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How to Optimize and Maintain Windows XP in 10 Easy Steps


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#1 shadragon

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Posted 24 August 2007 - 11:03 AM

This is a document I wrote for users at work. I thought it might be beneficial to those non-technical users out there who want to keep their computers running optimally. I modified it slightly to take out the university references.

This is a PDF file which require Adobe Reader to be seen. If you do not have that program it is a free download available from: www.adobe.com

Attached File  How_to_Optimize_and_Maintain_Windows_XP.pdf   513.65KB   59 downloads

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#2 DandyDon

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Posted 24 August 2007 - 01:37 PM

Thanks, I already have Disc Clean and Defrag shortcuts on my Desktop and run those often, and the Best Performance deleted some tools that I enjoy - so I guess I'll settle for not using that. :thankyou:

I also have a shortcut to Local - Temp files on my desktop and clean it out often, too. Maybe I have too much on my desktop, and I understand that can slow a PC some, but they're tools I want to have handy. I also clear History, Forms, Cache, and Sessions on Firefox and IE - really hate to delete cookies.

Tell me about this, please. I've noticed that after saving a number of pics, cartoosn, video clips etc to my HD, sending emails, etc - that I just have to boot my computer to get speed back. Is there something I can do to clean out whatever that is accomplishing...?

I use Avast.com free anti-virus and a few anti-spies. What do you like...?
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#3 shadragon

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 11:07 AM

Thanks, I already have Disc Clean and Defrag shortcuts on my Desktop and run those often, and the Best Performance deleted some tools that I enjoy - so I guess I'll settle for not using that. :D

I also have a shortcut to Local - Temp files on my desktop and clean it out often, too. Maybe I have too much on my desktop, and I understand that can slow a PC some, but they're tools I want to have handy. I also clear History, Forms, Cache, and Sessions on Firefox and IE - really hate to delete cookies.

Tell me about this, please. I've noticed that after saving a number of pics, cartoosn, video clips etc to my HD, sending emails, etc - that I just have to boot my computer to get speed back. Is there something I can do to clean out whatever that is accomplishing...?

I use Avast.com free anti-virus and a few anti-spies. What do you like...?


AVG Free is the recommended free AV product of choice as it comes with heuristic email scanning as well. SpyBot is my fave spyware scanner, but if you system is already infected then it may not work.

As for why your system slows down I would suspect spyware. There are several online malware scanners like bitdefender.com and housecall.antivirus.com you can run to see if it helps. If they come up empty then you could be running out of RAM memory and it is forced to use "Virtual RAM" or HD space which is a lot slower. Hard to say without seeing your machine.

Best Performance does not delete anything, it just turns things off. Typically, the fancy icon fade in and fade out stuff that eats up resources. You can opt to check whatever aspect you want to be active. I have a thing about having programs running in the background I don't need. If I want a program to run I start it. I turn off system services by the armload on my PC for the same reason and I have a dual core AMD 6000 processor...

The more icons you have on your desktop the more resources are needed to keep the screen refreshed. If you have a background picture on your Desktop, that also slows things down. Every little bit helps...
Remember, email is an inefficient communications forum. You may not read things the way it was intended. Give people the benefit of the doubt before firing back... Especially if it is ME...! ;)

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#4 Brinybay

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 01:11 PM

Tools I use are Clean It, which deletes temp files at startup, RegSupreme for registry maintenance, AVG registered version (I registered it so I could choose the time it scans), AD Aware free version, Spybot, Adsubract Pro. Every now and then I'll go into Programs/Accessories/System Tools and run the Disk Clean up and Defrag.
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