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 madrid man on 2 July 2008:
Great tips.
Comment by Wii on 25 June 2008:
Boy am I glad I stumbled across this article. My daughter uses our desktop PC and has been complaining about how slow it is getting. I was about the do a reformat but this has kept her happy for the time being, thanks.
Comment by leonard berishaq on 24 June 2008:
who wana do have service pack 3 for freeeeeeee than take my e-mail and i give you i swear and for free for windows xp its an ideally luckmuch better than windows xp
leo-lyon@hotmail.com im waiting thnx
Pingback by Tips to Speed Up XP « Bridging Frontiers on 21 June 2008:
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Comment by keith watkins on 18 June 2008:
i think that one of the most simple ways to speed up your internet is to keep downloaded media to a minimum instead of storing data on your hard drive download it to disc to save memory which will in fact speed up your computer becuse you have more memory available
Pingback by Mauro Pirrone | Blog | Speed up your PC! on 12 June 2008:
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Comment by komodo dragon on 7 June 2008:
good job
thanks for the tips, they help a lot
Comment by PPC on 5 June 2008:
Nice list of tips and tweaks to run windows xp optimally. Am currently going through list making sure everything applies to my notebook.
Comment by sudhy on 27 May 2008:
first time i enter this site,i really enjoying this and the notes for speed up xp is very useful to me                                                          thank you
Comment by Omar on 24 May 2008:
It’s working , and it achieve the task !.