How do you guys optimize your windows xp ?
 

Hello!

Well. It´s an off-topic so I think this is the right place (if not, just move it please).

That is it: how do you optimize your windows xp in order to achieve better performance in encoding/dvd building ? I mean:

- windows xp services (the really useful ones!)
- pagefile size ( static size also ?)
- registry tweaks ?!
- special tools

Screenshots shoud be great. Speacially on windows xp services!

Re: How do you guys optimize your windows xp ?
 

Difficult to tell, but easy to find the one that are useless : when you don't know the purpose of a service, you stop it and set it as "manual". He won't be restarted unless something needs it.

Static, always ! Size = the size recommended by windows for MIN and MAX.
Put on an other physical disc than the system (this way windows can swap useless dll from memory to disc while it it loading the new dll it needs into memory).

None except to tweak network configuration (I used tcpoptimizer, not sure of the name).

Tools that clean the registry to remove useless entry : CCleaner, RegCorrector and finally NTREGOPT to shrink the file when the clean if finished.

2 more advises:

1 - Reduce the bandwidth reserved by windows.
2 - Do the trick for allow more than 10 tcp-ip connections.

Search the net for number 1.
http://www.lvllord.de/ for number 2.

Re: How do you guys optimize your windows xp ?
 

:?: Do you have a clean source for RegCorrector. Search ends up at www.alonewolfsoft.narod.ru. Download has virus.

It is the only source and there is no virus in the rar.
(btw, it contains only the exe of the tool !)

Did somehow get win.rar which AVS detected as having virus. Biggest problem is that I can't read Russian, so am guessing about what I'm clicking on.

I don't know what is AVS but Norton, Avg free and Avast do not complain. Be carefull that is a 3.0 rar, so you need at least this version of winrar.
The link to click is http://www.alonewolfsoft.narod.ru./SOFT/regcorr.rar

:D Thanks, Phil

:oops: Sorry, I mistyped AVG.

:?: Hate to bug you, but need name of free (not free trial period only) rar extractor if you know of one. I use rar files so seldom that I don't have current program.

Try 7-zip and see if it can handle the last rar version. Else on the same russian site http://www.alonewolfsoft.narod.ru./SOFT/rar30.exe that is, I think, a free command line version of rar.

@All: thanks for the tips!

I think you mean: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
?

http://www.oo-software.com/en/produc...che/index.html
http://www.oo-software.com/en/produc...efrag/pro.html
http://www.dachshundsoftware.com/hare/index.html

What about these ones above ?

Ah yes! I forgot this one! The famous SP2 tcp/ip limit! That one is annoying!



About the windows xp services:

my actual config (I always do a mistake somewhere!):
http://www.digitalfaq.com/archives/i.../2005/10/8.png


http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

Anyway I would like to know the true about "system restore service". I have alrealdy experienced disabling services in past. But something tells me "system restore" is important. Maybe i am wrong but when you disable it, you will find problems with the time!

Anyone to confirm this ?

Yes, this is the one I use.

oocache is a bullcrap.
oodefrag is nothing but a good disc defrag tool. I do not put them in the "optimizing" tool but they can be. You always need a defrag, use this one or other one (I use diskkeeper)

I never had it enabled on my PC and never have to regret that.
I prefer to ghost my system each month and restore it with that in case of problem.

Could you explain this a little bit. Thanks.

Norton Ghost.
It's a tool that saves a partition in a compressed file that you put on an other disc (or even a DVD). You can restore afterwards all the partition or only some files.

Currently my system partition contains 4.3GB of data and this is compressed into a 2GB file by norton ghost.

I know the program.
I would want to know how do you do the image.
I did it when just installed the system and got almos 6 Gb (i included all my installed programs).
I suppose if i do in now, at least will be 15 Gb.
What should i to ghost and what not?

6GB compressed ?
I think you have XP Home. A default install of HP Home takes the double than XP Pro (the one that I have). As I said with all my programms my c:\ partition occupies 4.37 GB. I don't know what you have on your disc but for sure you can remove a lot of useless things !

Note: I used tweakUI (included in M$ Powertoys) to put the folder "My documents" on my second disc. This way I do not ghots the files like pictures / video that I download on the web.

You ghost a complete partion so you can't select. That is what you must have a system partition (C: ) and a data one (D: ) (plus others if you wish). With XP Pro the system partition can be 8 GB, that's enought. This is this 8GB partition that I ghost once a month.

Note:new ghost version 9.0 can do incremental ghost but I never used that. Incremental means that the first time you ghost everything, and after you ghost only the files that have been modified since the previous ghost.

@Dialhot: Thanks.

You can also manual or disable the NVidia driver helper thingy - it's just for the right click on media files and the desktop right click extension. If you use those, you're wasting a lot of cpu cycles.//

Hello:

I am trying to learn a bit more about stealth surfing, is anyone using a good -free?- program to anonymously surf the web?

Thanks

Totonho

Hi Otto,

You can use a free proxy, such as "proxify" http://www.proxify.com
Or "WebWarper" http://www.webwarper.net
Or you can use one of the free ones available here: http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html

-kwag

Thank you Karl.
I will try one of them soemtime today or tomorrow.
Regards

Otto

Good Xp services Guide: http://www.beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm

PerfectDisk for defragging tbh, it's the only one now that still offers free space consolidation. No big deal? well actually... diskeeper, oodefrag etc do not consolidate free space (which is why they're so quick) so you can end up with some free space at the front of your drive, the data, and then more free space then some more data then more free space etc after a defrag. Now suppose all the free space added upto 10gb and you save a video file, say 8gb, that will be fragmented from the outset since the will be no free contiguous block large enough for it even though you have only just defragged the drive. PerfectDisk may take a little longer to do the job (a few minutes more not much) but the end result is a lot cleaner.

Defragging can help a lot on partitions/drives where you continuously save and delete lots of small - medium sized files, even though ntfs was meant to be the best thing sinced sliced bread for smart file placement, it ain't :p

Can you scheduele oodefrag and perfectdisk?

You can with diskeeper, thats why I use that, so it will run at any schedueled time, ie. every week or when ever you wish...

-Anerboda

Yes you can schedule perfectdisk, lets you set a boot time defrag too if you want so new files written since the last defrag are quickly sorted out. Heres a link to the manual in adobe pdf format, pages 73 - 107 is where the schedule stuff is covered.

Perfectdisk 7.0 User Guide