how do I tweak xp to run better?

[bball_1523]

I am wondering if there are any free guides on the internet that you recommend, to tweak XP and make it run faster, while reducing cpu use. I still want to be able to surf the net, record/play guitar, chat on AIM/yahoo, play games, etc.

I notice my cpu takes up around 200 MB on avg, that would crush my old computer's 128 mb ram. And flash ads seem to take up 40% of my cpu for some reason lol.

do you guys know any good and SAFE registry tweaks, etc?

[doctorgonzo]

There use to be a good website on Windows XP services (www.blackviper.com) but apparently somebody stole the domain out from under the owner. However, you can still find archived copies of the website at www.archive.org, or there is a mirror at http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

[bball_1523]

Originally Posted by doctorgonzo There use to be a good website on Windows XP services (www.blackviper.com) but apparently somebody stole the domain out from under the owner. However, you can still find archived copies of the website at www.archive.org, or there is a mirror at http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

thanks, does this stuff really work? I don't want to disable things that will ruin my system.

[doctorgonzo]

If you follow the directions and just disable things that you don't need, you aren't going to screw anything up. Just remember to disable one service at a time and then reboot to see if everything is still working. Don't disable 10 services at once and then reboot to find that something is broken; you won't know what did it.

I regularly disable services I don't need. It does cut down on the amount of memory you are using, which will reduce swap file usage. M$ enables a lot of unnecessary services by default to make it more "user-friendly" to those people who don't expect to have to mess with services to get their peripherals or network working.

[maynoth]

xp-smoker.com is the best xp tweaker I am aware of.. I actually bought a copy and it is worth it.. it tweaks everything... even optimises your internet connection.. . awesome program go get it.

[bigandy]

BlackViper is the best, without a doubt. You might also take a look at Force Flow's Optimization Guide. TweakXP isn't bad, but there are a ton of duplicate tips, and some offer "better" ways of completing a given task, so you may need to look through a couple which deal with the same topic.