Tewak of the month:Make XP Faster: Part II

IDE DMA
Windows does not automatically utilize faster DMA IDE data transfer modes on IDE slave drives. Programmed
I/O mode is the default setting.
1)) Right click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and Select Device Manager.
2) Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
3) Under "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. Set it to "DMA if available"
4) Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if devices are present there.
SCSI Write Cache
Many SCSI drives do not have their write caches enabled. Use a Mode Page Editor such as the one built into EZ-SCSI to enable Write Caching on all your hard drives. Windows XP allows you to enable Write Caching in the Properties page of a SCSI Drive.
Minimize Background Applications and Services Press CTRL-ALT-DEL while in Windows and bring up the Task Manager. Notice how many programs are running in the background. Each program steals memory and CPU cycles. Offenders include: Adobe Gamma
Loader, Fast Find, msmsgs (Messenger), Office Startup, qttask (Quicktime), System Agent, Real Player, Norton.
To stop programs from automatically starting, remove the file from the Programs - Startup folder, left click on the icons in the System tray and turn off automatic loading, or consult the help file of each program to turn it off. Run MSCONFIG to get a list of programs that run on startup and remove unnecessary ones.
Disable Alerter, File and Print, FTP Publishing, Indexing Service, World Wide Web Publisher, Messenger, Computer Browser, Routing and Remote Access, Smart Card, Smart Card Helper, Terminal services, Uninterruptible Power Supply if they are not being used. You can always turn them off and test your machine, before setting them to be disabled on startup. Run "services.msc" from the Run.. menu and Disable any services
that are unncessary. BlackViper has additional information on services. You can also Configure Virus scanning to only scan incoming files.
Removed Unused Programs, Protocols, and Fonts Uninstall any Programs that you do not use. Also remove any Fonts that are not used. This will free up disk space and make the machine boot faster. You should also remove any temporary files located in the C:\TEMP,
c:\windows\prefetch, or C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directories. Also remove any unused Network Protocols such as
NetBEUI or IPX.
Unload DLLs
Windows does not unload dll files a program has used after it has been closed, to speed up a possible restart of
the program.
Use Regedit to edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer Add the
DWORD value named: AlwaysUnloadDLL and set it to 1
Virtual Memory
Windows uses your Hard Drive as swap memory but its default configuration can cause a major loss of performance with the memory swap file getting moved around.
Select System icon from the Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance, select Advanced Tab, select Performance areas, and click on Settings Under virtual Memory click Change. The Initial and Maximum size should be equal otherwise Windows will keep resizing the file. The optimal memory setting for users with 128 MB+ is approximately 1.5-2 times the RAM size, users with 64 MB should use a 2 times multiple. You should also locate Virtual Memory on your fastest drive or striped RAID volume, placing it on the non-boot drive, can help increase performance. Defragment after setting this to minimize fragmentation and force the swap file to get located on the fastest part of your disk. Third party defragmentaters can optimize the swap file. Always make sure your system has enough RAM. 128MB is the absolute minimum, 512MB is preferred. You can bring up the Performance Tab of the Task Manager to ensure that Total Commit Charge is lower than your Total Physical Memory. If not, add ram.
(To be concluded in the comming posts....)