Tips to Optimize Warcraft III Loading Time (Not Maps)

[Fluffball]

Well, until recently my computer was taking it's time to load Warcraft, it was taking 4-5 minutes to load, which was very annoying. So I went and thought about what I could do to truly optimize the loading time it takes to load Warcraft and here's a couple of tips I thought of

1.) I deleted ALL the custom maps I had except for the ones I really liked. Freed up about 500MB of space. (My friend has 3-4 GB of custom maps apparently)
2.) I downloaded, installed Speed Up My PC 3 (by UniBlue, a Microsoft reccomended program creator)
3.) Make Sure your Anti-Virus Program isn't updating, or Exit it (exiting isn't reccommended as it leaves you open to viruses. I'm pretty sure you can't get viruses from warcraft, but if you're
4.) End ALL Unneccesary processes (WINDOWS, CTRL, ALT, Delete to bring up the Task Manager) You can tell which ones you don't need by making it go down the list by User, then deleting all the proccesses you don't recognize. (Sometimes process names are different to the file names) Don't do this unless you're sure which process you're trying to end.
5.) Defrag your computer. (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragment on Windows XP
6.) Set you're Warcraft 3 resolution to your desktop resolution, then set your screen to the same resolution
​

After doing this step, it ended up taking about 4-5 seconds to load Warcraft. This also helps if you try to host a game and it takes 2-3 minutes to bring up the list.

Hope I helped

 

[Fluffball]

Bump

 

[UndeadDragon]

Hmm... I am not sure about Regcure. I don't like anything that messes with registries, with the exeption of CCleaner, but they tend to do more harm than good. The custom map deletion should work though.

 

[Fluffball]

RegCure is good because you can choose what it messes with.

 

[Fluffball]

Bump

 

[Fluffball]

Bump.

Anyone else tried it?

 

[South-Titan]

Don't bump a topic twice in one day.

But you're statements have probably helped some people.

+rep out of kindness.

 

[Oninuva]

Um.. 4-5 minutes

Wat kind of computer are u using.. lol

 

[Fluffball]

Woops, I didn't realise i double bumped. Thanks for +rep.

Well it was about 4-5 minutes, and that was because I had so much stuff slowing it down. And yes, the computer is a little bit old (2004)

 

[Fluffball]

Bump

 

[Chocobo]

prove that the registry cleaning did really increase your computer speed (i don't see how some keys deleted will increase speed of programs, it would have to do with VM then = not good).

mainly it depends on the VM already use
if it is high = your program will run slower except it stills have a trace in ram
if it is low = your program will run faster since it can get allocated in ram

it doesn't take 2-3 min to show up a map list (for instance of 1000 maps)
it takes about 4 seconds on a 950mhz cpu (for ~2000 maps at same time)

 

[Fluffball]

Program Shortcuts
Incorrect program shortcuts can cause headaches! They could cause applications to take longer to launch or even stop them from working at all.

RegCure removes these

Invalid Class Keys and Shell Extensions
Non-working class keys and shell extensions can seriously slow down your PC and cause frustrations.

and these

Removes Invalid DLL Entries
Have you been to “DLL hell?” If not, you are lucky. Invalid entries in the dynamic link library section of the registry can cause frustrating application failures.

and these

Organizing Windows Startup Items
By letting RegCure manage your Startup items, you can easily improve the startup speed of our PC.

And it does this.

It's a little more than just invalid key entries, but all of it's features could've easily been overlooked.. I only had about 300 maps thankfully, but it still took atleast a minute to show up the list, I don't want to think of how much it could take to load ~2000 maps . My computer is a bit more than 950 Mhz I know that, just how much i really do have I don't know.

Whats VM by the way?

 

[Chocobo]

>program shortcuts
why would you even have to move the application?

>invalid class keys
if the class key is invalid, windows usually tries to put a correct value (which doesn't take more than 0 second usually)

>invalid dll
same thing althrough you can simply modify/disable them yourself

>organizing windows startup items
better closing unneeded services instead of doing that (althrough it is not recommanded unless you know what each service is associated to what)

The Windows registry is a massive database of almost every setting imaginable for every application on your system. It only makes sense that cleaning it out would improve performance, right? Sadly it's just a marketing gimmick designed to sell registry cleaner products, as the reality is quite different... registry cleaners only remove a very small number of unused keys, which won't help performance when you consider the hundreds of thousands of keys in the registry.

This isn't to say they are completely useless, of course. I'd still recommend cleaning the registry when you are trying to troubleshoot a problem caused by uninstalling buggy software that leaves entries behind, but even then you should be very careful to use a reputable application like previously mentioned CCleaner and review the entries before deleting anything.

Ed Bott weighs in with a stronger opinion:

I’d go a step further: Don’t run registry cleaner programs, period. I won’t go so far as to call them snake oil, but what possible performance benefits can you get from “cleaning up” unneeded registry entries and eliminating a few stray DLL files?

if your tool delete something that is associated with windows or a program it would usually cause a bug. (mostly)


Autoruns > any registry cleaner
registry cleaner : mostly harms the registry than cleaning it (I don't see the difference if you have 1000000 unneeded keys in registry against 0 unneeded keys in registry, there won't be any difference since they are not even loaded)

VM = not Vram and not RAM = Virtual Memory

 

[Fluffball]

Well, you do have a point there. I will remove RegCure from the list.

If you have any other tips to truly optimize, just tell me and i can add it to the list.

 

[Fluffball]

Bump

(Added Speed Up My PC 3 to the list.)

 

[captainrads]

And yes, the computer is a little bit old (2004)

Bah, you think that's old? My compy is probably from before 2000, or somewhere around that time. It's FUCKING OLD and it takes ten minutes to start up, if the internet's not connected. With internet connected, it takes like ten to twenty more minutes to start because of shit like Norton which "updates virus protection" every goddamn time I start the computer...I hate my computer, I really need a better one...does WC work on most laptops(like a Macbook)? I'm probably getting one of those when I ship out to college next year, and I'd like to take WC with me for those days when I'm not getting smashed or studying while jacked up on adderol.

Aside from that little story, its obvious my computer is slow and therefore doesn't usually load WC maps very fast. I can usually get it to go at a decent speed depending on what game I play, and if the computer wants to go fast(terminator, man). I usually stick to a few select maps and clear out the custom map directory every once in awhile. Also, I make sure that the computer isn't running processes. It's got a little red light that goes on when it does that, so I wait until the red light is gone.

Spyware programs might help too, but not antivirus...slows the shit outta the computer.

I apologize for this rambling message, I'm trying to study but I'm just so bored...

 

[Fluffball]

Ok, I'll add Update or Exit Anti-virus to the list. Though it's not reccomended as exiting it leaves you open to viruses.

@Joker(Div) ok, maybe I exxagerated a bit, it might be 2-3 minutes, and the only program that I used to clean it was CleanUp! and that was only for extra space for installing WoW

 

[Joker(Div)]

If it takes you 4-5 minutes to open up warcraft with a 4 year old computer, you have some serious issues going on with that comp...

 

[Darthfett]

1) I don't think this speeds up the start time. I believe it only speeds up the game when you load the custom games list (when you go to single player to select a game or online when you go to host a game).

3) You should never have an anti-virus program up while you're playing Warcraft unless you're also surfing the web while you play. I've never even heard of anyone getting a virus from Warcraft III. You can always open it again after you quit playing.

4) You probably shouldn't follow this if you've never looked at the processes before. You can screw up the computer if you end the wrong process. A good way to do this is to look up each process on google, to see if it's something vital for the computer to run, or if it's some program you downloaded (like iTunes or Windows Media Player, or some other resource hogging program).

I look up processes often, and now I know which processes the computer needs to run, and which it does not.

I can't say much about the programs, since I've never really needed a speed boost (since I got my new computer last Christmas).

Another good recommendation would be to either put your screen at the same resolution as Warcraft III, or to switch WCIII to windowed mode.

It's also a good idea to defrag your computer every once in a while, to get rid of some of the junk.

 

[rover2341]

What i like to do, Is add a folder under download called Sorted Maps, and then put them in folders like TD, Dota, KodoTag ect. and sort my maps every few months. That way the games i am playing currently are always there but the others i can always look up.