WinXP big performance boost

[davegb]

I found this article by accident today. Been having major problems
with "Virtual Memory too Low" errors for a while. I defragged, ran
CCleaner, ran chkdsk, still getting the message and having my system
slow down and lock up if I had more than a few windows open in my
browser and much of anything else running. Admittedly, this system is
getting long in the tooth, but I'm trying to scrape another 6 months
or so out of it.

I ran every tip in this list, all 22 of them, in about 1.5 to 2.0 hrs.
I've had several websites open for a couple of hours now and a few
apps, just to see how it will run. I did get a "Virtual Memory Low"
error a while ago, after I opened yet another website, but my system
in not only still running with all of that going, but is now running
fast enough to be useful, something it would definitely not be doing
before I did all Steve's tweaks!

http://stevestechguide.com/ultimate-windows-xp-optimization-tweak-guide/

If you've got XP performance problems, I highly recommend it!

 

[Holz]

If you've got XP performance problems, I highly recommend it!

Very old, half of it is not worth shit. Turn off auto updates??? and
system restore? please...might as well stop installing anything on
your pc. You run automated updates manually and do not have system
restore running, how you going to recover if something go wrong?

Here is something a Little more efficient:
go to http://www.sysinternals.com, download contig.exe and sdelete.exe,
read about them, save both files in in your system32 folder.
Create a batch file, call it anything you want, like clean.bat
copy and paste inside:
rem delete temp files
del %temp% /Q /F /S
del %tmp% /Q /F /S
rem secure delete and clean empty space
Sdelete -s -z c:\
rem if you have a d drive
Sdelete -s -z D:\
rem defrag your disk
Contig C:\*.* -S
rem if you have a d drive
Contig D:\*.* -S

Schedule to run per your needs.

There are quite few more additions to this batch file, there is no need
to disable half the functionality of your pc.

 

[Tee]

Very old, half of it is not worth shit. Turn off auto updates??? and
system restore? please...might as well stop installing anything on
your pc. You run automated updates manually and do not have system
restore running, how you going to recover if something go wrong?

Here is something a Little more efficient:
go to http://www.sysinternals.com, download contig.exe and sdelete.exe,
read about them, save both files in in your system32 folder.
Create a batch file, call it anything you want, like clean.bat
copy and paste inside:
rem delete temp files
del %temp% /Q /F /S
del %tmp% /Q /F /S
rem secure delete and clean empty space
Sdelete -s -z c:\
rem if you have a d drive
Sdelete -s -z D:\
rem defrag your disk
Contig C:\*.* -S
rem if you have a d drive
Contig D:\*.* -S

Schedule to run per your needs.

There are quite few more additions to this batch file, there is no need
to disable half the functionality of your pc.

I asked a PC guy at work about using contig to move my Outlook PST
files, because they wouldn't move with normal defragging. He looked
into it and said he wouldn't use contig, because it was based on the
NT defrag, and he knew that XP's was different. Are you sure this is
OK?

 

[Stephen]

Thanks for that davegb, very useful info, seems to apply more to desktop than
mobile settings, but with careful use, these sorts of changes can make a big
difference on older systems out there with maybe 512MB RAM max installed!

 

[Holz]

I asked a PC guy at work about using contig to move my Outlook PST
files, because they wouldn't move with normal defragging. He looked
into it and said he wouldn't use contig, because it was based on the
NT defrag, and he knew that XP's was different. Are you sure this is
OK?

By move you mean pack them?
Make a copy of one pst file, run contig on it and see for your self.
How big is your PST?

 

[Cazzythom]

For a moment when I saw this article you found DAVEGB, I thought I had
written it as I have been having the same problems and been trying the same
ways of fixing the problems, but to no avail.

SO.....I will try this out....and I will post back on here to let you ALL
know the results

I sooooo hope it helps my snail like PC...speed up !!!!

Regards,


Caz x

 

[PhilHibbs]

Make a .reg file like this:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001

Double click on it and add it to the registry. This prevents Windows
from updating the "last accessed" attribute on every file in every
directory that you browse.

Phil Hibbs.

 

[Tee]

By move you mean pack them?
Make a copy of one pst file, run contig on it and see for your self.
How big is your PST?

I have multiples, biggest is ~ 2 GB. I'd rather not start playing with
the PSTs, I have years of email packed away in there...

 

[Cazzythom]

Hi Phil,

This sounds very interesting and I will do it, but can you explain to me I
do this ??

Pretty Please

Caz x

 

[davegb]

Very old, half of it is not worth shit. Turn off auto updates??? and
system restore? please...might as well stop installing anything on
your pc. You run automated updates manually and do not have system
restore running, how you going to recover if something go wrong?

Here is something a Little more efficient:
go tohttp://www.sysinternals.com, download contig.exe and sdelete.exe,
read about them, save both files in in your system32 folder.
Create a batch file, call it anything you want, like clean.bat
copy and paste inside:
rem delete temp files
del %temp% /Q /F /S
del %tmp% /Q /F /S
rem secure delete and clean empty space
Sdelete -s -z c:\
rem if you have a d drive
Sdelete -s -z D:\
rem defrag your disk
Contig C:\*.* -S
rem if you have a d drive
Contig D:\*.* -S

Schedule to run per your needs.

There are quite few more additions to this batch file, there is no need
to disable half the functionality of your pc.

Thanks for your reply. When I posted this message last night, I
expected to hear from a naysayer like yourself. That's the norm in
these NGs.
You might even be right, your method might be better, but I don't know
your credentials, so I simply don't know. I do know that I didn't
remove any major functionality, I'm at least that computer literate.
And in the article, he explained how to "put stuff back" in areas
where there might be problems. I don't think I'll miss WingDings or
the sounds that I deleted. And I can update Windoze periodically
manually, I'm a big boy. If I somehow lost any functionality, I can
fix it. But right now, my system is working better than it has in
months, so I'm happy.

 

[davegb]

For a moment when I saw this article you found DAVEGB, I thought I had
written it as I have been having the same problems and been trying the same
ways of fixing the problems, but to no avail.

SO.....I will try this out....and I will post back on here to let you ALL
know the results

I sooooo hope it helps my snail like PC...speed up !!!!

Regards,

Caz x

--
Don''t Worry, Be Happy   !!!






- Show quoted text -

Best of luck! It sure worked for me.

 

[Cazzythom]

Hi davegb,

Well I have done MOST but 1 or 2 of the tweaks and at present I can't tell
much difference, although nothing seems worse. I had a 'virtual memory min
too low' message straight away.

Maybe I'll see an improvement soon,but I'm thinking I should just buy more
memory for PC if it doesn't work better, as I am wasting SO MUCH TIME waiting
for my slow PC to do things, its soooo frustrating.

Thanks for that help though anyway.

Regards,

Caz x

 

[davegb]

Hi davegb,

Well I have done MOST but 1 or 2 of the tweaks and at present I can't tell
much difference, although nothing seems worse. I had a 'virtual memory min
too low' message straight away.

Maybe I'll see an improvement soon,but I'm thinking I should just buy more
memory for PC if it doesn't work better, as I am wasting SO MUCH TIME waiting
for my slow PC to do things, its soooo frustrating.

Thanks for that help though anyway.

Regards,

Caz x

Did you do the last one? He said it made the biggest difference,
although, it didn't on my machine. The others made more. But I went
from using around 60 - 70% of my page file with nothing running to
40%. Which means I increased my available memory by 50 - 100%, and it
shows.
Maybe you just need more memory, everyone's system is different.
Best of luck.

 

[Holz]

I have multiples, biggest is ~ 2 GB. I'd rather not start playing with
the PSTs, I have years of email packed away in there...

Years of email in a 2 GB PST? You are pushing the envelope...
What version of Outlook do you run?
Get a gmail IMAP account, and start storing your e-mail on-line.

 

[Holz]

Thanks for your reply. When I posted this message last night, I
expected to hear from a naysayer like yourself. That's the norm in
these NGs.
You might even be right, your method might be better, but I don't know
your credentials, so I simply don't know.

Naysayer? you posted here so you obviously wanted to hear what people
have to say..
My Credentials? I run http://www.conejonetwork.com, computer service
company, 47 clients with over 400 computers and people behind them. I
am certified, and most of all, have 22 years hand on in Unix and
Windows.
But that is not the point!
The point is that you should NEVER disable
items that protect you, unless you understand what you do. Anyone
recommending disabling system restore and auto-updates is out of their
mind, but that is my opinion.

Enjoy your "fast and improved" pc.

 

[davegb]

Naysayer? you posted here so you obviously wanted to hear what people
have to say..
My Credentials? I runhttp://www.conejonetwork.com,  computer service
company, 47 clients with over 400 computers and people behind them. I
am certified, and most of all, have 22 years hand on in Unix and
Windows.
But that is not the point!
The point is that you should NEVER disable
items that protect you, unless you understand what you do. Anyone
recommending disabling system restore and auto-updates is out of their
mind, but that is my opinion.

Enjoy your "fast and improved" pc.

Thanks for your reply. I chose not to disable system restore, but did
disable autoupdates. And yes, I am enjoying my "fast and improved"
pc.

 

[PD43]

Thanks for your reply. I chose not to disable system restore, but did
disable autoupdates.

Just get in the habit of visiting Windows Update after the first (or
is it the second) Tuesday of every month.

 

[Holz]

Thanks for your reply. I chose not to disable system restore, but did
disable autoupdates. And yes, I am enjoying my "fast and improved"
pc.

At least create a batch file that will start your automated updates once
a week. When the service starts it will look for any updates, and if
startup is set to manual, it will not restart when the system reboots.

 

[davegb]

At least create a batch file that will start your automated updates once
a week. When the service starts it will look for any updates, and if
startup is set to manual, it will not restart when the system reboots.

Thanks for the ideas. How do I create such a batch file? Haven't done
batch files since DOS/Win3.11!
Not sure what you mean by "When the service starts it will look for
any updates, and if
startup is set to manual, it will not restart when the system
reboots." What is "the service"? Won't a batch file run every time I
boot up? Or is there some way to tell it not to?

 

[Holz]

Thanks for the ideas. How do I create such a batch file? Haven't done
batch files since DOS/Win3.11!
Not sure what you mean by "When the service starts it will look for
any updates, and if
startup is set to manual, it will not restart when the system
reboots." What is "the service"? Won't a batch file run every time I
boot up? Or is there some way to tell it not to?

Considering your answer,and no offense, I will once again advice
you to enable the Automated updates. You are turning your computer into
a zombie without it. Why not disable Anti Virus? it takes more memory
as memory resident, but you would not do that, would you?
Automatic updates is a service, it takes very little memory and it is
a vital part of your OS. Outside the scope of my work, I am a Linux
user by choice, my automated updates are turned on.
You can view your services by clicking on
Start - Run, type "services.msc" without the quotes and click ok.
Rather then someones irresponsible advice on disabling item on your pc,
someone who copied a collection of well know fixes, some good some bad,
try Google your simple questions:
"which service can I disable on XP"
"How to fine tune xp without risking xp"
Use simple language, see how many answers you get.
And if you need to boost performance, add memory, it is cheap. Make
sure you have at least 2 GB Ram, an adequate swap file, and clean
your hard disk.
Download pgdefrag from sysinternals.com, learn how to use it, and once
you understand all repercussions of enable / disable, decide what to
do.