1	Speed Up Windows XP Steven Kieley Ewing SeniorNet Windows Tips & Tricks December 14, 2006
2	Remember ?..... How fast your programs loaded when your computer was new How responsive each key was to your touch How quickly your data or documents would be displayed
3	Chances are…. If your computer is more than 6 months old: Your hard drive is clogged with much more data than you need Unnecessary processes are running and using up memory Extra programs load up that you don’t need Your virus software is slowing things down
4	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Processes may be running in the background that were started by a program you’re done using
5	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Look at your desktop for those programs added by the computer manufacturer or software suppliers Credit card applications Anti virus trials AOL ! !
6	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Deleting the icons from the desktop is not enough Instead go to the Control Panel and …….
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11	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Remove extra programs Check when last used Note size of program Be sure NOT to remove shared files To get rid of Windows Messenger: Right click icon, open, then tools>options>preferences
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13	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Look at your desktop for those programs added by the computer manufacturer or software suppliers Credit card applications Anti virus trials AOL ! ! Consider dumping resource hogs (Norton for one) Replace with AVG and Zone Alarm Supplement with Spyware and Adware
14	Spyware and Adware Some Alternatives Spybot Search & Destroy Ad-Aware Windows Defender Google Toolbar All are free and tend to complement each other
15	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Consider dumping resource hogs Clean up the hard drive
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21	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Consider dumping resource hogs Clean up the hard drive Check your internet settings
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25	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Consider dumping resource hogs Clean up the hard drive Check your internet settings Empty the Recycle Bin RIGHT click on the desktop icon and choose “empty”
26	How to Speed Things Up First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Consider dumping resource hogs Clean up the hard drive Check your internet settings Empty the Recycle Bin Upgrade your RAM Should be a minimum of 512 MB
27	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things But first, create a restore point Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore
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29	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM
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33	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive, if available From previous screen, go to Advanced Tab and Virtual Memory
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35	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT32? Convert to NTFS Go to Start>Run>Type “cmd.exe”, then “Convert c: /fs:ntfs”
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38	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Right click “Start”, select “Properties”, then “Task Bar”
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40	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area
41	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Go to start>run, type “msconfig”
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43	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Go to start>run, type “msconfig” Download Startup Cop Pro from www.pcmag.com/utilities
44	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Take control of startup services Click on the Services Tab in previous window OR Go to start>run, type “services.msc” (More info.)
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50	Other Services You May Not Need* (Always check descriptions first) Portable Media Serial Number (May prevent copyrighted discs from playing) Distributed Link Tracking Client (Most likely you're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain ) FTP Publishing Service ( If you don't want your system to act as an FTP server) IPSEC Policy Agent ( Disable it if you're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain ) Remote Registry Service (Typically you don't remotely access the Registry of other systems ) RIP Service (If you are a typical home user, you don't need your system to act as a router) World Wide Web Publishing Service ( If you are not into a web publishing business,you don't need this as well)
51	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Take control of startup services Check the Task Manager Hold down “Control”, then press “ALT” & “DEL”
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55	How to Speed Things Up Next, do some “hidden” things Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Adjust Performance Settings for Programs and spread virtual memory to a second drive Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Take control of startup services Check the Task Manager Clean the “prefetch folder” Go to start>run, type “c:\windows\prefetch”
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57	The Prefetch Folder Works great if you only use 2 or 3 programs Makes them open quickly If you use a lot of programs, some only once or twice, it fills up with gunk XP remembers a portion of each program Overall performance suffers
58	The Prefetch Folder Solution is simple: choose “edit select all” and press delete To fix it permanently, go to start>run, type “regedit”
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62	Editing the Registry Not for everyone If you’re not careful, can lead to disaster However, don’t hesitate as long as you double check every entry before committing to it Make sure you know how to recover if the message “Registry is Corrupted” displays Export a copy of the registry to a separate file before doing anything
63	Recovering the Registry Shut down immediately Wait 10 seconds and turn back on While booting up, hold down the F8 key Safe Mode menu will appear; choose “Last Known Good Configuration” Press Enter and follow remaining directions on screen
64	Editing the Registry “Regedit” is the gateway to speeding up and removing problems “Windows XP Speed Solutions” is strongly recommended for those who want to look further into tinkering
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66	Summary XP can be speeded up Depending on your level of comfort First, do the simple things Reboot Remove extra programs Consider dumping resource hogs Clean up the hard drive Check your internet settings Empty the Recycle Bin Upgrade your RAM to at least 512 MB
67	Summary XP can be speeded up Depending on your level of comfort Next take on the “hidden” tasks Reduce graphic effects if you have less than 512 MB of RAM Got FAT 32? Convert to NTFS Take control of the Task Bar notification area Take control of startup programs Take control of startup services Check the Task Manager Clean the “prefetch folder”
68	Summary XP can be speeded up If you’re interested Invest in some reference material PC Mag’s “Windows XP Speed Solutions” Smart Computing Magazine Consider some 3^rd party software Win Task Pro Startup Cop Pro Check out some websites TweakXP.com XPtuneup.com Just be careful with the registry!
69	Want to Learn More? Check out the Ewing SeniorNet website at www.ewingsnet.com Go to Courses>Vic Laurie’s Articles Take a computer course at SeniorNet