The version of Internet Explorer that comes with Windows XP, by default, limits you to two simultaneous downloads from the internet. For people with broadband, this is ridiculous. But, you can change this yourself with a little registry magic:
1. Open regedit, or a registry editor of your choice.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows -> CurrentVersion -> Internet Settings.
3. Select New -> DWORD Value from the Edit menu.
4. Name the new value “MaxConnectionsPer1_OServer”.
5. Right-click this new value and choose Modify.
6. Under Base, click the radio button next to Decimal.
7. In the value data box, enter the number of simultaneous connections you want to set and click OK. Choose something like 10.
8. Exit the registry editor and log off or reboot to make the new settings take effect.
David Risley is the founder of PCMech.com. He is the brains, the thinker, the writer, the nerd.
