Speed up a Windows

How to Speed up a Windows

If not properly and regularly maintained, the performance of all Windows XP systems tend to degrade with the passage of time. To arrest this declining performance, visiting a computer shop isn't your only option; you can also increase performance of your computer yourself. Save your money and squeeze more speed out of Windows XP!

1. 1
   Clean computer registry with but first backup the registry using the cleaner program.
   Regularly use a freeware registry cleaner to increase XP performance.
   Maybe you have uninstalled an application without using the Add or
   Remove Programs function in the Control Panel, or perhaps an object or
   file in the registry got moved. Eventually, this orphaned or misplaced
   information accumulates and begins to clog your registry, potentially
   slowing down your PC and causing error messages and system crashes.
2. 2
   Remove Spyware and Viruses
   • Spyware and viruses are leading causes of computer slowdown because
     you may have several spyware cookies or trojans that are taking up your
     processor time for reading and storing and reporting your activity to
     several spy databases. Read Rid-Your-Computer-of-Adware,-Spyware-and-Viruses to learn how to remove them and speed up your system.
   • Update and run your spyware and virus software every week.
   • If you do not have tools installed to protect against malware and spyware then you can download Spyware Blaster, and for viruses, download a free copy of AVG - "Anti-Vir Guard" or this one Avira - "Anti-Vira guard" (all three of those are free "For Personal Use"), all three are also available in Business or Pro versions. Also, Microsoft's Windows Defender is a widely-used anti-spyware tool that is currently distributed freely for users with a "Genuine" verified
     copy of Windows. "Windows Defender" is also included with other
     Microsoft services and products such as "Live OneCare" and "Vista."
   • Download and install Mozilla Firefox,
     Opera or Google Chrome. It will allow you to import all of your
     Internet Explorer settings, and is much less prone to malware than
     Microsoft Internet Explorer. It will prompt you with a "Set as Default
     Browser" message. Check "Don't show this again" and click "Yes". Firefox
     also has a cool feature to delete cookies, cache, and temporary
     internet files each time you close it. You are strongly recommended to
     use this option. It can speed up your internet experience. You should
     also check Google Chrome which is noticeably faster and less prone to
     virus attacks from internet Chrome.
   • If you have a really complicated virus infection, try using the Quick Virus Remover.
     It is a free utility, though not a replacement for commercial products
     but can be helpful for removing some of the most common viruses
     infecting your system.
3. 3
   Perform a disk clean up.
   • Click start in the bottom left corner, then click run.
   • Type, "cleanmgr.exe" in the text field.
   • Press "okay". This can take a while if you have never done it before.
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
4. 4
   Remove unwanted/unneeded software which may be the reason for slowdown.
   • Click start, then click control panel.
   • Click add/remove programs.
   • Highlight any old software you do not use and then click "remove".
5. 5
   Defragment Your Computer - This will place similar files physically closer on the hard disk and will help improve load speeds.
   • Click start, again, then click run.
   • Type, "dfrg.msc" in the text field.
   • Click Defrag to start it.
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
6. 6
   Stop unwanted Start-Up programs.
   • Run msconfig
   • Choose startup box
   • Select uncheck programs you don't want to run on startup
   • 
     OR
     
   • 
     Click here and download StartUpCPL.
     
   • Install the software you have just downloaded.
   • Open control panel, select Start up.
   • Disable any programs you do not want load automatically.
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   • Programs can also schedule tasks to launch automatically when
     windows starts to stop such programs use windows task scheduler.To open
     Scheduled Tasks, click Start, click All Programs, point to Accessories,
     point to System Tools, and then click Scheduled Tasks.
   • Disable All Services you do not use or need. Open control panel,
     open Administrative Tools, and select Services. Disabling the wrong
     Services may lead to serious problems that you may not notice right
     away. Please consult a reference such as overclockersclub.comfor information on specific Windows XP Services. If you do not know what it is, do not disable the service
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
7. 7
   Make Windows Load Faster
   • Click Start, then Run.
   • Type in 'msconfig' and press enter.
   • Click on the BOOT.INI tab at the top.
   • Over to the right there will be a box labeled Timeout with 30 in it. Change the 30 to a 3.
   • After you apply this step, your pc will want to do a restart for changes to take effect. After the restart, you'll get a System Configuration Utility window; just check the radio box that begins "Don't show this message."
8. 8
   Speed Up Processing Time
   • Turning off the fancy Windows XP graphics will noticeably increase the speed of your computer.
   • Go to Start, (Settings), Control Panel, System. NOTE: You may need to 'Switch to Classic Mode' to see the System applet.
   • Go to the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.
   • Select the 'Adjust for best performance' radio button, then Apply, and OK.
   • The graphics aren't as flashy, but your computer will run a lot faster.
9. 9
   Set Pagefile size
   • Go to Start, (Settings), Control Panel, System. (This is just like the step above this.)
   • Go to the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.
   • Now switch to this Advanced tab, and click on 'Change' under Virtual Memory.
   • You will see the 'Initial Size (MB)' and the Maximum Size (MB)'.
   • Change 'Initial Size' to the same value as 'Maximum Size' then click set.
     • NOTE This setting will help your gaming process by speeding up your computer.
     • ADDED NOTE: When your computer consumes your computer's hard drive
       and uses it as RAM, it is referred to as thrashing. Thrashing is bad for
       your computer and buying a RAM (it's not that expensive) is much more
       worthwhile.
10. 10
    Set Priorities:Press
    Control (ctrl) Alt Delete (del) at the same time or right click your
    taskbar and select Task Manager. Once task manager opens, click the
    process's tab. Now find explorer.exe, right click it, and set the
    priority to realtime. This makes your computer focus on explorer.exe,
    which is your task bar and visual objects. Use this method if you want
    to keep your visual styles (or your using a transformation pack). This
    method greatly increases speed and if you are noticing that other
    programs that you use a lot are slow, you can set their priority to
    either high or above normal, if you have 2 process's on high at the same
    time, your computer will be unstable, and might crash. **For users
    without Admin password**-You will not be able to modify the value to
    realtime, if you aren't on an admin account, or you have insufficient
    privileges, then the best you can do, is set to high.