Windows XP Home Edition Slow

[JAJansenJr]

Windows XP Home Edition runs slowly for me. I am using a
Pentium IV machine with 128 Meg RAM.

Any and all suggestions on how to "perk" up this system
welcome.

More RAM is probably going to help. What experiences
have you had with more RAM. How much RAM is enough.

Any and all suggestions (Registry tweaks, MS Config, etc)
are welcome. In particular, I want to be sure I have the
system configured so it will run as well as it can
without adding more RAM. If I add more RAM and it still
runs slowly I haven't really solved the problem.

(e-mail address removed)

 

[T.C.]

To speed things up without adding more RAM: Disable the Indexing service
(right click My Computer desktop icon left click Manage, expand Applications
and Services, click Services, in the right pane scroll to find Indexing,
right click and disable it. Right click your Start button, left click
properties, and opt for the Classic Windows Start menu. Open Windows
Explorer or My Computer and click Tools Menu/Folder Options and opt for
Classic Windows Folders. Open a folder and switch view to Details
(thumbnail view slows things down), then go back to Tools/Folder
Options/View tab and click the Apply to All Folders button. Right click the
Start button, left click Properties (after opting for Classic Windows Start
Menu) click the Customize button to the right of Classic Windows and remove
the checkmark to the left of Personalized Menus. Don't use any Norton
System tools with the exception of AntiVirus (but don't use the Office
plug-in). Turn off the Windows XP Automatically update feature (you can
update it manually from Internet Explorer Tools menu). If you use Outlook
Express, open it, click the Tools menu/Options/Maintenance tab and disable
Compact Messages in the Background (You can do that manually from File
menu/Folder/Compact All Folders). Go to Control Panel/Display, click the
Appearance tab, click the Effects button, disable the first item for using
transition effects for menus and tool tips.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Windows XP Home Edition runs slowly for me. I am using a
Pentium IV machine with 128 Meg RAM.

Any and all suggestions on how to "perk" up this system
welcome.

More RAM is probably going to help.

Almost certainly more RAM will help. 128MB is inadequate for
almost everyone running Windows XP.

What experiences
have you had with more RAM. How much RAM is enough.

There's no answer to that question that's right for everyone. It
depends on what apps you run and how large are the files you open
with them. Most people running a range of common business
applications need somewhere around 256-384MB for decent
performance, but others, for example those who edit large
photographic images, can see substantial improvements by adding
more--even much more.

 

[guestuser]

What is the point of buying XP if you are just going to disable all the
features that make it XP? Put a 512 MB RAM stick in the machine and make
sure you keep a tidy hard drive. A P4 unit with only 128 MB of RAM is going
to be a dog no matter what you do unless you get more memory.

 

[T.C.]

It's still XP, just without transitioning and personalized menus, using the
Classic Windows Start menu, and using Classic Windows folders instead of the
XP ones. Those things are gingerbread for computer newbies who need Mail
and Internet spelled out for them, and don't have much to do with the most
stable version of Windows I've ever used. I have only 128 MB in an old
Compaq, and without the eye candy features, my system runs as fast or faster
then some of the newer systems I've worked on. Just my opinion.