Windows XP is still the favorite operating system by far due to its relative stability and ease of use, but there’s always room for improvement.  Here’s a quick “Top Five” list of the easiest ways to speed up Windows XP to make it run more efficiently. 

1.)  Disable the services and programs that begin at Windows startup.  This can save loads of memory and resources.  Go to “Start” and “Run,” and type “msconfig.”  This should bring up a window with various tabs.  Choose the “Startup” tab, and go down the list un-checking the services and programs you don’t use all the time.  For instance, iTunes, various music players, indexers, weather software, etc. should be easily identifiable by their names.  Most programs you’ve downloaded overtime will open and run during startup by default, so by disabling them you reduce the load on your system greatly.  Just leave the items you use on a daily basis, such as Outlook, to run during startup. 

2.)  Turn off all the Windows XP “effects.”  Windows has a lot of effects that are meant to make the user interface more attractive, but the truth is they produce quite a load on your memory and other resources.  Luckily, they can be easily disabled.  Press and hold the “Windows” button and press the “Pause/Break” button as well to bring up the “System Properties” window.  Click the “advanced” tab, and check the radio button next to “adjust for best performance.”  This will eliminate many of the effects and give you more memory and speed to work with.

3.)  Defragment your hard drive.  This is a very straight-forward process that should be done at regular intervals anyway to keep your system running smoothly.  Simply go to “My Computer” and right-click on the drive you want to defragment, and choose “properties.”  Click on the “tools” tab and you should see a button labeled “defragment now.”  The process takes a while, especially if you haven’t done it in a while, but it speeds up the process of finding and opening files and programs considerably. 

4.)  Scan/Remove spyware, adware, etc.  Even the casual Web-surfer will encounter spyware, adware and various forms of attacks.  It’s important to have virus, spyware and adware software installed and running on your computer to catch and quarantine any malicious files, cookies, etc.  Spyware and adware especially, will eat up your memory and resources while running quietly in the background.  Upgrade this software often to protect yourself from unknown threats. 

5.)  Remove Un-wanted programs.  You may be surprised at how many programs you have on your hard drive that you never even use.  Removing these will free up some considerable room, and make your system run quicker.  Go to your “Control Panel,” and choose “Add or Remove Software.”  Go down the list and un-install any program you know you won’t use ever again, especially if they’re large programs.  When you’re finished, restart your computer.

Keeping up with basic maintenance in XP will go along way in maintaining a smooth and quick experience.  Running frequent spyware/adware scans, updating Windows in general via Windows updates and periodically defragmenting your hard drive doesn’t take much time, and the benefits are substantial.

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