Since defraggin’ de disk won’t do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance de performance and reliability of your customers’ PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothin’.
1.) To decrease a system’s boot time and increase system performance, use de money you save by not buyin’ defragmentation software — de built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine — and instead equip de 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 utilizin’ de NTFS file system. If you’re not sure, here’s how to check: First, double-click de My Computer icon, right-click on de C: Drive, den select Properties. Next, examine de File System type; if it says FAT32, den back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and den click OK. At de prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press de Enter key. This process may take a while; it’s important that de computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by de bootable drive will be eider FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexin’. The indexin’ service extracts information from documents and oder files on de hard drive and creates a “searchable keyword index.” As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxin’ on any system.
The idea is that de user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should dey have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know de file name of de document dey want. Windows XP’s built-in search functionality can still perform dese kinds of searches without de Indexin’ service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at de time of de request to help find what de user is lookin’ 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 disablin’ it.
Here’s how: First, double-click de My Computer icon. Next, right-click on de C: Drive, den select Properties. Uncheck “Allow Indexin’ Service to index this disk for fast file searchin’.” Next, apply changes to “C: subfolders and files,” and click OK. If a warnin’ or error message appears (such as “Access is denied”), click de Ignore All button.
5.) Update de PC’s video and moderboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure de BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on how to configure your BIOS
6.) Empty de 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 de user. That’s fine. But over time, de prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wastin’ time, and slowin’ system performance, by pre-loadin’ them. Nothin’ critical is in this folder, and de entire contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here’s how: Double-click de My Computer icon. Then right-click on de C: drive and select Properties. Click de Disk Cleanup button — it’s just to de right of de Capacity pie graph — and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on de IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to de Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clickin’ on Primary IDE Channel. Then click de Advanced Settin’s tab. Ensure de Transfer Mode is set to “DMA if available” for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with de Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade de cablin’. As hard-drive technology improves, de cablin’ requirements to achieve dese performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with de connectors properly assigned to de matchin’ Master/Slave/Moderboard sockets. A sin’le device must be at de end of de cable; connectin’ a sin’le drive to de middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signalin’ problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, dese signalin’ problems will prevent de drive from performin’ at its maximum potential. Also, because dese cables inherently support “cable select,” de location of each drive on de cable is important. For dese reasons, de cable is designed so drive positionin’ is explicitly clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from de computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once dese programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before startin’ your search. Anythin’ eider program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once de spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants de program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removin’ Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine usin’ de MSCONFIG utility. Here’s how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click de StartUp tab, den uncheck any items you don’t want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit de WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searchin’ for de filenames usin’ Google or anoder Web search en’ine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from de Add/Remove Programs section of de 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 settin’s in this area. Here’s how to do it: First click on de System icon in de Control Panel. Next, click on de Advanced tab. Select de Settin’s button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with de options offered here, as nothin’ you can change will alter de reliability of de computer — only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editin’ deir registry, try some of de 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 de customer’s anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure dey have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixin’ anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure de customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on deir computer. The more fonts dey have, de slower de system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did de previous versions of Windows, too many fonts — that is, anythin’ over 500 — will noticeably tax de system.
18.) Do not partition de 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 operatin’ system. The same excuses people offer for usin’ partitions apply to usin’ a folder instead. For example, instead of puttin’ all your data on de D: drive, put it in a folder called “D drive.” You’ll achieve de same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without de degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won’t be limited by de size of de partition; instead, it will be limited by de size of de entire hard drive. This means you won’t need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consumin’ and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check de system’s RAM to ensure it is operatin’ properly. I recommend usin’ a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on de PC’s memory automatically after you boot to de disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of de 10 tests are completed. If de program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug de computer, remove a stick of memory (assumin’ you have more than one), and run de test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.) If de PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check de drive manufacturer’s Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you’ll be able to upgrade de 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 de Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.
22.) If you’re sick of a sin’le Windows Explorer window crashin’ and den takin’ de rest of your OS down with it, den follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, den Folder Options. Now click on de 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 de computer’s cases and blow out all de dust and debris. While you’re in dere, check that all de fans are turnin’ properly. Also inspect de moderboard capacitors for bulgin’ or leaks. For more information on this leakin’-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.
Followin’ any of dese suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to de performance and reliability of your customers’ computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that de main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in de event of a crashed drive.
