How To Make XP Go Faster

Services You Can Disable
There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically.This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources.They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Servicesand that you turn them off one at a time.
Some possibilities are:AlerterApplication ManagementClipbookFast UserSwitchingHuman Interface DevicesIndexing ServiceMessengerNet LogonNetMeetingQOS RSVPRemote Desktop Help Session ManagerRemote RegistryRouting & Remote AccessSSDP Discovery ServiceUniversal Plug and Play Device HostWeb Client
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleaning the Prefetch Directory
WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs.However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs.
To clean this periodically go to:
Star / Run / PrefetchPress Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcutsDelete them
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages
To turn these off:
Start RegeditGo to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionpoliciessystemIf it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessagesGive it a value of 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clearing the Page File on Shutdown
Click on the Start buttonGo to the Control PanelAdministrative ToolsLocal Security PolicyLocal PoliciesClick on Security OptionsRight hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"Select "Enable"Reboot
For regedit users.....If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown:
Start RegeditGo to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory ManagementClearPageFileAtShutdownSet the value to 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No GUI Boot
If you don't need to see the XP boot logo,
Run MSCONFIGClick on the BOOT.INI tabCheck the box for /NOGUIBOOT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Speeding the Startup of Some CD Burner Programs
If you use program other than the native WindowsXP CD Burner software,you might be able to increase the speed that it loads.
Go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / ServicesDouble-click on IMAPI CD-Burning COM ServiceFor the Startup Type, select DisabledClick on the OK button and then close the Services windowIf you dont You should notice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting Rid of Unread Email Messages
To remove the Unread Email message by user's login names:
Start RegeditFor a single user: Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUnreadMailFor all users: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUnreadMailCreate a DWORD key called MessageExpiryDaysGive it a value of 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXPThe program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.Run BOOTVIS.EXEFor a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver DelaysThis will reboot your computer and provide a benchmarkAfter the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)Then run Trace / Optimize SystemRe-Run the Next Boot + Drive DelaysNote how much the time has decreasedMine went from approximately 33 to 25 seconds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Increasing Graphics Performance
By default, WindowsXP turns on a lot of shadows, fades, slides etc to menu items.Most simply slow down their display.
To turn these off selectively:
Right click on the My Computer iconSelect PropertiesClick on the Advanced tabUnder Performance, click on the Settings buttonTo turn them all of, select Adjust for best performanceMy preference is to leave them all off except for Show shadows under mouse pointer and Show window contents while dragging
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increasing System Performance
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performanceby having the core system kept in memory.
Start RegeditGo to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory ManagementDisablePagingExecutiveSet the value to be 1Reboot the computer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increasing File System Caching
To increase the amount of memory Windows will locked for I/O operations:
Start RegeditGo to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory ManagementEdit the key IoPageLockLimit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resolving Inability to Add or Remove Programs
If a particular user cannot add or remove programs, there might be a simple registry edit neeed.
Go to HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesUninstallChange the DWORD NoAddRemovePrograms to 0 disable it
4096 - 32megs of memory or less8192 - 32+ megs of memory16384 - 64+ megs of memory32768 - 128+ megs of memory65536 - 256+ megs of memory