Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve
Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the
performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them
will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system
performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software --
the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the
computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory.
This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve
system performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file
system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My
Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next,
examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important
data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt,
type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a
while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The
file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly
recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with
larger disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts
information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a
"searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be
quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase,
or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of
documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's
built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without
the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the
time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most people never need this feature of search. Those who
do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents
are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder,
most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have
no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon.
Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow
Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply
changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or
error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore
All button.
5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset
drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to
configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months
or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications
that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when
called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may
become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use.
When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance,
by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire
contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how:
Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select
Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the
Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE
ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you
have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by
double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab.
Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device
0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology
improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have
become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your
IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching
Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the
cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will
cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems
will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because
these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each
drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so
drive positioning is explicitly clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free
programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these
programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before
starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any
free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the
spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program
even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on
removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from
Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click
Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then
uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some
items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system
processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or
quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another
Web search engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the
Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and
disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all
animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how
to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on
the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel
free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change
will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is
comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks
offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and
download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your
discretion.
16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a
weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software
package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster
for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts
installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system
will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the
previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 --
will noticeably tax the system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS
file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer
on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an
operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to
using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D:
drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same
organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the
degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by
the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the
entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever.
That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating
properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will
make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests
on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow
all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If
the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a
stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again.
Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive
manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to
upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot
of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which
services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for
Windows XP configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window
crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this
tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the
View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate
process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for
this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and
blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the
fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging
or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can
read numerous articles on my site.
