[Mike46]

Tweaking Windows XP for better Performance

Change Menu Show Delay

Windows delays menus before they are displayed.
For most users this delay can be too much, we can change the delay time or remove it altogether.
First Open the Registry Editor by following the steps below:

-- Click Start
-- Run
-- Type Regedit

Once Open find the path listed below:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop

Once there, find MenuShowDelay and set it's value to equal the delay you would like before the menus are shown.
Value Data: 0-999 (milliseconds)

400 Default
200 Works for most people
0 No Delay
Changes will take effect upon reboot.

Shutdown Speed

By altering a few registry settings, you can dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes for Windows to shut down.
Open the Registry Editor (if it isn't open already)

Find the path listed below:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop

Once there, find HungAppTimeout and make sure its value is set to 5000 (default)
In the same folder, find WaitToKillAppTimeout. Set this to 4000 (default is 20000)


Windows XP Prefetcher Settings

Prefetcher monitors which programs initialize when Windows boots, then in future, fetches them quickly.
Prefetcher is enabled by default, but we can improve its performance.
Again Run Registry Editor (if it isn't already open)

Find the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Control / Session Manager / Memory Management / PrefetchParameters

Find the value EnablePrefetcher. Default, it will be set to 3. We recommended setting the prefetcher to 5. Feel free to play around with it and find out what works best for you.

Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. I cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.


Disable Windows error reporting

One feature that most can do without is error reporting. Every time a program crashes it tries to send a report to Microsoft. Read below to find out how to disable this feature.

* 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

[holy_saiyan1]

Aww come on, Mike. By-hand registry editing is fun, just like playing with knives and walking on train tracks.

Some more tweaks that I've found:

-Turns out that the Disk Defrag utility that Windows comes with is actually a wimpified version of a product called Diskeeper. I have it, and it does a better job of defragmenting, and you can even set it to automagically run when it determines that your system is becoming fragmented again.

- [url=http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx]Tweak UI for XP [/url. 'Nuff said!

[flavallee]

Go here to the "Tweak And Tip Categories" and have a field day.

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[Mastertech]

Originally Posted by Mike46

[center]Windows XP Prefetcher Settings

Prefetcher monitors which programs initialize when Windows boots, then in future, fetches them quickly.
Prefetcher is enabled by default, but we can improve its performance.
Again Run Registry Editor (if it isn't already open)

Find the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Control / Session Manager / Memory Management / PrefetchParameters

Find the value EnablePrefetcher. Default, it will be set to 3. We recommended setting the prefetcher to 5. Feel free to play around with it and find out what works best for you.

5 is not a working value. There are only 3 values 0, 1, 2 and 3. By default it is already set to 3 which is optimal: XP Myths

[Mike46]

Well I am not an expert on this tweak but here are some sites with views on this tweak
http://www2.technobabble.com.au/article-181--0-0.html
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/art...efetch-XP.html
http://www.intelliadmin.com/blog/200...-start-up.html

[Mastertech]

And they are all wrong. None of them understand how Windows Prefetching works. I have contacted the second link you posted and he stated he filed a retraction but the owner of the site has not corrected it. The Prefetcher only has 4 functional values. 0, 1, 2 and 3. I have personally spoken to a Microsoft Engineer on the Windows Client Performance Team to confirm this. Here is some reading material:


MICROSOFT ARTICLES:

Windows XP: Kernel Improvements Create a More Robust, Powerful, and Scalable OS
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/is...1/12/XPKernel/

Kernel Enhancements for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver...xp_kernel.mspx

Windows XP Performance
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...te/xpperf.mspx

Benchmarking on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...benchmark.mspx

Windows XP Professional Resource Kit
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...c28621675.mspx

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...%20Windows.doc


EXPERTS:

Ryan Myers - Windows Client Performance Team

Misinformation and the The Prefetch Flag
http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive...25/421882.aspx


Ed Bott - Author Widows XP Inside Out

One more time: do not clean out your Prefetch folder!
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000743.html

Beware of Bogus XP Advice
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000024.html

Tip of the day: Don’t clean out the Prefetch folder
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000619.html


Mark Russinovich - Author Windows Internals

http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/6710.asp

[Mike46]

Thanks, this should give everyone some good information to read. I know I have learned something new

[Mastertech]

No Problem

[gurutech]

Originally Posted by Mastertech

5 is not a working value. There are only 3 values 0, 1, 2 and 3. By default it is already set to 3 which is optimal: XP Myths

Uh... that's 4 values.... Not 3.

[Mastertech]

Correct that was a typo.

[firestormer]

nice tweaks thanks!

[funky_munky]

Might be worth a look as well:

http://www.techsupersite.com/speedupxp.html