10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows XP
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
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Comment by bs prabhakara on 23 September 2007:
tips were quite usefull as for as iam concerned ur tips did help my home pc
Comment by bs prabhakara on 23 September 2007:
september23,2007.12:50PM
thanks for the some of tips it definetly speed of my home pc
Pingback by How can i speed up my pc? by AlphaWu’s Blog@WordPress on 21 September 2007:
[...] for instructions go to http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2005/…; [...]
Comment by asso on 20 September 2007:
switch to classic style from xp style an you will notice your computer will befaster
put your mous on the destktop click the right button then chose propreties
then appareance then chose classic style from and then apply and you are done.
Comment by Yigit T. on 13 September 2007:
Thanks nice information, I will try to do
Comment by future gadgets on 13 September 2007:
hey, thanks for the post, i’ve been looking for away to speed up my xp, it seems like I’ve tried everything, and my windows xp still kinda slow. Very useful tips on speed up folder browsing
Comment by Samuel on 11 September 2007:
These are some great little tips. I have implemented a few of them and they have not caused me any problems unlike some methods that have been recommended in the past. This is great as you find that the long you use windows XP the more it gets bogged down are really slows up so these few tips should help:)
Pingback by Trip Around the Blogosphere 9-9-2007 | Pajama Professional on 10 September 2007:
[...] series on optimizing your PC’s performance very helpful. The series commences with 10 Simple Ways to Speed up Windows XP, continues on to 10 Intermediate Ways to Speed up Windows and wraps up with More Ways to Speed up [...]
Comment by Michael Samuel on 9 September 2007:
Thanks for the useful tips! however, I’m trying to make some money online in order to get a Mac! my pc is getting me crazy and I want to get rid of it today before tomorrow!
Comment by Everton on 9 September 2007:
@Nicholas
Yes, put the same number in both fields