OPTIMIZING WINDOWS XP's PERFORMANCE

Note:
Any changes you will make in your computer will be your responsibility, meaning that it will not be my responsibility if anything malignant happens to your computer.
But one thing is certain, I have tested the tweaks that I have included in here and it worked fine for me. So I still reccommend that you try this tweaks if you want to improve your computer's performance.

*TWEAK 1: CONVERT FAT TO NTFS
Source: http://tweakxp.com/article36970.aspx

To change from FAT 32 to NTFS file system for more stability, security and less fragmentation, open the command prompt and type:

Convert C: /FS:NTFS

"C" being the drive you wish to convert. Make sure there is a space between the C: and the foward slash (/). Once you press enter it will ask you for confirmation and press Y. Then press Y and enter once more to reboot.. This also works for windows XP Home.

*TWEAK 2: CORRECTING SYSTEM HANG AT STARTUP
Source:
http://tweakxp.com/article36992.aspx
If your system hangs about 2 or 3 minutes at startup, where you can't access the Start button or the Taskbar, it may be due to one specific service (Background Intelligent Transfer) running in the background. Microsoft put out a patch for this but it didn't work for me. Here's what you do:
1. Click on Start/Run, type 'msconfig', then click 'OK'.
2. Go to the 'Services' tab, find the 'Background Intelligent Transfer' service, disable it, apply the changes & reboot.

*TWEAK 3: DISABLE UNECESSARY PROGRAMS RUNNING AT STARTUP
Disable unnecessary programs
Source: http://tweakxp.com/article36966.aspx

When you install some programs they will insert themselves into an area of your registry that will cause them to load when your computer starts up. Obviously this will use memory and slow down your system.
1. Start Regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Run
3. Once there, locate any entry's on the right. You can identify the program by the path to the executable. Find programs that you can live without starting up from the list.
4. Right click on them and select Delete
You may also want to navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Runonce and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Run.

Delete unnecessary programs.
Also go to START - PROGRAMS - STARTUP and see if there is anything there you wish to remove.

5. Reboot your computer.

*TWEAK 4: INSTALL APPLICATIONS THAT OPTIMIZES SYSTEM PERFORMANCE:

1. Download this files(ADVANCED SYSTEM CARE AND TUNE UP UTILITIES),
TUNE UP UTILITIES
ADVANCED SYSTEM CARE
Note: This link is only for forum members.

Here is the link for non-members:
http://iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html?Str=download

http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/

-If you don't know how to install those programs, go to this link:


*TWEAK 5: Disable XP Boot Logo
It is possible to disable XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if your system runs without any problems then it should not matter.

1. Edit boot.ini
2. Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".

(or check the /noguiboot switch in msconfig on the boot.ini tab)
Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.

*TWEAK 6: Disable Indexing Services
Source: http://tweakxp.com/article37006.aspx

Indexing services is a small program that hogs HUGE amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexing and updates lists of the files on your system, so you can search for them quickly, but it's completley unnessesary.

To disable it, go to the Control Panel and click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Add/Remove Window Components. Simply unclick the Indexing services and click next!

Indexing service creates a database index of all files on your system when the system is otherwise idle. Unless you do frequent searches, it is suggested you disable this service.

*TWEAK 7: Disabling Automatic Updates properly
Source: http://tweakxp.com/article37008.aspx
Effect of Windows XP Automatic Updates:
1. It fulls your hard disk drive of useless updates, causing slower system.

To disable it properly, follow this steps:
1. Go into Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

2. Highlight the service called "Automatic Updates". You will know when you have the correct one because you will see a description about it telling you what it does.

3. Right click once highlighted and click stop to terminate the service.

4. Right click on it again and go to Properties. Half way down the first tab there is "Startup Type:" change this to disabled.

Congratulations. You have now disabled Automatic Updates service. Not only will this make certain the service won't run, but by disabling it properly you are freeing up system resources as they won't be diverted to running a service that you don't use.

*TWEAK 8: Faster Boot-Up without tons of fonts
Many of the files that load during the boot-up process are fonts. You probably only use a handful of them. I suggest moving some you never use into another folder. You won't be able to access the fonts in Word or Notepad.
1. Create a New Folder by right clicking on desktop. New>Folder.
2. Open "Fonts" in Control Panel. Switch to Classic View to find them easier.
3. Highlight a group of fonts younever use and move them to the other folder. Repeat if you have tons of fonts.
4. Put the folder into My Documents for easy access.
5. Reboot and see if it starts any faster for you. If not, just copy the fonts back to the original font folder.

*TWEAK 9: Increase speed by tweaking prefetcher settings
Posted 8/12/2002 by TweakXP Member - Views: 5037

This is an unique technique for XP, which could improve the performance significantly by tweaking the prefetcher (which is a cache folder).

1. run "regedit";
2. goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher];
3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).
4. reboot.

It should decrease the boot time and the time it takes to load programs.

*TWEAK 10: Get rid of IM and no slow OE startup

If you have OE 6 got to tools > windows messenger > options > preferences and in the general area uncheck "run this program when windows starts" and "allow this program to run in the background." After doing this IM does not load on startup and OE loads as usual.


*TWEAK 11: Modify application timeout
The operating system has a set amount of time that a program must be frozen for before it is timed out. Often this number is set too high, but in some circumstances it is set too low. If the program is doing a lot of calculations in the background the computer may think that it is timed out. To prevent this, increase the value of the timeout in the registry.
1. Start Regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Select HungAppTimeout from the list on the right.
4. Right on it and select Modify.
5. Change the value to the new timeout value.
6. Reboot your computer.


*TWEAK 12: Optimise NTFS
NTFS is a great filesystem, but its feature-set comes at a slight cost in performance. You can negate this a little with the following tips:
* By default NTFS will automatically update timestamps whenver a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes.

Disable it by pointing regedit to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem and set 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate' to 1.

* NTFS uses disparate master file control tables to store filesystem information about your drives. Over time these core MFT files grow and become fragmented, slowing down all accesses to the drive. By setting aside a little space, MFT's can grow without becoming fragmented. In the same key where you disabled the last access feature creat a new DWORD value called 'NtfsMftZoneReservation' and set it to 2.

*TWEAK 13: Shutdown XP Faster
Posted 8/26/2004 by TweakXP Member - Views: 8074

1) Start - Run - Regedit
a. Navigate to the following Registry key:
b. HKEY CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop
c. Double click on the AutoEndTasks entry and replace the 0 with a 1 in the Value data text box
d. For the next two, if the dword value indicated does not exist, create it:
e. Double click on the WaitToKillAppTimeout entry in the right pane and change the Value data to 2000
f. Double click on the HungAppTimeout entry in the right pane and change the Value data to 1000
g. Reboot

If still having a problem, make the next change:

2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
Right-click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change it to 2000

NOTE: The lowest value Windows will recognize is 1000 (1 second)

ADVISORY: While rare, the "WaitToKillService" tweak can cause problems. If an application is in the process of saving data and the associated service is stopped prematurely, the data will not be saved and may be lost.


*TWEAK 14: Remove hibernation fil
If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file, go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box.

*TWEAK 15: Speed up menu display
When using the start menu the you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly.
1. Start Regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right.
5. Right on it and select Modify.
6. Change the value to something lower (note: a setting of zero (0) is virtually instantaneous - experiment with other settings (200 or 300 or 400 perhaps) to see what you are most comfortable with..
7. Reboot your computer.

*TWEAK 16: Turn off System Restore to save space
By default, Windows XP keeps a backup of system files in the System Volume Information folder. This can eat up valuable space on your hard drive. If you don't want Windows to back up your system files:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Double-click on system
3. Click the System Restore tab
4. Check "Turn off System Restore on all drives"
5. Hit Apply
6. You may now delete the System Volume Information folder.

Warning! If you turn this off you will not be able to use Windows System Restore to restore your system in case of failure.

*TWEAK 17: Unload .dll's to Free Memory

Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.

1. Find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer].
2. Create a new sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.
3. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

*TWEAK 18: Sacrifice Graphics for Speed
- For starters, reducing the color density and and bit display of your screen will ultimately increase speed to your computer.

1.)On your desktop, right click and go to PROPERTIES.
2.)In properties go to Settings, and set your color quality to the lowest bit-rating (most likely 15 bit). This will reduce color density, and icon quality, but will heavily boast system performance.

- If you really want to increase your system performance, new Windows themes are NOT the way to go, if you are ill-equipped with RAM.

1.) Go into Control Panel and into Performance and Maintenence (If you are using the "classic" view skip to step 2).
2.) Get into System and click on the Advanced tab.
3.) Now click on Performance
4.) Under your visual effects, select CHOOSE BEST PERFORMANCE.
5.) This will undoubtedly increase your system performance by returning XP into Classic Style and getting rid of the fancy-shmancy fading menus, shadows and whatnot.

-That's all, visit also http://tweakxp.com/ for more tweaking guides.
-And also, visit this links if you want to optimize your internet connection/ internet browsing speed.
http://tweakxp.com/internet_tweaks.aspx




















SOURCE:
http://tweakxp.com/