TIPS THAT WILL OPTIMIZE YOUR
WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM
Original by Bill Wilkinson, Sun City Summerlin
Updated by Doug Willoughby
Presentation Part 1 March 9, 2006
1. Do You Have The Latest Updates for Windows XP?
In August 2004 Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.
SP 2 contains patches to plug security holes in Windows XP.
SP 1 Focused primarily on correcting other program problems, adding new functions
and other features as well as some security patches.
SP2 should be first thing savvy users will install when they set up a new Windows
XP machine. Then they download all the more recent patches and install them (I
have over 50 on my computer identified as SP 3.)
How do you know if you have SP2 installed on your computer?
Click on Start, right-click on My Computer, then click on Properties. The
General page on the System Properties dialogue box will tell you.
If you don’t have SP2, then get a disk from the Computer Club or ask a mentor to
help you install it. (You can download it from Microsoft, but unless you have a high-
2. Do You Have a Firewall? (XP)
The Microsoft Windows Firewall is built into SP2 is the Service Pack’s most
important security feature. It only protects incoming attacks by hackers.
ZoneAlarm protects from incoming attacks and alerts you about outgoing
transmissions from stealth programs. Windows Firewall offers good baseline
security and hides your PC from attackers on the Internet.
Best of all, it's activated by default.
To see if your Windows Firewall is activated, click on Start, click on
Control Panel, then scroll down and click on Security Center. If you have
no Firewall turned on, turn on the Windows Firewall here.
3. Are You Using Windows AntiSpyware? (XP)
Also in 2005, Microsoft released Windows AntiSpyware, a free utility that sniffs
out spyware threats ranging from aggressive cookies to key logging software. It
compares favorably to popular third-party solutions such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware
and Spybot Search & Destroy.
Download it from http://tinyurl.com/47cus
4. Are You Using Microsoft’s Free Malicious Software
Removal Tool? (XP)
There's also the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool,
You can either run from the Microsoft Web site or download to your PC.
It scans your system for worms such as Zotob, Bobax, Mydoom, and others.
Microsoft updates the tool on the second Tuesday of every month, that day
commonly known as Patch Tuesday because it's the day Microsoft sends out
updates to fix flaws in its software.
You can acquire the tool free from http:/tinyurl.com/6lcvj
5. Have You Visited Windows XP Security Center?
Windows XP SP2 pulled several security capabilities under a single
umbrella, a utility called the Security Center.
The Security Center offers big, color-coded status readouts on firewall, antivirus,
and Windows Update protection. It even recognizes the status of third-party
packages, like ZoneAlarm and the free AVG Anti-Virus program.
To launch the Security Center, click on Start, click on Control Panel, then scroll
down and click on Security Center.
Where can you find out more information for keeping the bad guys out. The
company even offers a free, 24-hour support line for security-related questions (866-
727-2338).trying to help.
Its Security Home Page http://tinyurl.com/5f2xo
6. Have You Disabled File Indexing? (XP)
If you don't use the XP search feature often to look for documents, you can
turn this feature off. You'll notice is a slight increase in the time it takes for
your computer to find a file, but an overall increase in general speed for
everything else.
To disable File Indexing, click on Start, then click on My Computer, rightclick on
the C Drive, select Properties, uncheck “Allow Indexing Service to index this disk
for fast file searching.” Apply changes to “C: sub folders and files,” and click
OK, then OK again. (This process may take several minutes.).
7. Have you Cleaned Up Your Prefetch, Temp, and
Cache (Storage) Files? (XP)
Windows stores a lot of temporary files that can be safely cleaned out once a
month or so. This is also good to do before running system-wide virus or
spyware scans, as it clears many things out of your system that would need
to be scanned.
Prefetch Cleanup. One of Microsoft's big selling points for Windows XP
is that it loads applications much faster than its predecessors. To accomplish
this feat, Windows XP uses what is called the "Prefetch technique," in which
the operating system gathers information about each program that you
launch and stores that information in the \Windows\Prefetch folder. Then on
subsequent restarts, Windows XP uses the information in the Prefetch folder
to essentially preload parts of those programs at boot time. Thus, when you
launch your application, it appears to load really fast. However, the Prefetch
folder can accumulate too much information over time. This makes the
operating system so busy loading bits and pieces of lots of applications into
memory that it ends up slowing down the boot process. Fortunately, you can
clean out the Prefetch folder at any time. Follow these easy steps:
1. Click on the Start Menu (lower left corner of your Desktop).
2. Access the Run dialog box.
3. Type Prefetch in the Open text box and click OK.
4. Click on any of the items in the right column to set your insertion bar.
5. Press [Ctrl]+A to select all the files.
6. Press [Delete].
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7. Close the folder.
As you use your system, Windows XP will rebuild the contents of the
Prefetch folder.
Temporary Files and Cache Cleanup: To conserve memory and
leave more memory free for processing, many applications create temporary,
or Temp, files. These typically have a .TMP extension (for example,
tempfile.tmp) or start with a tilde [~], (for example ~Tempfile.wrd).
Applications write Temp files as they perform tasks or as emergency
backups when a program crashes. Although an application will usually delete Temp
files when the program shuts down, this doesn't always happen. A Temp file can
remain open if the program has bugs or crashes before you can save the file. Temp
files are safe to delete, especially if the application that created them has closed. If
not, Windows won't let you delete the file.
Option 1
Microsoft has provided a utility program called Disk Cleanup
Wizard to easily perform this cleanup task, plus others. Disk
Cleanup helps free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup
searches your drive, and then shows you temporary files, Internet
cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete.
You can direct Disk Cleanup to delete some or all of those files.
To access the Disk Cleanup Wizard
1. Click START.
2. Move to All Programs.
3. Move to Accessories.
4. Move to System Tools.
5. Click on Disk Cleanup.
6. Follow the Wizard’s instructions.
The Disk Cleanup utility does include one confusing option that can
leave an inordinate amount of wasted space on your hard disk if you
don’t understand how it works. When you run Disk Cleanup, one of
the available options offers to delete Temporary Files. Unfortunately,
this option may display a value of 0, even if your Temp folder
contains tens or even hundreds of megabytes of useless files. The
reason for this is that the value lists only files in your Temp folder
that are more than one week old.
Option 2
If you want to completely clean out this folder you’ll need to do so
manually. Close all running programs and type %temp% in the Run
dialog box (from START). From the resulting Windows Explorer
window, delete everything you find. You may discover that some files
are not available for deletion until you reboot.
Option 3
Here is another approach to deleting Temp files manually:
1. Open Windows Explorer (Windows key + E).
2. Expand Drive C (click on the + sign to the left of the
drive icon.
3. Expand Windows (click on the + sign to the left of the
Windows folder.
4. Click on the Temp folder.
5. The temporary files will appear in the right column
where you can delete them. (If the file cannot be deleted,
it means that the file is in use.)
Option 4
Here is one more effective and efficient method:
1. Click Start and select Search.
2. Choose All Files And Folders.
3. In the All or part of the file name field, type *.tmp.
4. Click Search.
5. The Temp files found will appear in the right panel.
Select the files you want to delete, right-click, and click Delete.
8. Do You Need to Install Some RAM?
If you are running 128MB or 256MB of RAM, you may want to consider
installing an additional memory stick. It's pretty cheap and easy to upgrade
to 512mb. This is the only suggestion here that will cost money, but it's also
the one that will best improve performance.
How much RAM do you presently have? Click on Start, right-click on My
Computer, and click on Properties. The General tab on Systems
Properties will show you how much RAM you have installed.
Inside your computer are two or more slots (usually black) that contain
memory chips. Many computers ship with only one filled. To add RAM to
the computer you need to find out what kind of RAM (Random Access
Memory) sticks your computer takes. The manual that came with your
computer's motherboard should have details on what kind of RAM you will
need, how much RAM each slot can take and how many slots your computer
has. When you receive the upgrade chips they simply snap into the slots on
the motherboard. If you need help with the installation, use the club webpage to find
a hardware mentor who will be happy to help. You must supply the appropriate
RAM stick, however, before they can proceed.
They will be able to help you find compatible memory for your computer.
9. Do You Know All About What is on Your Computer?
Your computer is made up of hardware components, Operating System and
Applications. To find out what all these items are is very difficult and time
consuming. Fortunately there is a program that collects all this information and
presents it in a nice report. It is called Belarc Advisor and the best part is that it is
free. Download it from http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
Run it and print the report for future reference. Look for the memory we just talked
about and the programs we are about to talk about.
10. Do You Have Programs On Your Computer You No Longer Use?
Having old games or other software you no longer use can take up a lot of
space on your hard drive, which can lead to an overall decrease in your PC's
performance. Removing old programs is easy.
First, look in All Programs for a folder that represents the program in question. If
the folder has an uninstall file, this is the one you should use. However, if no
uninstall feature exists there, click on Start, then click on Control Panel, then click
on "Add or Remove Programs.
You can safely remove programs like games, demos, and other
software you no longer use. If you are not sure what a program is, don't
delete it just yet. You can do a Google search to find out more about any
mystery programs installed on your PC to decide to delete them or not.
Mp3 music files and videos you download can take up a lot of space. Go
through your media files once a month or so and delete the ones you no
longer use.
11. Should You Turn Off Windows Animations and
Visual Effects?
Fancy sliding, fading and animated effects that windows uses by default are
easily turned off, and will make the reaction time of simple tasks like
opening and moving windows, taskbars, etc. much faster.
Click on Run, click on the Control Panel, click on System. Then click on
the Advanced tab. Click the "Settings" button underneath "Performance".
Uncheck the options related to animations, and other unneeded visual
effects.
You may wish to retain checks for three items: "smooth edges of screen
fonts", "use common tasks in folders", and "use visual styles on windows
and buttons". You can uncheck all of them if you like. But, just getting rid of
all the animated features will help the responsiveness of your PC.