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Main » 2012 » January » 24 » Win XP tips 1
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XP
Tips & Tricks
Mani Kanta
maniiscrazy@gmail.com
Phone: +91-9052709434
Read before you proceed
This is in no way an ‘ultimate’ resource
to computer
tweaking. It is just the drop an ocean. This guide is nothing
but an honest effort to assimilating knowledge on how a
machine can be tamed. More can be obtained by searching
the World Wide Web using ‘Google’ ‘MSN’ ‘DogPile’
‘Yahoo!’ and other search engines.
I do not claim any rights on the
contents discussed here.
Many people- hackers, crackers, administrators, computer
geeks, teaching faculty, user groups- have contributed their
wisdom and they wanted it to be shared and discussed. I have
just ‘compiled’ the data into a single file that people can use
it as an all purpose computer guide.
I have personally tried and tested most
of the tweaks
discussed in this guide. However, I request fellow readers to
be cautious while trying it out with your system. Always
take a backup copy of all important data/registry before
attempting to change the system/registry settings.
Remember, prevention is always better than cure.
Last but not the least- Learn, Share
& Grow. Add your
knowledge to what I have and share it unconditionally with
the people who are looking for it.
Regards,
Mani Kanta
0.
Stopping Unneeded Startup Services
and Making XP boot faster !
Along with the core operating system and programs that Windows XP runs when it
starts, there is also a host of services involved. Many of these services are
necessary
for Windows XP to operate correctly. However, many of them are for features in
Windows XP that you may not use at all. You can peruse the services and disable
any
service that you do not want to run. The fewer services that run, the more
quickly
Windows XP will boot.
To reduce the number of services that start on bootup, you can access two
different
areas of Windows XP.
o The first is the System Configuration Utility. You can do that by entering
the
command "msconfig” in the run menu.
Start Run "msconfig” (without quotes) ||
Hit Enter
The Services tab shows you the services that start when the computer
boots. You can stop a service from starting by simply clearing the check box
next to the service and clicking OK.
o However, before you do so, there is another way to disable services that you
may prefer because the interface gives you more information about the service
in question.
Open Control Panel Administrative Tools
Services or
Start Run "services.msc” || Hit Enter
Take a quick look at common services you may want to live without:
Automatic Updates: This service enables Windows XP to check the Web
automatically for updates. If you don't want to use Automatic Updates, you can
disable the service.
Computer Browser: If your computer is not on a network, you don't need this
service.
If you are on a network, leave it alone.
DHCP Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you
are on
a small workgroup, you can still increase boot time by configuring manual IP.
DNS Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service.
Error Reporting and Event Log: You don't have to use these services but they
can be
very helpful, so I would leave them configured as automatic.
Fax: If you don't use your computer for fax services, you can disable this one.
Help and Support: Disable if you never use the Windows XP Help and Support
Center.
IMAPI CD-Burning COM: This service enables you to burn CDs on your computer.
If you never burn CDs, you can disable the service without any second thoughts.
Indexing Service: Your computer keeps an index of all the files. But if you
rarely
search for files, the service is just a resource hog. You can stop it
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing: If you do not use these features,
plz
disable.
Infrared Monitor: If you do not use infrared devices, you can disable this
service.
Messenger: This service sends alert messages on a local area network (it is not
the
same as Windows Messenger). If you are not on a network, you can disable this
service.
Print Spooler: If you do not do any printing from the computer, you can disable
this
service. If you print, make sure you leave it as automatic.
Remote Registry: This service allows remote users to modify the Registry on
your
computer. If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.
System Restore Service: This service allows you to use System Restore. If you
have
turned off System Restore anyway, you do not need to turn off the service.
Themes: If you do not use themes, you can disable this service.
Windows Image Acquisition: If you do not use scanners or digital cameras, you
can
disable.
Wireless Zero Configuration: If do not use wireless networking devices, you can
disable.
1.
Disabling Unused PORTS
I have just accidentally found out another way to give you an extra boost in
windowsXP's boot performance. This is done by disabling your unused devices in
Device Manager. for example, if you don't have input devices that are connected
to
one of your USBs or COM ports, disabling them will give you an extra
perfromance
boost in booting.
Go to Control Panel System Hardware tab Device manager
Disable devices that you don't use for your PC and then restart. See the
difference for
yourself.
Bonus Tip: Perform a Boot Defragment
There's a simple way to speed up XP startup: make your system do a boot
defragment,
which will put all the boot files next to one another on your hard disk. When
boot files
are in close proximity to one another, your system will start faster.
On most systems, boot defragment should be enabled by default, but it might not
be
on yours, or it might have been changed inadvertently. To make sure that boot
defragment is enabled on your system, run the Registry Editor and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
Edit the Enable string value to Y if it is not already set to Y. Exit the
Registry and
reboot. The next time you reboot, you'll do a boot defragment.
2.
Stop Error Messages from Displaying
on Startup
If you constantly see an error message that you can't get rid offor example,
from a
piece of software that didn't uninstall properly and continues to give errors
on
startupyou can disable it from displaying on startup. Run the Registry Editor
and go to
HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows. (This
key holds a variety of Windows system settings, such as the location of your
system
directory.) Create a new DWORD called NoPopupsOnBoot and give it a value of 1.
Exit the Registry and reboot for the setting to take effect. To disable it,
either delete
the DWORD value or give it a value of 0.
3.
Memory Tweak
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and locate the following key in the
registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\
MemoryManagement\PrefetchParameters
2.On the EnablePrefetcher value, change the setting from 3 to 5 (decimal).
3. Close the registry editor and restart your computer
4.
Disabling Recent Documents History
The bad thing about Recent Documents History is that Windows XP has to
calculate
what should be put there each time you boot Windows, which can slow things
down.
1. Open the Registry Editor (select Start/Run, type regedit, and click OK).
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mcft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
3. Create a NoRecentDocsHistory D_WORD key. Double-click the value to open it
once it is created.
4. Set the Data Value to 1 to enable the restriction.
5. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. You'll need to restart the computer
for the
change to take effect.
5.
Disabling the Boot Logo
You can remove the boot logo that appears when you start Windows XP. This
little
tweak probably shaves only a few seconds off your boot time but seconds count
if you
are serious about trying to get Windows XP up and running as quickly as
possible.
The only negative is that if you remove the boot logo, you will also not see
any boot
messages, such as check disk.
To remove the boot logo, follow these steps:
1. Select Start/Run, type msconfig, and click OK.
2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab.
3. On the BOOT.INI tab, click the NOGUIBOOT check box option. Click OK.
6.
Removing Unwanted Fonts
One trick that increases your boot time a bit is to lose any fonts in the Fonts
folder in
Control Panel that you never use. The more fonts you have, the more processing
Windows XP has to do to prep all of those fonts for use. You must be a bit
careful
here to not remove fonts that you might want, but there is a good chance that
you can
live without many of them.
To delete unneeded fonts, follow these steps:
1. Open the Fonts folder in Control Panel.
2. Select Edit/Select All and then Edit/Copy.
3. Create a new folder on your desktop, open it, and select Edit/Paste.
4. In this new folder, delete any of the fonts you do not want.
5. Return to the Fonts folder in Control Panel. Right-click the selected fonts
and click
Delete.
6. Go back to your new desktop folder and click Edit/Select All.
7. Return to your Fonts folder and click Edit/Paste. You now have only the
desired
fonts in the Fonts folder.
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