How to Speed up a Windows XP Computer

1. Regularly use Reginout registry cleaner to increase XP performance. First, backup

the registry using the cleaner program. Maybe you have uninstalled an application
without using the Add or Remove Programs function in the Control Panel, or perhaps an
object or file in the registry got moved. Eventually, this orphaned or misplaced
information accumulates and begins to clog your registry, potentially slowing down your
PC and causing error messages and system crashes.

2. Remove Spyware and Viruses. Spyware and viruses are leading causes of computer
slowdown because you may have several spyware cookies or trojans that are taking up
your processor time for reading and storing and reporting your activity to several spy
databases. Read Rid-Your-Computer-of-Adware,-Spyware-and-Viruses to learn how to
remove them and speed up your system. Update and run your spyware and virus software
every week.
 If you do not have tools installed to protect against malware and spyware then you can
download Spyware Blaster, and for viruses, download a free copy ofAVG - "Anti-Vir Guard" or
this one Avira - "Anti-Vira guard" (all three of those are free "For Personal Use"), all three are
also available in Business or Proversions. Also, Microsoft's Windows Defender is a widely-
used anti-spyware tool that is currently distributed freely for users with a
"Genuine" verified copy of Windows. "Windows Defender" is also included with other Microsoft
services and products such as "Live OneCare" and "Vista."
 Download and install Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Google Chrome. It will allow you to
import all of your Internet Explorer settings, and is much less prone to malware than Microsoft
Internet Explorer. It will prompt you with a "Set as Default Browser" message. Check "Don't
show this again" and click "Yes". Firefox also has a cool feature to delete cookies, cache, and
temporary internet files each time you close it. You are strongly recommended to use this option.
It can speed up your internet experience. You should also check Google Chrome which is
noticeably faster and less prone to virus attacks from internet Chrome.
 If you have a really complicated virus infection, try using the Quick Virus Remover. It is
a free utility, though not a replacement for commercial products but can be helpful for removing
some of the most common viruses infecting your system.
3. Perform a disk clean up. Clean up your disk quickly to remove unnecessary files.
 Click start in the bottom left corner, then click run.
 Type, "cleanmgr.exe" in the text field.
 Press "okay". This can take a while if you have never done it before.
4. Remove unwanted/unneeded software which may be the reason for slowdown. We've
all been there before, having downloaded something we no longer plan on using —
except that we no longer use it, plan on using it, or ever really planned on using it.

 Click start, then click control panel.

 Click add/remove programs.
 Highlight any old software you do not use and then click "remove".
5. Defragment Your Computer. This will place similar files physically closer on the hard
disk and will help improve load speeds.
 Click start, again, then click run.
 Type, "dfrg.msc" in the text field.
 Click Defrag to start it.
6. Stop unwanted Start-Up programs. Limit the number of programs that automatically
start when your computer turns on.

 Run msconfig
 Choose startup box
 Select uncheck programs you don't want to run on startup
 Alternatively,Click here and download StartUpCPL.
o Install the software you have just downloaded.
o Open control panel, select Start up.
o Disable any programs you do not want load automatically.

 Programs can also schedule tasks to launch automatically when windows starts to
stop such programs use windows task scheduler.To open Scheduled Tasks, click Start, click All
Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Scheduled Tasks.
 Disable All Services you do not use or need. Open control panel, open
Administrative Tools, and select Services. Disabling the wrong Services may lead to serious
problems that you may not notice right away. Please consult a reference for information on
specific Windows XP Services. If you do not know what it is, do not disable the service
7. Make windows load faster. Do this by adjusting the "timeout" tab.

 Click Start, then Run.

 Type in 'msconfig' and press enter.
 Click on the BOOT.INI tab at the top.
 Over to the right there will be a box labeled Timeout with 30 in it. Change the 30 to a 3.
 After you apply this step, your pc will want to do a restart for changes to take effect.
After the restart, you'll get a System Configuration Utility window; just check the radio box that
begins "Don't show this message."
8. Speed up processing time. Turn off the fancy Windows XP graphics will noticeably
increase the speed of your computer.

 Go to Start, (Settings), Control Panel, System. NOTE: You may need to 'Switch to
Classic Mode' to see the System applet.
 Go to the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.
 Select the 'Adjust for best performance' radio button, then Apply, and OK.
 The graphics aren't as flashy, but your computer will run a lot faster.
9. Set Pagefile size.

 Go to Start, (Settings), Control Panel, System. (This is just like the step above this.)
 Go to the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.
 Now switch to this Advanced tab, and click on 'Change' under Virtual Memory.
 You will see the 'Initial Size (MB)' and the Maximum Size (MB)'.
 Change 'Initial Size' to the same value as 'Maximum Size' then click set.
o NOTE This setting will help your gaming process by speeding up your computer.
o ADDED NOTE: When your computer consumes your computer's hard drive and
uses it as RAM, it is referred to as thrashing. Thrashing is bad for your computer and buying a
RAM (it's not that expensive) is much more worthwhile.
10. Set Priorities. Press Control (ctrl) Alt Delete (del) at the same time or right click your
taskbar and select Task Manager. Once task manager opens, click the process's tab. Now
find explorer.exe, right click it, and set the priority to realtime. This makes your computer
focus on explorer.exe, which is your task bar and visual objects. Use this method if you
want to keep your visual styles (or your using a transformation pack). This method
greatly increases speed and if you are noticing that other programs that you use a lot are
slow, you can set their priority to either high or above normal, if you have 2 process's on
high at the same time, your computer will be unstable, and might crash.

 For users without Admin password: You will not be able to modify the value to realtime.
If you aren't on an admin account, or you have insufficient privileges, then the best you can do is
set to high.