This is one of the most powerful tool that Microsoft XP comes bundled with. It can be used to carry out powerful customizations and performance tuning of your system. Go to START-RUN and enter gpedit.msc . You can control your whole operating system using GPEDIT & there's no need to understand complex registry commands in regedit .(Available in Windows XP Professional Only)
Fine tune Internet connection speed : Tip on changing QoS parameter
Networking Quality of Service (QoS) refers to a variety of techniques that prioritize one type of program when these operate across a network connection rather than relying solely on "best effort" connectivity. By default, programs like windows media player etc. can reserve up to an aggregate bandwidth of 20% for their updates etc.. To use full internet bandwidth for your purpose & thus to improve internet speed, go to RUN > gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Network > QoS Packet... > Limit Reservable Bandwidth, Enable it & set Bandwidth Limit = 0.
Change the default search engine in Internet explorer?
Default search engine of Microsoft Internet explorer is MSN. But there are better search engines available. I like yahoo.com and you may have your own preference. Recently I came across article that indicated how to change the default search engine through registry. Open registry editor by going to START-RUN and entering regedit and navigate to following three keys separately and change it as shown below:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "Search Page"="http://www.google.com" "Search Bar"="http://www.google.com/ie" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL] ""="http://www.google.com/keyword/%s" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search] "SearchAssistant"="http://www.google.com/ie" If you are unable to find any setting, make a new.
Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. You can set the compatibility properties for a program manually or use compatability wizard in Start > Programs > Accessories. To set the compatibility properties for a program manually Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program. There are various settings such as "Run the program in compatability mode for Win98.... , switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels
Modify Settings to Improve Performance
Windows XP uses processor time to handle system performance according to default settings, which can be adjusted for your computing needs. Also, settings that govern visual effects enhance the appearance of the Windows XP interface, but can slow down performance. You can fine–tune settings in Windows XP Professional to improve performance: Right–click My Computer, and then click Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Performance area, click Settings. On the Visual Effects tab, click the Custom radio button, and then select which UI features to disable to improve performance. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Processor scheduling area, click the Background services radio button. Selecting this option means that background tasks that you want to run while you work, such as backup utilities or print jobs, will share processor time equally with programs.
Create a Personal Screen Saver
Right–click an empty spot on your desktop, and then click Properties. Click the Screen Saver tab. In the Screen saver list, click My Pictures Slideshow. Click Settings to make any adjustments, such as how often the pictures should change, what size they should be, and whether you’ll use transition effects between pictures, and then click OK. Now your screen saver is a random display of the pictures taken from your My Pictures folder
Don't Ignore the Windows Logo Key : Shortcuts
Don't Ignore the Windows Logo Key The Windows logo key, located in the bottom row of most computer keyboards is a little-used treasure. Don't ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following commands: Windows: Display the Start menu Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer Windows + F: Display Search for files Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center Windows + R: Display Run dialog box Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows Windows + L: Lock the workstation Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
How to remove recycle bin from your desktop ?
You can do this using Group Policy Editor. START > RUN > gpedit.msc (XP Professional Only)
Alternatively: Open Regedit by going to START - RUN and type Regedit and hit enter. Then you should navigate to following entry in registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ Desktop\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and delete it. This action should remove recycle bin from your desktop.
Is it taking long to resume or boot?
There are a variety of reasons why your windows XP system would boot slowly. Most of the times it this has to do with the startup applications. If you would like to speed up the bootup sequence, consider removing some of the startup applications that you do not need. Easiest way to remove startup apps is through System Configuration Utility (Go to START-RUN and enter MSCONFIG) and going to Startup tab and deselecting application(s) that you do not want to startup at boot time. If this works, great ! If not you can also look into SERVICES tab and possibly deselect WORKSTATION option and see if that helps . You can do this to stop some applications that run automatically at start up like Yahoo Messenger!
Speedup boot sequence by defragmenting all key boot files Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction. In right hand panel look for Enable. Right click on it and set it 'Y' for enable.
Just type keyword to go to a site, For eg. type google to go to www.google.com
If in Internet options, Display result and go to most likely site or just go to most likely site is enabled, you can type only the domain root in the Address box and Internet Explorer attempts to locate the correct Web site by searching different domain types. For example, if you type "Microsoft" in the Address box, Internet Explorer searches the domain types in the Autoscan list until a domain name match is found (in this case, www.microsoft.com). By default, Internet Explorer searches the following domain types when the Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled:. .com, .org, .net, .edu
Do not allow messenger to start automatically at start up!
Windows Messenger is automatically loaded and running when a user logs on to a Windows XP computer. It eats some system resources & RAM. You can use this Group Policy Editor to stop Windows Messenger from automatically being run at logon. Start > RUN > gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration >Administrative...Windows Compo... > Windows Messenger. If you enable this setting, Windows Messenger will not be loaded automatically when a user logs on. (XP Professional Only)
Alternatively: Locate SYSOC.INF in the \Windows\INF folder (hidden file and folder), Open it in Notepad and locate the line: msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 Remove the word "hide" from the line and save the file. You will now have an entry in add/remove programs. Now do what you want from Control Panel > Add & Remove Programs.
How to login as administrator if you don't see it available ?
Unless and until you have run into issues and fixing XP (underwhich case you have to go to Safe Mode to login as Administrator), you can get to administrator screen by simply pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE twice at the main screen (where names of users appear).
How to improve on shutdown time ? Close apps automatically & quickly at shutdown
Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP and look for AutoEndTasks. On my computer default value is 0. Change it to 1. Thats all. Further more you can reduce the time it takes for Windows to issue kill directive to all active/hung applications. In doing this only constraint that you should make sure exists is that HungAppTimeout is greater than WaitToKillAppTimeout. Change the values of WaitToKillAppTimeout to say 3500 (since default value for HungAppTimeout 5000 and for WaitToKillAppTimeout is 20000)
Disable error reporting
Open Control Panel Click on Performance and Maintenance. Click on System. Then click on the Advanced tab Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows. Select Disable error reporting. Click OK
Enable write caching on disk and improve disk performance
WriteCache is nothing else but implementation of concept of delayed write. The I/O activities are generally slow and hence if they are synchronous can significantly reduce the system performance. Hence if system performance has to be improved we have to reduce I/O activities. . We can control the frequency of diskwrite by specifying regular intervals. All that needs to be written between the intervals would be writen in a write buffer which would be maintained in RAM. This write buffer would be written to the disk at regular intervals or whenever it gets full. This is a smart concept with one drawback. There is a chance that you may loose some data in case of critical power loss or system failure but this is not an issue for most of the users. To enable write cache on your disk, go to DEVICE MANAGER. Then select hard disk in the disk drives and right click on it and select properties. Go to policies tab and select checkbox which say "Enable write caching on the disk".
Turn off System Restore
If you want your computer to become little more fast & free up some RAM, disable system Restore. You can also free up some hard disk space by limiting the space to be used. By default, it is 10% of harddisk. If you dont have very important data, disable System Restore.
Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows XP. Start > RUN > regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT lnkfile Delete the IsShortcut registry value. You may need to restart Windows XP.
Turn off CD Auto Play
You can turn off CD Auto Play in XP Open My Computer Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties Click on the Auto Play tab In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box Or Go to Start > Run > gpedit.msc Computer Config > Administrative Template -> System Double click Turn off Autoplay Enable it.
Customize Internet Explorer Skin/Title bar
You can use a different colourful skin for your Internet Explorer using Group Policy Editor. Start > Run > gpedit.msc > User > Administartive... > Windows Compo... >Internet Explorer.Use a small file for skin so that it dont take long to load, Use around 750* 100. You can also change Title from there. (XP Professional Only)
(XP Home) Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet. Explorer\Main. In right hand panel look for string "Window Title" and change its value to whatever custom text you want to see.
Increase speed of your broadband/DSL internet
This tweak is for broad band cable connections on stand alone machines with winXP professional version - might work on Home version also. This tweak assumes that you have let winXP create a connection on install for your cable modem/NIC combination and that your connection has tcp/ip - QoS - file and print sharing - and client for microsoft networks , only, installed. It also assumes that winxp will detect your NIC and has in-box drivers for it. If it doesn't do not try this. In the "My Network Places" properties (right click on the desktop icon and choose properties), highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK
From the windows XP cd in the support directory from the support cab, extract the file netcap.exe and place it in a directory on your hard drive or even in the root of your C:\ drive. next, open up a command prompt window and change directories to where you put netcap.exe. then type "netcap/?". It will list some commands that are available for netcap and a netmon driver will be installed. At the bottom you will see your adapters. You should see two of them if using a 3Com card. One will be for LAN and the other will be for WAN something or other. Next type "netcap/Remove". This will remove the netmon driver. Open up control panel / system / dev man and look at your network adapters. You should now see two of them and one will have a yellow ! on it. Right click on the one without the yellow ! and choose uninstall. YES! you are uninstalling your network adapter, continue with the uninstall. Do not restart yet. Check your connection properties to make sure that no connection exists. If you get a wizard just cancel out of it. Now re-start the machine. After re-start go to your connection properties again and you should have a new connection called "Local area connection 2". highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK. Choose connection properties and uncheck the "QOS" box Re-start the machine after restart enjoy the increased responsivness of IE, faster page loading, and a connection speed boost. Why it works, it seems that windows XP, in its zeal to make sure every base is covered installs two seperate versions of the NIC card. One you do not normally see in any properties. Remember the "netcap/?" command above showing two different adapters? The LAN one is the one you see. The invisible one loads everything down and its like your running two separate cards together, sharing a connection among two cards, this method breaks this "bond" and allows the NIC to run un-hindered.
