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Speed Up Windows XP by Removing Troublesome Devices
Automation of Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
Cleanmgr.exe is designed to clear unnecessary files from your computer's hard disk. You can use command-line options to specify that Cleanmgr.exe cleans up certain files. You can then schedule the task to run at a specific time by using the Scheduled Tasks tool.
To start the Disk Cleanup tool, either run the Cleanmgr.exe command, or click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. Read More
Free Up Wasted Space
Removing unused programs is a great way to free up disk space, which will speed up your computer. Another way to find wasted disk space is to use the Disk Cleanup tool by following these steps:
1. Open My Computer, right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.
2. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. Disk Cleanup will spend a few minutes examining your disk.
3. The Disk Cleanup dialog box opens. As you can see in Figure 2, it found almost three gigs of space on my computer that it could free up!
4. Select the desired check boxes in the Files to Delete list, and then click OK. Disk Cleanup will spend several minutes clearing space.
5. If you have more than one hard disk, repeat this process for each hard disk listed in My Computer.
Disconnect Unused Network Connections
If you've ever had a network with more than one computer, you probably found it useful to share files between the computers by mapping a network drive. Network drives allow one computer to read and write files to another computer's hard disk as if it were directly connected. I use network drives all the time, and for me, they were the most significant source of slowness.
The problem with network drives is that Windows XP will attempt to connect to the network drives when Windows starts. If the remote computers don't respond immediately, Windows will wait patiently. Additionally, some programs will attempt to connect to the network drives when you browse for files and folders. If you've ever tried to open a file and had to wait several seconds (or minutes!), it's probably because the program was trying to establish a network connection-even if the file you are opening is on your local computer.
I am not as patient as Windows, and I'd rather not wait for unused network connections to respond. To reduce this problem, disconnect any unused drives by following these steps: Disconnect Unused Network Connections
Remove Autostartup Programs in Systemtray
The next step in restoring your computer's performance is to identify any unnecessary programs that start automatically. Often, programs configure themselves to run in the background so that they appear to start quickly when needed. Some of these programs show an icon on your taskbar to let you know that they're running, while others are completely hidden. These autostart programs probably won't noticeably slow down your computer as it starts up, but they will steal away trace amounts of memory and processing time as your computer runs. Read More
How to Fix Bigger Problems
Many of the Windows XP Performance and Maintenance newsgroup users are experiencing serious, sudden performance problems. One day, their computer was fine and the next it was painfully slow. This type of problem is often caused by a computer virus or failing computer hardware. The suggestions in this article probably won't fix those types of problems. Instead, perform a virus scan on your computer. If that's not the issue, you should contact your computer vendor's technical support team for additional assistance. The troubleshooting process for this type of problem requires the knowledge to examine the computer's performance on a process-by-process basis, and usually includes a "process of elimination" phase where drivers, services, and hardware are removed/replaced one-by-one until the problem disappears. There's a very good chance that the computer won't start at all at some point in this process, so it's best to have support during the process. Read More
How do I turn off visual effects in Windows XP?
This is what I call "the demo problem" because I feel like some of the
whiz-bang features that we find in modern operating systems are there
purely to look cool, to make the system look good when someone's
watching what you're doing. I mean, really, do we need three different
kind of window-open-zoom features?
What's nice with Windows XP is that it's relatively straightforward to
turn this feature off, though WinXP has the problem of whether you use
"classic" or "new" mode with your Start Menu. I'll show both. Read More
Save Laptop Battery Life Tips
When there are no power outlets there's nothing more frustrating than a dying laptop battery. We have all in that situation where we have a couple hours of work left to finish but our battery life is only estimated to last one more. Good news. Often times these situations can be avoided by optimizing the battery performance. Here are the 20 tips that helps your laptop battery last longer.
a.. Use Antivirus
b.. Calibrate
c.. Charging
d.. Buy the Right Processor
e.. Defragment
f.. Hard Disk
g.. Hibernate
h.. Jolts
i.. Keyboards
j.. Take Care of the LCD.
k.. Less is more - Next time you're in the market for a new laptop, think twice about that 17in widescreen. You'd be much better off opting for a smaller machine that won't devour half of a battery just to power up.
l.. Dim your screen - One of the fastest ways you can kill your battery is by leaving your screen brightness high. Dim your screen to the lowest level you can possibly manage.
m.. LCDs on laptops
n.. Power Saving Options
o.. Adjust your settings - Just about every new laptop will have some kind of advanced power options settings. Optimize these settings for maximum performance.
p.. Use a Surge Protector When Charging
q.. Temperature
r.. Avoid Extreme Temperatures
s.. Fan
t.. Travel
u.. Avoid Un-necessary Hardware
v.. Avoid using the CD/DVD player
w.. Turn off wireless and Bluetooth -Turning off your Bluetooth and wireless won't save you a whole lot of power but in certain situations every bit counts.
x.. Turn off speakers - If you must listen to music use your iPod instead, just make sure it's not plugged into your laptop.
y.. Limit external devices - USB devices or anything else you have plugged in uses battery resources
z.. Using external hardware
aa.. Avoid Un-necessary programs
ab.. Update
ac.. Maintenance
ad.. Use the battery
ae.. Clean battery contacts
Make Your Computer Faster Two Times Faster
Computers allow us to do many things but things that comes in through our internet connection stop up our system. Here is a a step-by-step guide for making computer two times faster. Read More
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