1.Stop Jerky Graphics

If you are connected to a LAN and have problems with jerky graphics, this might be the

solution:

· Right-click "My Computer".

· Select "Manage".

· Click on "Device Manager".

· Double-click on your NIC under "Network Adapters".

· In the new window, select the "Advanced" tab.

· Select "Connection Type" and manually set the value of your NIC. (Not "Auto Sense"

which is default.).

· You should reboot.

2. Shutdown XP Faster

Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows

XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this

useless sound.

· Click Start button.

· Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio

Devices > Sounds.

· Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and

highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and

OK.

Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.

3. Speeding Up Your Pentium 2 by 50%

We all know that you really shouldn't try to run Windows XP on anything less that

about a Pentium 3 of some sort if you are out for speedy operations and amazing reaction

times, but for those of us with the good old Pentium 2's who want to see just how well we

can run XP, we have to tweak as much as we can where-ever we can. A real killer to the

system's performance is Windows Media Player. Although it may look desirable and fancy

with it's rounded off edges and 3rd-Dimensional appearance, the truth is, it takes up a

large amount of that precious processing power. All of these troubles however, lead to

one thing in particular with this 'new-look' over-rated music and video player...the

Visualizations. The look-great I'll admit but like a lot of software these days, it has

no purpose. If you run the task manager, and click the Performance tab along the top,

you'll see that when Windows Media Player is running and nothing else is active, it takes

up around 50% of the processors power. Once these visualizations are turned off, it

barely takes up 2-3% of the processors power, which leaves much more room for other

applications to work efficiently.

Here's how to disable the feature:

· Open Media Player.

· Make sure the Now Playing tab on the left is selected.

· Click the View menu along the top.

· Go down to Now Playing Tools.

· In the sub-menu that has just 'popped-out', uncheck Show Visualization.

4.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:

· Open Windows Explorer.

· Navigate to the folder which you wish to optimize.

· In "Details" mode right-click the bar at the top which displays the names of the

attribute columns.

· 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.

5.Turn Off System Restore to Save Space

By default, Windows XP keeps a backup of system files in the System Volume Information

folder. This can eat up valuable space on your hard drive. If you don't want Windows to

back up your system files:

· Open the Control Panel.

· Double-click on System.

· Click the System Restore tab.

· Check "Turn off System Restore on all drives".

· Hit Apply.

· You may now delete the System Volume Information folder.

Warning! If you turn this off you will not be able to use Windows System Restore to

restore your system in case of failure.

6.Correcting System Hang at Startup

If your system hangs about 2 or 3 minutes at startup, where you can't access the Start

button or the Taskbar, it may be due to one specific service (Background Intelligent

Transfer) running in the background. Microsoft put out a patch for this but it didn't

work for me. Here's what you do:

· Click on Start/Run, type 'msconfig', then click 'OK'.

· Go to the 'Services' tab, find the 'Background Intelligent Transfer' service.

· Disable it, apply the changes & reboot.

7. Disable XP Boot Logo

It is possible to disable the XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the

overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not

to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if your system

runs without any problems then it should not matter.

· Edit boot.ini.

· Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".

Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the

new switch.

8.Easy Way to Adjust LargeSystemCache

Normally, the tweak I've seen asks you to go into

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and change the

value to either O or 1 to the adjustment the LargeSystemCache.

However, in Windows XP, all you have to do is:

· Right-click My Computer.

· Select Properties.

· Click Advanced.

· Choose Performance.

· Click Advanced again.

· Select either Programs or System Cache under Memory Usage.

Programs = 0 for the registry tweak equivalent

System Cache = 1 for the registry tweak equivalent

· On NT Server (in this case XP), the Large System Cache option is enabled, but

disabled on Workstation. The two different settings effect how the cache manager

allocates free memory. If the Large Cache option is on, the manager marks all the free

memory, which isn't being used by the system and/or applications, as freely available for

disk caching.

· On the flip-side (with a small cache), the manager instead only sets aside 4MB of

memory for disk caching in an attempt to accelerate the launch of applications. Or in a

more technical approach, if enabled the system will favor system-cache working sets over

process working sets (with a working set basically being the memory used by components of

a process).

9.Turn Off Indexing to Speed Up XP

Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk so when you do a search on the

hard drive it is faster. There is a downside to this and because the computer has to

index all files, it will slow down normal file commands like open, close, etc. If you do

not do a whole lot of searches on your hard drive then you may want to turn this feature

off:

· Open My Computer.

· Right-click your hard drive icon and select Properties.

· At the bottom of the window you'll see "Allow indexing service to index this disk

for faster searches," uncheck this and click ok.

· A new window will pop up and select Apply to all folders and subfolders.

It will take a minute or two for the changes to take affect but then you should enjoy

slightly faster performance.

10. Change 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:

· Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

· 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.

· Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive

Letter and Paths.

· Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you

want to assign, and then click OK.

11. Synchronize Your Computer Clock with an Internet Time Server

Does your computer have the right time? If your computer is not part of a domain, you

can synchronize your computer clock with an Internet time server. To do so:

· Double-click the time on your task bar.

· Click the Internet Time tab.

· Select the time server you want to use and make sure to select the Automatically

synchronize with an Internet time

server check box.

12. Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP

To start the Desktop Cleanup Wizard:

· Click Start , and then click Control Panel.

· In Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes under Pick a category.

· Under or pick a Control Panel icon , click Display. The Display Properties dialog

box is displayed.

· In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click

Customize Desktop. The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed.

· Under Desktop cleanup , click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days

check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60

days.

· Click Clean Desktop Now. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard starts.

Remove Unwanted Shortcuts

· In the Welcome to the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, click Next.

· In the Shortcuts dialog box, a list of shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut to

Clean Up list. The shortcuts that you click are removed from the desktop and placed in

the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder on the Windows desktop.

· If you do not want a shortcut to be removed from the desktop, click to clear the

check box for that shortcut, and then click Next when you are finished.

· In the Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, view the items in the

Shortcuts box to confirm that you want them removed from the desktop, and then click

Finish.

The Desktop Cleanup Wizard moves the selected shortcuts to the Unused Desktop

Shortcuts folder and then quits.

Restore Shortcuts

If a shortcut that you want is removed, follow these steps to restore the shortcut:

· On the Desktop, double-click the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder. The Unused

Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is displayed. Note: If the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog

box is maximized, click the Restore Down button (appears to the left of the red Close

button).

· Drag the shortcut that you want to the Windows desktop.

· Close the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box.

13. How to Turn On Automatic Updates

· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click one of the following options:

- Download the updates automatically and notify me when they are ready to be

installed. (This is the default setting.)

- Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again before installing them

on my computer.

How to Turn Off Automatic Updates

· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want

to update my computer manually.

How to Update Your Files Manually by Using Windows Update

If you choose not to use automatic updating, you can still install specific updates

from the Windows Update Web site. Windows Update is a catalog of items such as drivers,

security fixes, critical updates, the latest Help files, and Internet products that you

can download to keep your computer up-to-date.

· Click Windows Update in Help and Support Center.

· On the Windows Update home page, click Scan for updates.

· Click Yes when you are prompted to install any required software or device drivers.

How to Have Windows Remind You About Pending Updates

· Click Remind Me Later in the Automatic Updates dialog box before you download or

install the update.

· In the Reminder dialog box, you can specify the amount of time Windows should wait

before reminding you.

· If the reminder is for downloading, Windows reminds you only when you are connected

to the Internet.

· If the reminder is for installing, Windows reminds you according to the schedule

that you specify.

How to Download Available Updates

If you configured automatic updating to notify you before downloading any updates, an

icon is displayed in the notification area each time new updates are found.

· Double-click the icon in the notification area.

· Do either of the following steps:

If you want Windows to download an update, make sure that the check box beside it is

selected.

-or-

If you do not want Windows to download an update, click to clear the check box beside

it.

Your selected updates are downloaded in the background; this behavior allows you to

continue working uninterrupted. Downloading does not interfere with or slow down other

network activity, such as Internet browsing.

When downloading is finished, the icon is displayed in the notification area to notify

you that updates are ready to be installed.

How to Pause or Resume Downloading

After the download process has started, you can pause or resume downloading at any

time. If you close your Internet connection or restart your computer after pausing a

download process, Windows automatically resumes the download process the next time you

are connected to the Internet.

· During the download process, click the icon that is displayed in the notification

area, and then click Pause.

· When you are ready for Windows to start downloading again, click the Automatic

updating icon, and then click

Resume.

Restore an Update that You Previously Declined

If you decide not to download a specific update, you can prompt Windows Update to

offer that update again.

· Click Start , click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Restore Declined Updates.

14. Change Out Your Pointer Scheme

Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP

offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports:

· Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you

start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under

"See Also").

· Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers.

· Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop.

15. Use the Ultimate Configuration Tool (Professional Edition Only)

One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right

there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local

Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short.

To invoke this editor:

· Select Start and then Run, then type the following:

gpedit.msc

After you hit Enter, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually

every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit.

16. Customize the Start menu

The Start menu gets more real estate in XP than in previous versions, and it's more

customizable. To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than

the default determined by Microsoft:

· Right-click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column.

· Select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. Here you'll find a list of your most

frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then

updates this list dynamically).

Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list?

· Go to the General tab, click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.

17. Internet Connection Sharing

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection:

· Open Network Connections.

· Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share.

· Then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

· On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this

computer's Internet connection

check box.

· If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home

or small office network

attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection

whenever a computer on my network

attempts to access the Internet check box.

· If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection,

select the Allow other network

users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box. Under Internet

Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the

computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.

18. Disable Error Reporting

· Open Control Panel.

· Click on Performance and Maintenance.

· Click on System.

· Then click on the Advanced tab.

· Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows.

· Select Disable error reporting.

· Click OK. Click OK.

19. Close Multiple Windows

If you just opened a number of separate, related windows (a folder inside a folder,

and so on), there's an easier way to close them all than one-at-a-time:

· Hold down the shift-key as you click the X caption button in the upper-right corner

of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before

it.

20. Increase BROADBAND

This is for broad band connections, though it might work for dial up.

· Make sure your logged on as actually "Administrator".

· Start->Run->type gpedit.msc

· Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch.

· Expand the "Administrative Templates" branch.

· Expand the "Network Branch".

· Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window.

· In right window double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting.

· On setting tab check the "Enabled" item.

· Where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0.

Effect is immediate on some systems, some need to re-boot. This is more of a "counter

what XP does" thing. In other words, programs can request up to 20% of the bandwidth be

reserved for them, even with QoS disabled

21. Increase Your Cable Modem or DSL Speed in XP

This tweak is for broad band cable connections on stand alone machines with WinXP

professional version - might work on Home version also. It may also work with networked

machines as well.

This tweak assumes that you have let WinXP create a connection on install for your

cable modem/NIC combination and that your connection has tcp/ip - QoS - file and print

sharing - and client for Microsoft networks , only, installed. It also assumes that

WinXP will detect your NIC and has in-box drivers for it. If it doesn't do not try

this.

· In the "My Network Places" properties (right-click on the desktop icon and choose

properties), highlight the connection

then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two

boxes in the lower half for the

bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK.

· From the Windows XP CD in the support directory from the support cab, extract the

file netcap.exe and place it in a

directory on your hard drive or even in the root of your C:\ drive.

· Next, open up a command prompt window and change directories to where you put

netcap.exe. then type "netcap/?".

It will list some commands that are available for netcap and a netmon driver will be

installed. At the bottom you will

see your adapters. You should see two of them if using a 3Com card. One will be for

LAN and the other will be for

WAN something or other.

· Next type "netcap/Remove". This will remove the netmon driver.

· Open up Control Panel->System->Dev Man and look at your network adapters. You

should now see two of them and one will have a yellow ! on it. Right-click on the one

without the yellow ! and choose uninstall. YES! You are uninstalling your network

adapter, continue with the uninstall. Do not restart yet.

· Check your connection properties to make sure that no connection exists. If you get

a wizard just cancel out of it.

Now re-start the machine.

· After re-start go to your connection properties again and you should have a new

connection called "Local area connection 2". Highlight the connection, then at the menu

bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half

for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK.

· Choose connection properties and uncheck the "QOS" box.

· Re-start the machine.

After restart enjoy the increased responsiveness of IE, faster page loading, and a

connection speed boost.

Why it works, it seems that windows XP, in its zeal to make sure every base is covered

installs two separate versions of the NIC card. One you do not normally see in any

properties. Remember the "netcap/?" command above showing two different adapters? The LAN

one is the one you see. The invisible one loads everything down and its like your running

two separate cards together, sharing a connection among two cards, this method breaks

this "bond" and allows the NIC to run un-hindered.