Your Windows operating systems should be tuned up regularly to improve performance.
Optimize Windows
- Virtual memory management. By default 2000/XP set the virtual memory to 1.5 x RAM for the pagefile.sys. It should be increased in size to 3 times the RAM. If you have got 1 GB of RAM you could increase the virtual memory to maximum of 3 GB. In the control panel -> system -> advanced tab -> settings button -> advanced tab -> change. Click change to change it.
- Disk cleanup. To clear space in your hard disk. Menu options: Start -> programs -> accessories.
- Disk defragmentation. To optimize the operation of the disk drive by reorganizing its data into logically contiguous blocks. Menu options: Start -> programs -> accessories.
- Delete temporary files. Temporary files (tmp) and backup files (bak) can be deleted. All files in the temp folder can also be deleted.
- Delete temporary and offline Internet content files. Menu options: Start -> control panel -> Internet options -> general tab. Click the delete files button in the temporary Internet files section. In the delete files dialog box, click to select the delete all offline content check box, OK.
- System services. Unused system services can be stopped or disabled. Menu options: Start -> control panel -> administrative tools -> services. You can start, stop, pause or resume a service.
- Startup. Use msconfig to optimize startup. Start msconfig in the command prompt and move to startup tab. Remove the checks from any applications you do not want to run at system startup.
- Monitor system performance. Press the ctrl-alt-del combination of keys to bring up the task manager. Click the performance tab to see a quick summary of CPU and menory usage.
- System updates. Keep Windows services updated with the latest patch and service pack. Check that the system update is turned on automatically. Menu options: Start -> control panel -> automatic updates. Select the option you desire for the update.
