:1
Configure it with cleanmgr /sageset:1 beforehand to define exactly what gets deleted.
4. Tailoring Computer Management Console for Quick Access
Beginner Level:
1. Press Windows + X and select “Computer Management.”
2. Familiarize yourself with key sections like “Disk Management” and “Event Viewer.”
Advanced Level:
1. Use the “Custom Views” option in Event Viewer to create a filter for specific logs, such as system errors in the last 7 days.
2. In “Disk Management,” assign consistent drive letters to external drives for easier script automation.
5. Using Glary Utilities for All-in-One System Tool Customization
Beginner Level:
1. Download and install Glary Utilities.
2. Open the “1-Click Maintenance” module to clean junk files, fix registry issues, and optimize startup programs automatically.
Advanced Level:
1. Use the “Advanced Tools” menu to customize startup management, memory optimization, and disk defragmentation in one place.
2. Create a scheduled task within Glary Utilities for weekly automated maintenance, ensuring consistent system performance without manual intervention.
6. Setting Up Custom Power Plans for Performance or Efficiency
Beginner Level:
1. Press Windows + S, type “Power & Sleep settings,” and click “Additional power settings.”
2. Choose “High Performance” for speed or “Power Saver” for battery life.
Advanced Level:
1. Create a custom plan by selecting “Create a power plan” and adjusting advanced settings such as processor state, display timeout, and USB selective suspend.
2. Use the command prompt with powercfg commands to export, import, and tweak power plans programmatically.
7. Organizing Windows Administrative Tools for Quicker Navigation
Beginner Level:
1. Press Windows + S, type “Windows Tools,” and explore utilities like Resource Monitor, Performance Monitor, and Services.
2. Right-click frequently used tools and pin them to the Start menu or taskbar.
Advanced Level:
1. Create a dedicated folder on your desktop with shortcuts to your most-used administrative tools.
2. Assign keyboard shortcuts to these tools by right-clicking the shortcut, selecting Properties, and setting a Shortcut key.
By customizing system tools in these ways, Windows becomes more efficient, easier to navigate, and better suited to your personal workflow. Beginners can focus on basic configurations for immediate improvements, while advanced users can dig deeper into automation and optimization, leveraging native tools along with powerful utilities like Glary Utilities for comprehensive results.