How to improve your Windows XP performance

Although Windows Vista is the new current favourite of the drones and the new Windows 7 is supposed to knock everyone's socks off, the fact remains that windows xp rules the roost for the rest of us. Towards that end find below some tips and trick to squeeze more out of your windows XP machine.
(Note: The author takes no responsibility of you messing up your system, although none of these have affected my system in any way!)

This article covers how to improve your Windows performance.
Contents
     1 General Maintenance
          o 1.1 Check your disk for errors
          o 1.2 Cookies and net stuff
          o 1.3 Delete extra temp files
          o 1.4 Check for spywarez and viruses
     2 Now make comp faster tiem
          o 2.1 Desktop
          o 2.2 Turning stuff off that's useless to gain back POWAH
                + 2.2.1 Last access
                + 2.2.2 Disable short filenames
                + 2.2.3 fonts
                + 2.2.4 programs
                + 2.2.5 Indexing
     3 Starting up faster and staying a little faster
          o 3.1 msconfig
     4 Useless services go away
     5 Defrag
          o 5.1 With default Windows defragmenter
          o 5.2 With specialized software
     6 Further performance tweek
          o 6.1 Desktop graphics performance
          o 6.2 Pagefile
          o 6.3 Caching

 General Maintenance
 Check your disk for errors

   1. Go to Start, Run, type "cmd", OK, type "chkdsk C: /r /x"
   2. Select yes and let it run on the next restart
   3. This can take many hours so don't restart until you goto bed

 Cookies and net stuff

Delete your internet cookies and junk if you haven't done it in awhile, you should do this at least once a week

     In internet explorer, Tools->options->general tab for browsing history change the settings to something good and then do a delte
     In firefox, Tools->options->privacy tab change the settings and then clear the datas

 Delete extra temp files

Noob way:
Make sure can see hidden files

   1. Open windows explorer
   2. Tools-> folder options -> view
   3. Enable "show hidden files and folder" and uncheck "hide protected operating system files"

Now time to delete stuff

   1. Start - Run - %temp% (temporary files in user folder)
   2. You can delete all those files: edit->selectall->then delete
   3. Start - Run - temp (temporary files in %windir%)
   4. You can delete all those files: edit->selectall->then delete
   5. Start - Run - %windir%\prefetch
   6. You can delete all those files: edit->selectall->then delete

Find any extra temp filez

   1. Start menu - search - files and folders
   2. Choose "all files and folders," may take some time
   3. Search: *.tmp,*.temp,*.old,*.gid,*.log,*.gid,*.~
   4. Delete all the ones you can, some may be currently in use by programs running on the comp

Pro way:

   1. Go to http://www.ccleaner.com/download and download CCleaner
   2. Install and run CCleaner
   3. You're done.

 Check for spywarez and viruses

The following programs are free!

   1. Spyware - Adaware and/or Spybot
   2. Anti-virus - AVG or Avira AntiVirAvast AntiViravast has boot level scanning and automatic updates

Make sure scheduled scans and updates are enabled at least once a week

 Now make comp faster time

 Desktop

   1. Right click on desktop->properties->themes tab
   2. Change theme to Windows Classic
   3. Screensaver tab
   4. Make it so no screensaver and apply
   5. User power saving if you want the screen to turn off

 Turning stuff off that's useless

 Last access

   1. start menu->run, type in cmd, press enter
   2. "fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1" into the cmd and press enter, no quotes

 Disable short filenames

   1. In the same command prompt enter"fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1" without quotes

 fonts

   1. Start menu-> control panel -> fonts
   2. Delete fonts that you never use/won't use
   3. If you wanna save them just in case, you can, just make a diff folder somewhere and zip em up so the comp won't

 programs

   1. Start menu->control panel -> add/remove programs
   2. Take off any you don't use and won't be using

 Indexing

   1. my computer->right click on harddrive
   2. click box to make indexing off and apply, let it run, will take awhile

 Starting up faster and staying a little faster
 msconfig

   1. Startmenu->run, type msconfig press entar
   2. Go over to the Startup tab, click diable all, and enable what you only really need at startup, virus and firewall stuffs mainly, on laptops can be moar wireless and button stuffz as well
   3. Go to the services tab now
   4. check the box to hide all Microsoft services, we don't wanna disable microsoft things we need to run comp
   5. Now set things you dont use to manual startup
   6. Apply and done

 remove useless services
type services.msc in your start - > run window
click on services you do not want or do not recognize and click on the stop button in the left hand panel.

 Defrag
 With default Windows defragmenter

   1. My computer->right click on drive to defrag->properties->tools, defrag
   2. click defrag
   3. have it do it about 2 or 3 times so it'll be all done, each time it'll go faster

 With specialized software

     Microsoft Bootvis, defragments files that can't be defragmented while Windows is running (like boot files)
     O&O Defrag, more defrag options than default defragger
     Raxco PerfectDisk, also moar options and statistics
     UniBlue Regisrty Booster, Does what you thought Windows Optimizer was supposed to do, except IRL. Microsoft Certified so no system32 worries.

 Further performance tweaks

 Desktop graphics performance

   1. Now go over to the advanced tab and then click on performance settings
   2. Adjust for best performance

 Pagefile

   1. Start menu->right click on My Computer->properties->general tab
   2. near bottom says how much RAM you have, remember that
   3. Go to advanced tab under performance options.
   4. Go to virtual memory, click change
   5. If you have more than one harddrive move the paging file to whichever one has the least amount of data access and is the fastest, don't have the pagefile on the OS/Applications drive unless its your only one.
   6. Remember how much RAM you have? Set the paging file to be custom size and your initial size as 2 times the size of your RAM and the max size as 2 times the size of your RAM
   7. click set and okay and apply it all

 Caching

   1. Open regedit
   2. Find hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset\control\session manager\memory management\
   3. Dwords LargeSystemCache and DisablePagingExecutive both set to 1