00. Background
Our first step in tuning Windows XP is to change the default interface to the "Classic" interface. This makes it easier to see what is running and access the other areas that need to be modified.
Use these three control panels:
Display
[ ] From the Themes tab select the "Windows Classic"
theme
[ ] From the Desktop tab, click the button marked
"Customize Desktop".
Restore these icons: My Computer, My Network Places,
Internet Explorer, Recycle Bin, and My Documents
Uncheck "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days"
[ ] From the Appearance tab, select "Windows Classic
style" for the Windows and buttons
Folder options
[ ] From the General tab, under Tasks, select "Use
Windows classic folders"
[ ] From the View tab, uncheck "Hide extensions for
known file types"
Taskbar and Start Menu
[ ] From the Start Menu tab, select "Classic Start menu"
[ ] From the Start Menu tab, click the "Customize..." button
and uncheck "Use Personalized Menus"
[ ] From the Taskbar tab, uncheck "Hide inactive icons"
Click here for our Switching Windows XP to the Classic Style page
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01. Remove Temporary Files
As you use Windows XP, the temporary files folders
start to accumulate unnecessary junk files. Besides
taking up disk space, these files are also good
hiding places for spyware and viruses. We recommend
you delete all files in these folders about once a
month.
Occasionally you may get a file in use message from
Windows if you try and delete a file that is currently
open. Just skip these file(s) and delete the rest.
There are multiple temporary files folders in
Windows XP. You need to clear out all of them!
[ ] Default system temp folder - to find this folder,
enter this in the explorer address bar:
%windir%\temp
This should take you to either C:\WINDOWS\TEMP or
C:\WINNT\TEMP. Delete all the files there.
[ ] User temp file folder(s) - to find this folder,
enter this in the explorer address bar:
%temp%
This should take you to
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\Temp.
Delete all the files there.
Note that you need to do this for each user login.
If you have Administrative privileges, you can navigate
to each user's Temp folder from the explorer window.
[ ] Web browser cache folder(s) - for Microsoft
Internet Explorer, use the Internet Options Control Panel
and in the 'Temporary Internet files' section, click on
the [Delete Files...] button, select 'Delete all offline
content' and click OK. If this takes a long time, your
cache is probably set too large. Click the [Settings...]
the button and set 'Amount of disk space to use:' to 50MB.
If you are using Mozilla's web browser, look under
'Edit | Preferences | Advanced | Cache' for button to
clear the cache and set its size (also 50MB).
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02. Remove Prefetch Files
After you use Windows XP for some time, the prefetch
folder can get full of rarely used or obsolete links
which can slow down your computer boot time noticeably.
We recommend you delete all files in this folder about
once a month.
To find the prefetch folder, enter this in the explorer
address bar:
%windir%\prefetch
This should take you to either C:\WINDOWS\PREFETCH or
C:\WINNT\PREFETCH. Delete all the files there.
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03. Remove Spyware and Viruses
Spyware has become almost a big a problem as viruses
are. We recommend you use two programs in tandem to
eliminate spyware: Ad-aware from Lavasoft and Spybot
Search & Destroy by Patrick M. Kolla. You can download
the free versions of these programs here:
Ad-aware Spyware Scanner
Spybot Search&Destroy
Both of these programs require updated detection rules
regularly to be effective, which can be downloaded from
within the program.
[ ] Update your spyware definition files
[ ] Check your system for spyware
[ ] Update your anti-virus definition files
[ ] Check your system for viruses - do a full scan of your hard drive,
including compressed files
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04. Use the GRC Windows XP Utilities
Steve Gibson at Gibson Research Corporation has written
four small, free utility programs to fix security flaws
in Windows XP. Follow the links below to download these programs:
DCOMbobulator
Shoot The Messenger (not needed with SP2)
UnPlug n' Pray
XPdite (not needed with SP1 or SP2)
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05. Tweak the User Interface (TweakUi)
One of the easiest ways to manipulate the myriad of
adjustments to the user interface in Windows XP is
to use the TweakUi program, part of the (unsupported)
Microsoft PowerToys collection.
Download the program from Microsoft
here (TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe).
Here are some of the settings we recommend
([/] = Check the option, [ ] = Uncheck the option!):
In the General section:
[/] Beep on errors
[ ] Enable combo box animation
[ ] Enable cursor shadow
[ ] Enable list box animation
[ ] Enable menu animation
[ ] Enable menu fading
[ ] Enable menu selection fading
[ ] Enable mouse hot tracking effects
[ ] Enable tooltip animation
[ ] Enable tooltip fade
[ ] Enable window animation
[ ] Optimize hard disk when idle
[ ] Show windows version on desktop
In the Explorer section:
[ ] Allow Help on Start menu
[/] Allow Logoff on Start menu
[ ] Allow Recent Documents on Start menu
[ ] Allow web content to be added to the desktop
[ ] Clear document history on exit
[/] Detect accidental double-clicks
[ ] Enable smooth scrolling
[/] Enable Windows+X Hotkeys
[ ] Lock Web content
[ ] Maintain document history
[ ] Maintain network history
[ ] Manipulate connected files as a unit
[ ] Prefix "Shortcut to" on new shortcuts
[ ] Show "Encrypt" on context menu
[/] Show "View workgroup computers" in Net Places
[ ] Show Links on Favorites menu
[ ] Show My Documents on classic Start menu
[ ] Show My Pictures on classic Start menu
[ ] Show Network Connections on classic Start menu
[/] Use Classic Search in Explorer
[/] Use Classic Search in Internet Explorer
[ ] Use intuitive filename sorting
[ ] Use Tab to navigate Autocomplete
In the Common Dialogs section, Places Bar:
(*) Hide places bar
In the Taskbar and Start menu section:
[ ] Enable balloon tips
[ ] Show name on Start menu
[/] Show taskbar notification icons
[/] Warn when low on disk space
In the Templates section:
[ ] (in this window, we uncheck all but Text Document)
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06. Disable Unnecessary Services (Updated for SP2)
Services are programs that run when the computer starts up and then continue to run while you are using your computer. There are many services that load and are not needed which take up memory space and CPU cycles. Disabling these services will free up system resources and increase your overall computer performance dramatically.
Find the services control panel inside the Administrative Tools Control Panel.
For the average home user who is not on a corporate network
and not doing online gaming, we recommend disabling all of the
following services:
[Disabled] ClipBook (Disabled now the default in SP2)
[Disabled] Error Reporting Service
[Disabled] Help and Support
[Disabled] Indexing Service (#1 Resource Hog)
[Disabled] Messenger (Disabled now the default in SP2)
[Disabled] Net Logon
[Disabled] NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
[Disabled] Performance Logs and Alerts
[Disabled] Portable Media Serial Number (pre SP2 name)
[Disabled] Portable Media Serial Number Service (post SP2 name)
[Disabled] Remote Registry Service (XP Pro only)
[Disabled] Smart Card
[Disabled] Smart Card Helper (no longer present after SP2)
[Disabled] SSDP Discovery Service (See
caveats)
[Disabled] System Restore Service (#2 Resource Hog)
[Disabled] Telnet (XP Pro only, not required by most users)
[Disabled] Themes
[Disabled] Uninterruptible Power Supply
[Disabled] Universal Plug and Play Device Host (See
caveats)
[Disabled] Upload Manager (no longer present after SP2)
[Disabled] WebClient
[Disabled] Windows Time
[Disabled] Wireless Zero Configuration (If you do not have any wireless network devices)
Keep track of the current setting for each service you disable
(manual or automatic). If you find programs or system functions
that you use are no longer working, you can re-enable the
appropriate service.
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07. Apply Microsoft Critical Updates and Security Patches
Run the Windows Update program and install the latest Critical Updates and Service Packs for XP. Generally, it is a good idea to not download the Microsoft drivers updates. If you need new drivers, get them from the appropriate manufacturers web site instead.
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08. Additional Resources
Here are some additional web sites we have found useful
for tips on tweaking Windows XP:
http://www.blackviper.com/ (Site down as of May, 2005)
http://www.tweakxp.com/
http://support.microsoft.com/
http://briansbuzz.com/
http://www.wxpnews.com/
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09. Feedback
This document was first published in March, 2004, and
is revised as we gather more experience with Windows
XP and feedback from users.
Comments, Feedback, and Suggestions are welcome:
If you find our directions useful, please consider
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