to increase system perforlmance for XP | Forums

[XyZspineZyX]

Before we start going through the tips & tweaks I've picked up over time let me warn you that some of them involve modifying the registry. Always backup your registry before modifying it. You can do this by going to Run & typing Regedit. Now go to File -> Export and save it somewhere safe. If you ever want to go back 2 the way it was you can just double click the save file and it will add the original back. An alternative to this is to set a System Restore point so if it goes wrong you can just hop back to the way it was.



To increase system performance

Right click my computer. Click properties.
Click advanced.
Click settings (under performance).
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one "use visual styles on windows and buttons".

How to disable XP's crap built in CD Burner

Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.
Go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services open it and click on start up type, change to "Disabled".


These Settings will fine tune your systems memory

You need at least 256MB of ram to do this:

Go to startrunregedit -and then to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSe ssion ManagerMemory Management

1.DisablePagingExecutive -double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive yeilds faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache- double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory and improves system performance a lot.

3.Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit - double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of ram -this tweak will speed up your disckcache.

Reboot


Unable to delete from Avi files from HD

XP holds files in it's memory even after you have closed the application using them making it impossible to delete them from your harddrive. To fix this:

Start -> Run -> Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.avishellex PropertyHandler directory and delete the "DEFAULT" key.


Tweak The Swap File


For Users with 256 MB RAM or more this tweak will boost their Windows- and Game-Performance.
What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.

Open the System Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe in the RUN command. There in your System.ini you have to add "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" under the 386enh section.

Restart your Windows and enjoy better Game performance


Disable Services

XP Pro runs a lot of services by default that are pointless if your not on a corporate network, the following services are ones that I safely disable thereby freeing up memory but check what each one does first to make sure your not using it for something:

Go to Run and type services.msc, right click on each service, properties and choose disable.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor


Speed Up The File System

NTFS is a great file system, but its feature-set comes at a slight cost in performance. You can negate this a little with the following tips:

* By default NTFS will automatically update timestamps whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes. Disable it by going to Run and type regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFi leSystem and set 'DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate' to 1.

* NTFS uses disparate master file control tables to store filesystem information about your drives. Over time these core MFT files grow and become fragmented, slowing down all accesses to the drive. By setting aside a little space, MFT's can grow without becoming fragmented.

In the same key where you disabled the last access feature creat a new DWORD value called 'NtfsMftZoneReservation' and set it to 2.


Disable DLL Caching

Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.

1. Find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentV ersionExplorer].

2. Create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.

3. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Tweak The Prefetch

1. Run "Regedit"
2. Goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSe ssion ManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParametersEnablePrefetcher]

3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).

4. Reboot.

It will decrease the boot time but double and increase the performance of your XP.


SpeedUp Your Connection By 20% (Cable Users Only)

1.Log on as "Administrator".
2. Run - gpedit.msc
3. Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch.
4. Then expand the "Administrative Templates" branch.
5. Expand the "Network" branch.
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left pane.
7. In the right window pane double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting.
8. On the settings tab check the "Enabled" item.
9. Change "Bandwidth limit %" to read 0.
10. Then go to your Network connections Start=>Control Panel>Network & Internet connections>Network Connections and right-click on your connection. Then under the General or the Networking tab, (where it lists your protocols) make sure QoS packet scheduler is enabled.

It may take effect immediately on some systems. To be sure, just re-boot.

Hope everyone finds these useful.

[XyZspineZyX]

Before we start going through the tips & tweaks I've picked up over time let me warn you that some of them involve modifying the registry. Always backup your registry before modifying it. You can do this by going to Run & typing Regedit. Now go to File -> Export and save it somewhere safe. If you ever want to go back 2 the way it was you can just double click the save file and it will add the original back. An alternative to this is to set a System Restore point so if it goes wrong you can just hop back to the way it was.



To increase system performance

Right click my computer. Click properties.
Click advanced.
Click settings (under performance).
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one "use visual styles on windows and buttons".

How to disable XP's crap built in CD Burner

Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.
Go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services open it and click on start up type, change to "Disabled".


These Settings will fine tune your systems memory

You need at least 256MB of ram to do this:

Go to startrunregedit -and then to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSe ssion ManagerMemory Management

1.DisablePagingExecutive -double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive yeilds faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache- double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory and improves system performance a lot.

3.Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit - double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of ram -this tweak will speed up your disckcache.

Reboot


Unable to delete from Avi files from HD

XP holds files in it's memory even after you have closed the application using them making it impossible to delete them from your harddrive. To fix this:

Start -> Run -> Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTSystemFileAssociations.avishellex PropertyHandler directory and delete the "DEFAULT" key.


Tweak The Swap File


For Users with 256 MB RAM or more this tweak will boost their Windows- and Game-Performance.
What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.

Open the System Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe in the RUN command. There in your System.ini you have to add "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" under the 386enh section.

Restart your Windows and enjoy better Game performance


Disable Services

XP Pro runs a lot of services by default that are pointless if your not on a corporate network, the following services are ones that I safely disable thereby freeing up memory but check what each one does first to make sure your not using it for something:

Go to Run and type services.msc, right click on each service, properties and choose disable.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor


Speed Up The File System

NTFS is a great file system, but its feature-set comes at a slight cost in performance. You can negate this a little with the following tips:

* By default NTFS will automatically update timestamps whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes. Disable it by going to Run and type regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFi leSystem and set 'DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate' to 1.

* NTFS uses disparate master file control tables to store filesystem information about your drives. Over time these core MFT files grow and become fragmented, slowing down all accesses to the drive. By setting aside a little space, MFT's can grow without becoming fragmented.

In the same key where you disabled the last access feature creat a new DWORD value called 'NtfsMftZoneReservation' and set it to 2.


Disable DLL Caching

Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.

1. Find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentV ersionExplorer].

2. Create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.

3. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Tweak The Prefetch

1. Run "Regedit"
2. Goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSe ssion ManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParametersEnablePrefetcher]

3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).

4. Reboot.

It will decrease the boot time but double and increase the performance of your XP.


SpeedUp Your Connection By 20% (Cable Users Only)

1.Log on as "Administrator".
2. Run - gpedit.msc
3. Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch.
4. Then expand the "Administrative Templates" branch.
5. Expand the "Network" branch.
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left pane.
7. In the right window pane double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting.
8. On the settings tab check the "Enabled" item.
9. Change "Bandwidth limit %" to read 0.
10. Then go to your Network connections Start=>Control Panel>Network & Internet connections>Network Connections and right-click on your connection. Then under the General or the Networking tab, (where it lists your protocols) make sure QoS packet scheduler is enabled.

It may take effect immediately on some systems. To be sure, just re-boot.

Hope everyone finds these useful.

[XyZspineZyX]

Nice post

The genuine Hawg-dawg...soon to be Bad-MF(mongrul fighter)
Proud former member of Kelly Johnson's "SKUNK WORKS"
Fat Boys and.... Props For Life

[XyZspineZyX]

T H A N K S !!!!!!

you should have posted this before me upgrading from P4 2,6GHz to P4HT 3,0GHz LOL






www.hellenic-sqn.gr

- Special Thanks to CrazyIvan1970, Wildhoney, TX-Zen, Hunter82 and so many others for their contribution to the IL2FB community
- Special Thanks to Ubi for listening
- Special Thanks to Oleg Maddox for this great game

[XyZspineZyX]

Thanx for the tips, but I got 2 ?

After doing the Swap File tweak I get a message to undo the changes I made to windows startup, after I re-boot.

When I type gpedit.msc it tells me windows can't find it.

I am logged on as administrater.

Am I doing something wrong?

Thanx.

<center>

"Any information that we receive concerning the real world is carefully controlled"

[XyZspineZyX]

OK I fixed the Swap File prob,
for some reason the System Config Ut defaulted to Selective Startup.

<center>

"Any information that we receive concerning the real world is carefully controlled"

[T_O_A_D]

Ooh can't wait to go home a try some of it.

<Left>
131st_VFW_CO_Toad

<Left>
[img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-surprised.gif[/img] MY Track IR Fix read the whole thread


<Center> </a>
<Center>


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[XyZspineZyX]

I always wanted to know how to back up registry items. This is great stuff. Keep em coming.

[XyZspineZyX]

Just a warning about these memory settings for ATI owners. In the CAT readme it says that enabling large system cache can cause data corruption. That and having several fast harddrives in RAID configuration and putting the AGP aperture size too high.

I only qualified for the large system cache enabled and I have experienced this as a direct effect of enabling those tweaks twice the same day. The first time I had to reformat. The second time I could do a system restore.

So I am running without large system cache this days. Donâ´t loose performance with my 1 gig of RAM and no problems since. All is that programs in windows loads a tiny bit slower.

[XyZspineZyX]

CacheMan program takes care of alot of those settings without physically changing the registry. Just a thought. S!