More Ways To Speed Up Windows XP


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Update: If you are using Windows Vista then check out 10 Simple Ways To SpeedUp Windows Vista.

Athough I’ve just got a new PC that is scarily fast (well, compared to my old machine) I’ve still spent quite a bit of time trying to make it even faster, and I’ve discovered some handy tweaks that I haven’t used before along the way.

These aren’t covered in my 10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows XP or 10 Intermediate Ways To Speed Up Windows XP which together account for around 20% of my daily traffic. Once again, I’ve tried to focus on changes that any user can replicate and that won’t damage a system.

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Speed Up Boot Times I

This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn’t waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It’s quite simple to implement:

    1. Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
  • RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings”UserName without quotes”\Local Settings\History”
  • RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History”
  • RD /S /q “D:\Temp” <–”Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder”
  • 2. Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a ‘.bat’ file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat

    3. Click ‘Start’ then ‘Run’

    4. Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit ‘ok’

    5. Click on ‘Computer Configuration’ then ‘Windows Settings’

    6. Double-click on ‘Scripts’ and then on ‘Shutdown’

    7. Click ‘Add’ and find the batch file that you created and then press ‘Ok’

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Speed Up Boot Times II

When your PC starts it usually looks for any bootable media in any floppy or cd-rom drives you have installed before it gets around to loading the Operating System from the HDD. This can waste valuable time. To fix this we need to make some changes to the Bios.

  1. To enter the bios you usually press ‘F2′ or ‘delete’ when your PC starts
  2. Navigate to the ‘Boot’ menu
  3. Select ‘Boot Sequence’
  4. Then either move your Hard drive to the top position or set it as the ‘First Device’
  5. Press the ‘Escape’ key to leave the bios. Don’t forget to save your settings before exiting

Note: Once this change has been made, you won’t be able to boot from a floppy disc or a CD-rom. If for some strange reason you need to do this in the future, just go back into your bios, repeat the steps above and put your floppy or CD-rom back as the ‘First Device’


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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.He also writes for Windows 7 News, Windows 8 News and One Tip A Day.

  • Anonymous
    These are some great suggestions. Thank you very much.
  • Anonymous
    Actually, is better NOT to have Virtual Memory at all, as the OS (any OS) keeps writing buffered things that perhaps are not used at all. And, as we all know, the HD is the slowest part of the PC...
    So, my recommendation is if you have enough memory for your tasks, disable Virtual Memory at all.
    Happy new year!
  • Anonymous
    Excellent tips, thanks
    shiraz
    blogeverywhere.com
  • Anonymous
    Yet another person who has no idea what prefetch does in Windows XP. Prefetch does not, I repeat, DOES NOT preload programs into memory. It creates an index to the location of those files on the hard disk, including the order in which they’re loaded. This helps Windows load in programs faster. The prefetch directory is also used by the defrag utility to optimize files.
    http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=743
    http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=621
    http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=24
    http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive/2005/05/25...
  • Tiernans Comms Closet
    Check out these articles on Windows Speed tips:
    10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows XP
    10 Intermediate...
  • Fred
    Wow !!! Real great tips !!! Some I knew, but other that I like a lot ... Specially the TCP Optimizer, and the TimeStamps tricks !!!
    But I have a little problem and need help !!!
    In my BIOS, my first boot is HD ! But every fu**in time I start my computer, when Windows XP starts he "scans" or "try to read" my floppy disc ... This cause the big problem that not all my apps load at the start (iTouch for Logitech, OpenOffice launcher, Webshots, etc.). The only way I have is to wait, then close the session and open a new session. This time, in less than 30 secs, everything is loaded !
    So, please, HOW can I stop Windows to look on my Floppy ???
    Oh and don't tell me to uninstall the floppy ... I know this one ! :)
  • Deian
    - 4. Type in 'gpedit.msc' and hit 'ok'...
    gpedit.msc is not available for Windows XP Home users
  • Anonymous
    NOT COMPATABLE WITH WIN XP HOME
  • Anonymous
    Fantastic article, helped me a bunch!
    Cheers!
  • Anonymous
    great article you do a great service to geeks like me. thanks A+++
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