Decrease size of system restore
By default, Windows XP's system restore utility uses a mammoth 12% of each hard drive in your system. That's a lot of wasted space. By reducing this number, you reduce the amount of restore points system restore can create, but this does not adversely affect the functionality of the program. System restore will delete older restore points to make room for newer ones.
To decrease the amount of space system restore uses:
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties' then the 'system restore' tab.
The window below contains each of the hard disks installed on your system. Highlight each one in turn and press the 'settings' key.
Move the slider to adjust the amount of drive space used. I would recommend no more than 2-4% of each drive.

Editing registry settings without restarting
Once you have made a change to the registry in Windows XP, you generally have to reboot the computer in order for your change to take effect. This is not actually necessary, as with a simple set of commands, you can cause the system to reload the registry by stopping and restarting the 'Explorer' process.
To do this:
Save and close all open files you might be working on. For example, if you are writing a document, you'll need to close this before reloading the registry.
Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the task manager.
In the 'processes' tab, highlight 'explorer.exe' and click 'end process.' All windows and desktop icons will disappear except for task manager.
Now go to the 'file' menu in task manager and select 'new task (run…).' Type 'explorer' into the text box. This will relaunch explorer and load your new registry settings without restarting.
Stop the 'last access update' stamp
Every time a directory on an NTFS drive is accessed by Windows XP, it updates that directory and every subdirectory with a time stamp to indicate the date of access. In folders with a lot of subdirectories, this can add considerable overhead to whatever your PC happens to be doing.
This process can be disabled through the registry:
Open REGEDIT and Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ FileSystem.
Create a new DWORD value called 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate' and set the value to '1'
Disable the 8.3 naming convention
Windows XP uses two different names for each and every file on your system. One is the name that you see in explorer and in the command prompt, and the other is an MSDOS compatible 8.3 (8 character title followed by a '.' Then three more characters to indicate the type of file) name. If you are intending to run DOS only software, or connect to pre-Windows 95 computers, you will need this second set of names. If not, you are simply wasting resources.
To disable the 8.3 naming convention:
Open REGEDIT
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Change the value of the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation key to '1'
Note that some popular programs, including Norton Antivirus, use the 8.3 naming convention.
Keep Windows operating data in main memory
Windows XP contains several tweakable memory settings in the registry, one of which is the DisablePagingExecutive registry key. This controls whether the operating system will transfer its essential driver
and kernel files to the 'virtual memory' (the page file on the hard disk). It defaults to allowing this.
Obviously, transferring portions of the system to hard drive
memory can considerably slow things down, and it appears that Windows XP does this periodically, whether or not the system is actually low on physical memory (RAM).
If you have 256MB of system memory or more, try this registry tweak to force Windows to keep its operating data in main memory:
Open Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management.
Select the DisablePagingExecutive value to '1'
Disable performance counters
Like Windows 2000, Windows XP has a performance monitor utility (found in administrative tools) which can track several areas of your PC's performance. Everything from CPU use to hard drive access can be tracked and graphed. The information for this utility comes from several performance counter services which run behind the scenes, gathering data for the monitor.
If you have no use for this information, it's a good idea to disable the counters, since they take up system resources. Unfortunately, this is rather hard to do without the use of additional software. Fortunately, Microsoft has made the necessary software freely available on their website.
The Extensible Performance Counter List utility can be used to permanently disable these performance counters.
First download and install the utility, then run the Exctrlst.exe utility, found in 'c:\program files\resource kit\'

Select each line in the 'Extensible performance counters' window and clear the 'performance counters enabled' button below. You must do this separately for each counter. When done, just exit the utility.
Now if you load the performance monitor, you will see that it has no information available to it.
Move the page file from system drive
The page file is the area of a hard drive which Windows reserves for use as virtual memory when there is more data than can be stored in the actual physical memory of the system.
Page file access is extremely slow as compared to standard memory, since the hard disk, as a mechanical device, is slower to read and write information than the purely electronic memory. There are still some ways to optimize your page file use so it is a bit less of a burden on your system, however.
One of the best of these methods, provided you have two physical hard drives, is to move the page file off the disk which hosts the Windows system files. This ensures that Windows is not constantly accessing the disk for the system files as well as the page file.
To do this in Windows XP:
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.'
Select the 'advanced' tab.
Under 'performance' choose the 'settings' button.
Select the 'advanced' tab again and under 'virtual memory' select 'change.'

The virtual memory window allows you to select and change the allocation of hard disk space to be used as virtual memory for your system. For best performance; if you have two physical hard disks of roughly equivalent speed, remove the page file from your system disk (c:) and place it on the other drive.
Create a 'permanent' page file
Make the minimum size of the page file the same as the maximum size. This saves the operating system from needing to resize the page file, and does not lose you any extra space, since the 'maximum' size the page file can reach is the amount of hard disk space that is reserved by the OS.
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.'
Select the 'advanced' tab.
Under 'performance' choose the 'settings' button.
Select the 'advanced' tab again and under 'virtual memory' select 'change.'
Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the 'initial size' of the file the same as the 'maximum size' of the file.
Check your hard drives with scandisk
With time and heavy use, a myriad of data problems and physical problems can develop and mar the performance of your hard drive, not to mention cost you precious space. While defragmenting the drive can help restore much of the performance you might have lost, there are other issues such as lost clusters and bad sectors which the defragmentation utility cannot touch.
Because of this, it is a good idea to run XP's built in error checking utility on your drives once in a while. This utility will scan your disks for errors and optionally attempt to correct them.
Open 'my computer.'
Right click the hard disk you wish to check and select 'properties.'
Choose the 'tools' tab and under 'error checking' select the 'check now…' button.
Check both options. You will need to restart the computer to do the full disk check.
Your disk will be fully checked for errors upon reboot, but be aware that this can take quite a while.
Force XP to unload DLL files after closing a program
Dynamic Link Libraries, or DLLs, are files containing data or functions that Windows programs can call when needed by linking to them. Every piece of windows software will include instructions to the operating system as to which DLLs it will need to access, and XP will cache these particular files in memory for faster access.
The trouble is, Windows XP keeps these DLLs cached after the relevant program has closed, wasting memory space. While DLLs are generally tiny, enough of them can make a dent, so it's worthwhile to implement this registry tweak, which will force Windows XP to unload DLLs used by a specific program when that program halts.
To do this, first run REGEDIT.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer.
reate a new key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1.'
Thaw out your desktop
Every version of Windows has suffered from occasional 'desktop freezing.' You know the symptoms... You tell Windows to do something it doesn't like and everything except your mouse pointer slows to a c-r-a-w-l. You can open the start menu but applications won't load or close. Very frustrating.
Fortunately there can be a cure for desktop freeze, at least in Windows 2000 and XP, and it's an easy one. First, save any data you are working on, the press CRTL + ALT + DEL to bring up the task manager.
Select the 'processes' tab and highlight 'explorer.exe' then click 'end process'.
Without exiting from task manager, click 'file\New Task' and type 'explorer.exe.'
You should find that your computer has thawed itself out again.
Perform a manual Application and Boot file Defrag
Windows XP has a feature which optimizes application and operating system boot times by moving the relevant files to the outer edges of the hard drive for faster disk access. This defragmentation process is actually scheduled to take place automatically every three days or so, but it can also be activated manually. Depending on your system, this can give a slight performance boost to data access from the affected drive.
Open command prompt ('start/run' and type 'cmd').
Type 'defrag (drive letter): -b'
The process may take a few minutes to complete.
Windows XP's hibernation option allows a computer to copy its current memory contents to the hard drive before shutdown, allowing the system to resume operations exactly where it left off when it was powered down. To do this, it reserves space on the hard drive equal to the amount of physical memory present. If you do not plan to use the hibernation feature, you should ensure that it is disabled, or you are wasting disk space.
To disable hibernation:
Go to 'start/control panel/performance and maintenance/power options.'
Go to the 'hibernate' tab and uncheck the 'enable hibernation' check box.
Disable automatic sensing on network cards
This tweak may help your performance by reducing occasional 'slowdown' periods of heavy CPU access for no apparent reason. By default, Windows XP automatically assesses the speed of your network card(s) and sets them accordingly. Apparently this process occurs at regular intervals, which can cause your system to slow occasionally. To remedy this, you can manually set the 'media type' of your network card to the correct value.
Right click on 'my computer' and select the 'hardware' tab.
Open 'device manager.'
Find and highlight your network card(s). Right click it and Hit 'properties.'
Go to the 'advanced' tab and highlight 'media type.' In the 'value' drop down box, select the correct speed for your network card. Press 'ok.'
Do a Windows repair install
If you are having serious performance issues with your XP system, or are getting repeated crashes and/or error messages, it could well be a problem with Windows XP's system files. If one or more of these files has become corrupted, or if the hardware configuration of the computer has changed significantly since you first installed Windows XP, performing a repair install may well be the ticket to resolving your problems.
A repair installation re-writes all essential Windows XP system files and re-detects all hardware without affecting the registry, current desktop settings or user data stored on the hard drive. This is the only way short of a full installation that can recover from errors caused by installing a different motherboard in an XP system, for example.
To perform a repair installation:
Boot the system from your XP CD.
Choose the 'press enter to set up Windows XP now' option.
Press F8 to skip through the EULA (though if you haven't read it before, you should now. See our legal article for details as to why.
Now press R to begin a repair installation.
Your system will go through the entire XP install process, but will not attempt to replace any of your existing data. It will simply reinstall the vital system files, fixing any that are corrupted or missing.
Stop hard disks spinning down
By default, Windows XP spins down all hard drives after 20 minutes of inactivity to save power. This can cause significant delays when it is necessary to access the drives after this time. To increase performance and reduce wear and tear on your drives, disable this feature in Windows XP's power options.
Go to 'start/control panel/performance and maintenance/power options.'
Set the 'turn off hard disks' drop down box to 'never.' Click 'ok.'
Reduce recycling bin reserved space
By default, Windows XP reserves 10 percent of each hard drive to store deleted files in the recycling bin. This is a bit excessive. Actually it's a lot excessive, unless you habitually delete files a gigabyte in size or more. Fortunately, there is an easy way to reduce the amount of hard disk space that is reserved for the recycling bins on each drive.
Right click on the recycling bin and select 'properties.'
Choose the 'global' tab.
The slider shows the percentage of each drive that is reserved by the recycling bin. Reduce this to a more appropriate amount, like 2-3% or more depending on the size of your drives. The larger the drives, the smaller the number you should use. If you wish to configure each drive independently, check the 'configure drives independently' button and adjust the slider to the desired amount in each of your hard disk's tabs. The advantage to doing things this way instead of using the 'global' setting is that you can see the actual amount of space on each drive that is being reserved.
Note that files larger than the recycling bin's capacity on a given drive are deleted for good. Windows XP will warn you when this condition occurs.
Enable write caching on hard disks
If it is not already selected, enabling the hard drive write-back cache setting on each of your hard drives can improve their performance by making the transferring of data between the drive and the memory more efficient. The only reasons not to enable this setting would be if the drive in question is in a hot-swappable drive rack, or if you expect your PC to be shut down incorrectly (I.E. not through the windows shutdown procedure) often.
To enable write caching right click on my computer and select 'properties.'
Select the hardware tab, then 'device manager.' From the device manager window, expand 'disk drives' and highlight your hard disk. Select 'properties' then the 'policies' tab.

Check the 'enable write caching on the disk' box.
Repeat the above steps for all hard drives in your system.
Turn off the indexing service
Windows XP includes a new feature called 'indexing' which constantly creates and updates an index of files in your PC. This index is mainly used for speeding up file searches. The indexing feature is largely useless unless you find yourself using file search a lot, and it sucks up system resources, so it is recommended that you disable it for performance purposes.
To turn off file indexing go to Control Panel\Add/Remove Programs\Windows Components. and uncheck 'Indexing Service.'

Fix the refresh rate for 3D games
Windows XP, like Windows 2000 before it, has a dirty secret. This secret is its tendency to drop the refresh rate of the screen down to 60Hz when playing full screen DirectX 3D games. So while you might not be aware of it, there is a good chance that you are playing your favourite games at only 60Hz, increasing eyestrain and capping your frames per second at 60 unless you have VSYNC disabled (see the tip below). Fortunately, the newer versions of both the ATI and Nvidia drivers come with a utility that can override this refresh rate limitation.
To override the DirectX refresh rate with an ATI video card:
Go to 'start\control panel\display' and select the 'settings' tab then hit 'advanced.
Select the ATI tab called 'displays' then click the 'monitor' button below
Set the 'refresh rate override' dropdown box to your preferred refresh rate, or 'same as desktop.' Hit 'ok.'
To override the DirectX refresh rate with an Nvidia video card:
Go to 'start\control panel\display' and select the 'settings' tab then hit 'advanced.
Select the tab that has your video card's name on it to go to the Nvidia driver settings.
Select the 'refresh rate overrides' setting.
Choose the resolutions that you commonly play games in (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024)and double click the 'default' to open a drop down box. Select your desired refresh rate for that resolution.
Network and Internet speed tweaks
Increase maximum number of simultaneous connection in Internet Explorer
By default, Internet Explorer 6 allows only two simultaneous server connections, which is fine for normal use, but can bog down when you are connecting to web pages with lots of graphical content. By increasing the number of possible connections, you can use your Internet bandwidth more efficiently, and load complex web pages
faster.
To increase IE maximum connections:
Start REGEDIT.
Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings'
Add the following two DWORD entries:
'MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server' value equals '0000000a'
'MaxConnectionsPerServer' value equals '0000000a'
Exit and reboot.
Increase DNS cache size
As written above, Windows XP uses a DNS cache to store recently visited Internet addresses. This cache is referred to before a request is sent out over the Internet when the user requests a web page address. If the IP address corresponding to the web address is in the cache, that address gets used, saving time. If it is not, your computer needs to find out the correct IP address by asking a DNS server over the Internet.
Items are kept in the cache for a finite amount of time and are constantly bumped to make room for more recent addresses. By increasing the size of the DNS cache, you can increase the speed of your web browsing, especially if you regularly check the same web pages.
To increase the size of the DNS cache, open REGEDIT and navigate to; 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters'
Create the following DWORD values:
CacheHashTableBucketSize = 1
CacheHashTableSize = 180
MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit = ff00
MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit = 12d
Exit and restart.
Disable DHCP with DSL connections
If you use a DSL modem to connect to the Internet, and you dial the connection directly from your computer, you may notice a rather long delay between the time the Windows desktop appears when booting up and when you can actually dial your connection. This delay can sometimes be up to two or three minutes, and can be extremely frustrating since it tends to lag other applications as well. The source of this delay is Windows XP attempting to locate an IP address for the network adaptor you are using to connect to the DSL modem.
This only occurs if the adaptor in question is set to 'obtain an IP address automatically' meaning Windows will actively seek to find an IP address for that adaptor from an outside source before assigning it one of its own range of addresses.
You can halt this behavior by simply assigning the network adaptor an IP address manually. It doesn't matter which IP address, as long as it is in one of the private address ranges (like 192.168.xxx.xxx). This will not effect your Internet connection, as the DSL modem and the adaptor form a separate 'virtual' connection which is assigned an IP address by your Internet service provider.
To assign your network card a manual (static) IP address:
Right click on 'my network places' in the start menu and hit 'properties.'
Highlight the network adaptor that is connected to your modem. If you have only one network adaptor, this will be 'local area connection.' Right click and select 'properties.'
Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click 'properties.'

Check 'use the following IP address' then in the 'IP address:' field, enter '192.168.5. (Pick a number between 1 and 254)' Enter '255.255.255.0' in the 'subnet mask:' field. Click 'ok.'
The next time you reboot, the delay should be gone, and you will be able to access your connection right away.
Do not cache failed DNS entries
By default, Windows XP will cache the IP addresses connected to DNS names (such as website addresses) as they are entered into your browser. This speeds up subsequent visits to the same addresses because the system does not have to search for the IP address that the DNS name represents.
This is good for Internet performance as a whole, but it does have a downside. If you type in a valid URL that is not functioning at that point in time, Windows will cache the unsuccessful result, meaning that all attempts to access that address may fail until the failed entry is gone from the cache. This takes about 5 minutes.
You can prevent Windows XP from caching unsuccessful DNS lookups by creating three new registry values.
To do this open REGEDIT and navigate to: 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters'
Create the following DWORD values:
NegativeCacheTime= 0
NetFailureCacheTime= 0
NegativeSOACacheTime= 0
Reboot for the changes to take effect.
Get a faster network connection to Windows 9x/ME computers
When a Windows XP system attempts to connect to network shares on a remote windows 9x/ME computer, it takes a (considerable) extra amount of time to check the list of scheduled tasks and enabled printers on that system. This can make connecting to such systems extremely tedious due to the long initial delay.
Fortunately, deleting a couple of registry entries will disable this 'feature.'
To do this open REGEDIT and navigate to;
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace'
Delete the following sub-keys:
To disable Scheduled Task Checking delete:
'D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF'
To disable Printer Checking delete:
'2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D'
Exit REGEDIT and Reboot
Remove the QoS Bandwidth Reserve Setting
This one has been subject to several rumours and considerable debate. Windows XP's networking setup includes a QOS (Quality Of Service) provision which allows certain software (anything which has been written to take advantage of QOS in Windows) to reserve up to 20% of the bandwidth of a given network connection.
This does not mean that 20% of bandwidth is withheld by the operating system at all times, as is often stated. What it means is that certain programs can reserve this percentage of bandwidth for themselves when they are running.
If you don't like this idea and wish to disable QOS, ensuring that your Internet bandwidth is strictly 'first come, first served.' Here's a registry edit to do just that:
To do this open REGEDIT and navigate to;
'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Psched'
Data Type: DWORD Value // Value Name: NonBestEffortLimit
Setting for Value Data: [Enter as a Percentage / Default Value = 20]
Exit Registry and Reboot
Disable error reporting
To make for a smoother computing experience, disable the error-reporting feature in windows XP. This will prevent error boxes popping up after application crashes, and upon restarting Windows after a fatal crash.
To disable error reporting right click on 'my computer' and select 'manage.'
Expand 'services and applications' and select 'services' to open the services window.
Highlight the 'error reporting service,' right click it and select 'properties.'
In the 'startup type' dropdown box, choose 'disabled.'
Reduce menu delays
The Windows XP start menu incorporates a built-in delay between the time your mouse pointer lands on a menu and the time that menu unfolds. This can get annoying after a while. Using the registry, you can speed up menu response, speeding up your computing experience.
First, open REGEDIT and then navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
Edit the MenuShowDelay value.
The default is 400; lower values will speed up the start menu.
Setting it to 0 is not a good idea unless you like 5 or 6 menus popping out at you every time your mouse pointer strays, but experiment to find your favourite setting.

Increase desktop graphic performance
If you have an older computer and are unhappy with the sluggishness of the new XP interface, or if you simply want XP to be as zippy as possible, you can increase the responsiveness of the desktop by disabling some of the graphical 'frills' that are packaged with the default XP settings.
To do this, right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.'
Choose the 'advanced' tab and under the 'performance' heading, hit 'settings.'
From here you can adjust the graphical settings of the XP interface. Choose 'adjust for best performance' to turn all the non-essential features off, or you can cherry-pick from the window below.
Make 'my computer' open faster
The Windows XP operating system automatically searches for attached and network printers and remote drives and folders each time you open 'my computer.' This can cause a considerable delay before you can actually see the icons.
If you find yourself using 'my computer' often and gritting your teeth at the delay, there is an easy way to speed things up.
Open 'My Computer.' Go to 'Tools\Folder Options...'Select the view tab and uncheck the 'Automatically search for network folders and printers' box. Click OK.
'My computer' will now open much faster.
Improving Windows XP boot speed: Tips
Eliminate unwanted programs from boot up
You will find that many of the programs you install on your system set portions of themselves to run automatically when you start up your computer. Each program that runs on startup not only consume system resources but also extends the length of time it takes your PC to fully boot.
Since it is generally unnecessary to have any programs running in the background (other than security software like virus-scanners or firewalls) disable your unwanted startup programs to increase your startup speed and conserve system resources.
The easiest way to go about this task is to use the MSCONFIG utility, which may be familiar to users of Windows 9x. This handy program contains a list of software which is set to start when you boot your PC. You can then easily disable and re-enable (if necessary) these items.
Go to 'start\run' and type 'msconfig' to access the utility.
The 'startup' tab in MSCONFIG provides access to several other applications that are started at boot up and are running in the background. By examining their Filenames and directories, you should be able to get a feeling for what is necessary and what is not.
Be aware than several viruses and worms have a habit of disguising themselves with authoritative sounding Windows system file names, such as the Win32.spybot.worm as MSCONFIG32.EXE. Leave these for now if you are not sure.
The next place you should go is 'start\programs\startup' which is a directory Windows XP uses to launch application shortcuts on boot-up. If you remove the shortcuts from this directory, the applications will not load on startup. This directory can also be a repository for various badness such as spyware and virus software, so if there are files here which are not shortcuts and you don't recognize them, you may wish to consider removing them anyways, as Windows will not place critical files in this directory.
Disable the XP loading screen
To speed up
your boot process slightly, disable the Windows XP loading screen. This can be accomplished easily by opening the MSCONFIG utility ('start\run and type msconfig'), selecting the 'boot.ini' tab and checking the /NOGUIBOOT option.
When you boot your system, you will see a black screen in between POST and the welcome screen from now on.
Eliminate unwanted fonts to increase boot speed
The Windows XP control panel contains a 'fonts' directory which holds all the fonts currently installed on your system. These can come from Windows itself or from an application such as Word.
Windows checks and loads these fonts during the startup process, therefore having a large amount of font files can cause performance to drag during startup. The simple solution for this (if you do not expect to use the majority of these fonts constantly) is to move the unnecessary fonts to a new directory elsewhere on the hard disk, preserving them in case they are needed, but preventing them from loading upon startup.
To do this:
Create a new directory called 'font backup' or something similar on your c: drive.
Go to 'start\control panel\fonts' and select all fonts (for now, we will be more selective later). Drag and drop all the fonts into the backup folder you just created. Things will get garbled for a moment, never fear. Windows XP will automatically re-install the base fonts that it needs to display text into the fonts folder in a second or two.
Now you have the bare minimum of fonts installed. Go through the backup folder and cherry pick the fonts that you are sure to use (like Times New Roman or Arial).
If you removed a large volume of fonts, your system should now boot faster.
Turn off BIOS disk detection
Most modern motherboards will attempt to detect any IDE devices, such as hard drives and CD drives, during the POST sequence each time the computer boots. By configuring the BIOS with the correct drive information, you can shave a few seconds off your boot time by avoiding this detection process.
To do this enter your system's BIOS setup screen.
Depending on your motherboard, you may have an IDE drive auto-detection menu. If you do, simply select it to automatically set your drives. If not, configure the drives through the 'standard CMOS settings' menu.
Note that some motherboard chipsets (like Nvidia's Nforce 2) do not allow this auto-detection to be disabled.
Disable unneeded devices in device manager
A quick fix that can make XP boot faster is to disable any unused devices in the Windows XP device manager. For example if you have a integrated sound card or video card that you have upgraded, or if you do not use a floppy drive on your system, it pays to disable these devices in device manager.
The same goes for extra network cards. Of course, the standard rule of thumb applies here: If you do not know what it is, leave it alone.
To disable unneeded devices in device manager:
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.' From the 'hardware' tab, select 'device manager.' Expand the various categories to locate unused devices. Right click the devices and select 'disable.'
Disable auto detection for empty IDE slots
Another quick trick for a faster boot up is to disable the auto detection that Windows XP uses to determine if there are IDE devices present in any of the IDE slots on the motherboard. More specifically, disable this feature on any empty slots to prevent the operating system wasting time and resources checking them.
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.' Go to the 'hardware' tab and select 'device manager' to open the device management window.
Expand 'IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers' and highlight the 'primary IDE channel.' Right click the highlighted entry and select 'properties.' Go to the 'advanced settings' tab.

If either IDE slot on the controller is empty, the 'device type' dropdown box will be not grayed out. Set it to 'none' to disable auto detection of IDE devices on that particular slot.
Repeat the above steps for the 'secondary IDE controller.'
Note that if you wish to add a new IDE device, you will have to reset the 'device type' setting to 'autodetect' in order for Windows to use the new drive.
94. Reduce wait time after XP boots
A common performance problem with Windows XP is 'start lag,' in which the operating system boots up normally, the desktop is visible and usable, but programs will not start, and selecting icons and using the start menu are extremely slow. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes to clear up, and can make using the operating system extremely frustrating, especially if you are in a hurry after the reboot.
This delay is generally caused by Windows XP's networking services looking for other computers and advertising their functions over the computer's network connections.
If this problem is driving you nuts, there is a way to reduce or eliminate the delay, though if you are attached to a home network, it will reduce your computer's functionality on that network.
If your computer is not attached to a home network:
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'manage.'
Expand 'services and applications' and select 'services' to open the services window.
Highlight the 'workstation' service, right click and select 'properties.'
Set the 'startup type' dropdown box to 'disabled.' Click 'ok.'
Note that you will need to re-enable the workstation service should you wish to network your PC in the future.
If your computer is part of a home network:
Go to 'start\control panel\network and internet connections\network connections.'
Right click your current network connection (should be 'local area connection' unless you have more than one network adaptor) and select 'properties.'
Uncheck the 'File and Print Sharing' box and press 'ok.'
Note that this will disable your computer's ability to share files and printers over the network, though it should not affect your ability to access such resources on another system.
Windows XP stores a couple of values in its registry which are responsible for determining how long to wait before shutting down (killing) open applications and services once the shutdown command has been given.
By editing these two settings and changing them to lower values, you can considerably decrease the amount of time that Windows XP needs to successfully shut itself down. The first part of this tweak deals with setting the amount of time Windows will take to kill open applications on shutdown.
Open REGEDIT and navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\'
Highlight the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' value.
Set it to '1000' (the default should be 20000).
Now highlight the 'HungAppTimeout' value
Set it to '1000' also.
96. Increasing shutdown speed by reducing wait times part 2
The second part of this tip changes the same settings, this time for all users on the system.
Open REGEDIT and navigate to 'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop'
Highlight the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' value.
Set it to '1000' (the default should be 20000).
Now highlight the 'HungAppTimeout' value.
Set it to '1000' also.
97. Increasing shutdown speed by reducing wait times part 3
In the third part of this tip, we will alter a second registry setting to decrease the amount of time Windows XP will wait before shutting down active services after receiving a shut down command.
Open REGEDIT and navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\'
Highlight the value 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout'
Change this value to '1000.'
This should help to considerably speed up the time windows XP takes to shut itself down.
98. Disable the Nvidia driver helper service
This service, included with recent NVIDIA Detonator driver packages, is of indeterminate function. Nothing is found on the NVIDIA site about it, and the only thing that people in the hardware community can seem to agree on is that it can considerably slow down boot up time and especially shutdown time.
Hence, if you do have an Nvidia video card, consider searching for and disabling this service. Chances are it will improve your shutdown times.
To disable the Nvidia Driver Helper service:
Right click on 'my computer' and select 'manage.'
Expand 'services and applications' and select 'services' to open the services window.
Locate and highlight the 'Nvidia Driver Helper' service. Right click it and select 'properties.'
Set the 'startup type' dropdown box to 'disabled.' Click 'ok.'
99. Auto kill tasks on shutdown
By default, Windows XP will prompt the user for input if there are one or more applications which have crashed or are not responding and it receives a shut down command. This halts the shutdown process entirely until the user approves the stopping of the non-responsive app.
By altering the registry slightly, Windows XP can be set to close crashed applications automatically. While this does not technically speed up the shut down process, it does streamline it, and ensure that the user will not give the shutdown command then get up and leave, only to find the PC still powered on because Windows never received input on what to do with a hung application.
To allow Windows XP to close non-responsive applications automatically upon shutdown:
Open REGEDIT and navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop'
Highlight the value 'AutoEndTasks.'
Change the value to '1'
XP will now be able to close hung applications without user input during the shutdown process.
Clean out the prefetch folder
Windows XP uses a system called 'prefetch' to organize and preload some of the data necessary for commonly used applications and files. A folder called prefetch is used to store the information the operating system needs to carry out this operation. After several months of use, the prefetch folder may become quite overloaded with older references to software and files that may no longer be in use.
It's a good idea to manually empty the older files out of the prefetch folder every few months or so. To do this: Navigate to 'c:\windows\prefetch' and delete all .PF files that are older than a week or two.
Enable clear type
Windows XP allows you to enable Microsoft's Clear Type font smoothing method. This blends the colours at the edges of type on screen, causing the letters to appear less jagged. While it is primarily intended to increase text quality for users of laptops and desktop PCs with LCD (flat panel) screens, it is worth experimenting with even if you use a traditional CRT.
Be advised that certain ClearType settings may appear rather blurry on a CRT monitor. If you use an LCD monitor on a laptop or desktop, you should definitely enable Cleartype as the increase in text quality is considerable.
To activate ClearType: Go to 'control panel\display' and select the 'appearance' tab.
Click the 'effects' button. Ensure that the 'use the following method to smooth the edges of screen fonts' box is checked and change the drop down box to 'ClearType.' Press 'OK.'
Once you have enabled cleartype, Microsoft has provided a web location where you can fine-tune your ClearType settings
Select 'No to all' when copying files in XP
Have you ever noticed that Windows XP gives you the 'yes to all' option in its file copy dialog box, useful if you would like to overwrite files in a directory with newer files of the same name from another location, for example, but fails to offer a 'no to all' option for doing the opposite. Kind of annoying if you think about it. What if you have a lengthy file copy operation partially finished, and wish to restart it? If you use the default options, you essentially have to recopy every file, since saying 'no' to each and every duplicate file will take just as long, and cause your mouse finger to fall off.
Fortunately, there is a way to tell your computer not to copy all duplicated files with a single command:
To do this, when the file copy dialog box appears asking you whether you wish to overwrite the first file, hold down SHIFT and click 'no.' This will automatically answer no for all following files. Note that it will ask you again for the first folder it encounters, so follow the procedure again to answer no automatically for all folders. This will dramatically speed up the file copying process.
Disable simple file sharing (XP Professional only)
Windows XP uses a new streamlined method of sharing files, called 'simple file sharing,' by default. This method is similar to the system used with Windows 9x/ME in that it does not check user credentials before allowing access to the share. The only option you can specify is whether remote users have the ability to change the share by adding editing or deleting files.
If you desire more security for your shares, you can revert to the higher security method of sharing files used in Windows 2000. This allows you to specify whether individual users on your system are allowed to access each share, and whether they can change the shared data or only read and copy it.
To implement this: Go to 'my computer.' Select 'tools' from the menu and click 'folder options.' Choose the 'view' tab. Find and uncheck the 'use simple file sharing' box. Click 'ok'.
Turn autocomplete off in IE
By default, Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6 will examine what you are typing in the address bar and pop up a list of similar entries you entered recently. It also stores entries you have made on web documents and forms, including usernames and passwords. While this can help speed up your web surfing experience, it can also potentially compromise your privacy if multiple people are using the same user account on your system. Fortunately, autocomplete can be easily disabled through the IE options menu.
To do this: From Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, then select 'options.' Choose the 'content' tab, then click the 'autocomplete' button.

Disable the various options as you see fit. You can also clear autocomplete's memory cache for web forms and passwords from this window.
top Windows messenger from running
Windows XP was the first of Microsoft's operating systems to include a built in instant messaging application, the Windows Messenger (a variant of Microsoft's popular MSN Messenger service). Unfortunately for those who don't use instant messaging services, the program is extremely difficult to avoid, especially if you use Outlook Express as your mail client.
By default, Windows Messenger is started each time windows starts, and will attempt to log you in as soon as you connect to the internet, and every time you start Outlook Express. Worse yet, it will reappear when you start Outlook Express even in you have uninstalled it. With a combination of steps, you can disable Windows Messenger, though it is not really possible to actually remove it from the computer.
Let's look at how to do this: To stop Windows Messenger from reappearing each time you start Outlook Express, open OE then go to 'tools\options' and uncheck the 'automatically log into Windows Messenger' box. Close OE, exit from Messenger and also close any browser windows.
Now you need to find out if you have Service Pack 1 for Windows XP installed. If you are not sure, right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties.' In the first Window under the system heading, your version of Windows XP will be shown. If you do have service pack 1 installed, simply go to 'start\control panel\add/remove programs' to remove the messenger service.
If you do not, go to 'start\run' and type 'RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove' To remove the program.
Disable error reporting on program crash
By default, when a program crashes in Windows XP, A window pop up asking you if you wish to send an error report to Microsoft. This tends to add extra irritation to the already annoying fact of a program crash. To disable this behaviour, a slight registry change is in order:
Open REGEDIT
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PCHealth\ErrorReporting.
Edit the following value:
Value Name: DoReport
Value: 0 to disable the error report prompt.
Automatically close non-responsive programs
With a small registry tweak, Windows XP can be set to automatically close any program that 'stops responding' (crashes), eliminating the need for you to use the task manager to close down the offending software manually.
To do this:
Open REGEDIT and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\ Desktop
Modify the REG_SZ entry AutoEndTasks with a value of 1
Disable admin shares
Windows XP creates a hidden share for every drive on your computer. C$, D$, etc. These shares are accessible only to user accounts with administrative privileges, meaning any account that you created during the installation of windows XP.
Essentially, this means that anyone with a valid username and password from your system can get access to anything on your drives remotely. While this is the number one reason why you should always use good passwords on your Windows user accounts, this feature can be disabled with a little registry tinkering.
To disable the hidden shares:
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
Add the Dword value 'AutoShareWks' with a value of '0'
Reduce Menu Delay to Speed up the Windows Desktop
Windows XP adds a slight delay between the time your mouse pointer rests on a menu button and the time the interface opens the menu. This is necessary to keep the pointer from activating every icon and menu it passes over, but the default delay time (0.4th of a second) can seem kind of lengthy after a while for us super-geeks. You can make the Windows interface seem much, much snappier just by lowering this menu delay time slightly with a simple registry edit.
To do this open Regedit and Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\'
Double click the 'MenuShowDelay' value. The default value is 400, with lower values reducing the menu delay time. Experiment to see what suits you best. Note that setting this to zero is not a good idea, as it will activate every menu as your pointer passes over it, which will become really annoying, fast.