Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP
performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the
performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most
of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot
time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not
buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter
works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or
Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has
less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively
inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system
performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS
file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First,
double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then
select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says
FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run,
type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS
and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important
that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used
by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend
NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger
disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service
extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive
and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this
process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the
user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document,
should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the
file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search
functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the
Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at
the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most
people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in
a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located
on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of
your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have
no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's
how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the
C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to
index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C:
subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message
appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.
5.)
Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and
configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS
properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows
Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch"
portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes
processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's
fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with
references to files and applications no longer in use. When that
happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by
pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire
contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk
cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then
right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk
Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph --
and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager,
double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that
DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and
Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE
Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode
is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then
repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade
the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling
requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more
stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE
devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching
Master/Slave/ Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end
of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a
ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives,
these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its
maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable
select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For
these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly
clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free
programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy.
Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download
any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds
can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run
will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if
your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware,
simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit
this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs
and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility.
Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK.
Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start
when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks
Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as
well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them
by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search
engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.)
Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active
desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations.
Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to
do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click
on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under
Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as
nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer --
only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced
user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the
performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit
Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates
labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.
16.)
Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily,
basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package
installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster
for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has
fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts
they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles
fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows,
too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the
system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS
file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is
no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to
reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using
partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of
putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D
drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate
partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance.
Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition;
instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This
means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be
time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the
system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a
free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or
diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's
memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all
tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed.
If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer,
remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the
test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.)
If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer' s Web
site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the
recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable
unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your
customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can
disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP
configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer
window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then
follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options.
Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a
separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your
machine for this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a
year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris.
While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly.
Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more
information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous
articles on my site.
Following any of these suggestions
should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and
reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a
disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more
retrievable in the event of a crashed drive
performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the
performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most
of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot
time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not
buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter
works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or
Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has
less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively
inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system
performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS
file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First,
double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then
select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says
FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run,
type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS
and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important
that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used
by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend
NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger
disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service
extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive
and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this
process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the
user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document,
should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the
file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search
functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the
Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at
the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most
people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in
a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located
on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of
your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have
no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's
how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the
C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to
index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C:
subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message
appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.
5.)
Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and
configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS
properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows
Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch"
portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes
processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's
fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with
references to files and applications no longer in use. When that
happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by
pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire
contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk
cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then
right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk
Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph --
and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager,
double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that
DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and
Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE
Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode
is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then
repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade
the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling
requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more
stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE
devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching
Master/Slave/ Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end
of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a
ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives,
these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its
maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable
select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For
these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly
clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free
programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy.
Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download
any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds
can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run
will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if
your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware,
simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit
this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs
and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility.
Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK.
Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start
when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks
Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as
well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them
by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search
engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.)
Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active
desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations.
Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to
do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click
on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under
Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as
nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer --
only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced
user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the
performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit
Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates
labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.
16.)
Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily,
basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package
installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster
for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has
fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts
they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles
fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows,
too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the
system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS
file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is
no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to
reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using
partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of
putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D
drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate
partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance.
Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition;
instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This
means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be
time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the
system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a
free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or
diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's
memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all
tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed.
If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer,
remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the
test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.)
If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer' s Web
site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the
recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable
unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your
customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can
disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP
configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer
window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then
follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options.
Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a
separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your
machine for this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a
year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris.
While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly.
Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more
information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous
articles on my site.
Following any of these suggestions
should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and
reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a
disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more
retrievable in the event of a crashed drive
