Step 1: Switch to Classic Interface
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
Step 2: 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...] button and set
'Amount of disk space to use:' to 50MB.
An alternative to the above step:
Download, install and run a program named CCleaner. CCleaner (Crap Cleaner)
is a freeware system optimization tool that removes unused and temporary
files from your system very easily. The program is fast and Free!
Get it here. It also has a registery cleaning function that is better
than many of the paid registry cleaning programs.
Step 3: 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, SP3 recommended. 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 Tweak UI from Microsoft (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:
(*) Show default places
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)
Step 4: Disable Unnecessary Services
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 and SP3)
[Disabled] Error Reporting Service
[Disabled] Help and Support
[Disabled] Indexing Service (#1 Resource Hog)
[Disabled] Messenger (Disabled now the default in SP2 and SP3)
[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] Remote Registry (SP3 name)
[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 (OK if you have over 512MB of RAM)
[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 (disable only if you ues dial up connection to the internet)
[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.
avast! antivirus
