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-=- PC Tweaks & Tips -=-
These Tweaks have really helped me get the most performance out of my PC. XP has several deficiencies that can be tweaked to your ends. So, read through these listed. All of them have been tried and tested by yours truly. Location of the Windows XP startup sound: That annoying sound file that plays everytime you log in to Windows can be removed. Normally, the operating system will stop playing it if you stop all sounds in the control panel, but in my experiences with XP, I've found that sometimes that sound still plays. This key is in the registry and can be made blank in order to completely stop that sound. HKEY_CURRENT_USER/AppEvents/Schemes/ Apps/.Default/SystemStart/.Current/(Default) type REG_SZ Delete that AVI File that won't delete: By chance an AVI file? I had a similar problem with a partially downloaded (and hence corrupt) AVI file. As you have experienced, many reboots later and the file was still "being used by another person or program." The problem is due to a bug in Windows. A work-around is to rename or delete the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ {87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E} Curiously, Windows was being truthful in stating the error message. Another program (or DLL in this case) was using your file. The "AVI Properties Handler" (which this key references) had the file locked as it was busily thrashing about trying to make sense of the senseless. You'll probably want to remove this key regardless of your predicament. Removal will speed-up your system. Speed Up XP Startup: First of all, this tweak only apply to those who only have one HDD on their primary IDE channel (nothing else on device 0 or 1) and a CD-ROM and/or DVD-ROM on the secondary IDE channel. Each time you boot Windows XP, there's an updated file called NTOSBOOT-*.pf who appears in your prefetch directory (%SystemRoot%\Prefetch) and there's no need to erease any other files as the new prefetch option in XP really improves loading time of installed programs. We only want WindowsXP to boot faster and not decrease its performance.
Delete My eBooks and other special folders in My Documents: Tired of that annoying folder? Deleted it only to have it return? Here's a pretty easy way to get rid of it. Click Start, then Run and type: regsvr32 /u mydocs.dll , then delete the folders. If that doesn't work, try this:
Delete Programs From Open With... Dialogue: When rightclicking any file you're likely to see an option called "Open With...", which lists any available program on your computer that can open the file. To simply clear up this list of unwanted items, or to remove useless associations, like opening an mp3 file with a paint program, follow these steps: Remove User From Welcome But Keep Account: When you add an account for certain users with Windows XP, their user names will appear on the Welcome Screen. Sometimes a user needs to be added to a Windows XP machine, because he needs access (via the network) to resources on the machine, but he will not be physically logging in on the computer. You can remove his name from the Welcome Screen, while still maintaining the user account.
Resort The Start Menu: When you move programs around in your WindowsXP start menu, the OS will stop arranging it when you add new software. This happens when you move items from your user start menu to the all users start menu. Here is the fix:
Remove Yellow Popup Balloons: Hate those yellow balloons that you have to click on to get them to shut down? You modem users know exactly what I'm talking about. When anything changes in the op system -- dial-up connection established, or new hardware added -- a yellow balloon pops up and will not disappear until you close it. Get those balloons to stop:
Stop annoying programs from running at Windows Startup: Just go "run..", type "msconfig" and in the startup tab there is are programs starting that you can select to stop. Start Windows Explorer Where You Want It: Right click on Windows Explorer in the Programs Menu and choose Properties. Copy and paste this over the entry in the target box: C:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,c:\ Stop Unnecessary Program Menu Delay: When using the Start Menu, you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible, change this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly.
Stop Those Unnecessary Background Services: Below are a list of windows services that you can change to the manual setting: Routing and Remote Access Alerter Application Layer Gateway Service** (only if firewll is not used) Application Management Background Intelligent Transfer Service ClipBook COM+ System Application Distributed Link Tracking Client Distributed Transaction Coordinator Help and Support IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service** (only if do you not use the cd-rw xp record suport) IPSEC Services Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Net Logon NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Network DDE Network DDE DSDM Network Location Awareness (NLA) NT LM Security Support Provider Performance Logs and Alerts Portable Media Serial Number QoS RSVP Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator Remote Registry Removable Storage Server Smart Card Smart Card Helper SSDP Discovery Service System Restore Service Telnet Themes Uninterruptible Power Supply Universal Plug and Play Device Host Volume Shadow Copy Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) Windows Installer Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions Wireless Zero Configuration WMI Performance Adapter Fast User Switching Compatibility ** (only if fast user switching is not used or the machine have one user only) Protected Storage Windows Time TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Task Scheduler Secondary Logon Print Spooler ** (only if the pc do not have or use a printer) Indexing Service Error Reporting Service Computer Browser Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Stop Real Player From Spying On You: Real Player is poorly written adware/spyware. If you absolutely MUST have Real Player you can render it somewhat harmless. However, please be aware that RealPlayer overrides cookies settings in IE and it WILL put cookies on your system regardless of how you configure it. Substantial evidence exists that RealMedia tracks a great deal of personal information. In RealPlayer setup, uncheck all of the options under internet. Again, please note that unchecking "Enable Cookies" HAS NO EFFECT on Real Media cookies. Uncheck all the options under automatic services. Uncheck automatic update. Exit RealPlayer. Find the real subfolder in application data (usually "c:\Documents and Settings\ UserName\Application Data\Real). Note that this is not the installation folder. You can safely (and should) delete all of the contents. Do not delete the folder itself. Right click on the folder and go to sharing and security, then security. Click the advanced tab and uncheck inherit parent permissions. This will then bring up a dialog to copy or remove. Click on remove. Click on add and enter "adminstrators." Allow the last three options, "read permissions," "change permissions," and take ownership." Click OK until all the property boxes are dismissed. If you do not change permissions, Real will simply replace the contents and folder structure and then start collecting information again. You can prevent cookies by preventing the RM browser from reaching RealMedia. Find the file "hosts" in C:\WINDOWS\system32\ drivers\etc. Double click on the file. There is no extension so you will have to select notepad to open it. It should contain one entry: 127.0.0.1 localhost Add these. 127.0.0.1 home.real.com 127.0.0.1 real.com 127.0.0.1 realmedia.com Save the file. Check your cookies folder and delete any Real cookies that you may have inadvertently taken. FINALLY, write to anyone you can complain to about RealMedia's arrogant attitude towards personal privacy. |