Ways to Speed Win XP

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will.
Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs.
Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.
5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.
16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.
Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

How To Block Websties Without Software,

How To Block Websties Without Software, block websites
Steps:
1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
2] Find the file named "HOSTS"
3] Open it in notepad
4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 http://www.sitenameyouwantblocked.com/ , and that site will no longer be accessable.
5] Done!
-So-
127.0.0.1 localhost127.0.0.2 http://www.blockedsite.com/
-->www.blockedsite.com is now unaccessable<--
For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.
IE: 127.0.0.3 http://www.blablabla.com/
127.0.0.4 http://www.blablabla.com/
127.0.0.5 http://www.blablabla.com/
etc

Create Bootable CD in XP

Slipstreaming Windows XP Service Pack 1a and Create Bootable CD
Slipstreaming a Service Pack, is the process to integrate the Service Pack into the installation so that with every new installation the Operating System and Service Pack are installed at the same time.
Slipstreaming is usually done on network shares on corporate systems. But with the advent of CD burners, it does actually make some sense for the home user or small business user to do the same.
Microsoft added the ability to Slipstream a Service Pack to Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It not only has the advantage that when you (re)install your OS, you don't have to apply the Service Pack later, also if you update any Windows component later, you'll be sure that you get the correct installation files if Windows needs any.
Slipstream Windows XP Service Pack 1a:CODEhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/4/f/54f8bcf8-bb4d-4613-8ee7-db69d01735ed/xpsp1a_en_x86.exe
Download the (full) "Network Install" of the Service Pack (English version [125 MB]), and save it to a directory (folder) on your hard drive (in my case D:\XP-SP1). Other languages can be downloaded from the Windows XP Web site.
Microsoft recently released Windows XP SP1a. The only difference is that this Service Pack does no longer include Microsoft's dated Java version. If you have already installed Windows XP SP1, there is no reason to install SP1a, but the "older" SP1 (with MS Java) is no longer available for download.
Next copy your Windows XP CD to your hard drive. Just create a folder (I used \XP-CD), and copy all the contents of your Windows XP CD in that folder.
Now create a folder to hold the Service Pack 1a (SP1a) files you are about to extract. I named it \XP-SP1. Next, open a Command Prompt (Start > Run > cmd), and go to the folder where you downloaded SP1a (cd \foldername). Type the command: servicepack filename -x. A small window will appear, and you need to point it to the folder where you want to extract the SP1 files. Click Ok to start extracting the SP1a files.
Once the SP1a files are extracted, change to the update folder of the SP1a files (cd update), and type the following command: update /s:path to WinXP CD files. In my example the command is update /s:D:\XP-CD).
Windows XP Update will do its thing:
When ready, you should get a confirmation. Windows XP Service Pack 1a has now been Slipstreamed into your original Windows XP files.
It is also possible to add the Windows XP Rollup 1 Update. For instructions, please read Adding Windows XP Rollup 1 Hotfix.
Creating a Bootable CDFor this part I used ISO BusterCODEhttp://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/
and Nero Burning.
Start to extract the boot loader from the original Windows XP CD. Using ISO Buster, select the "folder" Bootable CD, and right-click Microsoft Corporation.img. From the menu choose Extract Microsoft Corporation.img, and extract it to the folder on your hard drive where you have your Windows XP files (D:\XP-CD in my case).
Next, start Nero Burning ROM, and choose CD-ROM (Boot) in the New Compilation window. On the Boot tab, select Image file under Source of boot image data, and browse to the location of the Microsoft Corporation.img file. Also enable Expert Settings, choosing No Emulation, and changing the Number of loaded sectors to 4 (otherwise it won't boot!)
If you have an older version of Nero you won't have the option Do Not Add ";1" ISO file version extention under Relax ISO Restrictions. You won't be able to boot your new CD, so update Nero!You can configure the Label tab to your liking, I would however recommend that you keep the Volume Label the same as on your original Windows XP CD.
Next press New, and drag & drop the files and folders from your Windows XP hard drive location into Nero.
Next, burn your new CD.
You now have a Bootable, Slipstreamed Windows XP Service Pack 1a CD!

Change text on XP start button

Step 1 - Modify Explorer.exe File
In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.
get this from h**p://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip

The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.

The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start” just as it displays on the current Start button.

There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my case I used Click Me!

You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script, but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the newly named file to C:\Windows.

Step 2 – Modify the Registry
!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!
Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open field. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon

In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.

Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.[/b]

Using Hibernate

Hibernate is a variation on shutting down the computer system that makes use of a PC's power saving capabilities. Invoking hibernate causes a file to be created on the hard drive that contains the contents of the system memory. In essence, it memorizes applications, documents, and operating system files that are currently in use. Unlike standby, using hibernation requires that you have an amount of free space on the hard drive equal to the amount of installed system RAM.

Because all of this information is memorized and saved to a file on the hard drive the system can then go ahead and shut down entirely. There is no need to have any electricity available to the machine once shutdown is complete. When the machine is powered on again, minutes or even weeks later, rather than go through a normal start up procedure the system uses the special hibernation file to reload the state it was in when you hibernated the system.

.

There really isn't a lot of danger in using hibernate. Since open programs and documents being worked on, along with the system settings, are stored in the hiberfil.sys file that is created when hibernation is invoked, if the power does go off nothing is lost. The only thing you have to beware of is rebooting the system into a different operating system while hibernation is invoked. Doing so will almost assuredly cause data loss in the files that were active when hibernation was invoked. Why would you want to use hibernate rather than a full shutdown?

1. It's fairly quick. Although not as fast as standby, hibernate is quicker than a full shutdown or a restart. A downside is that over time the system does tend to slow down because a full XP housekeeping regimen is missed when using hibernate rather than shutdown.
   
2. The system can be set to go into hibernation automatically after a certain period of system inactivity. Very handy if you walk away from your desk and leave documents and programs open.
   
3. It's especially useful on a laptop where battery power is always an issue. Setting hibernation to a fairly quick invoke rate can save a lot of juice that laptop batteries don't have to spare.

Invoking Hibernate

Hibernate can be invoked manually from the Turn off computer' dialog box. When the 'Turn Off Computer' dialog box appears the Hibernate option will not be shown. Press and hold the Shift key and the Standby icon will change to Hibernate as shown in the two screen captures below. If you forget what key to press just hover the mouse pointer over the standby icon and the balloon will remind you how to access hibernate.

It can be configured to kick in automatically via the Power Options Properties screen. In the screen capture below I've selected the Portable/Laptop power scheme that includes a setting to put the system into hibernation mode after 3 hours of system inactivity.

Delete Temporary Files

Windows Vista includes a very useful "Disk Cleanup Tool" which does exactly as the name suggests, and allows you to remove a wide variety of temporary and cached files that you no longer need. Most applications will automatically remove the temporary files once you have closed the software down, but in some cases (such as crashes or bad programming), trails can be left behind. Removing these files will create extra diskspace and keep your system in good condition.

To begin, load the Run box by pressing WINDOWS KEY + R, then type "cleanmgr" and click OK:

Now, select the drive you wish to clean up. Normally the "C:" is your primary drive where temporary files will be located. Click OK once you have done this:

It may take a few moments while the cleanup software scans your drive for files that are safe to remove:

You can then select all of the temporary file types you wish to remove. It is not normally worth removing Image Thumbnail files as these will just be recreated next time you view a photo directory. Once you have selected the file types you want to remove, click OK:

You will be prompted to confirm you are sure about the deletion. If you are sure, click Delete Files:

The Disk Cleanup Tool will then remove the selected files and close, successfully reclaiming some diskspace:

Good Luck and Enjoy our Tips

Hide Hard Drive

It is possible to hide a hard drive letter using Windows Vista, preventing it from showing up in applications and Windows Explorer. However, this will not prevent you from access files from it manually (by browsing directly to it by typing "D:" for example). This can be useful to hide files quickly and easily.

To being, load the Registry Editor from the run box (Press WINDOWS KEY + R to access this) by typing "regedit" and clicking OK:












Once this loads, browse to the following registry key on the left hand side:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer

Then, right click on the white space in the right hand side and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and call it "NoDrives":
















Double click on "NoDrives" to enter a Decimal value. This value depends on the drives you wish to hide, and is created by adding the numbers for each drive you wish to hide from the list below. Click OK once you have entered this number.

For example, to hide drive D you would enter a decimal value of 8. To hide both drives D and E, you would enter a decimal value of 24 (8+16):













Quote:

A = 1
B = 2
C = 4
D = 8
E = 16
F = 32
G = 64
H = 128
I = 256
J = 512
K = 1024
L = 2048
M = 4096
N = 8192
O = 16384
P = 32768
Q = 65536
R = 131072
S = 262144
T = 524288
U = 1048576
V = 2097152
W = 4194304
X = 8388608
Y =16777216
Z = 33554432
All drives = 67108863

Once you restart your computer, the selected drives should be hidden. If you wish to remove the hidden drives, browse to the NoDrives registry value and delete it.

As with all registry modifications, care should be taken to ensure that these steps are followed exactly. You should make a backup of your system before any major changes should things go wrong.

Good Luck and Enjoy our Tips