Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 2

STEP 2

2. Gaining performance through system properties

2A. "Advanced" tab in they system properties window

The first three tabs in system properties you won't need to change, but the third tab called "Advanced" you will. There are some options here you can disable to improve performance. In this tab you'll notice five things you can select: performance, user profiles, start up an recovery, enviromental variables, and error reporting.

A. Select the settings button for the "performance" section and click on the "adjust for best performance option" --> apply --> ok.

B. Select the "Error Reporting" button. Next, select the "diable error reporting" option and uncheck the "but notify me when critical errors" box.

C. The "Remote" tab, uncheck the "Allow Remote Invatations" button, You'll want to turn this feature off for security reasons. If you actually use this feature leave it on.

D. Automatic Updates Tab, Select "Turn off Automatic Updates" option and proceed to next tab.

E. System Restore, You'll want to select the "Turn off System Restore" option. I think this feature is a complete waste of system resources, but for you paranoid psychos out there who think their computer could die at any minute then you can leave this on. Otherwise turn it OFF! It will give you a warning message when you disable it, just click yes when it comes up.

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 1

The purpose of this guide is to tweak Windows XP for optimal performance, get rid of all the useless extras that Windows XP comes with, and to decrease the startup time of Windows XP.

This system is a peice of crap by today's standards, but after I tweak the install of Window XP on this system it will run faster, use less RAM, and boot up times will be lowered.

For comparison at the end of this guide I recorded the boot up times of Windows XP right after a default install.

Boot up (time to get to logon screen) = 59 Seconds
RAM used at startup = 60 MB
Processes = 15
Time to load after logging in = 35 Seconds

STEP 1

1. Getting Rid of Windows "eye candy"

1A. Disabling Windows Themes, transition effects, and smoothing fonts

One thing you'll notice if your upgrading from an older version of Windows is that the start menu and all the windows now have this Bluish theme. Since this is a tweaking guide we're going to get rid of this bluish theme to save RAM. First thing you'll want to do is right click anywhere on the desktop. It'll come up with a menu, click on properties and a window will come up called display properties.

Themes, Select Windows Classice from the slide down menu --> apply.

Desktop, select none from the list of background --> apply.

Screensaver, select none from the drop down list of screen savers --> apply.

Appearance, go down and select "effects", a new screen will pop up, unselect everything including transition effect and smoothing of fonts --> ok --> apply.

Settings, don't need to do anything

1B. Customizing the appearance of the start menu and task bar

Right click anywhere on the task bar, a menu will pop up, select properties.

A. Task Menu

Task appearance, customize this to your liking.

Notification area, customize this to your liking.

B. Start Menu

Start menu, this is the XP default start menu leave it if you like it.

Classic start menu, this is the older version of the start menu found in older OS's like Windows 2000 or Windows 98, if you perfer this start menu select it and apply. Once applied, Windows will dump the My Computer, Recycle Bin, etc... icons onto the desktop.

C. Select which menu you want, either default or classic, and to the left is the customize button. A new pop up window will come up for either one and customize the look of the start menu to your liking.

Continued to Step 2...

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Get Fast Access to System Settings

You don't have to pass through Control Panel to get to the System Properties dialog box.

Hold down the Windows key and press Break to open this handy dialog box immediately.

No Windows key? Create a shortcut to Sysdm.cpl (you'll find it in the %systemroot%\System32 folder) and place it anywhere in the Programs menu. Then open the shortcut's Properties dialog box and assign it an easy-to-remember keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S.

Some laptop keyboards may have separate keys for Break and Pause, and you may find this dialog box opens if you hold the Windows key and press Pause.

Tip taken from Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out by Ed Bott and Carl Siechert. Published by Microsoft Press.

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China adopts global 3G standards

China's Ministry of Information Industry on Wednesday approved the use of European and American network protocols for 3G mobile phones, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Friday.

"We will let operators choose which standard they want to use. But the government will decide how many 3G licenses are issued," said Xi Guohua, vice minister of information industry, according to Xinhua.

No 3G licenses have yet been awarded. Although TD-SCDMA had been approved in 2006, global manufacturers have been reluctant to produce handsets for the standard, with only Samsung Electronics and Motorola developing products.

Last year, China failed in an attempt to get international acceptance for its locally developed WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) wireless encryption standards, leading to accusations of conspiracy and unethical behavior within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standardization committee, and counterclaims that details of WAPI had been kept secret from standards organizations.

Rupert Goodwins of ZDNet UK reported from London.

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Vista Hacked Again, This Time Even More Effectively

This is not the first time we've mentioned a Windows Vista crack, and it won't be the last, but now a hacker group known as NoPE somehow managed to create a cracked Windows Vista DVD that works immediately, out of the box, with no serial number or activation keys required. Just like some of those corporate versions of Windows XP that worked for years, the hacked Vista product appears to be already activated and it even automatically updates itself with the latest patches.

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Enable the Administrator account on the Welcome Screen

Option 1:

• Download and install TweakUI from the Powertoys for Windows XP collection. In the Logon section, you can hide, or make visible, User accounts on the Welcome Screen.

Option 2:

• Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList (note that there is a space in the Windows NT). Right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value.
• Give the value the same name as the Username on the Welcome Screen (it must match) for the account you wish to hide/show. Double click the new value and set it to 1 to show the account on the Welcome Screen, or set it to 0 to hide the account.
  Example: Doug is a user on the computer, Doug would be the name you give the new value.

The individual Powertoys for Windows® XP are available here

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How to Changing Drive Letters in Windows XP?

When you add drives to your computer, such as an extra hard drive, a CD drive, or a storage device that corresponds to a drive, Windows automatically assigns letters to the drives. However, this assignment might not suit your system; for example, you might have mapped a network drive to the same letter that Windows assigns to a new drive. When you want to change drive letters, follow these steps:

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you’ll see your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.
3. Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
4. Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you want to assign, and then click OK.

You will not be able to change the boot or system drive letter in this manner. Many MS-DOS-based and Windows-based programs make references to a specific drive letter (for example, environment variables). If you modify the drive letter, these programs may not function correctly.

Related article at :http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q307844

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