Optimizing Windows XP

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Introduction:

This is intended to be a short tutorial showing ways in which Windows XP can be optimized to run faster. Please note I am not a computer repairer, nor am I a qualified expert in Windows XP. I am a programmer and all round computer nerd, the contents of this tutorial are simply what I've found to work best through experimentation.

Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for anything that happens to you, your computer, your files, anything attached to your computer, or anything else as a result of following these instructions. By using them, you agree to use at your own risk.

Windows XP is the most stable of Microsoft's operating systems, and has a significant performance increase over its predecessors. Sometimes, however, it is still not fast enough. On a machine with less than 512 MB of ram, or with a slow processor (1 ghz or less) it can in fact turn out to be significantly slower than older operating systems. The reason for this is that XP contains so much extra that isn't really necessary, such as the cartoon like graphics of the task bar, and numerous background services that are never used. None of these add to your productivity, what they do is take away from your computer resources, slowing everything else down.

Step 1 - Graphics:

The first thing to do is get rid of the new interface features in XP. This will leave your computer looking more like Windows 2000, and running a lot better. Go into control panel (open my computer and select 'change a setting' from the left), then open 'System' (if you don't see it you probably need to switch to classic view first). Click the 'Advanced' tab, and under 'Performance', click 'Settings'.


The first tab of the Performance Options dialog box allows you to customize what you do and don't want to use. Clicking 'Adjust for best performance' will turn everything off, but there are some things I like about the interface and prefer to keep on, these include the translucent selection box and showing window contents while dragging. It's up to you what, if anything, you keep on. If your computer doesn't have much ram then I recommend turning it all off (by not much I mean less than 256 MB).

The second tab, 'Advanced', allows you to change virtual memory. If you don't know what this is then allow me to explain: Windows can create extra virtual ram by storing some information in a temporary space on the hard drive. When the ram is filled, the virtual memory is used. If you have a large hard drive (30 GB for example) with a lot of free space then you can probably spare one gigabyte for virtual memory (you will not be able to use that 1 GB for anything else though). To change your virtual memory, go to Advanced, then click 'Change' under the 'Virtual Memory' section.


If you're not comfortable changing this then don't. If you set too low a value then your computer will become very slow and some programs may not work at all. Obviously, the maximum must be greater than or equal to the initial size. Setting a high initial size of 1 GB, for example, will eliminate the need for the system to resize the paging file often (a system managed page file will start at a low value and be resized when it is full, this takes time). You need to click 'Set' whenever you change something before clicking 'Ok'.

Some people recommend making the initial and maximum the same as this apparently reduces fragmentation, although I have no confirmation of this. Despite the sizes I have above, I recommend 1-2 GB unless you do any high end graphics work (like compiling Half-Life levels) or anything else which is particularly memory intensive.

Step 2 - services:

Windows XP runs many services which aren't necessary. You can change which services are ran by going to control panel/administrative tools/services. Be warned however that you should never shut down or disable a service without first knowing what it does. I ended up having to reinstall Windows when I disabled a vital service by mistake - you have been warned!

When you shutdown a service, you may also want to disable it to prevent it running next time you turn on your computer. Right clicking on a service from the list and selecting 'Properties' allows you to change its startup. The choices are as follows:

Automatic - Will load with Windows
Manual - Starts when needed. This might be when you choose to, or when another service starts which requires this one
Disabled - The service will never start again until you enable it, even if another service depends on it (click the dependencies tab to see if any services depend on the one you are about to change. Do not disable a service if another service depends on it unless you know that the other service is safe to shut down)

Here is a list of services which you can consider 'safe' to change. I've explained each what each does, it's up to you to decide what you need and don't need:

• Automatic Updates - It's highly recommended you leave this running and actually make use of Automatic Updates regularly. It is however safe to turn off.
  Help and Support - Even when you're not using help, this service seems to run in the background. I have no idea why, perhaps to provide patronising hints randomly. Anyway, I turn it off and disable it. Even when turned off, the help option in the start menu still works (if you disable the service, and then run help, it will become enabled again)
• Indexing service - This keeps track of files on your hard drive so you can find them quicker when doing a file search. However, it wastes too much cpu time for it to be worthwhile and I disable it.
• Messenger - Not so much a performance issue as it is security. This has nothing to do with Windows' messenger, but it is a 'feature' which allows people on the internet to send you popup spam. A good firewall stops these messages, and unless you need it in your own network (you'll know if you use it), there's no point letting it run.
• Remote desktop help session manager - I don't care what name they give this, it has the word remote in it, and is designed to let others run my computer by remote. The 'feature' was intended as a way for help desks to solve problems, but since I can solve my own problems, I disable it. You'll also notice a lot of other services with the word remote in - DON'T DISABLE THEM, especially Remote Procedure Call, as Windows is dependent on it (for some reason). As far as I know, the only other one that's safe is remote registry, which I have disabled as well.
• Secondary logon - this is a service which lets someone run a program from one account under another. I'm the only user of my computer, so I don't need anything that lets anyone other than me do anything on my computer. I disable this.
• System restore service - System restore is more trouble than it's worth. This is because, if you get a virus and Windows makes a restore point at the time you are infected, you clear the virus but a little while later need to restore your computer, you'll likely restore the virus you thought was gone with it. I have it disabled here and shutdown from control panel/system/system restore.
• Task Scheduler - I don't use this, and have it disabled, but if you are going to do the same, make sure you don't use first. If you are unsure I recommend leaving it.
• Themes - Yet more of Windows' extra junk. Assuming you followed my instructions to remove the interface features, you'll want to disable this service too.

There are more services which you can research yourself

Step 3 - spyware:

Possibly the biggest cause of computer slowdowns, spyware is software which has been secretly installed on a computer (normally through some other software, cookies, or a webpage exploiting vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer more on that later) for the purpose of collecting data on where you surf and what you do on your computer, and reporting the information back to an advertising company. Many advertisers use spyware to target banner and popup advertising directly at you based on what they think you like (and they're often wrong).

Cookies are the most common spyware and least harmful. They will not slow your computer down and are merely pieces of data recorded on your harddrive by a website, and transmitted back to that website whenever you visit again. It is possible to block certain or all cookies in any browser, but cookies are also useful if you use any web service which you have to log into to use. In such a case, the website uses cookies to store your login details.

A more harmful form spyware can take is in programs installed directly to your computer. This normally happens when you install freeware which is advertising sponsored. It is hard to tell sometimes which software contains spyware, and it is normally in breach of the license for that software to remove the spyware (i.e. if you want to use the free software you have to accept the spyware as well).

One other very common way I've seen spyware get on to people's computers is through various holes in Internet Explorer. At this point I want to strongly recommend switching to a far more stable, secure, and useable browser, like FireFox. The reason I say this is that there are thousands of programs designed to install themselves through activeX controls, plugins, and java, and Internet Explorer will often do nothing to stop them. If you must use Internet Explorer then I strongly recommend avoiding installing browser toolbars and extensions; most of these are spyware. The Google toolbar is spyware free, and if you're looking for a search bar then this is probably the best one out there anyway.

So how can you get rid of spyware? Well you may have heard of Ad-Aware. This program scans your system for spyware and attempts to remove it. However, I prefer SpyBot Search and Destroy as it has far more advanced features and seems to be more effective most of the time.

What else can you do?

If your system is still running very slowly then there are other possibilities to consider:

• Low ram (Windows needs more than 256 MB and runs best at 512 or above)
• Slow CPU (anything below 800 MHZ is going to be slow, although I have heard of XP running well on a 200MHZ before)
• Fragmented hard drive
• Something wrong with the installation (try completely reformatting and reinstalling)