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.