Windows XP Tweak

[SIZE=2][SIZE=3]A healthy system is an efficient system.[/SIZE]

[/SIZE][SIZE=2]This tutorial will assume that your computer, like many others, is infected with spyware, adware, viruses, bad registry entries and other foreign resource stealing objects. We will take care of those first, before tweaking XP's own system.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Most computers come with anti-virus software installed, usually either Norton or McAfee. If you have one of these on your computer and your subscription is still active, you'll be fine as long as you keep the virus definitions updated.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]If you're looking for a new virus protection program, then Kaspersky is the answer. Kaspersky has a higher detection rate, uses less system resources, and costs less than both Norton and McAfee. If you want a computer that runs like butter, then this should be your choice.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]
[/SIZE][SIZE=3]Remove unused programs.[/SIZE]

If you haven't checked in a while, there may be some programs installed on your system that you don't use anymore, or that you simply never installed in the first place.

To check for this click on Start → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs

Remove anything that you no longer need or anything that you know doesn't belong there. Depending on your spyware situation, you may find some program titles that were installed by malicious web sites. These are usually given away by their names, signifying ads, or toolbars.

[SIZE=3]Remove spyware/adware.[/SIZE]

Spyware comes from everywhere these days—Junk email, web sites, software, and those IM smiley faces that your child (or you) had to have. They ruin your computer with their persistent popups and eat away at your system resources, thereby slowing your computer down.
Spybot is the free solution.
Download, install and run. Search for updates. Check for problems.
You should run this program every now and then to remove any additional spyware you may have picked up from browsing the internet.



[SIZE=3]Clean the registry[/SIZE]


The registry is a database used by Windows for storing configuration information. Software (good or bad) writes information to the registry and over time this database needs to be cleaned out. Uninstalled programs usually don't remove all of their traces from the registry so these "dead" links need to be removed as well.
jv16 PowerTools is the most thorough program for doing this. This program comes with a 30-day trial, which is good enough for what we need to do.
Run the program, click registry tools and then registry cleaner (second box from the left). In the new window click continue, and then start. When its done you'll see this window.
Hit Ctrl-A to select everything and then carefully scroll through the list and uncheck anything with a red circle. Click remove and your done.

The red entries typically can be deleted, but to stay on the safe side leave them.
Another useful component of jv16 is its file cleaner. This time click file tools and then file cleaner (third box from the left). The program will run, and if you have any broken shortcuts, temp files, or unused DLL files, it will let you know.
Select any you may have and remove them.




[SIZE=3]Update Windows.[/SIZE]


Microsoft releases updates for Windows as design flaws and security weaknesses are brought to light. You should download these to improve the stability and security of your system.
click Start → All Programs → Windows Update
Your browser will open and begin searching your computer for needed updates. Follow the instructions and keep running Windows updates until there are no critical or security updates left to install.
This may require you to restart Windows and run update many times, depending on how long it has been since your last update.




[SIZE=3]Time to defrag.[/SIZE]


Defragmenter moves the files on your hard drive closer together and into a more logical order. This allows files to be more quickly accessed, increasing the buttery smoothness of your computer.
Being that we just installed some new programs, removed some old programs, and updated Windows, now would be a good time to defrag your hard drive.
click Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → Disk Defrag
Click Defragment and let the program run.
It's a good idea to defrag somewhat regularly and particularly after adding or removing software.




[SIZE=3]System properties.[/SIZE]


Now we'll work with XP's own settings.
The visual themes that come with XP can add a nice look to the interface, but at the expense of system performance.
click Start → right click My Computer → select Properties → click the Advanced tab
Check the circle that says "Adjust for best performance." Hit Apply and OK.
While still in the System Properties click the Remote tab and uncheck "Allow Remote Assistance."

System Restore is a feature that allows you to revert to previous instances of windows. It makes restore points prior to installing new applications and drivers. The problem with this is that it will eventually take up tons of space on your hard drive, and it will make installing a simple program take much longer, as you wait for the restore point to be created.
Click the System Restore tab while in the system properties and put a check in "Turn off System Restore."

Finally, click on the Automatic Updates tab.
Disabling this option is completely up to you. It all depends on whether you will regularly check for updates on your own. With it on, Windows will periodically check for new updates in the background. If you don't want this process running in the background and using up system resources then disable it. I have it disabled and I tend to check for new updates once a month.
Check "Turn off Automatic Updates."
Click Apply and OK.




[SIZE=3]Disabling services.[/SIZE]


This phase of the process will free up a significant amount of system memory. When you hit ctrl+alt+del, Windows Task Manager will popup showing you the current processes running in Windows. Each one of these processes uses system memory. By removing unneeded processes you will be freeing up more system memory, allowing your computer to run more smoothly.
click Start → Run → type services.msc → click OK
To disable a service, right click on the service and select Properties. In the window that pops up you must click Stop (if the service is running) and then change the Startup type to Disabled. Click Apply and OK. See image on next page for help with this.

Find and disable the following services:
Automatic Updates - To completely disable updates, you must disable them here as well as in the system properties, as mentioned earlier.
Themes - This coincides with the earlier visual performance setting change.
System Restore Service - This coincides with an earlier change.
Indexing Service - This catalogs information on your computer. It is a major resource bottleneck, and needs to be disabled.

The following is a list of services that you can safely disable without affecting the usability of your system. These are the same services I have disabled, and will apply to 99% of users.
Application Layer Gateway Service
Computer Browser
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility - Needed if using multiple user accounts.
Network Location Awareness
Performance Logs and Alerts
Secondary Logon
Server - Needed for network file and print sharing.
SSDP Discovery Service
Task Scheduler - Needed if you want Windows to automatically defrag, etc.

Disable these services as well:
TCP/IP NetBios Helper
Web Client
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration - Needed if using wireless devices.
WMI Performance Adapter
Set this list of services to Manual:
Cryptographic Services
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Event Log
Logical Disk Manager


[SIZE=3]Configuring software.[/SIZE]


It's a good idea to go through the settings of all your programs and uncheck any boxes that tell the program to automatically run at Windows startup. Otherwise these programs will run and take up system resources whether you are using them or not. Having programs auto start also greatly increases your boot time. You can always put the program link on your desktop or in the quick launch bar, which doesn't take up any resources.
You may also want to uncheck any boxes that tell the program to automatically search for updates. This too will run in the background and slow down your computer. Instead check for updates on your own from time to time.
After you've done, this reboot.



[SIZE=3]System tray.[/SIZE]


The system tray is the small box on your taskbar which includes the time and the icons of loaded software. If there are any icons there now, right click on them and look for the program's settings. Once there, disable the box that is telling the software to load during the Window's boot up.
Again, these icons (loaded programs) cause your boot time to be longer, and your system to run slower.
I have it set up so that the only icon in the system tray belong to my virus scanner. You want your virus scanner to start with Windows every time.
Reboot, and make sure those programs don't start up again.




[SIZE=3]MS config.[/SIZE]


This tool allows us to fine tune the way Windows starts up.
Click Start → Run → Type msconfig → Click OK
In the System Configuration Utility click on the Startup tab.
Here we can see each startup item with its respective registry entry, telling that program to start. We want to remove any items that shouldn't be starting up.
Note: This is somewhat advanced so if you're unsure of what you're doing, skip this part. If you take your time though, it's easily done.


If you don't know what a particular startup item is, look up the name in Google and you'll get a plethora of information explaining the item. For instance, if I were to look up 'nvcpl' (which is one of my startup items) I would find out that this file is used by my Nvidia graphics card, so I don't want to remove it. Figure out what your startup items are and then remove the ones you don't need.
To remove a startup item Click Start → Run → Type regedit.
Navigate to the line you need to delete by using the location shown in the System Configuration Utility. Most lines are located at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run
Then find the item name and delete it. When you're done close the Registry Editor and click OK in the System Configuration Utility. Reboot.

Click Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → Disk Defrag
Click Defragment and let the program run.
It's a good idea to run Defrag somewhat regularly and particular after adding or removing software.



[SIZE=3]A note about firewalls.[/SIZE]

A firewall is necessary to protect your computer from ****ers as well as other unwanted sources from accessing your computer. I personally use the firewall included with Windows. To make sure it is enabled: Click Start → Control Panel → Security Center → Windows Firewall
Under the General tab, make sure 'On' is checked.
If you'd like to use a different firewall, two free programs that come highly recommended are Kerio Personal Firewall and Sygate Personal Firewall.

nice one, RottenKid. Thanks

so much to do to keep WIndows running, switch to Ubuntu...

Nice tips.. but I know most of them

I love you. You are my hero dude/girl. I am going to try this.

On the internet are a lot of programs that you can use to take care of this ( I mean registry scan , fixing hardware problems and others ) And with kaspersky you are safe as long as you have a good pc i mean at least 128 free ram memory . If you don`t have enough ram you can`t run kaspersky , so is not a very goooooood antivirus :P)