Improving Windows XP Performance Issues

Have you ever noticed that your old PC seems to keep getting slower and slower? With a little bit of maintenance, you can have your old clunker run like new.

1. Defragmenting

When a computer has been used for a sufficient period of time, its files will become fragmented. You can think of your computer’s hard-drive as a book. When the pages are out of order, reading the book takes forever. Defragmenting puts the “pages” in order, making your computer much faster. For optimal performance, you should defragment at least once a month.

Unfortunately, the defragmenter that comes with Windows doesn’t work very well. Here’s why…

1. It doesn’t defragment system files. This means that no matter how many times you run the defragmenter, you can’t make the system files load faster. This includes the hibernation files, and page files. A fragmented page file will cause Windows to run like molasses.
2. It requires that you have at least 20% of your disk space free in order to defragment properly.
3. Even if these conditions are met, it still fails to defragment completely. You many have to run the program several times.

If you are on a tight budget, the Windows defragmenter will still help. However, I strongly recommend using Perfect Disk. It experiences none of the limitations listed above, and it should easily pay for itself in a few months. If you purchase Perfect Disk, make sure to run an “Offline” pass (for the system files), and an “Entire Drive” pass (for the non-system files). This can be accomplished by loading Perfect Disk, right clicking on the drive, and selecting “Offline”. The first time you click “Offline”, you will get a prompt asking which file types to defragment. Select all the available file types (e.g. Directories, Master File Table, and Paging File) and click ok. Offline passes require Windows to reboot. When this is done, don’t forget to go back into Perfect Disk and run “Entire Drive”.

The standard Windows defragmenter can be found under Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Defragmenter. Just select the drive, and click Defragment. If you do not have at least 20% of your drive free, you many need to delete some files.

2. Spyware/Adware

These programs can have a severe impact on boot times, and performance in general. Several programs can remove Spyware. The two market leaders in free anti-spyware tools are Spybot Search and Destroy, and Ad-Aware. I recommend downloading both, and running them once a month. Make sure to download all the updates before running them, and removing all the spyware that is found. Any “spyware” labeled a cookie can safely be ignored (this is not really what I would consider spyware).

3. Viruses

Many people still do not have virus protection. Viruses can put your personal information at risk, and slow down your computer. I use a completely free anti-virus solution called Grisoft AVG. It is very fast, reliable, and completely free. I recommend that you disable the “daily scan” option, as it will slow down the computer and usually isn’t necessary. Once you first download it, make sure to download all the updates and run a full system scan.

4. Uninstalling unused programs

If you have many unused programs installed on your machine, uninstalling them can make your computer run faster. You can see a list of the installed programs under Start->Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs.

5. Removing programs from startup

Removing running programs from the startup can significantly increase performance (particularly when booting). Click on Start->Run and type in “msconfig” (without the quotes). Click on the tab that says Startup. This is a list of all the programs that start when you boot your computer. Uncheck anything that you don’t recognize. If you accidentally remove a program from your startup, you can always go back in and re-check it. I recommend leaving anything that says “Java” because it is probably an auto-updater for Java. The next time you reboot, the unchecked programs will not be loaded.

6. Checking disk integrity

Sometimes performance issues can be caused by a damaged hard-disk, or corrupted file system. These simple steps may increase performance and reliability. I recommend running chkdsk once every few months.

This will take several hours, so you’ll probably want to leave it overnight. Click Start->Run and type “cmd” (without the quotes). I recommend using the more thorough scan. Type in “chkdsk /r” (this will also check the disk for physical damage). To only check the drive for corruption (and not physical damage) you can type “chkdsk /f” instead. The latter only takes about 20 minutes.

When it says “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use…”, type “y” and press Enter. When you reboot, the system will check the disk and try to fix any problems it encounters.

7. Disable the indexing service

Windows uses an Indexing Service to make searching for files faster (although it doesn’t do this very well). It also slows down the machine because it is constantly searching the hard-drive. I recommend turning it off completely. Click Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services. Scroll down to “Indexing Service” and Right-Click->Properties. Change the “Startup Type” to “Manual”. The indexing service will be turned off the next time you reboot.