Connected Internet

The latest tech, mobile and gaming news

10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows XP

December 3rd, 2005 • Related • Filed Under

Update: If you are using Windows Vista then check out 10 Simple Ways To SpeedUp Windows Vista. If are feeling more adventurous I have also posted 10 Intermediate Ways To Speed Up Windows and also More Ways to Speed Up Windows XP

I’ve just finished setting up a new PC for a friend and I think some of you will be interested in some of the tweaks I make to all of my PCs to make them quicker. I’ve focused here on the ones which are simple to do and won’t cause problems if you get it wrong, rather than listing registry tweaks etc.

1. Disable Indexing Services

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unnecessary. To disable do the following:

Go to Start
Click Settings
Click Control Panel
Double-click Add/Remove Programs
Click the Add/Remove Window Components
Uncheck the Indexing services
Click Next

2. Optimise Display Settings

Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To optimise:

Go to Start
Click Settings
Click Control Panel
Click System
Click Advanced tab
In the Performance tab click Settings
Leave only the following ticked:

Show shadows under menus
Show shadows under mouse pointer
Show translucent selection rectangle
Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
Use visual styles on windows and buttons

3. Speedup Folder Browsing

You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:

Open My Computer
Click on Tools menu
Click on Folder Options
Click on the View tab.
Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
Click Apply
Click Ok
Reboot your computer

Continue Reading This Post:12 3

Subscribe To RSS Feed Updates (What is RSS??)

Bookmark & Share

About the Author

Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and currently runs the Portal and online operations for one of the largest ISPs in the UK. He also writes for Windows 7 News.

See All Posts by This Author

There Are 130 Responses So Far. »

Pages: « 13 … 12 11 10 9 8 [7] 6 5 4 3 2 … 1 » Show All

#70

Comment by Nicholas on 9 September 2007:

I’m confused about number seven. Do you increase the initial size to match the maximum size or vice versa? I just want to make sure I’m doing this right.
#69

Comment by Kline on 7 September 2007:

For Vista, you can find similiar information at this vista tweaking site, among many others.
#68

Comment by NLP Master on 27 August 2007:

Programs like QEMM fix up memory problems in older versions of windows- like Win95.

But good luck looking for such programs.
#67

Comment by Jan Barber-Doyle on 26 August 2007:

What about prior versions of Windows? I get the “system low on resources” pop-up all the time when I am on line, and I don’t know how to free up resources.
#66

Comment by NLP Master on 18 August 2007:

Software tweaks are inexpensive ways to boost WinXP performance but with the continuous fall of RAM prices, why not just grab 2GB worth of system memory? Slap that into middling machine and it instantly outperforms the most tweaked up Win OS.

Of course, switching to Apple OS takes you to an even more blissful high. Now that’s fast- really fast! Even on low spec Macs
#65

Pingback by LANcom Technology Blog » Improving the performance of your Windows XP machine on 15 August 2007:

[...] some slightly more technical ways of speeding your Windows XP machine click here. [...]
#64

Comment by Everton on 9 August 2007:

@Juggler

A lot of people have stolen this article because it ranks so highly on google. Thanks for reminding me to try and get some removed
#63

Comment by Juggler on 9 August 2007:

Thanks for this. You gave some really great tips on how to make XP run faster and smoother.

P.S. Did you allow people to post the exact article on their blog? ‘Cause I saw one blog that has the very same article, but it’s dated July 30, 2007
#62

Comment by hal9000 on 30 July 2007:

Improve XP: remove it and install FreeBSD
#61

Comment by Adam on 24 July 2007:

Wow, great list Dennis! Now this is why people decide to subscribe to this blog, keep up the good work. Maybe a follow up with Vista instead of Xp?