Windows making windows nice to deal with

we all heard of the age old question windows or unix based os(linux, ect.) any way dont get me wrong i love linux and toying around it but there is no way i can fully switch over (I'm teatching a classes on how to make programs for windows os)
i using knoppix now (live linux cd) (os on a disk) lets get to the point ok i dont know if every body else depends on windows if you use it for along time it gets slow because files can build up on the hard drive so when i formatted my hd and re installed windows (xp home) i thought it would be nice to have a thread for windows how to make it faster and dependable so after it installed and was about to the the last reboot i let it turn its self off and put the live linux cd in and started typing this any way this thread is for tips and tricks for windows you can add and comment if you have sugestions

1. when dealling with windows xp disable active desktop and other animated start menu settings doing this wright you will notice windows xp looks like a older version but it will launch programs 30% faster
2.windows media player is good but only use it to play video
for playing mp3s and other audio files download an older version of winamp (if your limited on ram) if not down load the latest version and use the original skin you will have all ne features but it will run a whole lot faster

more will be added after i get in to windows xp

 

you have to go in to system in the control panel and go to performance

also get all the updates and download all drivers



edit: if you do not install security updates on windows xp you are allowing random people to hack into your system it would be so easy a 2 year old can hack your system you do not want that unless you do not go on the internet

 

Control Panel > Admin tools > Services. Set the 'File Indexing' service start-up type to disabled. First thing I do on any 2k/XP install

 

good tip keep them coming i knew that one but i suffer from C.R.S. (can't remember sh it) now while im waiting because their is atleast 100 updates i never realized it because i got xp from the begining and updated every month so the updated wouldn't pile up if you know what im saying

another tip disable windows built in firewall (nothing but trouble)
get the free version of zone alarm it will tell you if something trys to access the internet(spy ware) or if sometings trying to get in your system(hackers)
(a note on spy ware my friend was about to go nuts because some casino game got on his computer and every time he deleted it it would apear again if you have the same problem its because thier is a file installed somewere else on the computer (aol does this and a lot of spy ware) and windows fire wall lets every thing access the internet so it downloads the files again and thus making the program re apear by using zone alarm it does not let that program download its files again
ps. it might get annoying during the first week but after about a week of average usage it learns what you want to acces the internet and what you don't want to access the internet and it will stop bugging you it's well worth your money (it's free)

and also if you search the internet you must download a pop up blocker
i need one so if you know of a free one talk about it and give a website were it can be downloaded at(i used to have one but i had to many problems with it)

 

also unless you have 2 versions of wiondows conver to ntfs its much faster than fat32

plus always good links

the broken here has some good videos about what people need to know + social engering

and tech tv here just allaround tech info

 

One of the first things I do is to get a copy of XP Antispy and get rid of balloon tips, error reports, don't start messenger with outlook etc etc. Turning most (or all) of the visual effects off (as mentioned) is definitely the way to go

 

ive cant thak you enough i never heard of it but i know of all the tweaks i was tweaking it and then when im done i saw this but i already did it all manualy oh well il know next time

 

ok just an update on my system got all the updates installed and drivers (no games yet)and let me be the first to tell you its 45x faster now the computers only 900mhz but its going really fast

 

i like to partition my hard drive ...

if you use 2k, use zapwizard's guide.

dont work right on xp, so ive got my 60gb chunked up 15/15/25 ...

15gb for windows and apps/games

25gb for my documents, redirectd using the old right click/properties/move button

15gb for downloads,etc ... mounted in my documents as a folder

i find it makes stuff easier to manage, and defragging is WAY faster (downloads is a temp folder really, so i dont defrag it)

 

Google Toolbar is the best IMHO

http://toolbar.google.com/

 

The latest version of ZA is great too, well worth the money to buy the full product to get all features.
Has under pop, and over popup protection, can clear your temp cache too.
Plus its the best SW firewall out. IMO.

Oh and look at this site for more goodies to help you.

 

Don't bother using Internet Explorer - go get yoself a decent browser here:

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/

It's really quick these days and is fast becoming a viable alternative to IE. I run it all the time on all of my machines.

Note: if you have ever had an older version of this browser on your machine, Mozilla Firebird for example, you must be sure to clear all the settings that live under C:\Documents and Settings\"your username"\Application Data\. There are two folders, Phoenix and Mozilla - delete both of these. If you don't do this, Mozilla FireFox will give you problems when you are using the download manager. You might wanna grab your bookmarks.html file before you clear these folders though - you can drop that back in when you have installed FireFox.

 

Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere on Bit-Tech, but for a fast and stable installation of Windows, try this guide: LINK
It is quite lengthy, but i have tried it on two different machines and am quite pleased with the results. Its amazing how just installing drivers in the wrong order can affect stability...

 

I can't verify whether or not this is true, but I have heard that turning off all of the default Windows sounds can make your computer faster. I heard that Windows keeps ALL of the sound files in RAM at all times. Again, not sure if this is true or not. Can anyone verify/debunk this?

 

yes its true if the sound card is on the mother board it uses the prosesor power

 

i got board so i converted fat32 to ntfs