Getting the most out of XP

Discussion in 'General Software' started by Ischemia24, Nov 7, 2008.

  1. Ischemia24

    Ischemia24 Newbie

    Not sure where the best place for this thread is...

    I've come across several registry tweaks I'm especially fond of, as well as some other practices that either enhance performance or provide useful functionality but aren't associated with the registry.

    So, I've decided to start a thread where we can all share our knowledge of Windows XP tweaking to stop Windows annoyances, improve performance, automate maintenance, etc, along with specific instructions for each tweak/hack (or at least a link to instructions). Sure, there're hundreds of websites dedicated to the subject, but if we post only what we've found to be the most helpful, I think what we'll end up with is a resource more valuable to us than any of those websites.

    I'll include some basics that some of us are probably familiar with anyway, including keyboard shortcuts.

    ***Automatically logon in XP with username and password***
    I see an article was already posted on 8-12-07 with instructions for this.
    Credit where credit is due... I didn't see an author listed in the article.

    1. Click Start, then Run
    2. In the Run dialog box type in "rundll32 netplwiz.dll,UsersRunDll" (no quotes), and click OK
    3. In the resulting User Accounts window, uncheck "Users must enter a name and password to use this computer", and click Apply
    4. In the resulting Automatically Log On dialog box, enter the necessary login information. If you're not using a password, leave the Password and Confirm Password fields empty.
    5. Click OK, then OK again.

    -Alternative method (credit to Zenphic) run "control userpasswords2" (no quotes)
    -Alternative method (credit to ChampionLLY) Use RegEdit
    -Alternative method (credit to Zenphic, Chai, peaz, and others) Use the TweakUI program under Logon -> Autologon


    ***Set CCleaner to clean your hard drive automatically***
    I'll post the longer version of this which preserves cookie files for websites you log in to frequently

    1. Prerequisite - Your user account must require a username and password. Make a list of every website you visit that requires you to log in.
    2. Close all web browsers, then run CCleaner. Open your favorite browser and login to each site on your list. Don't visit any other sites.
    3. Open CCleaner and click Options, then Cookies.
    4. Select every cookie in the list (except your homepage if it doesn't require you to login) and click the "->" button to add it to the list of Cookies to Keep.
    5. Assuming you already have CCleaner installed to it's default location, open Task Scheduler in Control Panel, and "Add Scheduled Task". When you click Next the first time, XP will create a list of programs you currently have installed.
    6. If CCleaner is not in that list, browse to C:\Program Files\CCleaner\ and open the executable file (with the familiar logo). I run it every 24 hours, but it's just a matter of personal preference. Just make sure that it's set to run at a regular interval indefinitely. You'll need to provide your XP account name and password. Check the box to open the advanced properties of the scheduled task.
    7. Add " /AUTO" to the filepath and filename, without the quotes. If CCleaner is installed in the default location, it should look like this:

    C:\PROGRA~1\CCleaner\ccleaner.exe /AUTO

    You may have to confirm your XP account password, but then you're done.

    ***'No to All' option*** (Maximum PC March '08)
    When moving or copying files and folders and XP asks you if you want to overwrite something, you get a "Yes to All" option, but not "No to All". If you hold the Shift key down when clicking No the first time, it should behave as a No to All option.

    ***Automatically kill processes on Shutdown & reduce wait time*** (Maximum PC March '08)
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
    3. Double-click AutoEndTasks and change the value from 0 to 1
    4. Double-click WaitToKillApp and change the value from 5000 to 1000
    5. Double-click HungAppTimeout and change the value from 20000 to 3000

    ***Disable the Search Assistant*** (credit to Jason of PCTipsBox)
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/CabinetState
    3. Click Edit -> New -> String Value
    4. Name the new string "Use Search Asst" (no quotes)
    5. Double-click on it and put "no" under Value data (no quotes)

    ***Kill Start Menu lag*** (Maximum PC March '08)
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
    3. Double-click MenuShowDelay in the right-hand pane, and change the value from 400 to 5

    ***Cut straight to the Open With window*** (credit to Jason of PcTipsBox)
    When you open a file with no program association, this will eliminate the window that comes up and says "Windows cannot open this file", "What do you want to do?" "Use the Web service to find the appropriate program" or "Select the program from a list".
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/policies/system
    3. Click Edit -> New -> DWORD Value
    4. Name it NoInternetOpenWith
    5. Set the value to 1

    ***Keep Windows XP core in RAM*** (credit to cyberia.in of thinkdigit.com)
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
    3. Right-click on "DisablePagingExecutive" to modify it
    4. Change the value from 0 to 1

    ***Disable Disk Cleanup Wizard Compression Calculation*** (credit to Saman Sadeghi of smanathon.com)
    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Compress Old Files
    3. Double-click the "(Default)" key
    4. Clear the text in the "Value data" text field

    Here's the complete list of XP keyboard shortcuts from Microsoft.

    Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager was one I was unaware of, as well as Windows Key+BREAK to display System Properties, and plenty of others.

    ***How to Move the Paging File*** (credit to Microsoft)
    I've heard that moving the paging file to the primary partition (or at least it's own partition) on another hard drive can improve performance. Some may disagree with me, but I'd recommend disabling the paging file completely if you have 3+ GB of RAM.
    1. Log on to the computer as Administrator.
    2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    3. Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
    4. Click the Advanced tab, and then under Performance, click Settings.
    5. Click the Advanced tab, and then under Virtual memory, click Change.
    6. In the Drive [Volume Label] list, click a drive other than the one on which Windows is installed (Windows is usually installed on the drive C). Under Total paging file size for all drives, note the value that is displayed next to Recommended.
    7. Click Custom size, and then type the recommended value in the Initial size (MB) box.
    8. Type the maximum size that you want to allow for paging in the Maximum size (MB) box, and then click Set.
    9. In the Drive [Volume Label] box, click the drive on which Windows is installed (usually the drive C), and then use one of the following steps:
    • If you do not want a paging file on the drive, click No paging file, and then click Set. A message similar to the following message appears:
    If the pagefile on volume C: has an initial size of less than 126 megabytes, then the system may not be able to create a debugging information file if a STOP error occurs.
    Continue anyway?
    Click Yes.
    • If you want to keep the minimum size of the paging file on the drive, click Custom size, and then type a value that is equal to or greater than the amount of RAM in the computer in the Initial size (MB) box. Type that same value in the Maximum size (MB) box, and then click Set.
    10. The following message appears:
    The changes you have made require you to restart your computer before they can take effect.
    Click OK, click OK, click OK, and then click Yes when you are prompted to restart the computer.

    I plan on creating a .reg file with additional "hacks" that are much more mundane, but things that almost all of us change anyway after a fresh XP install (such as showing hidden files and folders in Explorer). I'll add comments to each entry, get it hosted somewhere and link it in this thread. (credit to Jason of PCTipsBox for info on how to do that).

    Thanks to g0tanks, lee_what2004, and Zenphic for getting me started on this with their replies to my question.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2008
  2. Zenphic

    Zenphic Newbie

    Seems like you've written out most of the important tweaks for XP. It's been so long since I have played with my OS, that I don't remember which one are missing from the list QQ
     
  3. g0tanks

    g0tanks Newbie

  4. RSergio

    RSergio Newbie

    Also alternative autologon method is LogonExpert software
     

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