Ubuntu Tweaks

We have seen a lot of Windows Tweaks, but what about Ubuntu, here are some of the manual Ubuntu Tweaks that you can do to give your Ubuntu some additional boost in speed and performance.

Utilizing multiple cores

Ubuntu is not configured to make use of multiple cores, you have to activate them manually. Click on Applications => Accessories => Terminal

Type in the following command

sudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc

A text editor will open. Search for the word “CONCURRENCY” by pressing CTRL + F. The entry to modify is CONCURRENCY=none. Change it to CONCURRENCY=shell

Preloading Of Applications

There is an application that will pre-start up some of the programs that you use all the time. This will save you from having to wait for the application to load from zero. It will spring to live just like you have not closed the application at all.

Using the Terminal, type this command

Sudo apt-get install preload

Turning Off Appearance Effects

Even though those Compiz effects might be very attractive, you may want to turn them off to get additional speed boost in the overall experience.

Go to System => Preferences => Appearance

Click on Visual Effects tab and select “None”.

Reduce the number of startup programs

In Windows we use msconfig to take off programs that do not need to be running all the time. Similarly in Ubuntu there is also such a feature. Go to System => Preferences => Startup applications. You can choose to remove those that you do not use at all. All these programs can be started on its own manually without effecting the operating system.

Remove unused system services

Most operating systems come with a bunch of drivers and services for compatible hardware. Ubuntu also has lots of these, but more then often they are not used and are wasting resources. We can remove them from the boot up to speed things up a bit. You will need to install the BootUp Manager.

Type this command in the Terminal

Sudo aptitude install bum

Once you have installed that, you can go to System => Administration =>Boot Up Manager. There are quite a few that can be removed if you do not use them.

• saned – For scanners
• cups   –  For Printers
• dns-clean –  For Dial up internet
• samba –  For connecting to a Windows network
• Winbind –  Which is only used if you need to use “samba”.