What are some tips to speed up windows XP?

Question

I already did spyware and adware removal programs and they didnt help, my PC is still acting really slow.. what are some things i can do to help speed it up other than disk defrag, spyware scans, and removing unnecessary programs?

Answer 1

The majority of the suggestions you have received are correct. Probably the best thing you can do for yourself is to find out how much RAM (motherboard memory) your machine can hold and maximize it. Since the introduction of WinME, this OS has become a memory hog and will slow down if it doesn't have enough. When you are checking on the maximum memory, ensure you see if there are two different types or speeds of memory available. Make sure if you use multiple sticks, use the SAME MEMORY AND SAME SPEED. Otherwise, this will not increase your speed to the maximum you could receive.

Good luck,
Z

Answer 2

NONE of the answer so far will help you notice any improvement...this is what you have to do...1) right click on my computer, click "properties" 2) select the "advanced" tab, then click the first "settings" button 3) now click that "advanced" tab, and click "change" 4) select the "custom size" bubble, and type the recommended value in both boxes (you can find the recommended value at the bottom where it says "Recommended" then it gives a value in MB's) 5)click OK on all the boxes that are open, and say "yes" when it asks you to reboot

DONE! This should double your speed within windows. Also adding RAM chips will also double your performance on top of this!

Answer 3

Use a good system Registry Cleaner like Iobit Advanced Windows Care or Ccleaner.

You could also turn off unnecessary services and start up programs.

You could always add more Ram memory. You should have at least 512 if not 1 gig of Ram. That is the cheapest and best computer upgrade.

Answer 4

First of all.. I don't know who told you to install two MORE programs on a computer that is already slow... I suggest you remove those 2 programs as you do not need them if you have common sense ... as long as you have a properly installed antivirus/firewall program from a reliable vendor like mcafee and it is automatically updating you should be fine.

As for speeding up your computer... it depends entirely on what about your computer is slow.

If your browsing is slow.. then it could either be that your ISP provider is slow or the sites you are going to are on slow ISP's.

If you are trying to run a lot of programs at once and they are slow.. then it could be that you do not have enough RAM in your computer or that your CPU is slow.. or both... to check what you have Right-click on the MY COMPUTER icon and click Properties... this will tell you the cpu speed and amount of ram installed.

If you do not have enough space on your harddrive then your computer will not be slow.. it will simply begin to crash and lock up... so defragging will not do a whole lot... it will make things run a bit more smoothely but unless its completely fragmented to hell and back it's not going to do much.

If you have a ton of programs running then that will certainly slow down a computer... I suggest you check to see what programs are running... Start > Run > type msconfig > hit enter > click on the startup tab > this will show you most of the programs set to start when you boot up... you can uncheck ones that you are positive are safe to uncheck...

good luck.

Answer 5

If you have truly exausted the above mentioned options there is only one that I can suggest...

Upgrade your hardware. Something like a Dual core 2.4 to 3 GHz CPU, plenty of RAM 2GB or more running in Dual Channel mode will offer the best performance. Having a great video card will speed the performance of most games, and for a few games that take advantage of it you could also add a PhysX card.

Answer 6

1. Set wallpaper and screensavers to blank or none — they run continuously in the background and use memory.
-----right-click on the desktop, select Properties
-----click the screensaver tab, on the left where it says "screensaver," select none.
-----click the desktop tab, for background, select none
2. Review your start menu – remove anything you don’t need on a daily basis — load games, etc. on an as-needed basis.
-----click Start, Settings, Taskbar and Start Menu
-----click the Start Menu tab
-----select a program you do not want to load at Startup, then click remove.
-----Caution -- do not touch anything you are not sure of or you will mess up your computer royally.
3. From Internet Explorer, click Tools, Internet Options: delete cookies, delete files (offline), and clear history. (You can also set days to store history to 0.)
----- These actions will clear your computer’s cache. (For a description of cache, go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/ph/yahoo/mail/access/access-27210.html )
4. Run Disk Cleanup, Scandisk, Defrag at least every two weeks (the more frequently they are run, the less time they take).
-----These can be found in Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools.
5. Periodically, click Start, Programs, Run — then type ipconfig renew
(that’s ipconfig space renew).
6. Optional: Speed vs Goodies — in the Control Panel, System, Advanced, Performance, Settings — you can have visual effects or let Windows select the best options. I am using “Best Performance.” Your choice.
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Top 10 Causes of a Slow or Freezing PC
Source: http://pctuneuptips.com/tips/slow_pc/
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If you are hesitant about losing wallpaper and screensavers, try working with them set to blank or none. If you don't see a marked improvement you can always restore them.

Answer 7

Operating System ASPI Files, from Adaptec, installed

My Computer-> right click-> Properties->Advance->Performance->Settings->Adjust for best performance

Turn off automatic updates

Answer 8

Go to Start->Control Panel ->System->Advanced ->Performance -> Settings ->Advanced ->Virtual Memory.
Select Custom Size and make the Initial size 3048 and the maximum size 3048.
Click Set.
Restart the computer and you might find it operating faster.

Answer 9

Hi, this will revert win xp to look like win2k but it works like a champ.

Right click my computer and go to properties>advanced>performance here you will check "adjust for best performance"

this takes care of most things in one shot.

also, make sure you use a firewall such as comodo(free) and shut off your windows firewall. Win firewall is a resource hog and slows you computer down dramatically.

You will notice the difference immediately!

hope that helps,
Nigel

Answer 10

Defrag
Repair and compact registry
Uninstall unnecessary apps
Scan for and remove temp files, etc.
Disable programs that are not necessary at startup

A slew of apps can do this for you... Tuneup Utilities is a good one.


Michael
http://www.supremecenterhosting.com