Windows XP Tuneup

This document describes some of the steps that HexFF LLC performs to tune and optimize Windows XP (Home and Professional) systems for the best performance.

Unlike Windows 98 and Me, XP is much more stable and (so far) in its history, has not demonstrated that it needs to be re-installed periodically in order to return it to its peak performance.

However, like previous Windows versions, most users will observe that it starts running very slow, takes a long time to boot and does undesirable things like popping up advertising windows or behaving erratically.

These are indications that it is time to clean out the junk that accumulates over time and check for spyware, viruses, browser hijackers, etc.

Windows XP Boot Menu

We have new instructions here that describe how to setup Windows XP (Home and Professional) systems with a boot menu to select Normal or Safeboot.

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Disclaimer

Use these tips at your own risk! They are not guaranteed to work for you.

Comments, Feedback, Suggestions are welcome:

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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. Note that this utility requires you to have upgraded Windows XP to at least Service Pack 1 (SP1) level. If you try to install it without SP1, you will get this bizarre error message: "The procedure entry point GetDllDirectoryW could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll."

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] Alerter
[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 a donation via PayPal. All donations over $1.50 US receive a copy of this document in Adobe Reader PDF format and notification via e-mail of future updates.

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