Windows Xp

[TIDE-HSV]

Moi? (g)

[DWC]

All of this stuff is at www.TweakXp.com

[Shinigami_[R.I.P.]]

yep, some neat little programs that can do that too but they can't always do it all. I did all my tweaks through some issues of Maximum PC. But some of those I haven't seen before so thanks for the tips.

[TIDE-HSV]

It is basically this post on another site, with the smileys added and the disclaimers taken out:




Author Topic
TheFaimousOne
Administrator




USA
2301 Posts
Posted - 01/16/2003 : 01:41:02 AM
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Here are some tricks I learned about WinXP to make it run much faster and better! I hope everyone who has WinXP can use these, but please... USE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK!


Windows XP Tips and Tricks
(Gathered from various sites on the net&#33:

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How do I change the default folder in Windows Explorer?
By default, Explorer opens showing the "My Documents" folder. This trick will show you how to make it open up in the C: drive!

Point to Start>Programs>Accessories
Right-click on Windows Explorer, select Properties

Change the "Target:" field from
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
to
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\
(Or, you can choose any drive, just change the C:\ to something else&#33
Click OK

Explorer will now open at "My Computer" showing all drives starting with C:!
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Prevent "New Programs Installed" balloon from appearing
(This does not apply to the Windows Classic Style Start menu):

Right click the Start button. Click Properties>Customize>Advanced
Untick Highlight newly installed programs
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Prevent Windows XP from handling ZIP files as folders:
WinXP has built-in support for .ZIP files enabling you to view and utilize their compressed contents as you would a normal folder. This inevitably uses a sizeable portion of resources and will cause "slowness" issues when using Search on your machine! To disable this feature:

Click Start>Run
Type regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll
Press Enter
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Turn off Error Reporting:
WinXP comes with "Error Reporting". When ever an error closes a program, a small bit of info will be sent to Microsoft to help them to debug the issue. Here is how you turn this "spyware" off:

Right-click My Computer>Properties
Click the Advanced tab. Click Error Reporting at the bottom.
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Windows XP issues with auto reboot:
(Prevents Windows from just "rebooting" when it encounters an error&#33

Right-click My Computer>Properties
Click the Advanced tab. Click Settings button under StartUp and Recovery.
Uncheck the Automatic Restart under System Failure.
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AVI files using 100% of the CPU:
This issue causes ALL SORTS of issues on people's machines! Basically, Windows will try to "preview" an AVI movie so it can read the details of the movie and have them ready to present to you. The problem is is that when this was created, it was made for small movie files, NOT 700+MB files! So your system will make it difficult for you to erase and/or watch movies quickly and efficiently! And it will cause real havoc when editing files or filenames! So this is a permanent fix for that issue:

Disclaimer: Whenever you mess with the Registry, you are messing with your machines internal functions! Be VERY CAREFUL WHEN DOING THIS! We have no liability if you mess something up! Always make a backup of your registry before working on it! Use at your own risk!

Start -> Run -> type in: Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler\ directory and delete the DEFAULT key !

Explorer.exe runs at 0-1% on idling! And files can be erased with EASE!!!

There is one issue to note with this fix: Once you do this, you will NOT be able to right-click on a movie to find out the Summary Info on movie files! No biggie! Just download TFO's Codec Finder to learn about your movie!
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To increase system performance and keep the GUI (Graphical User Interface):

Right click My Computer>Properties.
Click Advanced and under Performance click Settings.
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one "Use visual styles on windows and buttons".

This will optimize all of your settings while maintaining the "look and feel" of WinXP!
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For the more Advanced User...
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If you would like to change your boot up screen follow the directions below. These instructions assume that you have a place to download the boot screen from the net. If you would like to download a boot screen, visit http://www.themexp.org:

1. Backup (copy) the file %windir%\system32\ntoskrnl.exe (most likely C:\windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe - the boot screen)
2. Download the .zip to your computer
3. Extract ntoskrnl.exe to a directory other than %windir%\system32 (most likely C:\windows\system32)
4. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode (hit F8 before the boot screen) or into true DOS (from a boot disk)
5. Overwrite the file %windir%\system32\ntoskrnl.exe (which should have been backed up) with the extracted exe
6. Reboot your computer as you normally would
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To stop certain services from running in the background:
(Note: This may only work for WinXP Pro or Corporate&#33
Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.

Once the services window has loaded we are ready to turn off unneeded services.
For instructional purposes we are going to turn off the Portable Media Serial Number service.
Find this service in the list and select it with the mouse.
Right click and select Properties.
Once the properties Windows has loaded, locate the "Start up type" drop down box and select disable.
Then just click ok and the next time the computer starts the service will not be loaded.
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These tweaks and settings were provided by Nikeus:

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Make Nero run a little quicker:
(Note: This may only work for WinXP Pro and Corporate users&#33

Click Start>Run. Type services.msc and click Ok.
When the window opens up, go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services double-click it to open it. Look for Startup type and change it to "Disabled".
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Fine tune your system memory:
These Settings will fine tune your system's memory management - (At least 256MB of RAM recommended&#33(Remember to back up your Registry&#33:
Go to Start>Run. Type in regedit
Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

1.DisablePagingExecutive: Double-click it and change the decimal to a 1. This allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to the hard drive. This yields faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache: Double-click it and change the decimal to a 1. This allows the XP kernel to run in memory. This helps to improve system performance ALOT!

3. Right-click on the right-hand side of the Registry Editor. Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit. Double-click it and set the value in hex to 4000 if you have 128MB of RAM. Set it to 10000 if you have 256MB. Set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of RAM. This tweak will speed up your disk cache.

Reboot your machine. Notice the difference?
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Making NTFS systems a little quicker!:
NTFS is a great file system, but its feature-set comes at a slight cost in performance. You can negate this a little with the following tips:
* By default NTFS will automatically update timestamps whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes.

Go to Start>Run. Type in regedit
Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem and set DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate to 1.

* NTFS uses disparate master file control tables to store filesystem information about your drives. Over time these core MFT files grow and become fragmented, slowing down all accesses to the drive. By setting aside a little space, MFT's can grow without becoming fragmented. In the same key where you disabled the last access feature create a new DWORD value called NtfsMftZoneReservation and set it to 2.
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Correcting the CD-Rom DMA issues in WinXP:
Just like Windows 2000, Windows XP still fails to set the DMA mode correctly for the IDE device designated as the slaves on the Primary IDE and Secondary IDE channels. Most CD-Rom's are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still PIO. Setting it to DMA won't make your CD-ROM faster, but it will consume less CPU cycles. Here's how:

1. Open the Device Manager. One way to do that is to right click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and Select Device Manager.
2. Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
3. Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. More than likely, your current transfer mode is set to PIO.
4. Set it to "DMA if available".
5. Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. Reboot.

For the Microsoft article on setting the DMA mode Click Here.
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Keeping WinXP from caching DLL files too long:
Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.

1. Find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer].
2. Create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.
3. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.
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Optimize your system by tweaking the Prefetcher:
This is an unique technique for XP, which could improve the performance significantly by tweaking the prefetcher. Recommended hardware: PIII 800 or higher, 512M RAM or more.

1. run "regedit";
2. goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher];
3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).
4. Reboot your machine.

It will make the boot time slower, but it will double or increase the performance of your XP.
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Improve your Windows and Gaming Performance:
For Users with 256 MB RAM or more, this tweak will boost their Windows and Gaming Performance. What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.

1. Click on Start>Run.
2. Type in msconfig to open the System Configuration Utility
3. Click on the System.ini tab at the top.
4. Find the section "[386enh]" and add "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" under it.
5. Restart Windows and enjoy better Gaming performance
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This tweak provided by rmzante22:

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Optimizing Windows for Broadband Usage:
(Note: This may only work for WinXP Pro and Corporate members&#33
This tweak is designed for broadband users to help optimize their bandwidth:

1. Log on as "Administrator".
2. Run - gpedit.msc
3. Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch
4. Then expand the "Administrative Templates" branch
5. Expand the "Network" branch
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left pane.
7. In the right window pane double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting
8. On the settings tab check the "Enabled" item
9. Change "Bandwidth limit %" to read 0
10. Then go to your Network connections Start=>Control Panel>Network & Internet connections>Network Connections and right-click on your connection. Then under the General or the Networking tab, (where it lists your protocols) make sure QoS packet scheduler is enabled.

It may take effect immediately on some systems. To be sure, just re-boot.


TheFaimousOne
Administrator




USA
2301 Posts
Posted - 01/18/2003 : 10:37:23 PM
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Some more tweaks for WinXP! I am working on this list of cool things people can use that don't require a Ph.D. to do... Here is a few now!:


More Tips and Tricks for the Novice WinXP Users!

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How to make it so WindowsXP will shutdown in ONE CLICK!

WindowsXP has a program called SHUTDOWN.EXE which allows you to easily create icons to shutdown or restart your computer!

To create a shutdown shortcut on the desktop:
Right click on an open area of the desktop.
Select New>Shortcut
Enter in the new window that pops up "shutdown -s -t 00" (no quotes)
Press the Next button
For the name, enter in anything you'd like to call it (I just use "WinKILL").
Click on the Finish button.
(* Note - For a reboot, enter "shutdown -r -t 00")

Now to explain this a little:

Syntax:
Shutdown [{-l|-s|-r|-a}] [-f] [-m[\\ComputerName]] [-t xx] [-c "message]

Parameters:
-l - Logs off the current user, this is also the default. -m Computer Name takes precedence.
-s - Shuts down the local computer.
-r - Reboots after shutdown.
-a - Aborts shutdown. Ignores the other parameters, except -l and ComputerName.
You can only use -a during the time-out period.
-f - Forces running applications to close.
-m [\\ComputerName] - Specifies the computer that you want to shut down.
-t xx - Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
-c "message" - Specifies a message to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdownwindow. You can use a maximum of 127 characters. You must enclose the message in quotation marks for it to work correctly!

Using this feature will make your computer shutdown VERY quickly, since you will only need to click (or double-click) on it once! Be careful of this tho... If you click on it, your machine WILL shutdown without prompting you!!! And there ARE more parameters you can use, but they aren't really necessary to the average user.
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[Leech_Killer]

@ TIDE-HSV
Whats your point. I never claimed to have written it I just thought it was something worth sharing. At least I know one thing and thats not to bother in future.

[TIDE-HSV]

My point is that it is customary, when authorship is known, to give credit or even link, instead of cut and paste, deleting the author. Notice that the author gave credit for the tips that he didn't originate. And I didn't think you'd understand my point, anyway.

[Leech_Killer]

Originally posted by TIDE-HSV@14 February 2003 - 17:07
My point is that it is customary, when authorship is known, to give credit or even link, instead of cut and paste, deleting the author. Notice that the author gave credit for the tips that he didn't originate. And I didn't think you'd understand my point, anyway.

I didn't know who the author was as it was emailed to me from a friend.

[N£MO]

TBO Posted on 13 February 2003 - 22:59
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@ leech killer..that was one of the most well constructed threads i have seen on here....even though i have seen all but 1 of them.Great work!! 

I'm afraid i will have to take that back now after finding out it wasn't you who had constructed it.In future if your going to just copy and paste something a mate sent you then it might be wise to find out the origins of what your going to share with the community.As alot of us visit the regular P2P forums,so its naive of you to think no one would notice where it came from.

[J'Pol]

Tide and TBO

For what it's worth I couldn't agree more.

Cheers

JimF

PS Though I have to add it's quite ironic given what this site is dedicated to. Sort of take from the big boys is ok but don't even think of failing to credit your peers.

PPS But I still agree 100%

[Energizer_God]

Leech thanks for bring stuff like that to our attension. it's nice to see helpful post like that. helps newbies like me learn more.

i know it's hard for some of the others to understand you were just being helpful, because they already knew how.

thanks again B)