How to Speed Up Windows XP
For starters it is important to understand that just about anything you do software wise will not actually increase the speed up you PC which is mostly based on core hardware such CPU, Video Card, Hard Disk and Ram. What you can do is improve how you PC uses those resources so the majority of your computing is going to the program or programs your currently using and not wasted on other secondary often time unnecessary tasks. This can realistically improve the performance on some programs 10% to 30%.
Before starting making any of these changes adjustments to your computer’s software it is strongly advised that you back up important personal or work files such as documents, pictures, pretty much anything that can’t be replaced that you want to keep. For this it is recommended that you use a separate storage device such as a USB thumb drive or a detachable hard drive and store it in a safe place separate from your computer.
First thing you want to do is create a restore point this will allow you to undue changes you made if they don’t work or you don’t like the results
Creating a restore point in Windows XP
To create a restore point in Windows XP, follow the steps below.
For starters it is important to understand that just about anything you do software wise will not actually increase the speed up you PC which is mostly based on core hardware such CPU, Video Card, Hard Disk and Ram. What you can do is improve how you PC uses those resources so the majority of your computing is going to the program or programs your currently using and not wasted on other secondary often time unnecessary tasks. This can realistically improve the performance on some programs 10% to 30%.
Before starting making any of these changes adjustments to your computer’s software it is strongly advised that you back up important personal or work files such as documents, pictures, pretty much anything that can’t be replaced that you want to keep. For this it is recommended that you use a separate storage device such as a USB thumb drive or a detachable hard drive and store it in a safe place separate from your computer.
First thing you want to do is create a restore point this will allow you to undue changes you made if they don’t work or you don’t like the results
Creating a restore point in Windows XP
To create a restore point in Windows XP, follow the steps below.
- Click Start All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then System Restore.
- In the System Restore window select the Create a restore point option and click the Next button.
- Enter a description for the restore point in the Restore point description text field and click the Create button.
If you ever need to rollback Windows to an earlier time, on the System Protection tab, click the System Restore button and follow the prompts to initiate the to restore your computer to a earlier state.
Scan Your Computer for Viruses and Malware
To do this you will want to use Rkill and Malwareytes which are a couple of the best stand alone programs for dealing with viruses and malware they can be downloaded for free from these links.
Rkill
Malwarebytes
- Pause or exit any other anti virus programs running on your computer you should not have more than one anti virus or malware program running on your computer at the same time. On most programs you right click on the anti virus programs tray icon and select pause or exit.
- Then run Rkill this will stop potential malicious programs from running so they can be removed. It will not remove anything or make any permanent changes to your software.
- Run Malwarebytes to check for and remove viruses or malware from your computer.
- Restart your computer.
Make Sure there is only one Anti Virus program running on your computer.
On any computer you should have only one primary anti virus program that runs on startup that monitors protects your computer. Having multiple programs including including auto fix or cleaners programs which are not recommended running full time can cause critical errors and conflicts and will greatly slow down you computer. If you do have more than one program it is strongly advised that you completely uninstall all of them and perform a clean install of one current major anti virus program.
PC Hell has a fairly comprehensive set of guides for completely removing anti virus programs. If you don’t have a primary anti virus program that your using a couple of good free ones that work with XP are Avast and Kaspersky.
If your not sure you can check to see if you have more than one program restart you computer so only the start up programs are running. Go to start then select run from the programs menu and type msconfig select ok.
This will bring up you configuration utility select services scroll through the items that come up there should only be one anti virus listed as running. If there is more than one you want to deselect all the ones that are not your primary by unchecking the box.
Also double check the Startup list to make sure there are no other anti virus or PC cleaner programs running then restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Change Performance Settings
In many cases change changing the performance and display settings on your computer can increase speed and stability significantly. To access the performance settings select start then control panel from the menu and system in the control panel. From the System Properties select advanced then performance this will give you your performance settings.
Change Performance Settings
In many cases change changing the performance and display settings on your computer can increase speed and stability significantly. To access the performance settings select start then control panel from the menu and system in the control panel. From the System Properties select advanced then performance this will give you your performance settings.
In visual effects selecting best appearance will but will slow you down some but give you the best graphics quality. Select let windows choose or adjust for performance which should give you the best performance. If you want the most performance with somewhat minimal graphics you cans select adjust for best performance. Note these setting can easily be changed at anytime without restart so feel free to try all three and chose the one you like best. Next in the Performance Options select advanced and select the virtual memory settings.
Check to make sure the settings are correct they should be System managed size or Custom size with the initial size being the physical amount of ram on your computer in MB and the maximum size to the same number. This will tell your computer to use all of the physical memory for tasks and not use your hard drive for memory setting the numbers larger to use the hard drive as memory often called thrashing can result in a high number of memory errors on older computers often resulting in a dreaded blue screen and may result in damage to the computer. By using all of the physical memory and not using slower virtual memory should result in slightly faster startup and shutdown times and most programs will actually run bit faster.
Lower Display Settings
Display settings are typically set the close to or at maximum on most computers lowering them some can significantly increase speed on most programs with barely noticeable effect on graphics quality. To access the display settings select start then control panel, display and settings. Lowering the color quality to 16 bit will free up a lot resources with only slight loss in image quality. Lowering the screen resolution can also speed things up a bit but result in a significant decline in image quality. These settings can be easily changed at any time without a restart so you can try different ones or change them to match a specific program like many games native settings for best performance.
Lower Display Settings
Display settings are typically set the close to or at maximum on most computers lowering them some can significantly increase speed on most programs with barely noticeable effect on graphics quality. To access the display settings select start then control panel, display and settings. Lowering the color quality to 16 bit will free up a lot resources with only slight loss in image quality. Lowering the screen resolution can also speed things up a bit but result in a significant decline in image quality. These settings can be easily changed at any time without a restart so you can try different ones or change them to match a specific program like many games native settings for best performance.
Limit the Programs that run on Startup
Most computers have several unnecessary programs that run on start up and are continually running taking up a lot of resources. Most users you really only need the Microsoft and Windows main programs, basic internet, wi-fi and the main anti virus program to run on startup, other programs can just be started as needed. To see what is running on you computer that runs on startup restart your computer so only these programs are running. Right click on the tool bar at the bottom of the screen and select Task Manager. In the Task Manager, Processes are the programs running on you computer in the idle state there should be mostly smaller system files and only a couple of larger files over 20,000k which are likely your Anti virus program. The performance tab in the Task Manager will show the current resource usage just after star up with no programs opened it should show 5% or less CPU usage and 400-500mb memory usage for a well configured Window XP setup.
Most computers have several unnecessary programs that run on start up and are continually running taking up a lot of resources. Most users you really only need the Microsoft and Windows main programs, basic internet, wi-fi and the main anti virus program to run on startup, other programs can just be started as needed. To see what is running on you computer that runs on startup restart your computer so only these programs are running. Right click on the tool bar at the bottom of the screen and select Task Manager. In the Task Manager, Processes are the programs running on you computer in the idle state there should be mostly smaller system files and only a couple of larger files over 20,000k which are likely your Anti virus program. The performance tab in the Task Manager will show the current resource usage just after star up with no programs opened it should show 5% or less CPU usage and 400-500mb memory usage for a well configured Window XP setup.
To change the programs that run on startup select star then run and type msconfig. This will bring up the System Configuration Utility there executable files and programs that are running are located in the Services and Startup Menus. The items with green check marks that indicate running run on startup and are running at all times. Most of these are Microsoft core components that are needed and shouldn’t be disabled. If there secondary programs they can likely be disabled with out issue, if you not sure you can Google them to determine if there something that really needs to be running full time. To disable files or programs uncheck the box next to them and restart your computer. To add them back if it is determined there necessary check the box and restart you computer. PC startup can also be edited fairly easily using CCleaner.
Download and start CCleaner then select tools and Startup and you can disable or enable programs note you don’t want to use delete unless you sure allowing you to undue changes if needed.
PC Cleaners, Registry Cleaners and Defrag programs will not speed up Windows XP
Contrary to a lot of bad information on the internet cleaners and defrag programs will not significantly speed up a computer. It is advised that you use the built in Windows programs for these tasks or CCleaner and not the third party ones advertised to speed up your PC. To use the Microsoft cleanup feature select start, run then type cleanmgr to bring up Disk Cleanup. To defrag the hard disk select start, run then type dfrg.msc to access the disk defragmenter. Running these programs periodically can potentially reduce some disk errors and security risks posed by temp files and cookies that many websites put on your computer but will not do much of anything for speed. As for registry cleaners Microsoft recommends you don’t use them and many can cause or result in errors without increasing performance. The on included in CCleaner is reported to be safe but doesn't do much for performance.
Download and start CCleaner then select tools and Startup and you can disable or enable programs note you don’t want to use delete unless you sure allowing you to undue changes if needed.
PC Cleaners, Registry Cleaners and Defrag programs will not speed up Windows XP
Contrary to a lot of bad information on the internet cleaners and defrag programs will not significantly speed up a computer. It is advised that you use the built in Windows programs for these tasks or CCleaner and not the third party ones advertised to speed up your PC. To use the Microsoft cleanup feature select start, run then type cleanmgr to bring up Disk Cleanup. To defrag the hard disk select start, run then type dfrg.msc to access the disk defragmenter. Running these programs periodically can potentially reduce some disk errors and security risks posed by temp files and cookies that many websites put on your computer but will not do much of anything for speed. As for registry cleaners Microsoft recommends you don’t use them and many can cause or result in errors without increasing performance. The on included in CCleaner is reported to be safe but doesn't do much for performance.