Hi,

I just reinstalled Windows XP from scratch after months of tweaking and re-tweaking then apparently breaking stuff and never really being able to fix it.

Since the release of SP2 I have been on a quest for the ultimate tweaks to get XP to run better and you know what, none of them seemed to work. That is to say I never actualy saw better performance than a fresh install even after all my apps are restored.

So what are some of your experiences? Any ideas on what, if anything I can or should to to Windows at this point?

I vow to definately stay away from "auto-tweakers" and memory managers.

Ultimately I am running great right now and I think if things start to drag I may consider overclocking aside from tweaking the OS. I have never done that and I may consider it.

Thanks!

Just remember that the secret to tweaking/overclocking is to know when to stop!

Yes, so true, which is why I am looking for only a few tried and true examples of things I can try.

Thanks,

depending on your pc specs you might not see much of a difference either way, but here are a few suggestions

1) Viper's XP Service Guide

2) Defrag your hard drives

3) download TuneXP and use the "ultra fast boot" feature

4) there are several options you can turn off in XP to speed it up a tiny bit (most likely what you've been trying) but you loose a lot of functionality. you can find guides to do it everywhere

4) WindowBlinds is faster at loading up it's skins and such then windows is, but you might not want to spend the money

edit: 5) i forgot about going to control panel > add/remove programs and click on "remove windows components" and remove some of the useless stuff in there


#1 and #3 are the big ones that'll speed it up. i don't overclock so i can't help you there. and of course, always have the latest drivers (including your MoBo chipset drivers, most people forget to update these)

Thanks for the advice. I know TuneXP is free but it TuneUp Utilities 2008 better? I don't mind buying it if it is an overall better program.

Thanks,

i only use TuneXP for the "ultra fast boot" function, and then i un-install it. i don't use any of the tweaker programs, i do it all myself

hmm, ok. I notice it says it rearranges boot file. I use Perfect Disc 2008 that does that allready. Do you think they might work against eachother in the way they optimize the files? I have no problem with using 2 programs that do the same thing. I used to use DiskKeeper to defrag and Speed Disk to compact all the defragged files on the drive because DiskKeeper did a lousy job of that.

Thanks,

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