Many individuals want to get the most out of their hardware. So, here are ten easy ways to improve your Windows XP computer work faster without spending money on new hardware.
1. Defrag Disk to Improve Data Access
Disk fragmentation is one of the things that slows down a computer's performance. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk to piece them back together when they are opened. Disk Defragmenter, a Windows application that defrags and consolidates fragmented files for faster computer performance, should be used on a monthly basis to improve reaction time.
* Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter * Select the drives you want to defrag and click Analyze * Select the disks you want to defrag and click Defragment
2. Identify and Correct Disk Errors
Your hard disk develops faulty sectors over time. Bad sectors degrade hard disk performance and make data writing difficult, if not impossible, at times. The Error Checking utility is a built-in program in Windows that can detect and correct disk issues. It will look for faulty sectors and system faults on the hard drive and repair them to improve performance.
* Go to Start > My Computer * Right-click the hard disk you wish to scan and select Properties * Click the Tools tab * Select the Scan for and attempt recovery of damaged sectors check box * Click Check Now *
3. Turn off the indexing services
Indexing Services is a little program that consumes a lot of CPU resources. It helps you search for anything faster by indexing and updating lists of all the files on the computer and scanning the index list. You can disable this system function if you know where your files are. Whether you search frequently or infrequently, it will not harm your machine.
* Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs * Double-click Add/Remove Programs * * Uncheck the Indexing services * Click Next after clicking Add/Remove Window Components.
4. Tweak the Display Options
Windows XP has a nice appearance. However, it depletes system resources by displaying all of the visual objects and effects. If you disable most of the settings and leave the following, Windows will look fine:
* Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop * Use visual styles on windows and buttons * Show shadows under menus * Show shadows under mouse pointer * Show transparent selection rectangle
6. Turn off the performance counters
The performance monitor program in Windows XP keeps track of numerous aspects of your computer's performance. Because these utilities consume system resources, turning them off is a smart idea.
* Get the Extensible Performance Counter List from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/exctrlst-o.asp) and install it. Then, in the ‘Extensible performance counters' window, choose each counter individually and clear the ‘performance counters enabled' checkbox at the bottom button below.
7. Make Your Pagefile More Effective
You can make your pagefile more efficient. Setting a set size for your pagefile eliminates the need for the operating system to resize the pagefile.
* Select the Advanced tab by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties. Select the Settings option under Performance. Select the Advanced tab once more, and then Change under Virtual Memory.
* Select the drive containing your page file and set the file's beginning size to the same as its maximum size.
8. To improve speed, remove fonts.
Fonts, particularly TrueType fonts, consume a significant amount of system resources. Trim your fonts down to only those you need on a daily basis and fonts that programs may require for best performance.
* Go to the Control Panel * Go to the Fonts folder Move any fonts you don't need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:FONTBKUP?) in case you need or wish to restore them. The more fonts you delete, the more resources you'll save up on your machine.
9. Boost Performance Using Flash Memory
Additional RAM memory must be installed to increase performance. It will allow you to boot your operating system faster, run several applications, and access data more quickly. Using eBoostr (http://www.eboostr.com) is the simplest and most technically beautiful way to do it.
eBoostr is a small tool that works in the same way as Vista's ReadyBoost to boost the performance of any computer running Windows XP. If you have a flash drive, such as a USB flash thumb drive or an SD card, you can use it with eBoostr to improve the performance of your computer. Simply insert a flash drive into a USB port, and Windows XP will use eBoostr to boost performance by utilizing the flash memory.
The product displays the best results for regularly used applications and data, which is a useful feature for users who use office software, graphics software, or development tools. It'll pique the interest of laptop users, as upgrading a laptop is typically more difficult, and laptop hard drives are by definition slower than desktop hard drives.
10. Run a boot defragmentation
A simple solution to speed up XP startup is to have your system perform a boot defragment, which will align all of your boot files on your hard disk. Your system will start faster if the boot files are close to one another.
Boot defragment should be enabled by default on most systems, but it may not be on yours or may have been modified accidently. To ensure that boot defragmentation is enabled, follow these steps:
* Open the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY LOCAL MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftDfrgBootOptimizeFunction. * If it is not already set to Y, change the Enable string value to Y.
* Reboot after exiting the Registry
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