I have some tips for Win XP systems to increase the performance.

1. Disable Startup programs

This can be done from System Configuration Utillity(Run->msconfig).

2. Remove Spyware and malware

Use an Good Antivirus Software - AVG suggested. SuperAntispyware for Adware/malware removals.

3. Optimize display settings

In the Control Panel->Sytem->Performance box click Settings

Leave only the following ticked:

a. Show shadows under menus

b. Show shadows under mouse pointer

c. Show translucent selection rectangle

d. Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop

e. Use visual styles on windows and buttons

4. Speed up file browsing

You may have noticed that every time you open “My Computer” to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers every time you open Windows Explorer.

5. Reduce page File Size

Page file size is not constant by default. Due to this, the operating system has to resize the file each time more space is required. This is a performance overhead. All you have to do is to set the file size to a reasonable limit.

On System Properties, Click on Settings->Performance under Advanced Tab. Look for Virtual memory. Select the custom size and give same value in Initial and maximum size.

If you have less than 512MB of memory, leave the page file at its default size. If you have 512MB or more, change the ratio to 1:1 page file size to physical memory size.

6. Clean your system registry

7. Run Disk Cleanup

Run CleanDisk under properties to each drive.

8. Enable Direct Memory Access

Right-click on My Computer, select Properties

Select Device manager on the Hardware tab

Double-click IDE/ATAPI controllers->on the Primary IDE Channel

Click on the Advanced Settings tab. The tab may or may not be available for each option. It is only available in Primary and Secondary Channels.

Set the Transfer Mode to "DMA if Available" both for Device 1 and 0.

Perform the same operation for other items in the list, if applicable.

9. Disable file Index

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of memory and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, this system service is completely unnecessary.

To disable file index, Add/remove windows components from Control Panel. Uncheck the Indexing service and you are done.

10. Remove Used Files and Programs

Add/remove programs from Control panel will do.

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