Hack Windows Vista Experience ratings

Windows Vista ships with a tool called the Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) which measures the performance  characteristics and capabilities of your computer hardware and aggregates it as the Windows Vista Experience Index (WEI). The Windows Experience Index consists of 5 separate sub scores - Processor, Memory (RAM), Graphics, Gaming  Graphics and Hard Disk. The base score is the lowest of all the sub scores and it roughly defines the hardware potential of a computer system.However with many of dissatisfied with the scores we get,geeks around decided to hack it.The concept behind this hack is that WinSAT calculated system score is stored in a XML file which lies deep in Windows directory and by changing the scores there,you can beef up your Windows Experience Base Score and make your friends gawk at it :)

Here is how to do that -

• Open an Explorer Window and navigate to

C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore

and look for the latest XML file [look in the name for dates]

• Right-click the file and select Properties.
• Click the Security tab.
• Click the Edit button.
• When the UAC prompt appears, click Continue.
• Click the Add button.
• Input your username and click OK.
• Select the username and then click the Full Control checkbox in the Allow column and Click OK.
• When the Security prompt appears, click Yes.
• After taking full ownership, open the XML with WordPad. ONLY OPEN WITH WORDPAD. It will look messy if you open it with NotePad.

 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 
x.x 

• Then change the numbers between the < > with anything you like then save it. Open up

Control Panel  –>  Performance Information and Tools
and voila! Your WEI scores have changed!

Before

After

Posted in: Hacking,tips n tricks,Windows