Windows XP is a dominant consumer OS for both power users and gamers alike. There might still be some people among us who dual-boot with Win9x simply because it is faster for many games but the real joy of an authentic 32-bit operating system which comes with full consumer support is too much for us to continue usage of NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. Recently, Windows XP has gone past "infancy" and many, but not all, of its bugs have been shaken out, I bet you're itching to learn about some tweak guides for windows XP that you can utilize. Well, look no further because below are some useful tweaks that you can try.
But before we get on with the tweak guides for Windows XP, there are a few things that you should note. Lets start with returning the settings of your computer back to default, you only need to do this if you have done some previous tweaking prior to what you're about to do now. One of the applications usually recommended are those that requires several systems to be turned back to enabled mode and that a lot of power uses usually disable. So once your have completed the tweak guides for XP available here, you can disable them again. You only need to enable them during the tweaking process.
Another thing is that you should run the disk defragmenter before applying the tweaks. This is because you will be moving the MFT to the fastest area of the drive, then defragmenting it as well as resizing it so that it would remain, hopefully, contiguous for days on end. Why defragment? Because this will allow the program to transfer the MFT quicker and defragmenting again afterwards would clean up the left over mess. Also, remember to back up your system as windows XP can be quite "moody". Do it as a precaution before testing out the tweaks. Remember, I will not be liable for any damage you do to your computer by following the tweak guides for XP available here.
Now on to the fun part:
Startup
Windows Prefetcher
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Memory Management PrefetchParameters]
Under this key, a setting referred to as EnablePrefetcher can be found. The default setting for this is 3 but changing it to an increased number 5 gives the system of the prefetcher more resources to prefetch application datas thus making for faster loading times.
Master File Table Zone Reservation
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control FileSystem]
In this key, a setting referred to as NtfsMftZoneReservation can be found. The default setting for which is 1 and the settings range from 1 up to 4. Setting 2 is recommended for most users as this allows for an average number of files to commensurate with a few small files included in the lot of computer games and different applications. You would need to reboot after applying the above tweak.
Okay, so the above list isn't as big as you would've expected. But it is enough for the novice user. Besides, less tweak guides for XP available the less damage you could possibly give your computer. But if you want more, the internet is a great resource. Just don't trust every tweak you come upon.
But before we get on with the tweak guides for Windows XP, there are a few things that you should note. Lets start with returning the settings of your computer back to default, you only need to do this if you have done some previous tweaking prior to what you're about to do now. One of the applications usually recommended are those that requires several systems to be turned back to enabled mode and that a lot of power uses usually disable. So once your have completed the tweak guides for XP available here, you can disable them again. You only need to enable them during the tweaking process.
Another thing is that you should run the disk defragmenter before applying the tweaks. This is because you will be moving the MFT to the fastest area of the drive, then defragmenting it as well as resizing it so that it would remain, hopefully, contiguous for days on end. Why defragment? Because this will allow the program to transfer the MFT quicker and defragmenting again afterwards would clean up the left over mess. Also, remember to back up your system as windows XP can be quite "moody". Do it as a precaution before testing out the tweaks. Remember, I will not be liable for any damage you do to your computer by following the tweak guides for XP available here.
Now on to the fun part:
Startup
Windows Prefetcher
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Memory Management PrefetchParameters]
Under this key, a setting referred to as EnablePrefetcher can be found. The default setting for this is 3 but changing it to an increased number 5 gives the system of the prefetcher more resources to prefetch application datas thus making for faster loading times.
Master File Table Zone Reservation
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control FileSystem]
In this key, a setting referred to as NtfsMftZoneReservation can be found. The default setting for which is 1 and the settings range from 1 up to 4. Setting 2 is recommended for most users as this allows for an average number of files to commensurate with a few small files included in the lot of computer games and different applications. You would need to reboot after applying the above tweak.
Okay, so the above list isn't as big as you would've expected. But it is enough for the novice user. Besides, less tweak guides for XP available the less damage you could possibly give your computer. But if you want more, the internet is a great resource. Just don't trust every tweak you come upon.