Speed Up Windows XP - Tips for people who still prefer XP

12 simple ways to increase the performance of Windows XP

1. Disable file indexing.
   This is a tiny service that uses a great deal of RAM and induces much disk thrashing. Your system instantly becomes more responsive. Here's how: First, doubleclick the My Computer icon. Then, right-click on the C: Drive, then hit Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK.
   
   
2. Service Pack 3
   One of the simplest ways to speed up your system is to install Service Pack 3. Some people report up to 10% performance improvements as a result.
   
   
3. Clean Up Junk files
   Windows stores a lot of temporary files that can be safely cleaned out once a month or so. This is also good to do before running virus or spyware scans, as it clears many things out of your system that would need to be scanned.
   
   Tip: Download PC Washer, clean up all the junk files in one click.
   
   
4. Optimise Display Settings.
   Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. Kill unnecessary animations, and nix active desktop. Here's how to do it:
   1. Go to Start
   2. Click Settings
   3. Click Control Panel
   4. Click System
   5. Click Advanced tab
   6. In the Performance tab click Settings
   7. Leave only the following ticked:
      1. Show shadows under menus
      2. Show shadows under mouse pointer
      3. Show translucent selection rectangle
      4. Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
      5. Use visual styles on windows and buttons
   Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the stability of the computer - only its responsiveness.
   
   
5. NTFS instead of FAT32
   Make certain that your hard drive is using the NTFS file system. To convert to NTFS, use the following steps:
   • Command Prompt
   • Type “convert [drive letter]: /fs:ntfs” (i.e. “convert C: fs/ntfs”)
   • Agree to dismount drive
   
   
6. Remove Fonts for Speed
   Zap extra fonts fonts installed on their computer. Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of system resources. The more fonts they have, the more lethargic the system will become. Anything over 300 fonts tax the system and slow down load times- especially graphic apps. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.
   1. Open Control Panel
   2. Open Fonts folder
   3. Move fonts you don't need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain.
   
   
   
7. Remove Unnecessary Programs
   Stop being a packrat, remove the programs that you aren’t using from Add/Remove. You’d be surprised how much disk space there is to recover in the software that you never use.
   
   
8. Disable Performance Counters
   Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which monitors several areas of your PC's performance. These utilities take up system resources so disabling is a good idea. To disable:
   1. download and install the Extensible Performance Counter List
   2. Then select each counter in turn in the 'Extensible performance counters' window and clear the 'performance counters enabled' checkbox at the bottom button below
   
   
   
9. Optimise Your Pagefile
   Windows XP sizes the page file to about 1.5X the amount of actual physical memory by default. While this is good for systems with smaller amounts of memory (under 512MB) it is unlikely that a typical XP desktop system will ever need 1.5 X 512MB or more of virtual memory. If you have less than 512MB of memory, leave the page file at its default size. If you have 512MB or more, change the ratio to 1:1 page file size to physical memory size.
   
   
   1. Right click on My Computer and select Properties
   2. Select the Advanced tab
   3. Under Performance choose the Settings button
   4. Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change
   5. Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.
   
   
   
10. Improve Memory Usage
    PC Washer improves the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings.
    
    Once Installed:
    1. Click the 'Tools' from the left menu
    2. Select 'Memory Booster' in the tools list. A new window named 'PC Turbo Memory' will popup.
    3. Click Defragment button in the new window.
    4. Exit the program. That's all.
    
    
    
11. Disable unnecessary services
    Windows XP loads services you will never need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for ideal Windows XP configurations. Here are a few services I booted off to streamline my PC:
    • Alerter
    • Background Intelligent Transfer Service
    • ClipBook
    • Computer Browser
    • Error Reporting Service
    • Help and Support
    • Indexing Service
    • IPSEC Services
    • Messenger
    • NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
    • Network DDE
    • Network DDE DSDM
    • Performance Logs and Alerts
    • Portable Media Serial Number
    • QOS RSVP
    • Help Session Manager
    • Remote Registry
    • Secondary Logon
    • Server
    • Smart Card
    • Smart Card Helper
    • SSDP Discovery Service
    • System restore Service
    • TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
    • Uninterruptible Power Supply
    • Universal Plug and Play Device Host
    • WebClient
    • Windows time
    • Wireless Zero Configuration
    • WMI Performance Adapter
    
    
    
12. Disconnect USB devices you aren't using.
    When Windows starts, it must load all the drivers for the devices connected to your computer. If you have many devices connected to the USB ports, such as printers, scanners, cameras and hard drives that you don't use on a regular basis, disconnect them. You can reconnect them when you use them. Disconnecting them when they are not in use will allow Windows to load the drivers only when needed.
    
    

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