Instructions - To disable all Windows XP task sounds go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Sounds and Audio Devices", select the "Sounds" tab, under "Sound Scheme" select "No Sounds".
5. Uninstall Useless Windows Components- Windows XP installs some components by default that are not needed.Instructions - Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Add or Remove Programs", select "Add/Remove Windows Components", uncheck:
- Indexing Service
- MSN Explorer (If you use MSN as your ISP leave "MSN Explorer" checked)
Then select "Next" and "Finished".
6. Reduce Recycling Bin Drive Space Usage- In Windows XP the Maximum size of the Recycle Bin is set by default to 10% of your hard drive, when full, this can be a big waste of drive space. Reducing the Maximum size prevents excess space from being wasted. It is quite common to have hundreds of MBs of deleted files in the Recycling Bin and it is never emptied.
Instructions - To change the Recycling Bin Size, right-click on the "Recycle Bin", left-click on "Properties", select the "Global" tab, then "Use one setting for all drives". Move the slider to "3%".
7. Reduce System Restore Drive Space Usage- System Restore creates periodic snapshots of your critical system files (like the registry files, COM+ database, user profiles, and such) and stores them as a "restore point." In case something goes wrong with your system you can revert back to a previous working state. The default size that System Restore can take up can be quite large.
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "System Restore" tab, for each drive partition highlight it then select "Settings", under "Drive Space Usage" adjust the slider so System Restore is only using roughly 5% or a minimum of 1000 MB of disk space per partition and select "OK".
8. Increase the Mouse Pointer Speed- By default Windows sets the Mouse Pointer Speed to an average speed, which can slow down the time it takes to move the cursor around the screen. Increasing this will allow you use your computer quicker and more efficient with less mouse movement.
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Mouse", "Pointer Options" tab, under "Motion" adjust the slider 1 to 5 steps closer to "Fast". Only 1 to 3 steps is recommended. Then check "Enhance pointer precision" and select "OK".
Notes - This is a personal preference and should be decided by the user. The tab that the Motion setting will be under can change with third party mouse drivers. Novice Windows users or users with Motion Disabilities will not want to adjust this much, if at all. Cheap and worn out mice can give poor responsiveness, it is recommended to be using a precision optical mouse. Microsoft Optical Mice are highly recommended.
9. Windows Prefetching- Is a new feature in Windows XP that dramatically improves application load times and Windows boot times automatically. By default this is enabled in Windows XP and already configured optimally. However there is a lot of misinformation regarding this feature on the internet that can disable prefetching and cripple your application load times. Find out more in XP Myths. To confirm that yours is enabled and working, make sure the following service is enabled:
- Task Scheduler - Automatic
Then use Windows Explorer and look in the C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch folder. You should see a file name for any application you have started three or more times. Never clean this folder or disable Windows Prefetching with any "tweaks" as you will cripple your application load times and Windows boot times by as much as 100%. The Prefetch folder and layout.ini files are self-cleaning when it reaches 128 entries or applications are uninstalled. No user intervention is ever necessary. Once you have confirmed it is running leave it alone.
10. AVI Registry Fix - Registry Fix Opening a folder containing a large number of AVI file can open quite slowly because the OS has to open each AVI file and extract info from AVIs. If you have a large collection, you can speedup XP's folder access to blocking it from automatically extracting this info. This can also fix problems when trying to rename or move AVI files and you get an error message: "it is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again."
Instructions - Download and run the Registry Fix.
Notes - You will no longer have the second page of properties in windows explorer displaying the AVI file information such as width, height and bitrate. Other software such as GSpot can provide you with this information.
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