Tweaking Windows XP Pro SP2
by NachoMahma in Circuits > Microsoft
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Tweaking Windows XP Pro SP2
A few suggestions and instructions on how to speedup and tighten the security (just a little bit) on your Windows XP computer. These steps apply to Windows XP Pro SP2, but should work with any version of XP. Some of these suggestions can crash your system, so be careful. Hit the Cancel button if something scares you - nothing here is really necessary.
All constructive comment are welcome. If you spot an error, especially one that might screw things up, please let me know.
Change log:
2007-10-23: Original publication
2007-10-23: Unpublished by staff for lack of illustrations.
2007-10-24 & 25: Added some screenshots.
All constructive comment are welcome. If you spot an error, especially one that might screw things up, please let me know.
Change log:
2007-10-23: Original publication
2007-10-23: Unpublished by staff for lack of illustrations.
2007-10-24 & 25: Added some screenshots.
Get Rid of the Bling, Check Your Hardware, Make Sure Auto-Update Is On
1) Right-click My Computer and select Properties. Or Open the System control panel.
2) Click the Advanced tab. (see 1st picture 01-01-01.png)
3) Click the Settings button in the Performance section. (see 2nd & 3rd pictures 01-01-02a.png, 01-01-02b.png)
4) Visual Effects is the default tab, so select Adjust for best performance. Check the features you can't live without - I use Smooth edges of screen fonts, Smooth-scroll list boxes, Use common tasks in folders - YMMV. Don't worry about the Advanced or Data Execution Prevention tabs.
5) Click the Apply button, then the OK button.
6) While you have the System Properties control panel open, click the Hardware tab
(see 4th picture 01-01-03.png)
and then click the Device Manager button. If you see any red X's or yellow ?'s, you have a hardware/driver problem that you need to look into. Not going to fix it now, so close the window. (see 5th pic 01-01-04.png)
7) Now let's see how Automatic Updates is set up - click on the appropriate tab. I use Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them; use what is appropriate for your situation, but make sure it's not turned off. (see 6th pic 01-01-05.png)
8) Last, but not least, click the Remote tab and uncheck both boxes if you don't think you need to give someone else control of your computer. (see last pic 01-01-06.png)
2) Click the Advanced tab. (see 1st picture 01-01-01.png)
3) Click the Settings button in the Performance section. (see 2nd & 3rd pictures 01-01-02a.png, 01-01-02b.png)
4) Visual Effects is the default tab, so select Adjust for best performance. Check the features you can't live without - I use Smooth edges of screen fonts, Smooth-scroll list boxes, Use common tasks in folders - YMMV. Don't worry about the Advanced or Data Execution Prevention tabs.
5) Click the Apply button, then the OK button.
6) While you have the System Properties control panel open, click the Hardware tab
(see 4th picture 01-01-03.png)
and then click the Device Manager button. If you see any red X's or yellow ?'s, you have a hardware/driver problem that you need to look into. Not going to fix it now, so close the window. (see 5th pic 01-01-04.png)
7) Now let's see how Automatic Updates is set up - click on the appropriate tab. I use Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them; use what is appropriate for your situation, but make sure it's not turned off. (see 6th pic 01-01-05.png)
8) Last, but not least, click the Remote tab and uncheck both boxes if you don't think you need to give someone else control of your computer. (see last pic 01-01-06.png)
Tighten Up Security a Little Bit
1) Right-click My Computer and select Manage. (see 1st picture 01-02-01.png)
2) In the Services and Applications group, click Services. (see 2nd pic 01-02-02.png)
3) If you don't index your HDD, scroll down to Indexing Service and double-click it (or right-click on it and select Properties), for Startup type choose Disabled.
4) Unless you know that you need Messenger (NOT the same as Windows Messenger) - if you don't know, you don't need it - disable it.
5) Same for NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing - if you don't need it, disable it.
6) Some people need UPnP, so be careful with these. If you don't need Universal Plug-n-Play, disable SSDP Discovery Service and Universal Plug and Play Device Host.
7) If you don't need Telnet, disable it, too.
2) In the Services and Applications group, click Services. (see 2nd pic 01-02-02.png)
3) If you don't index your HDD, scroll down to Indexing Service and double-click it (or right-click on it and select Properties), for Startup type choose Disabled.
4) Unless you know that you need Messenger (NOT the same as Windows Messenger) - if you don't know, you don't need it - disable it.
5) Same for NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing - if you don't need it, disable it.
6) Some people need UPnP, so be careful with these. If you don't need Universal Plug-n-Play, disable SSDP Discovery Service and Universal Plug and Play Device Host.
7) If you don't need Telnet, disable it, too.
Get Rid of Some Garbage and Defragment the Boot Drive
1) Go to the Add or Remove Programs control panel and get rid of anything you don't need. (see 1st picture 01-03-01.png)
While there, click on Add/Remove Windows Components and get rid of anything you don't need (you may need your Windows install disc for this). (see 2nd pic 01-03-02.png)
2) Download a registry cleaner (I use RegSeeker) and get rid of all the junk that bloats the registry. Use Auto-Clean in RegSeeker if you're not sure what you're doing.
3) Open My Computer, right-click on your boot drive (probably C:), and select Properties. (see 3rd pic 01-03-03.png)
Click the Disk Cleanup button. Wait while DC scans your HDD. When the new dialog box appear, check everything but Compress old files (if you're using indexing, make sure Catalog files for the Content Indexer is unchecked or you will have to re-index your drives)
(see 4th-5th pics 01-03-04a.png, 01-03-04b)
and click OK. (see 6th picture 01-03-05.png here)
4) When it finishes, click the More Options tab. If you didn't get rid of unneeded applications and Windows components in the step above, now would be a good time to do it; click the appropriate buttons. If your system has been running well and you haven't installed anything lately, click the Clean up... button in the System Restore section. When finished, click OK.
5) Click the Tools tab. If you haven't checked your drive lately, click on the Check Now... button, check Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, then click Start. (see 7th pic 01-03-06.png)
When error-checking finishes, click the Defragment Now... button and relax while it does its' thing. (see last pic 01-03-07.png here)
That's it for now.
While there, click on Add/Remove Windows Components and get rid of anything you don't need (you may need your Windows install disc for this). (see 2nd pic 01-03-02.png)
2) Download a registry cleaner (I use RegSeeker) and get rid of all the junk that bloats the registry. Use Auto-Clean in RegSeeker if you're not sure what you're doing.
3) Open My Computer, right-click on your boot drive (probably C:), and select Properties. (see 3rd pic 01-03-03.png)
Click the Disk Cleanup button. Wait while DC scans your HDD. When the new dialog box appear, check everything but Compress old files (if you're using indexing, make sure Catalog files for the Content Indexer is unchecked or you will have to re-index your drives)
(see 4th-5th pics 01-03-04a.png, 01-03-04b)
and click OK. (see 6th picture 01-03-05.png here)
4) When it finishes, click the More Options tab. If you didn't get rid of unneeded applications and Windows components in the step above, now would be a good time to do it; click the appropriate buttons. If your system has been running well and you haven't installed anything lately, click the Clean up... button in the System Restore section. When finished, click OK.
5) Click the Tools tab. If you haven't checked your drive lately, click on the Check Now... button, check Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, then click Start. (see 7th pic 01-03-06.png)
When error-checking finishes, click the Defragment Now... button and relax while it does its' thing. (see last pic 01-03-07.png here)
That's it for now.