Speed Up Your Computer Running Windows XP Optimize It To Run Faster

KEEP YOUR COMPUTER SAFE AND GET RID OF VIRUSES AND ALL OTHER FORMS OF MALWARE, this is the first step to making sure your computer runs as fast as possible with no threats. All PCs need to be protected from Viruses, Trojans and Spyware and need real-time protection running. Never have 2 virus protection or 2 firewalls on one system, one of each only. You can however use a couple of different spyware removers. Follow all the steps below and the final step will give you instructions of what software you will need to protect your PC.

• CLEAN TEMPORARY FILES AND OLD REGISTRY ENTRIES AND REMOVE UNWANTED AUTO-START ENTRIES
  Your system stores many un-needed temporary files and unwanted registry keys that can take up space on your hard drive and slow your system down. You can download this free program called CCleaner and run it to remove temp files. If you have many icons down beside you clock then also use the Startup function of CCleaner to remove anything you don't need starting when windows starts (rule of thumb is usually you only need your virus protection and firewall turned on at startup, anything else can be started automatically when needed and accessed. The cleaner will also empty your recycle bin for you and you can also use it to uninstall programs. Run the cleaner at least once a month.
• SPEED UP YOUR INTERNET
  Internet Explorer is the default browser for Windows Operating Systems however. I suggest you download Firefox Browser instead as it is more stable, faster and less chance of getting a virus or trojan.
  
• DEFRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVES
  Run disk defragmenter once a month. System performance is maximized when files are pushed together on the disk instead of fragmented into separate parts. Basically spaces are left on the drive after deleting files and programs. Windows has a built in defragmenter but there is a quicker free one Defraggler.
• DISABLE WINDOWS XP SOUNDS
  Having sound effects set for common tasks such as emptying your recycle bin or refreshing internet pages slows your system down. This affects startup and shutdown speeds the most. To disable task sounds go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Sounds and Audio Devices", select the "Sounds" tab, under "Sound Scheme" select "No Sounds". You will still hear music etc. it will only disable the annoying system beeps.
• IMPROVE WINDOWS XP DISPLAY AND TURN OFF ERROR REPORTING
  Default Windows XP visual settings may look nice but they slow down system responsiveness. Here is how to keep the same look of Windows XP while losing the sluggish feel. Right click "My Computer" icon, select properties, click "Advanced" tab, in the "Performance" section hit the "Settings" button. Leave only the following checked:
  √ Use common tasks in folders
  √ Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
  √ Use visual styles on windows and buttons
  Back to the "Advanced" tab, in the "Startup and Recovery" section hit the "Settings" button. Under system failure take the tick out of all the boxes and under debugging information choose Small memory dump.
  Back to the "Advanced" tab again and this time choose error reporting button and choose disable error reporting and take the tick out of "but notify me when critical errors occur.
  Now go to folder options in your control panel and select view and take the tick out of "Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items"
• DISABLE INDEXING SERVICE AND WINDOWS DISK CLEANUP
  The Indexing Service in Windows XP indexes your files presumably to shorten the time needed to search your hard drive if you are searching for a specific file. However, the constant indexing of files actually slows down system performance. To disable the Indexing Service open "My Computer", right-click your hard drive and select "Properties" uncheck "Allow Indexing Service" then apply, Then select "Apply changes to subfolders and files". If any files cannot be updated select "Ignore All". This may take some time but will be worth the wait. Do the same for any other hard drives you may have.
  To remove all the junk from these folders you can use the built in program called Disk Cleanup. Open "My Computer", right-click your hard drive and select "Properties" and press Disk Cleanup. When Disk Cleanup starts it takes a while to scan all the files that can be removed or compressed. Once it has finished searching you will have a list of tick boxes of things that can be removed. All of these should be ticked EXCEPT compress old files, now press ok and agree to removing these entries.
• KEEP SOME FREE SPACE ON YOUR MAIN HARD DRIVE (C:)
  Keep at least 25% of your (C:) free. Uninstall any unused program from add/remove programs in your control panel. Transfer all the music, image and video files to other drives or burn them to CD/DVD if they are taking up too much space.
• DE-CLUTTER YOUR DESKTOP
  Do not have shortcuts to too many programs on your desktop it might be quicker for you but slower for the system running. Open applications from their real shortcut by going to Start > Programs. A lot of people do not like this suggestion but a blank wallpaper helps a faster startup and turn off screensaver too. Also heavy gaming puts a huge strain on your pc.
• DISABLE AVI PREVIEWING
  Opening a folder containing a large number of AVI files can open quite slowly because Windows has to open each AVI file and extract information from them. If you have a large collection, you can speedup XP's folder access by disabling it from automatically extracting this info. This can also fix problems when trying to rename or move AVI files and you get an error message: "it is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again." Download, unzip and run the "Disable AVI Previewing" file and reboot.
• GENUINE WINDOWS KEEP IT UPDATED EVERY MONTH MANUALLY
  Do not use windows automatic update, it will slow your system down and your internet connection always checking for update, you can manually update once a monthly if needed. To turn off Automatic Updates, go to Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates > Turn off Automatic Updates and then go to Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Change the way Security Center alerts me. Untick all the boxes to stop the annoying pop ups in the task bar.
• HOW MUCH RAM YOUR COMPUTER HAS/PAGEFILE DEFRAG/LOW VIRTUAL MEMORY ERRORS AND RAM UPGRADES
  Right click you "My Computer" icon and select properties, in the general you can view the amount of RAM your computer has. DO NOT use ram optimizers that claim to free ram as they have a negative affect on your system. Windows manages the size automatically, but you can manually change the size of virtual memory if the default size is not enough for your needs. Open System by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then click System. Click on the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings. Click the Advanced tab, and then, under Virtual memory, click the drive you want to set the page file on, click custom size, in the Initial size put 1.5 times your installed ram (i.e. 256mb ram installed then put in the figure 384). In the Maximum size box put 3 times your installed ram (i.e. 256mb ram installed then put in the figure 768). It is also worth defragmenting the paging file to prevent "out of virtual memory" errors. One of the limitations of the WinXP's defragmenter is that it does not defrag or show you how fragmented your paging files are. To defrag page files download Page Defrag and then run it and select "Defrag at next Reboot" then "Ok" and reboot. Notes - this only needs to be run once unless you re-adjust the paging file size again. For WinXP computers connected to the Internet you should preferably have 512MB or 1GB for gaming. For upgrades try Crucial Memory Scanner to find the maximum ram and type for your motherboard.
• WINDOWS SHUTDOWN FASTER REGISTRY FIXES
  Windows XP stores values in its registry which are responsible for determining how long to wait before shutting down open applications and services once the shutdown command has been given. By editing these settings and changing them to lower values, you can considerably decrease the amount of time that Windows XP needs to successfully shut itself down. Always be careful when editing the registry.
  
  Go to start then run and type in   regedit   and navigate to
  
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'AutoEndTasks' value and set it to 1
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'HungAppTimeout' value and set it to 1000
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' value and set it to 1000
  HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'AutoEndTasks' value and set it to 1
  HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'HungAppTimeout' value and set it to 1000
  HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop - then double click the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' value and set it to 1000
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control - then double WaitToKillServiceTimeout' value and set it to 1000
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem - then double click 'NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation' value and set it to 1
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem - then double click 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate' value and set it to 1 (if this key does not exist then ignore this request)
• DISK PERFORMANCE MONITOR
  The performance monitor for hard drives is turned off by default but it is worth making sure it has not been turned on. Go to start then run and type in cmd type DISKPERF -N  in the window that opens to turn disk performance off
• Finally you need to protect your pc from any infection and viruses, the link has a variety of free software to choose from.