10 Ways to Speed Up and Optimize Windows XP

in PC Optimization,Windows

The following steps will provide significant performance improvements if you follow all of them.

1. Perform Routine System Maintenance

You should run an anti virus program and anti spyware program in real-time to prevent the computer from being infected with viruses and other malware. All of these programs can cause really poor performance. I also recommend that you run a good registry cleaner at least once a month to prevent accumulated junk entries from slowing the computer down.

2. Use the NTFS File System

Make certain that your system is using the NTFS file system. To check to see what file system you are using perform the following steps:

  1. Double-click on the My Computer icon, then right-click on the C: Drive
  2. Select Properties If you are using NTFS It will look like the picture below

  3. If you are not running the NTFS file system, open a command prompt by clicking Start-> Run
  4. Type CMD in the dialogue box, and then click OK.
  5. At the command prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key.

Most of the time, the operating system will schedule the conversion for the next time that the computer reboots. Don’t partition your hard drive. NTFS runs more efficiently with a single large partition than it does on multiple partitions.

3. Add Memory

You can never have too much memory in a computer. Windows XP can address up to 4 GB of RAM (memory). I would add enough so that It has 4GB. You will get an immediate performance improvement.

4. Run Disk Cleanup

Disk cleanup removes all of the temporary and other unnecessary files stored on your hard drive. At least once a month, run a disk cleanup by using the following steps:

  1. Double-click the My Computer icon
  2. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties.
  3. Click the Disk Cleanup button

5. Defrag the Hard Drive

Defragging the hard drive moves the data around so that all parts of a file are located in consecutive order on the hard drive which makes both finding  and loading the file faster. Windows has a built in tool to defrag the hard drive.

  1. At least once a month, run defrag by using the following steps:
  2. Double-click the My Computer icon
  3. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties.
  4. Click on the Tools tab
  5. Then click on Defragment Now. The following window will appear

  1. Highlight the C Drive as shown.
  2. Then click on Defragment. This process can take quite a while. DO NOT use the computer while it is running.

When it is finished, everything should run faster.

6. Disable File Indexing

The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a search-able keyword index that can use a lot of processing power. Windows XP has a search capability that can do searches without using the index service. The searches just take a little longer. I would rather have better performance all the time and wait a longer for search results than have faster searches but slower performance all the time.

Disable the index service by:

  1. Double-click the My Computer icon
  2. Right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties
  3. Uncheck Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching
  4. Click OK.

7. Update the Hardware Drivers

You can go to each device in the device manager and select the properties of each device, then click on Update Driver. This is a very time consuming process and really not worth the effort. There is a better to keep you computer drivers up to date. Use one of the commercial programs that will scan your computer for free. If your drivers need updating, I recommend you pay the small fee to purchase the program.

Then download and install it on your hard drive. Next, run the program and let it update your computer to the latest drivers which will improve the overall performance of the machine.

8. Enable DMA

In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device to make sure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have using the following steps:

  1. Double-click the My Computer icon
  2. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties.
  3. Click on the Hardware tab
  4. Select Device Manager the background screen below will appear
  5. Right click on Primary IDE Channel and select the Advanced Setting tab and the foreground will appear.

  1. Make sure DMA if Available is selected for all devices
  2. Repeat the process for a secondary control if one exists

9. Remove Unnecessary Programs

To remove unnecessary programs, use the following steps:

Clean out your Startup folder. By going to C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, where username is your Windows logon name.

Delete the shortcuts of any programs you don’t want to run on start-up.

Next, clean out your Scheduled Tasks folder by going to C:\Windows\Tasks, and delete the shortcuts of any programs that you don’t want to run automatically on a schedule.

Using the System Configuration Utility

Taking the previous steps will stop the obvious programs from running at start-up, you need to use the System Configuration Utility to kill all of the unnecessary programs:

Select Start->Run and then type msconfig in the dialogue box and press Enter.

Select the Startup tab as shown below

To stop a program from running at start-up, uncheck the box next to the program. DO NOT uncheck a program unless you know what it does

Check Selective Startup under the general tab so you won’t get an error message every time you reboot.

10. Clean the Inside of the Computer

Finally, you should clean the inside of your computer at least once a year. You need to open the case and remove all the dust. Dust buildup makes the computer run hot and can cause all kinds of problems, all of which, effect performance. They make inexpensive vacuums to remove the dust from computers or you can buy a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of the case.

Summary

All of these steps can optimize your XP installation and give you significantly better performance.

Related Searches

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: