How to Speed up Windows XP

There are a few things you can do to help speed up your computer running Windows XP. They include removing spyware and viruses, defragmenting your hard drive, eliminating unnecessary start-up programs and freeing disk space from your hard drive.

Instructions

1. Install and run a free anti-virus program, such as Microsoft Security Essentials (microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials). Make sure that the virus definitions are up-to-date.

2. Disable start-up programs. To do so, navigate to the "Start" menu and select "Run." In the Run dialog, type "msconfig" (without quotes) and click "OK." The System Configuration Utility will appear. Select the "Startup" tab. Uncheck the programs that you do not want to start automatically (You can always run these programs manually). Click the "OK" button and reboot your computer.

3. Eliminate disk clutter by freeing disk space. To do so, navigate to the "Start" menu and select " All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Disk Cleanup." Specify which drive you want to clean. Uncheck the checkboxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click "OK." Disk Cleanup will take a few minutes to run.

4. Run the Disk Defragmenter application at regular intervals. To do so, navigate to the "Start" menu and select "All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Disk Defragmenter." The Disk Defragmenter dialog appears. Select the drives that you want to defragment and click the "Analyze" button. After the disk is analyzed, defragment the selected drive by clicking the "Defragment" button.

Tips & Warnings

• Many virus removal programs have real-time virus scanning. This will slow the computer down. If the virus can be cause by the scanner, it can also be removed when the computer is scanned manually with the program.

• Free spyware or virus removal programs: I would recommend against these. Many free removal programs will slow computers down displaying pop-ups for to buy the upgrade.

References

• Microsoft at Work: How to Make a Computer Faster: 6 Ways to Speed Up Your PC

Resources

• Microsoft Security Essentials