Post by Flasher on May 13, 2008 22:59:18 GMT 10
I have decided to write a guide to optimizing Windows XP to hopefully help those of you who may have lagging systems.
This guide has been broken down into sections in an attempt to make it easier to read. Please read the FAQ below if
you have any uncertainties or query's.
You can run either or both of these programs for optimization, i personally use both.
[TUNEXP]
During the first run, you first have to Choose your Windows location (for instance, drive C)
After that, TuneXP Final is ready and configured, and you can tweak straight away
1. Download TuneXp:
www.download.com/TuneXP/3000-2086_4-10290928.html
2. Install to desired drive/folder.
3. Open TuneXp
4. Select your drive then Select your desired optimization
5. Remember to reboot pc. *please note 'defrag bootfiles' take a while it's finished when the dos window dissapears even tho it may not show defrag progress.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quoted Info from docu section of TuneXp:
The Memory and File System category is clearly the biggest category of them all.
In this category, you will find tweaks that alter the very way, Windows XP works with memory at.
ACCELERATE DLL UNLOADING Recommended for benchmarking
This tweak affects the swiftness of Windows to unload cached DLLs from the main memory. This tweak makes sure that
no DLL will clog up the RAM by uncaching them quicker. Might be a performance gain in benchmarks, but might slow down
general Windows usage by a small amount
CLEAR PAGEFILE ON SHUTDOWN No recommendation
This tweak makes Windows clear the pagefile on shutdown. Will make shutdown slower, but might make bootup and paging
a bit faster (marginally)
DISABLE PAGING EXECUTIVE 512MB RAM or more required
This tweak removes the pool of system files that Windows will force to be paged. Instead, they will be loaded into the
RAM. This tweak will use a bit of memory, but will make Windows quicker and more responsive.
FASTER SHUTDOWN Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the speed of Windows application/service shutdown times from 20 seconds to 1, and will make
Windows shutdown around 5 times quicker.
FILE ALLOCATION SIZE TWEAK Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the size of the memory file allocation size. The effect is not drastic, but most people see a
(slight) improvement in general responsivity.
OPTIMIZE PREFETCH Recommended for everyone
This tweak optimizes the way, the Windows prefetcher works. The prefetcher allocates short bits of applications and
DLL's and speeds up the process of application loading (especially larger applications) by doing so
INCREASE NTFS PERFORMANCE Recommended for NTFS users
This tweak removes the "Last Access Stamp" from all files. This improves general disk performance by removing
massive bandwidth overhead.
IO PAGE LOCK LIMIT Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the size of the IO paging area in memory. The larger RAM amount you have, the higher a limit
you can set. Improves general performance, especially when loading larger applications.
CLEAR PREFETCH FOLDER Recommended for everyone
This tweak cleans out the folder with all the prefetches, Windows has allocated. This is recommended to be done
every now and then (for instance, every week) to improve the general Windows performance.
In version 1.5, this tweak has been bug fixed
DEFRAG BOOT FILES Recommended for everyone
This function quickly assembles the bootfiles and stacks them together. Speeds up boot performance.
DISABLE ZIP FOLDERS Recommended for people with a 3rd party archiving tool
This function uninstalls the builtin ZIP capability of Windows. This frees up resources, but if you want to open
ZIP-files afterwards, you will need a 3rd party application, like WinZip or WinRAR.
ULTRA-FAST BOOTING Recommended for everyone
This is a multi-stage tweak. First, it moves the bootfile to the edge of the drive, after which it defrags the
system drive. Can reduce Windows boot time substantially, sometimes more than 300%
CD-BURNING Recommended if you need it
This tweak enables/disables the builtin CD burning capabilities of Windows.
If you have a 3rd party CD writing tool, you can turn it off to save resources
ENABLE UDMA-66 Recommended for most people
Enables UltraDMA-66 on Intel chipsets. Recommended for people with ATA-66/UDMA-66 or higher compatible IDE controller
chipsets
INCREASE CPU PRIORITY Recommended for benchmarking
Changes the way Windows works with CPU resources. Increases performance for the primary application, and slightly neglects background services. Useful for benchmarking
INCREASE USB POLLING INTERVAL Recommended for mobile users/benchmarking
Changes the latency of USB polling from 1ms to 5ms. Usable for some mobile users, as polling uses a fair slice of CPU performance. Hence, the CPU might not be able to enter a power-saving state. Likewise, it might be usable for benchmarkers because of a slightly reduced CPU load.
SPEED-UP WINDOWS IRQ HANDLING Recommended for everyone
This tweak optimizes the way Windows deals with the system bus IRQ, and in turn, makes the whole lot run quicker.
IP SETTINGS Recommended for everyone
This small tool lets you view, release and renew your IP adress(es)
INCREASE DNS CACHE Recommended for everyone
This tweak increases the size of the Windows DNS cache, and will make access to websites or other network locations
with DNS faster
[BOOTVIS]
1. Download bootvis:
www.soft32.com/download_19687.html
2. Install to desired drive/folder.
3. Open Bootvis
4. Go to trace and select next boot
5. select reboot
6. Once your system is rebooted a log should be automatically generated and bootvis will pop up with graphs etc.
once this has occured simply go to trace again and select optimize system.
7. You may also speed up your standby/resume/hibernate by selecting it in the trace menu too.
If you do choose to optimize youe XP using this guide please post up your results or observations so we can compare them.
With most systems i service the most common gains are as follows:
Faster boot time, increase in application responsiveness, faster windows shutdown/hibernate/resume, overall less laggy windows.
Hopefully you will notice a small/medium/substantial difference in your OS behavior.
This guide has been broken down into sections in an attempt to make it easier to read. Please read the FAQ below if
you have any uncertainties or query's.
You can run either or both of these programs for optimization, i personally use both.
[TUNEXP]
During the first run, you first have to Choose your Windows location (for instance, drive C)
After that, TuneXP Final is ready and configured, and you can tweak straight away
1. Download TuneXp:
www.download.com/TuneXP/3000-2086_4-10290928.html
2. Install to desired drive/folder.
3. Open TuneXp
4. Select your drive then Select your desired optimization
5. Remember to reboot pc. *please note 'defrag bootfiles' take a while it's finished when the dos window dissapears even tho it may not show defrag progress.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quoted Info from docu section of TuneXp:
The Memory and File System category is clearly the biggest category of them all.
In this category, you will find tweaks that alter the very way, Windows XP works with memory at.
ACCELERATE DLL UNLOADING Recommended for benchmarking
This tweak affects the swiftness of Windows to unload cached DLLs from the main memory. This tweak makes sure that
no DLL will clog up the RAM by uncaching them quicker. Might be a performance gain in benchmarks, but might slow down
general Windows usage by a small amount
CLEAR PAGEFILE ON SHUTDOWN No recommendation
This tweak makes Windows clear the pagefile on shutdown. Will make shutdown slower, but might make bootup and paging
a bit faster (marginally)
DISABLE PAGING EXECUTIVE 512MB RAM or more required
This tweak removes the pool of system files that Windows will force to be paged. Instead, they will be loaded into the
RAM. This tweak will use a bit of memory, but will make Windows quicker and more responsive.
FASTER SHUTDOWN Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the speed of Windows application/service shutdown times from 20 seconds to 1, and will make
Windows shutdown around 5 times quicker.
FILE ALLOCATION SIZE TWEAK Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the size of the memory file allocation size. The effect is not drastic, but most people see a
(slight) improvement in general responsivity.
OPTIMIZE PREFETCH Recommended for everyone
This tweak optimizes the way, the Windows prefetcher works. The prefetcher allocates short bits of applications and
DLL's and speeds up the process of application loading (especially larger applications) by doing so
INCREASE NTFS PERFORMANCE Recommended for NTFS users
This tweak removes the "Last Access Stamp" from all files. This improves general disk performance by removing
massive bandwidth overhead.
IO PAGE LOCK LIMIT Recommended for everyone
This tweak alters the size of the IO paging area in memory. The larger RAM amount you have, the higher a limit
you can set. Improves general performance, especially when loading larger applications.
CLEAR PREFETCH FOLDER Recommended for everyone
This tweak cleans out the folder with all the prefetches, Windows has allocated. This is recommended to be done
every now and then (for instance, every week) to improve the general Windows performance.
In version 1.5, this tweak has been bug fixed
DEFRAG BOOT FILES Recommended for everyone
This function quickly assembles the bootfiles and stacks them together. Speeds up boot performance.
DISABLE ZIP FOLDERS Recommended for people with a 3rd party archiving tool
This function uninstalls the builtin ZIP capability of Windows. This frees up resources, but if you want to open
ZIP-files afterwards, you will need a 3rd party application, like WinZip or WinRAR.
ULTRA-FAST BOOTING Recommended for everyone
This is a multi-stage tweak. First, it moves the bootfile to the edge of the drive, after which it defrags the
system drive. Can reduce Windows boot time substantially, sometimes more than 300%
CD-BURNING Recommended if you need it
This tweak enables/disables the builtin CD burning capabilities of Windows.
If you have a 3rd party CD writing tool, you can turn it off to save resources
ENABLE UDMA-66 Recommended for most people
Enables UltraDMA-66 on Intel chipsets. Recommended for people with ATA-66/UDMA-66 or higher compatible IDE controller
chipsets
INCREASE CPU PRIORITY Recommended for benchmarking
Changes the way Windows works with CPU resources. Increases performance for the primary application, and slightly neglects background services. Useful for benchmarking
INCREASE USB POLLING INTERVAL Recommended for mobile users/benchmarking
Changes the latency of USB polling from 1ms to 5ms. Usable for some mobile users, as polling uses a fair slice of CPU performance. Hence, the CPU might not be able to enter a power-saving state. Likewise, it might be usable for benchmarkers because of a slightly reduced CPU load.
SPEED-UP WINDOWS IRQ HANDLING Recommended for everyone
This tweak optimizes the way Windows deals with the system bus IRQ, and in turn, makes the whole lot run quicker.
IP SETTINGS Recommended for everyone
This small tool lets you view, release and renew your IP adress(es)
INCREASE DNS CACHE Recommended for everyone
This tweak increases the size of the Windows DNS cache, and will make access to websites or other network locations
with DNS faster
[BOOTVIS]
1. Download bootvis:
www.soft32.com/download_19687.html
2. Install to desired drive/folder.
3. Open Bootvis
4. Go to trace and select next boot
5. select reboot
6. Once your system is rebooted a log should be automatically generated and bootvis will pop up with graphs etc.
once this has occured simply go to trace again and select optimize system.
7. You may also speed up your standby/resume/hibernate by selecting it in the trace menu too.
If you do choose to optimize youe XP using this guide please post up your results or observations so we can compare them.
With most systems i service the most common gains are as follows:
Faster boot time, increase in application responsiveness, faster windows shutdown/hibernate/resume, overall less laggy windows.
Hopefully you will notice a small/medium/substantial difference in your OS behavior.
