In this post i’m going to show you how to making some optimizing changes to your current installation of windows xp to make it run more smoothly and much faster! =P These changes are reccommended for people who have Low Ram etc and feel that their computer is well.. not fast enough.. :D alright so lets begin:

1. Make your windows load faster! (approximately 10 seconds!)

Okay, So basically heres what you need to do if you’re tired of the stupid startup delay:

  1. Click start and open Run.
  2. Type in “regedit” and press enter
  3. This will open the Windows Registery Editor, now on the left column look for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
  4. Expand it Go to System > CurrentControlSet > Control > ContentIndex
  5. Now once you click on ContentIndex on the right hand side column you’ll see a key called “Startup Delay”. Double click it to open a dialog box.
  6. In the dialog box, select the Decimal Radio button and change the value under “value data” to 40000 (default was around 4000000 decimals :\ )
  7. Close registery editor and restart your pc, You’re done! feel the speeeed :P

2. Optimize your display settings (get rid of the fancy animations :\.. it makes a big difference):

Basically Windows Xp might look sleek and stylish but its unnessicary looks consume quiet alot of your system’s memory.. so its better if you remove the unnessicary animations:

  1. Open up Control Panel
  2. (Switch to Classic View if its in Modern), Right click the sytem icon and click open.
  3. Now you should see a dialog box, click the ADVANCED tab.
  4. Click the Settings button under the Performance heading.
  5. Leave only the following options checked:
    • Show Shadows Under Menus
    • Show translucent selection rectangle
    • Use visual styles on windows and buttons
    • Show shadows under mouse pointer
    • Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
  6. Click Apply and Okay.. and you’re done .. your xp display will consume ALOT less system memory now..

3. Make your Start Menu load faster (works for other menus aswell):

Well this is one of those tweaks that bring a very noticable change, if you click start.. you’ll see that theres a time delay between you clicking the menu and xp opening it.. what we’re going to do is remove this delay:

  1. Click start and open run
  2. type in “regedit” and press enter
  3. Expand the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” tab and go to > Control panel > Desktop
  4. Once you click Desktop you’ll see an option called “MenuShowDelay” on the right hand column, double click it.
  5. It should open a Dialog box, reduce the value to 100 and click ok, close registry editor and you’re done. One note though, don’t get carried away and turn it to 0.. its possible but it’ll annoy you to death.. you go close to a menu and it opens =\ so keep it somewhere between 50-150.

4. Disable Indexing Services:

Its a built in Xp programme that consumes large chunks of your ram, its purpose is to prepare a list of files on your folders so searches can be carried out faster.. its completely unnessicary and useless :\.. it doesn’t improve searching speed that much and it doesn’t really matter unless you have a 1TB hardisk which is full:

  1. Go to Control Panel
  2. (Switch to Classic View) Double Click Add/Remove Programmes
  3. On the left side, Click the Add/Remove Window Components Tab
  4. Uncheck the Indexing Sevices Option, Click Next.. and you’re done.. let the wizard run and then click finish, close and / remove programmes.

5. Improve Windows Shutdown Speed:

There are ALOT of complaints about Xp’s shutdown time aswell as the fact that it takes ages prompting, asking you to close apps, what this tweak does is.. reduces shutdown time greatly and.. automatically closes apps:

  1. Open start and click Run
  2. Type in “Regedit” and press enter
  3. Expand the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” option and further navigate to “Control Panel” and then “Desktop”
  4. Once you select Desktop, you’ll see an option on the right hand side called “WaitToKillAppTimeout” double click that and change its value to “1000″ and click Ok
  5. Now Double Click “HungAppTimeout” (on the right hand side) and change its value to “1000″ and click Ok
  6. Okay now Navigate to HKEY_USERS > .DEFAULT > Control Panel > Desktop
  7. Double Click the “WaitToKillAppTimeout” option and change the value to “1000″, Click Ok
  8. Finally.. (this is the last place we navigate to :P) Navigate to
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Control
  9. Double click “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” and change its value to “1000″, Click Ok.. and You’re Done!!!
  10. Close Registry Editor, Restart pc =D.

6. Speedup folder Browsing:

The Problem is that whenever you open a folder, windows xp starts searching for network files and printers etc.. so theres a delay before the folder open, we’re going to remove that:

  1. Open Control Panel (CLASSIC VIEW!)
  2. Double Click Folder Options.
  3. Click the View Tab.
  4. Uncheck the Automatically Search for Network Folders and Printers Option, click apply and okay.
  5. Restart Pc, You’re done!

Well thats all!! go get yourself a coke ( send me one too!) and enjoy a faster and healthier pc :D!

For More Tips and Tricks (and Tweaks) Check out this Post, Top 5 Windows Xp Tricks You Haven’t Seen Yet.