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| WebGear
- MsConfig
- More Startup Tweakage
- Speeding Up Internet Explorer
- Proformance Increase through My Computer
- GPEDIT.MSC And Autoplay
- Increasing Options In Add/Remove Menu
- Get rid of IM and no slow OE startup
- Edit Hidden System Settings using Group Policy Editor
- Memory Performance Tweaks
- Disable Paging Executive
- System Cache Boost
- Input/Output Performance
- Speeding Up Share Viewing
- Prioritizing Individual Processes
- Prioritizing IRQs
- Speed up Detailed view in Explorer
- Accelerate Your WinXP by Speeding Diskcache
- Clean your prefetch to improve performance
- Improve NTFS Performance
- SystemPages Memory Tweak
- System Configuration Utility
- Speed up menu display
- Disable unnecessary services to free system resources
#1 - MsConfig
Most of you will be familiar with MsConfig,
which is basically a built-in system configuration utility for Windows. Open it
up by simply going to Start -> Run..., then type 'msconfig' in the box and
press enter. Now, the tab we are interested in here is the 'Startup' tab...
simply click on it and you should see a screen similar to the one
below.
This box displays all of the programs that will be started when
Windows boots up. None of these programs are vital for Windows, so don't feel
worried about removing some of them in experimentation. You can see from the
screenshot that I have disabled both NDetect (ICQ's start-up program) and
WinAmpa (WinAmp, obviously). Now, if you've unchecked some boxes, Windows should
start up faster and will take less resources by not running these programs in
the background.
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#2- More Startup
Tweakage
Now we're going to take the tweak above and go one step
futher. Go to Start -> Run again, then type 'services.msc'. You should
get:
This is a more detailed list of processes that are starting up with
Windows. All those items with 'Automatic' listed next to their names are booting
with Windows. Click on the items to find out just what they do. If you decide
you don't need a certain service, you can simply right-click on it and change
it's properties from 'Automatic' to 'Manual'.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#3 - Speeding Up
Internet Explorer
This is a handy little trick you can use with
Internet Explorer 6 (which ships with XP) to make it boot up extremely fast -
instantly, on my system :). This should be familiar to those of you who have
created shortcuts for Half-Life mods and the like. For those of you who aren't
familiar, simply right-click on a shortcut to Internet Explorer (such as the one
in the Quicklaunch bar) and add the parameter '-nohome' to the end of the
command line, like so:
Target: Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE"
-nohome
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#4 - Proformance
Increase through My Computer
Easy enough tweak to usually find
out about it on your own, but still, some of use still don't find it right away.
So here it is:
1: Start > Right Click on My Computer and select
properties.
2: Click on the "Advanced" tab
3: See the "Perfomance"
section? Click "Settings"
4: Disable the following:
Fade or slide
menus into view
Fade or slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items
after clicking
Show Shadows under menus
Slide open combo boxes
Slide
taskbar buttons
Use a background image for each folder type
Use common
tasks in folders
There, now Windows will still look nice and perform
faster.
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#5 - GPEDIT.MSC And
Autoplay
A great tweaking file that comes with XP is gpedit.msc.
Go to Start -> Run... and then type in 'gpedit.msc' and press enter. This is
effectively the Policies Editor, and it comes in handy often. For example, if
you hate CD autoplay like I do and want to permanently disable it, you can use
this tool to do so. Just run gpedit.msc, then go to Computer Configuration ->
Administrative Templates -> System. In here you can see the value 'Turn Off
Autoplay'. Right-click on it and then click 'Properties'.
Now you can simply
play around with the settings for this and other values in these folders,
customizing appearance and performance issues.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#6 - Increasing Options
In Add/Remove Menu
Not a fan of MSN Messenger? don't want Windows
Media Player on your system? Fair enough, but if you go to Add/Remove Programs
in the Control Panel, by default none of Windows XP's 'built in' programs are
visible. it's fairly easy to change, though... just open the file
X:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf (where X: is the drive letter where Windows XP is
installed) in Notepad. You should see a section of the file something like
this:
[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System
= setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc,
TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.inf,,7
This
is a list of all components installed at the moment. I've taken the example of
MSN Messenger - the program entry called 'msmsgs', third-last line. You can see
the word 'hide' highlighted - this is the string which tells Windows not to
display the component in the Add/Remove Programs list. Fix this up by simply
deleting the word 'hide' like
so:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
To
this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7
Now, after
restarting, you should be able to see MSN Messenger in the Add/Remove Programs
list. If you want to be able to quickly view and remove all components, simply
open the sysoc.inf file and do a global find and replace for the word ",hide"
and replace it with a single comma ",".
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#7 - Get rid of IM and no
slow OE startup
If you have OE 6 got to tools > windows
messenger > options > preferences and in the general area uncheck "run
this program when windows starts" and "allow this program to run in the
background." After doing this IM does not load on startup and OE loads as
usual.
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#8 - Edit Hidden System
Settings using Group Policy Editor
Windows XP has a great
program called Group Policy Editor that allows system administrators to modify
the settings to a great number of windows features. TO start the program up
follow the directions below.
1. Open the start menu and click Run
2.
Type gpedit.msc
3. The Group Policy MMC appears
4. Click through the
different nodes of the tree to see all the hidden features of Windows XP that
you can edit without touching the registry.
Examples: Changing IE
displays, Clearing the pagefile at shutdown, boot-time defrag settings, and many
many more
Another tip is to add this to your Administrative Tools by
adding the shortcut to gpedit.msc
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#9 - Memory Performance
Tweaks
The next few memory tweaks can be performed with Windows
XP - all of them are located in
the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory
Management
section of the registry.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
9a - Disable Paging
Executive
In normal usage, XP pages sections from RAM memory to
the hard drive. We can stop this happening and keep the data in RAM, resulting
in improved performance. Note that only users with a large amount of RAM
(256MB+) should use this setting. The setting we want to change to disable the
'Paging Executive', as it is called, is called DisablePagingExecutive. Changing
the value of this key from 0 to 1 will de-activate memory paging.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
9b - System Cache
Boost
Changing the value of the key LargeSystemCache from 0 to 1 will
tell Windows XP to allocate all but 4MB of system memory to the file system
cache, basically meaning that the XP Kernel can run in memory, greatly improving
it's speed. The 4MB of memory left is used for disk caching, but if for any
reason more is needed, XP allocates more. Generally, this tweak improves
performance by a fair bit but can, in some intensive applications, degrade
performance. As with the above tweak, you should have at least 256MB of RAM
before attempting to enable LargeSystemCache.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
9c - Input/Output
Performance
This tweak is only really valuable to anyone running a
server - it improves performace while a computer is performing large file
transfer operations. By default, the value does not appear in the registry, so
you will have to create a REG_DWORD value called IOPageLockLimit. The data for
this value is in bytes, and defaults to 512KB on machines that have the value.
Most people using this tweak have found maximum performance in the 8 to 16
megabyte range, so you will have to play around with the value to find the best
performance. Remeber that the value is measured in bytes, so if you want, say,
12MB allocated, it's 12 * 1024 * 1024, or 12582912. As with all these memory
tweaks, you should only use this if you have 256MB or more of RAM.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#10 - Speeding Up Share
Viewing
This is a great tweak. Before I found it, I was always
smashing my head against the table waiting to view shares on other computers.
Basically, when you connect to another computer with Windows XP, it checks for
any Scheduled tasks on that computer - a fairly useless task, but one that can
add up to 30 seconds of waiting on the other end - not good! Fortunately, it's
fairly easy to disable this process. First, navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current
Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace in the Registry. Below that, there
should be a key called {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Just delete this,
and after a restart, Windows will no longer check for scheduled tasks - mucho
performance improvement!
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#11 - Prioritizing
Individual Processes
This is so simple it's not funny, but it
leads into the next tweak... anyway, if you press Control+Alt+Delete, then click
on the 'Processes' tab, you should get a dialog like the one above. You can see
a list of all the processes running at the time. Now, if you are running a
program that you want to dedicate more processing time to - eg, 3D Studio Max,
as in my example, you can just right-click on the process, move your cursor down
to 'Set Priority >', then select how high you want that program prioritized.
While I'm checking my email, I might want a Normal priority for Max, but if I
leave my Computer, I can increass it to 'RealTime' to get the most rendering
done. Easy!
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#12 - Prioritizing
IRQs
The last tweak for this guide - and a good one. The main
components of your computer have an IRQ number assigned to them. With this tweak
we can increase the priority given to any IRQ number, thereby improving the
performance of that component. The most common component this tweak is used for
is the System CMOS/real time clock, which improves performance across the board.
First of all, decide which component you want to give a performance boost to.
Next, you have to discover which IRQ that piece of hardware is using. To do
this, simply go to Control Panel, then open the System panel (You can also press
the shortcut of Windows+Break). Click the 'Hardware' tab, then on the 'Device
Manager' button.
Now, right click on the component you want to discover
the IRQ for and click 'Properties', then click on the 'Resources'
tab.
You can plainly see which IRQ this device is using (if there is no
IRQ number, select another device). Remember the number and close down all of
the dialog boxes you have opened, then start up RegEdit. Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControlPriorityControl in the registry.
Now, we have to create a new DWORD value - called IRQ#Priority (where '#’ is the
IRQ number), then set the data to 1. For example, the IRQ of my System CMOS is
8, so I would create the key IRQ8Priority.
Now, after restarting, you
should notice improved performance in the component you tweaked. I would
strongly recommend the CMOS, as it improves performance around the board. Also
note that you can have multiple IRQ prioritized, but it is fairly inefficient
and can cause instability. To remove this tweak, simply delete the value you
created.
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#13 - Speed up Detailed
view in Explorer
If you like to view your files in Windows
Explorer using the "Details" view here is a tweak to speed up the listing of
file attributes:
Viewing files in Windows Explorer using the "Details"
mode shows various attributes associated with each file shown. Some of these
must be retrieved from the individual files when you click on the directory for
viewing. For a directory with numerous and relatively large files (such as a
folder in which one stores media, eg: *.mp3's, *.avi's etc.) Windows Explorer
lags as it reads through each one. Here's how to disable viewing of unwanted
attributes and speed up file browsing:
1. Open Windows Explorer
2.
Navigate to the folder which you wish to optimize.
3. In "Details" mode right
click the bar at the top which displays the names of the attribute columns.
4. Uncheck any that are unwanted/unneeded.
Explorer will apply your
preferences immediately, and longs lists of unnecessary attributes will not be
displayed.
Likewise, one may choose to display any information which is
regarded as needed, getting more out of Explorer.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#14 - Accelerate Your
WinXP by Speeding Diskcache
Diskcache plays a very important
role in WinXP. However, the default I/O pagefile setting of XP is conservative,
which limits the performance. Some better values for different RAM are given
below.
1. run "regedit";
2. goto
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management\IoPageLockLimit];
3. modify the value in Hex depending on the size
of your RAM:
RAM: modified value(Hex)
64M: 1000;
128M: 4000;
256M:
10000;
512M or more: 40000.
4. reboot.
Though some good tools (such
as "Cacheman") can do this, it is an interesting experience for you to work it
out by yourself and let your XP fly.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#15 - Clean your
prefetch to improve performance
This is an unique technique for
WinXP. We know that it is necessary to wash registry and TEMP files for
Win9X/ME/2000 periodly. Prefetch is a new and very useful technique in Windows
XP. However, after using XP some time, the prefetch directory can get full of
junk and obsolete links in the Prefetch catalog, which can slow down your
computer notablely. My suggestion is: open C(system drive):/windows/prefetch,
delete those junk and obsolete files,reboot. It is recommended that you do this
every month.
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#16 - Improve NTFS
Performance
The NTFS file system is the recommended file
system because of its advantages in terms of reliability and security and
because it is required for large drive sizes. However, these advantages come
with some overhead. You can modify some functionality to improve NTFS
performance as follows:
1. Disable creation of short names. By default,
NTFS generates the style of file name that consists of eight characters,
followed by a period and a three-character extension for compatibility with
MS-DOS and Microsoft® Windows® 3.x clients. If you are not supporting these
types of clients, you can turn off this setting by changing the default value of
the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation registry entry (in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Filesystem) to 1.
2.
Disable last access update. By default NTFS updates the date and time stamp of
the last access on directories whenever it traverses the directory. For a large
NTFS volume, this update process can slow performance. To disable automatic
updating, change the value of the NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate registry entry (in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentContolSet\Control\Filesystem) to 1. If the
entry is not already present in the registry, add it before setting the value.
(Add it as a REG_DWORD)
3. Reserve appropriate space for the master file
table. Add the NtfsMftZoneReservation entry to the registry as a REG_DWORD in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. When you add
this entry to the registry, the system reserves space on the volume for the
master file table. Reserving space in this manner allows the master file table
to grow optimally. If your NTFS volumes generally contain relatively few files
that are typically large, set value of this registry entry to 1 (the default).
Typically you can use a value of 2 or 3 for moderate numbers of files, and 4
(the maximum) if your volumes tend to contain a relatively large number of
files. However, be sure to test any settings greater than 2 because these higher
values cause the system to reserve a much larger portion of the disk for the
master file table.
Reboot after making changes.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#17 - SystemPages
Memory Tweak
Not 100% sure if this tweak will yield a great
performance boost to the majority of users out there, but for me it seems to
have shown very good results. By default, if you look in the
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management]key, you'll see the 'SystemPages' DWORD Value set to something around
500 MB (more accurately, 524288 (KB), or something close to that value). Simply
reduce the value to something around 128 MB (131072 KB) or 256 MB (262144 KB).
Personally, I'm using the 128 MB setting, since my total RAM is 256 MB. It might
help to experiment a little, since each machine will most likely yield better or
worse results. Good Luck!
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#18 - System
Configuration Utility
Views: 39968 | Print Tweak | 10/15/2001
To Get to the System Configuration Utility
Click Start
Click
Help and Support
Click Tools
On the left Select System Configuration
Utlity
^ TOP [WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#19 - Speed up menu
display
When using the start menu the you will notice a delay
between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer
experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the
different tiers to appear instantly.
Start Regedit. If you are unfamiliar
with regedit please refer to our FAQ on how to get started.
Navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Select MenuShowDelay from the list
on the right.
Right on it and select Modify.
Change the value to 0.
Reboot your computer.
^ TOP
[WebGear] [TweakXP.com]
#20 - Disable
unnecessary services to free system resources
Services are
programs that run when the computer starts up and continue to run as they aid
the operating system in functionality. There are many services that load and are
not needed which take up memory space and CPU time. Disabling these services
will free up system resources which will speed up your overall computer
experience. I recommend that you sort through the list and read the descriptions
to decide if you need that service depending on what you want to do with your
computer. Remember, you can always turn the service back on if you find that you
need it in the future. Below is the procedure to turn off a
service.
Click the start button.
Select run from the bottom of the
right column.
Then type services.msc in the box and click ok.
Once the
services window has loaded we are ready to turn off unneeded services.
For
instructional purposes we are going to turn off the Portable Media Serial Number
service.
Find this service in the list and select it with the mouse.
Right
click and select Properties.
Once the properties windows has loaded locate
the Start up type drop down box and select disable.
Then just click ok and
the next time the computer starts the service will not be loaded.
Go
here to understand Windows XP/2000 background processes.
Windows XP Professional
Services 411 Highly Recommemnded
BlkViper.com has charted out
services so you can easily tweak your system quickley with
recommendations/explinations. Use only what you need for a streamlined operating
system.>
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