If until now, you’ve never even heard of Windows XP’s built in search tool, or simply don’t use the tool all that often - you may find it within your interest to turn the indexing feature off. This will slow down the search (Which like you said - you don’t use and/or have never heard of) but significantly speed up your computer speed. This works because the indexing is designed to reserve CPU speed and memory for simple XP searches, meaning the search tool is fast and easy. However, this memory has to come from somewhere, right?

Turn off Indexing by following these simple steps:

1. Open “My Computer” from the Start menu.
2. Right-click on your hard drive and click “Properties.”
3. Uncheck the box at the bottom of the window labelled “Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching”
4. Click “OK.” The process may take several minutes, but will allow your computer to run at a nice, higher speed than before.

”Best Performance” option in the Visual Effects settings.

For XP: Right-click My Computer>properties>advanced>”Settings” button under ”Performance”>Visual Effects Tab. For Vista: Windows key>type ”performance information”>Enter>Adjust Visual Effects (Left Pane.) In both Operating Systems, you can simply select ”Best Performance” and click OK twice.

Do not save Encrypted pages with Internet Explorer.

Open Internet Explorer>Tools>Internet Options>Advanced. Scroll down to the security section of the settings and check ”Do not save encrypted pages to disk,” And click OK.

Clear up unused network drives.

Open My Computer>Tools>Disconnect network drives>Choose the drive you no longer use>Click OK.

Turn off unneeded applications in the system tray.

You’d be surprised how many of the icons in your system tray you don’t use, most of them just find a way to slip in there and you’ll never need them - so let’s get rid of them! Right click the icon, go to its settings and uncheck the option which allows it to run with the Windows Start-up.

Lose the Themes.

Earlier on i mentioned the ”Best Performance” option for helping your computer run faster. If you followed that stage then this stage will be another great assistance towards getting a faster computer. In XP, Click Start>Control Panel> Administrative Tools>Services>Themes>Stop.

If you have Vista and aren’t too bothered about it looking like the older-style Windows look then this step may be a great help for you. Press the Windows Key, type ”Personalization” and press Enter. Click Theme, choose the classic Windows style in the drop-down menu and click OK. Close the Personalization Applet and enjoy your faster computer.

Uninstall Windows Components You Don’t Use.

In XP - Click Start>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs>Add/Remove Windows Components (Left Pane) and uncheck all the components you don’t need. Click Next and then finish when the components are removed and close the applet.

In Vista - Press the Windows Key>Type ”Programs and Features”>Press Enter>Click ”Turn Windows Features On or Off” (Left Pane)>Uncheck the options you don’t need>Click OK.

Disable Indexing Service.

A lot of people are happy with Windows’ built-in search feature, but a lot prefer to download a desktop-search utility. If you prefer the third-party search service then this stage may be for you. Open Control Panel’s Add or Remove Programs applet. In XP - Click Add/Remove Windows Components. In Vista - Choose ”Turn Windows On or Off” In the left pane. For both Operating Systems, uncheck ”Indexing Service” and click OK.

Speed up the boot time of Windows XP

Some computers have a lot of problems, whether it is software, hardware or simple changes they need to make in their system BIOS. Here are a few tips on how to speed up the boot of your Windows operating system.

Please be aware that these tips are only suggestions, and if you do not feel comfortable with carrying out the actions yourself, do not hesitate to ask for help from someone more experienced in using computers. There are certain mistakes which can be made which can result in the computer becoming worse than before - which then may end up in you requiring to spend money on a technician.

System BIOS changes:

 You would be surprised how much changes in your system BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) can effect the amount of time it takes for your computer to load.

• 1.) Make sure your computer is switched off properly - you cannot do this if your computer is on stand-by.
• 2.) Keep your eyes peeled for any message which suggests how to access the BIOS screen, this can range from pressing the DEL key, F1, F10, CTRL-ALT-S, or many other keys or combinations of keys.
• 3.) Once the you have accessed the BIOS setup screen, look for the BOOT menu - use your keyboard arrows to change which menu you highlight and enter to select the one you want.
• 4.) Depending on how modern your computer is, you should find an option for QUICK BOOT. Enable this to skip memory tests and other minor Power On Self tests (POST)
• 5.) Now, you should try and find an option for BOOT DEVICE PRIORITY, change the first device to be the Hard Drive. (Please note that this action will stop your computer running from any floppy drive, or CD-ROM. If you DO boot your computer using any of these, please skip the step.) If at some point you need to boot your computer from a CD-ROM, simply re-enter the BIOS set up and make the first first boot device CD-ROM.
• 6.) Choose the option to Exit and Save Changes and the computer will reboot.

Changes to Windows Settings:

This set of changes will change certain settings on your Windows Operating System.

• 1.) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter
• 2.) Click on the STARTUP tab in the System Configuration Utility (located at the top right of the menu) - This will bring up a list of programmes which, if ticked, are set to load up on Windows Start-up. All of these programmes are using up valuable RAM on your computer when it loads up. It is your job to look for the ones you do not need straight away. These can include instant messenger services, Internet explorer, windows media player and many more. These will ALL slow down your computer. Of course, most of the time, there will be some programmes you want straight away, such as anti-virus software, so my advice is to disable all of the list, then tick anything which you know you need.

As simple as this technique is, it works wonders. It is so simple to do and has a great affect on the system boot. When you click apply, these settings will not automatically start, you will be asked to reboot your computer and only then will they take effect.

• 3.) Once your computer has rebooted, you will need to access the System Configuration screen again (Start - Run - ‘MSCONFIG’ - Enter) This time, click the ‘Services’ tab which is positioned next to the ‘Start-up’ one.
• 4.) At the bottom should be a button which says ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ - this will then show you all the unnecessary Windows Services which are running and can be removed. To make it simple, i will say anything suggesting the use of your graphics or sound card, or antivirus or firewall programs should be left alone, but anything you feel isn’t required, you can remove. Please make sure you are certain the services you are removing are unnecessary, otherwise you may result in having boot problems.

Reduce the Number of Fonts installed:

As stupid as this sounds, you wouldn’t believe that having a lot of fonts installed on your computer would have any effect, but it does. Every font windows has installed has to load up on the start-up. A good number to have is around 1000, because that doesn’t take up too much room, but if you are still experiencing problems, a big drop to around 400 should do the trick. Of course, some fonts are highly essential to your computer, such as Verdana, Arial, Trebuchet, Tahoma, Times New Roman, MS Sans Serif and Courier New. These should all be kept on your computer at all times.

To delete a wide variety of fonts from your computer, please follow these simple steps.

• 1.) Open ‘My Computer’
• 2.) Double-click on Drive C
• 3.) Click on File and then New Folder, title it something along the lines of ‘Fonts Backup’ so you know what it is
• 4.) Double-click on the Windows folder to open it
• 5.) Double-click on the Fonts folder to access the fonts you hav installed on your computer
• 6.) Highlight the fonts you wish to remove and copy them
• 7.) Navigate back to the C:\Fonts Backup folder and PASTE these fonts into your backup folder
• 8.) Return to the Fonts Folder and right-click on any fonts you previously copied to the backup folder, then choose Delete.

If you accidentally removed a font, simply reverse the procedure by copying and pasting the font back into the Windows\Fonts folder.