Welcome to the first of the two post series on ,,How to optimize the OS (operating system) for faster work”?
First before we start a brief notice: These posts are aimed at everyone, but some tips are for the people with advanced computer knowledge.
First let’s see what we have here. Ah there it is! . Windows XP is the operating system that came out in 2001. From the moment of it’s release it was the system that many companies as well the home users installed on their PC. Many security additions, updates and hotfixes for XP have been released since it’s original release. The biggest improvement for the XP systems was the release of the service packs. Service packs added new features (Security Center) fixed some bugs and errors, and the most important, they gave the performance increase. The latest one is Service Pack 3.
After the installation the first thing to do is to disable the unneeded stuff, so that it doesn’t hog your system. Let’s start with the effects.
Right click on the My Computer->Advanced-> and under the Performance click “Settings”.
You’ll get the list of effects with check box. Check the Custom first so that it will allow us to keep the effects we select.
Keep the following checked: Show shadows under menus, Smooth edges of screen fonts, Use common tasks in folders, Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop, Use visual styles on windows and buttons (if you don’t want to use Windows Classic theme only, then keep this checked. After checking them select “Apply” and then
“OK”.
Does it feel more faster?
Now to disable unneeded services. Before doing it I advise you to check if there is any product that depends on the service. For example if you have Wireless internet, you wouldn’t want to disable the services like Wireless Zero Configuration or Wired AutoConfig. If you want to check the explanation what each services does, please check the Black Viper’s site.
Note: It’s always better to have the service on “Manual” start than to the disable it. In case that you know that you’ll need it in the future, setting it on Manual will allow you start it when you need it.
Here is the list of the services I keep on the Automatic start up.
To open Services type the services.msc in the Run.
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
COM+ Event System
Cryptographic Services
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Error Reporting Service
Event Log
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Plug and Play
Protected Storage
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Security Accounts Manager
Server
Shell Hardware Detection
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler
Telephony
Terminal Services
Themes
Windows Audio
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Time
Workstation
When you’re finished, restart the computer.
After you got the services that you need we can move on other things. By now your system is already running faster. Now let’s tweak the Folder options. Open My Computer, then click tools and then Folder options. After that, uncheck Automatically search for network folders and printers. This will make opening of the My Computer faster because the XP won’t search for printers and network folders available.
If you want to tweak your system even more download X-Setup Pro. Currently because of the problems at the company the product is free to download and use. After downloading it use this key: XSA092-11TA9R-8K12YT. This program allows you to tweak nearly any part of the XP. You can change the computer name, you can add OEM info and logo, you can edit context menu and lot more. If you want to tweak your system even more download TweakUI from Microsoft. When you start it, you will be presented with the 10 sections containing a lot of subsections for tweaking your XP system. My favorite one is to disable the shortcut arrows on icons. Expand the Explorer section, and under it choose Shortcut. To remove the arrows from the icons, choose None and then click ”Apply”.
Other tips: Defrag your partitions once in a month. Use free tool like Recuva’s Deffragler. To clean temporary files and other junk as well the old restore points, use CCleaner. Keep your system safe by using free anti-virus like Avast 5 or Avira. Use Malwarebytes to find files infected with malware.
Your XP system should be a lot faster now. As we have seen here, with some tweaking we can make our OS fast again. If you have any question, feel free to comment.
