Help with Speeding up XP

[sdt463]

Hi folks I'm sure this will have been asked before but I cant find any information with a search.
I should start by saying my computer skills are very limited and I don't want to muck around with anything that could lose files or programs that I am using.
I have two computers, a desk top and a net book both running XP they both used to nip over just fine ( not fast bit like a 300tdi )but are getting clogged up now and getting slower and slower. So, can any one give me or point me towards some real real simple instructions on how to give them both a bit of a decoke and a tuneup.
Cheers Dave

[bee utey]

First tool to use is the disc defragmenter. Click My Computer, right click your hard drive, click properties, click tools, you will see stuff there to do.

[djam1]

Download and run ccleaner then run the defrag

[tastrax]

I would suggest all of the following things


Remove all your images (from Cameras etc) to an external hard drive. Only keep on the computer hard drive those from the latest trip/latest month. This will probably free up heaps of space
Delete all the temporary files from you internet browsing (cant remember exact commands as I am now on Win7
If you are happy to - delete all other temp files from the computer (start, run - and then type in del *.tmp. Only do this if you are confident - this will delete any file on your computer with the extension.tmp)
Delete any programs that you are not using or can do without - be ruthless (all the kids games etc if they have left home :D)
Empty the recycle bin
Defrag (may take overnight on a big disc)

[theresanothersteve]

The best way (if you have the original disks) is to format the hard drive and do a clean install.

Before you do this, make sure you back up all your presonal data. The one most people forget is their email, if you use outlook the .pst file for each user and archive can be fairly well buried.

If you want a really snappy machine try installing an SSD drive for the OS and major programs, but your motherboard will need to support SATA devices.

I've just done a clean install on my W7 box, and added an SSD drive, and my system now boots in well under 30 seconds (it had bloated out to over 2 1/2 minutes) so I am happy, but I understand some people are reluctant to do a clean install.

[DeanoH]

............................................ So, can any one give me or point me towards some real real simple instructions on how to give them both a bit of a decoke and a tuneup.
Cheers Dave

Keeping it simple.

There's a number of things that can make your computer run slow or appear to run slow. Depends what you mean by run slow. Slow to boot, slow to access data, slow to manipulate data (like picture editing for example) or slow on the internet.

Before you do anything make backup copies of your important files and then CHECK that they have actually been backed up. This includes photos, letters, favourites etc. You can even back up your e-mail, do a search for *.pst (you will have to temporarily turn on show hidden files) if you want to do this, and copy this file.

One cause of running slow is a hard disc that is too full. Go into disc cleanup in system tools and follow the instructions. If your 'c' drive is still too full try moving some files (photos etc) to another drive if you have one or deleting what is not needed.

If you have a c\ temp or c\ windows \temp folder you can delete the contents without losing anything important, often reclaiming a large ammount of space.

Go into add\remove programs and weild a big scythe. If there's something you don't need get rid of it. If you've got kids there'll be loads of needless crap that can be gotten did of.

Often downloaded are various programs that promise to speed up the computer/internet. Invariably these are just malware ridden crap that actually slows you PC down. Get rid of them if they're installed.

If you're running more than one virus scanner get rid of all but one, especially if you have an older version of Nortons. I have found that Microsofts free virus/malware program to be quite good but on 'less powerful' machines can give a fair hit to performance.

One other thing you can do is run 'msconfig' and look under the 'startup' tab. This is a handy little unadvertised program that has been with Windows for ever and is very handy tool for speeding up a machine that has become a bit of a slug.

What it does is list 'non essential' programs that start in conjunction with Windows. These programs can be temporarily (or permanently) disabled to help with fault finding or speeding up boot time. Nothing you disable here will stop your PC from booting. It's often amazing to see the boot time improvement when you go in and select 'disable all'. Be a bit careful though as 'disable all' will disable your virus scanner.
It is common for software manafacturers to start their program or some of its properties at boot, particularly an update search. It's amazing how quick this list grows, and you rarely need to start any of these programs at boot.

Slow internet can also be a victim of the above, especially if you have a 'light' plan. You can often have so much crap competing for bandwidth when you go online that you're lucky to be able to check your email. This is a major cause of internet woes if you still happen to be on dial-up. Get rid of the lot (except for your anti virus/malware auto update) and do manual updates when you need to.
Microsoft Update can be a major problem here, changing your preference from the default auto download and install to advise of updates can help here if this is an issue.

When you've done the above a 'defrag' probably won't hurt but IMO probably won't do much good either. Doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference in Windows XP and later from my experience. Try and avoid the freebie programs that claim to do wonders for you, they're basically malware ridden crap.

Additional RAM is the best value 'bang for buck' upgrade you can do to speed up your PC if you have 1G or less, but a bit of technical knowlege/expertise is required to do this properly.:)

Deano :)

[incisor]

the following is a cut down version of how i do it, your mileage may vary and you get to own all the bits if it does

if xp then you should be running at least 2g ram with sp3 fitted for xp to be anything near optimal.

less than 2g ram and you are wearing your hard drive out prematurely

uninstall any and all anti malware packages including malwarebytes ccleaner adaware sybot etc etc and any registry cleaners, ram boosters, driver updaters, desktop search programs etc etc etc and especially any toolbars including any conduit addons

leave only one anti virus package of your choice
(MSE is currently the best free one IMHO)

download hirens boot cd (http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/) and burn to cd

DO NOT BOOT FROM IT!

if the hirens menu doesnt automatically load, run HBCDMenu.cmd from the root dir of the cd

under programs cleaners click on atf-cleaner, select select all, then untick cookies, then run selected

under programs cleaners click on ccleaner

click yes on intellgent cookie scan

click cleaner, run cleaner, ok

click registry, scan for issues, fix issues, dont backup, fix all issues, close, exit out of it

under programs cleaners click Glary Registry Repair, scan for registry problems, repair, close, exit

under programs optimisers click NT Registry Optimiser, click ok, yes to reboot now. system will reboot.

the next bit is more advanced and a little more risky but usually worth the effort

make sure you are connected to the net

disable your antivirus package until reboot

start hirens menu again

under programs antivirus software click combofix
click i agree
click okay if it finds your av and again
click ok if you get the update warning
click okay if you get restart combo fix dialog
click i agree and again twice maybe for av warning
if it wants to install anything click yes and do what it says to do, no buts!
click yes to continue
it does it's thing which takes a little while
it may ask you to reboot, do so
if it finishes and shows the report without a reboot, read the report then reboot

if it doesn't finish to the point it shows a report or a reboot prompt and after half an hour it is still sitting there with the hard drive light pulsing then you have a serious issue that usually will need the attention of a professional. hold the power button in for 5 secs and the system will shutdown


more in the next exciting episode....

[rick130]

uninstall any and all anti malware packages including malwarebytes and any registry cleaners, ram boosters, driver updaters, desktop search programs etc etc etc and especially any toolbars including any conduit addons


[snip]


more in the next exciting episode....

Geez Inc, you should do this for a living, or something ? :angel:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

no,, he puts in power poles or something?

[jonesy63]

Just for reference, most AV packages only catch about half of current malware. :eek:

[theresanothersteve]

Just for reference, most AV packages only catch about half of current malware. :eek:
Raises an interesting point.

On all my home systems I use an adminstrative log on for maintenance but have normal (non-administrative) log ons for normal use. That way I can run a 'light' antimalware package like Microsoft Security Essentials. The performance overhead of the mainstream antimalware is crippling.

This only works if the logged on user cannot instal software or make system changes, malware uses the same privileges as the current log on. It is inconvenient, especailly when you have a new or fresh system, but still (IMHO) a worthwhile trade-off.

HTH

[jonesy63]

User behaviour is by far, the most important factor. If a person clicks on every link saying "Bill Gates will give you millions" - then God help them!

[Wallaby Ted]

As well as a lot of the other things people have suggested, what I have found over the years, and would try this before a full backup and reload. When I had my own business with a workshop as well as virus/malware scan we also would do these as well:

1. remove anything running in the background you don't need (usually you can see these in the system tray)
2. remove any unwanted browser add-ons from Internet Explorer (if that is your preferred browser)
3. Reset Internet Explorer back to fatory defaults (for IE 7 & 8. If you have IE 9 remove it)
4. Uninstall any programs you dont need
5. Clean all of the temporary files from your computer via the disk cleanup tool (can be found by opening My Computer, right click on the hard drive (usually C: and go into properties. In the General click on Disk Cleanup. I would tick everything in there except "Offline Files" and "Compress old files") then click OK
6. Run a disk defragmenter that will optimise files as well as defrag (not the inbuilt one). I use IOBits Smart Defrag 2. When you install it
i. until the other programs
ii. go into the settings and untick minimise to system when program is closed
iii. untick also load automatically at windows startup and click ok
iv. on the boot time defrag tab turn on the boot time defrag and select the 3 settings, and then click on configure and set it to either everyday first boot to every 7 day first boot then click ok. This defragments the system files that normally would not get defragmented and cause most of the system slowness
v. Go back to State (C: the first tab) and click on the down arrow beside defrag and select "Defrag and Fully Optimise"
vi. let this run (it can take hours)
vii. Personally I reboot (for the system file defrag) and run it a second time on a machine that has not run it before.
viii. I have found as well as defraging this program will optimise file location on the hard drive depending on how often files are accessed, as parts of the hard drive are faster than others.
7. You can also download from IOBit the Free version of Advanced SystemCare, and run this. Follow the same install procedure as before to stop it from loading on startup and minimising to the syste, tray
i. you can run quick care and deep care (before running deep care turn off disk scan and disk defragment).
ii. As well as doing a general cleanup this will also do a registry defrag which is another area that causes major slowness in XP.
8. Give it a cleanout with the Vacuum cleaner if its dusty on the air vents

In general as suggested before you should have SP3 installed and a minimum of 2GB of RAM as this seemed to be the suite spot for memory in XP, as you add more than this you don't get the same increase in performance as going to 2GB.


Richard