Beginners Guides: 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP

Table of Contents
Preparing Your System (1-8) Graphics Performance Tweaks (47-55)
  1. Use 'whole system' performance benchmarks
  2. Tweak insurance part 1: backing up and editing the registry
  3. Tweak Insurance part 2: Creating a system restore point
  4. Saving your hard drive space from the system restore utility
  5. Tweak insurance part 3: Restoring BIOS defaults
  6. Tweak insurance part 4: Use hardware profiles to experiment with system settings.
  7. Editing BIOS settings
  8. Editing registry settings without restarting

BIOS tweaks and Insight (9-13)

  1. Change memory Latency times
  2. Set the correct AGP mode
  3. Update your bios
  4. Disable unneeded ports
  5. Disable built-in features on your motherboard

Overclocking your processor and memory (14-16)

  1. Overclocking the memory/front side bus
  2. Changing the CPU multiplier
  3. Modify Processor and memory voltage

WindowsXP Software and Registry Performance Tweaks (17-46)

  1. Stop the 'last access update' stamp
  2. Disable the 8.3 naming convention
  3. Keep Windows operating data in main memory
  4. Obtain the newest drivers for your hardware
  5. Disable performance counters
  6. Move the page file from system drive
  7. Create a 'permanent' page file
  8. Optimize your page file size
  9. Defrag page file with PageDefrag utility
  10. Set priority for important programs
  11. Check your hard drives with scandisk
  12. Force XP to unload DLL files after closing a program
  13. Thaw out your desktop
  14. Speed up mouse movement, part 1
  15. Speed up mouse movement, part 2
  16. Create a RAID configuration
  17. Disable the themes service
  18. Remove the desktop picture
  19. Change to the NTFS file system
  20. Perform a manual Application and Boot file Defrag
  21. Disable the hibernation feature
  22. Disable automatic sensing on network cards
  23. Use the prefetch switch to load applications faster
  24. Verify DMA mode is set for all drives
  25. Do a windows repair install
  26. Stop hard disks spinning down
  27. Reduce recycling bin reserved space
  28. Enable write caching on hard disks
  29. Defragment your hard disk(s)
  30. Turn off the indexing service
  1. 3d game benchmarks
  2. Change your Monitor's refresh rate (CRT monitors only)
  3. Fix the refresh rate for 3d games
  4. Enable AGP Master 1WS Write/Read
  5. Enable AGP Fast Write
  6. Set Video Memory Cache Mode
  7. Overclocking ATI video cards
  8. Overclocking Nvidia Video cards
  9. Disable VSYNC

Network and Internet Performance Tweaks (56-66)

  1. Increase maximum number of simultaneous connection in Internet Explorer
  2. b' devices slow down 802.11g networks
  3. Proprietary modes for wireless networking
  4. Closer is better for wireless
  5. Enhance your Internet connection.
  6. Increase DNS cache size
  7. Disable DHCP with DSL connections
  8. Do not cache failed DNS entries
  9. Use CTRL+ENTER to speed up Internet address entering
  10. Get a faster network connection to Windows 9x/ME computers
  11. Remove the QoS Bandwidth Reserve Setting

WindowsXP User Interface Shortcuts and Hints (67-78)

  1. Create shortcut keys
  2. Create a custom shortcuts toolbar
  3. Using ALT+TAB to switch between applications
  4. Add the address taskbar to desktop
  5. Disable error reporting
  6. Reduce menu delays
  7. Restore the Quick launch bar
  8. Increase desktop graphic performance
  9. Make 'my computer' open faster
  10. Remove the need to enter a password to login to XP (be careful!)
  11. Sort out spam
  12. Keyboard shortcuts using the Win Key (ΓΏ)

Improving Windows XP boot speed (79-94)

  1. Disable floppy drive seek
  2. Set primary display adaptor
  3. Enable quick POST/memory test
  4. Eliminate unwanted programs from boot up
  5. Scan your PC for spyware and Adware
  6. Disable boot virus detection
  7. Change boot sequence.
  8. Disable the XP loading screen
  9. Eliminate unwanted fonts to increase boot speed
  10. Turn off bios disk detection
  11. Use the Bootvis utility
  12. Use the Intel application accelerator
  13. Disable unnecessary services
  14. Disable unneeded devices in device manager
  15. Disable auto detection for empty IDE slots
  16. Reduce wait time after XP boots

Increasing XP shutdown speed (95-99)

  1. Increasing shutdown speed by reducing wait times part 1
  2. Increasing shutdown speed by reducing wait times part 2
  3. Increasing shutdown speed by reducing wait times part 3
  4. Disable the Nvidia driver helper service
  5. Auto kill tasks on shutdown