WinXP Tips and Tricks for Faster Performance

[hmx_ryan]

WinXP Tips and Tricks for Faster Performance

To Increase System Performance

Right click my computer.
Click properties.
Click advanced.
Click settings (under performance).
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one “use visual styles on windows and buttons”.

How to Disable XP's crap built in CD Burner

Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.
Go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services open it and click on start up type, change to "Disabled".

Fine Tune Your Systems Memory

These Settings will fine tune your systems memory
You need at least 256MB of ram to do this:
Go to Start > Run then type in REGEDIT -and then to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement

1.DisablePagingExecutive -Double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive yeilds faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache- Double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory and improves system performance a lot.

3.IOPageLockLimit - Create a new dword and name it double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of ram -this tweak will speed up your disckcache.

Reboot

Unable to delete from Avi files from HD

XP holds files in it's memory even after you have closed the application using them making it impossible to delete them from your harddrive. To fix this:
Start -> Run -> Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler\ directory and delete the "DEFAULT" key.

Tweak The Swap File

For Users with 256 MB RAM or more this tweak will boost their Windows- and Game-Performance.
What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.
Open the System Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe
Then Click the SYSTEM.INI Tab
Then Expand the 386enh section.
Then ADD the RUNConservativeSwapfileUsage =1

Restart your Windows and enjoy better Game performance.

Disable Services

XP Pro runs a lot of services by default that are pointless if your not on a corporate network, the following services are ones that I safely disable thereby freeing up memory but check what each one does first to make sure your not using it for something:

Go to Run and type services.msc, right click on each service, properties and choose disable.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor

Speed Up The File System

NTFS is a great file system, 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 whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes. Disable it by going to Run and type regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem and set 'DisableNTFSLastAccessUpd ate' 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.

Disable DLL Caching

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\SOFTWA RE\M'zoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer].

2. Create a new DWORD 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 The Prefetch

1. Run "Regedit"
2. Goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParame ters\EnablePrefetcher]

3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).

4. Reboot.

It will decrease the boot time but double and increase the performance of your XP.

Performance Increase Through My Computer

Easy enough tweak to usually find out about it on your own, but still, some of us still don't find it right away. So here it is:

Start > right-click on My Computer and select Properties.
Click on the "Advanced" tab.
See the "Performance" section? Click "Settings".
Disable the following:

Fade or slide menus into view
Fade or slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show Shadows under menus
Slide open combo boxes
Slide taskbar buttons
Use a background image for each folder type
Use common tasks in folders
There, now Windows will still look nice and perform faster.

Remove Windows Messenger

Go to Start/Run, and type: "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection BLC.Remove 128 %SystemRoot%INFmsmsgs.inf"

Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs

Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you?re logging off, turn it off completely. To do this:

Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.
In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.
Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.
Click OK, and then click OK again.

Customize the Start menu

The Start menu gets more real estate in XP than in previous versions, and it's more customizable. To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than the default determined by M'zoft:

Right-click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column.
Select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. Here you'll find a list of your most frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then updates this list dynamically).
Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list?

Go to the General tab, click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.

Search Companion Error

When doing a file search, if you get the error A File That Is Required to Run Search Companion Cannot Be Found

Log on as an Administrator
Click Start
Select Run
Enter in the command - %systemroot%\inf
Right-click the Srchasst.inf file
Click Install

Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version

By default, the NTBACKUP program is not installed on the home version.

You can find it on the CD in the \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP directory

Since not all vendors include the actual source code for XP,
you can download a copy

Changing Drive Letters

If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:

Right Click on My Computer
Select Manage
Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:

Select it
Right click
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:

In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use

 

[hmx_ryan]

WinXP Tips and Tricks for Faster Performance (cont.)

Turn off the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the Default Image Viewer

You can also change the file associations for the specific file types you want.

Open the Windows Explorer
Go to Tools / Folder Options / File Types
Scroll down to the extension you want to change
Click on the Change button
Select the program you want to associate with that extension
Click on the OK button

If the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is set as the default for many of your graphic file types,
you can remove it so other graphics programs can be used.

Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / SystemFileAssociations / image / ShellEx / ContextMenuHandlers
Delete the key ShellImagePreview
Download reg file

Allowing Network Access with Blank Passwords

Although you can log in locally without a password, by default, WindowsXP Pro does not allow network users to access the computer without a password. Typically you will receive an Unknown error 31 if this is the case.

To change this setting:

Run gpedit.msc
Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
Double click on Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console login only
Disable this option

Changing the Default DOS Window Properties

If you want to change the default DOS windows properties like:

Size
Color
Font
Buffer Size
Window / Full Screen
Open up a DOS window
Right click on the Title Bar
Select Defaults
Make any of the changes you like
All subsequent DOS windows will assume these defaults

Changing the Registered Owner

Start Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\M'zoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key

-Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer

If you want to open a command prompt to a directory that is selected in the Explorer:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
Create a new key called Command
Give it the value of the name you want to appear in the Explorer. Something like Open DOS Box
Under this create a new key called command
Give it a value of cmd.exe /k "cd %L"
Now when you are in the Explorer, right click on a folder, select Open DOS Box, and a command prompt will open to the selected directory.
Download reg file

Adding Time Servers

With WindowsXP, you can double-click on the time in the System Tray and connect to Time Servers on the Internet to synchronize with.
To add to the list of available servers:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\M'zoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\DateTime\Servers
Add new string keys named 2, 3, etc. with a value of the time server you want to use.

Creating a Boot Floppy

To create a bootable floppy from within WindowsXP:

Insert a floppy into the A: drive
Open the Explorer
Right click on the A: Drive
Select Format
Check Create an MS-DOS startup disk
Click on the Start button
This will create a Millennium boot disk

-Changing the Login Screen Saver

If you want to change the screen saver that runs at the login prompt:

Start Regedit

Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop
Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE
Enter in the screen saver you want to use

Running NetMeeting

To run NetMeeting:

Do a Start / Run
Enter conf
Answer the prompts along the way for name, e-mail etc.

-Set the Online Registration as Being Completed

You can set WindowsXP to assume the online registration has been completed.

Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ M'zoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
Create a String Value called RegDone
Give it a value of 1
Download reg file

Decreasing Boot Time

M'zoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP
The program is called BootVis

Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.

Re-Enabling System Restore

If you previously disabled system restore through the Group Policy Editor,
the option to start it again does not show in the System Properties.
You can re-enable it again by:

Run the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore
Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
Right click on My Computer
Select Manage
Go to Services and Applications / Services
Scroll down to System Restore Service
Set it for Automatic
Click on the Start button to start the service
Close down this window
Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured
Now when you right click on My Computer, there should be a tab for System Restore and you can configure how much space will be used.

Hide/Unhide Logon Names

If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ M'zoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
Make sure it has a value of 0
If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1

Speed up start menu

Start -> Run -> regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop and then right click on ""MenuShowDelay" and click on "Modify", the figure you have here is in milliseconds. The standard is 400, I have mine set to 50, 0 is instant.
Take your pick

 

[Ruanne]

Ahehe! THank you po! Naayos ko na. Ahehe! MARAMI PONG SALAMAT!!

 

[rentao_15]

there are lots of tips in xp.. nice thread sir hmx post lang ako para makita ko lagi sa user cp ko ahihihi

 

[jet_23]

thanks ryan.... wala ka bang tweaks ng IE6 ?

 

[maria_juliana]

" I love my langga "

 

[xhitman]

Windows XP Tips and Tricks

=================================
Running Applications in Compatibility Mode

With Windows XP, you can run programs as if though they were being run under
a different operating system. (This is known as "emulation".) Simply
right-click a shortcut, select "Properties" and then check "Run in
compatibility mode" and select the operating system you wish to make the
program believe it is being run under. This fools or tricks the program into
thinking you are really using a previous version of Windows, such as NT, 2000,
98, or 95. This is especially useful for certain games that won't run
properly. Be careful *not* to use this with certain system utilities, such as
antivirus, defrag, registry, and disk tool applications.


=================================
Customizing the Start Menu

Right click on the "Start" button and left click "Properties". From here, you
can select the new Windows XP style Start Menu, or return to the Windows
2000/Millennium style one. You can also customize the two possible choices
using their corresponding "Customize" buttons. This also allows you to turn on
or disable cascading menus and other options that are useful, such as large or
small icons and more.


=================================
Bring Back Those Desktop Icons

After you install Windows XP, you probably noticed that some of your icons
from previous versions of Windows you've used are missing. Microsoft did this
intentionally to help simply and reduce clutter. Of course, for some people,
this isn't the best choice or the user preference. So, if you want those icons
like "My Computer" and "My Network Places" back, just open Display Properties
(right click Desktop Wallpaper, left click "Properties") and click the
"Desktop" tab. Click the "Customize Desktop" button and on the "General" tab
check the items you want. You can also change the icons used by these desktop
items in the same screen. One final tip related to this screen is the "Clean
Desktop Now" button, which notifies you of unused icons on the desktop and
offers to remove them if you choose.


=================================
Give Me My ClearType

Windows XP includes a great new visual technology, called "ClearType" which
increases horizontal legibility by approximately 300% and it looks great. Go
back into "Display Properties" [see tip: "Bring Back Those Desktop Icons" for
instructions] and this time, go to the "Appearance" tab. Click "Effects" and
for the second drop down box, labeled "Use the following method to smooth
edges of screen fonts", select "ClearType". Click OK twice and you're all set.


=================================
Lock Computer vs. Welcome Login Screen

You must go into Control Panel and open the "User Accounts" applet to change
this setting. Click "Change the way users log on or off". For maximum
security, uncheck the "Use the Welcome screen" option. This re-enables the use
of the "Lock Computer" option from the ALT CTRL DELETE menu, but prevents
multiple users from being logged on locally at a single time. This also
returns to the Windows 2000 style login screen. If you'd rather have the
ability to *not* be able to use "Lock Computer" and would rather allow
multiple users to logon to the computer at a single time locally, leave this
setting checked and also check "Use Fast User Switching".

=================================
Looking for a Windows XP Compatible Driver?

If you can't find a driver for a hardware device under Windows XP, you can try
to use a Windows 2000 compatible driver for the same hardware. Usually this
tends to work, and in my experience so far, it always has. However, if you can
find a driver specifically designed for use with Windows XP, that is usually
the best and safest option. You can also e-mail the hardware manufacturer and
ask them about Windows XP compatibility and drivers.

=================================
To increase system performance

Right click my computer. Click properties.
Click advanced.
Click settings (under performance).
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one ?use visual styles on windows and buttons?.

=================================
How to disable XP's crap built in CD Burner

Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.
Go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services open it and click on start up type, change to "Disabled".

=================================
These Settings will fine tune your systems memory

You need at least 256MB of ram to do this:

Go to start\run\regedit -and then to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

1.DisablePagingExecutive -double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive yeilds faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache- double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory and improves system performance a lot.

3.Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit - double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of ram -this tweak will speed up your disckcache.
Reboot

=================================
Unable to delete from Avi files from HD

XP holds files in it's memory even after you have closed the application using them making it impossible to delete them from your harddrive. To fix this:

Start -> Run -> Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler\ directory and delete the "DEFAULT" key.

=================================
Tweak The Swap File

For Users with 256 MB RAM or more this tweak will boost their Windows- and Game-Performance.
What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.

Open the System Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe in the RUN command. There in your System.ini you have to add "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" under the 386enh section.

Restart your Windows and enjoy better Game performance

=================================
Disable Services


XP Pro runs a lot of services by default that are pointless if your not on a corporate network, the following services are ones that I safely disable thereby freeing up memory but check what each one does first to make sure your not using it for something:

Go to Run and type services.msc, right click on each service, properties and choose disable.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor

=================================
Speed Up The File System

NTFS is a great file system, 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 whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes. Disable it by going to Run and type regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem and set 'DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate' 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.

=================================
Disable DLL Caching

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 DWORD 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 The Prefetch

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 will decrease the boot time but double and increase the performance of your XP.

=================================
SpeedUp Your Connection By 20% (Cable Users Only)

1.Log on as "Administrator".
2. Run - gpedit.msc
3. Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch.
4. Then expand the "Administrative Templates" branch.
5. Expand the "Network" branch.
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left pane.
7. In the right window pane double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting.
8. On the settings tab check the "Enabled" item.
9. Change "Bandwidth limit %" to read 0.
10. Then go to your Network connections Start=>Control Panel>Network & Internet connections>Network Connections and right-click on your connection. Then under the General or the Networking tab, (where it lists your protocols) make sure QoS packet scheduler is enabled.

It may take effect immediately on some systems. To be sure, just re-boot.

 

[slowww]

maraming salamat po sa inyo.... yung iba talga need e..hehehe salamt po ult sa info

 

[Lyndon]

Re: WinXP Tips and Tricks for Faster Performance (cont.)

bossing salamat talagang bumilis ang xp ko....

 

[bosspj_10]

salamat sa mga tips,' heheh,' nice

 

[opetlicious]

boss ang galing ng ginawa mo na to!!!! i really appreciate it! thanks dude!

 

[zhukushy]

super thanks

 

[mamondye]

gracias

 

[richanne]

ito po ba ang kukupyahin pra bumilis ang pc ko?Speed up start menu

 

[richanne]

Speed up start menu

ito po ba ang susundin ko?

 

[djay1018]

i know all this stuff.. but thanx sir Ryan...

 

[kick_ass_aze]

Tnx very much pare

 

[richanne]

saan po ba ung kukupyahin jan?lahat ba dapat gawin?

 

[booboo]

how to disable the msn messenger...
wat was given here fails.. pls help

 

[jhaopogi]

salamat po!!!!!!!!!!!!!