Hi there max,
This mainly occurs if the system resources is very low or if any of the
hardware is not compatible in XP. However, increase the system resources by
following the steps:
You can improve system resources by performing the following procedures:
* Close programs & stop background programs from loading:
Open programs use computer memory and resources. Open background programs
will usually show an icon in the Systray on the Task bar. The Systray is
usually located in the lower-right corner of the monitor. Closing programs
that are not used will make these resources available for other tasks. To
close a program, right-click the button or icon and click Exit or Close.
NOTE: Some programs like AntiVirus applications should not be disabled. To
identify the program, hold the mouse pointer over each icon. The program
name will be displayed as a tool tip.
Preventing a program from loading can increase system resources. However,
preventing a program from loading may disable some features of that product
or software. For additional information, contact the manufacturer of the
program.
* Change the Display adapter settings:
To prevent the icons of display adapters from appearing in the Systray,
follow these steps:
1. Close all open windows in the system.
2. Right-click the Desktop and select Properties.
3. Click the Settings Tab.
4. Click the Advanced button. The Display Adapter Properties
window will open.
5. On the General Tab, deselect the Show settings icon on taskbar
option.
6. Click OK.
The display adapter icons will no longer be displayed in the Systray.
* Change the Visual effects in Display properties:
1. Click Start, select Control Panel, and choose Appearance and
Themes.
2. Select Display.
3. On the Appearance tab, click Effects.
4. In the Effects dialog box, select the option for the items you
require and deselect the rest.
Also, change the visual effects in System Properties by performing these
steps:
1. Click Start, select Control Panel, and choose Performance and
Maintenance.
2. Select System.
3. On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.
4. On the Visual Effects tab, click Custom.
5. Deselect the options that are not required.
* Ensure there is no memory leakage:
Your system may perform well when it is first started or restarted, but
slows down after several programs have been opened and closed. This issue is
caused by memory leakage. Memory leakage can also be caused if a program is
closed before it is fully opened.
To resolve the memory leakage issue, follow these steps:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Press the CTRL, ALT, and DEL buttons simultaneously.
3. Click the Performance tab. Note the amount of available
physical memory.
4. Open a program that might be causing the computer to run more
slowly.
5. View the amount of physical memory again and write it down.
6. Close and open the program repeatedly after every 10 seconds.
7. View the amount of physical memory and compare the number
recorded in step 5.
8. If the system resources continue to decrease, then a memory
leak is occurring. Contact the program manufacturer for
available solutions.
If the System Resource percentage or available memory returns to the same
numbers each time, then the program is not creating a memory leak.
* Stop background programs from loading at Startup
Installing many programs on the computer can often clutter the registry with
unnecessary programs running when your computer starts up. This will slow
down the system and take up memory. System Configuration is a utility which
can help to reduce the programs loading at Startup.
1. Click Start and then select Run.
2. Type msconfig and press enter.
3. In the Startup tab click Disable All button.
4. Click Apply and then OK.
5. Restart your system.
NOTE: You can restore any of the removed items by repeating
the above steps and replacing the checks for the
designated applications.
* Run Scandisk in Windows XP:
Scandisk checks the hard drive for errors. Disk Defragmenter moves all the
files of a program to an adjacent area of the hard disk to access them more
efficiently.
To run Scandisk in Windows XP, follow these steps:
1. Click Start and select My Computer.
2. Right-click the hard drive icon. For example, drive C:\ .
3. Click Properties and select the Tools tab.
4. Click the Check Now button.
5. In the Check disk window, select all the checkboxes.
6. Click OK. Click Yes to start a full disk scan when the
computer is restarted.
7. Restart the computer.
NOTE: The Scandisk process may take some time to complete.
* Change the Performance Options settings in Windows XP:
Sometimes the performance options for Windows XP are set incorrectly. To
check the performance options settings, follow these steps:
1. Click Start and select My Computer.
2. Click Properties and select the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Performance Options button. The Performance Options
window opens.
4. Click the Change button under Virtual memory. The Virtual
Memory window opens.
5. Check and ensure that the Maximum registry size options under
registry options is four times the size of the Current
registry size setting.
6. Check and ensure that the maximum paging file size is over 200
MB but not too large.
7. Click OK. Restart the computer.
The system resources may also decrease, if multiple users are logged into
the system. It is always recommend to use a single login at an instance. For
further enhancing the performance of the system, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, select Control Panel, and choose User Accounts.
2. Click Change the way users log on and off.
3. Deselect Use Faster User Switching option.
4. Click Apply.
* Disable Services in Windows XP:
Indexing service is a small program that requires a huge amount of RAM. The
indexing Service program is not necessary and can be disabled by following
these steps:
1. Click Start, select Control Panel, and choose Performance and
Maintenance.
2. Click Administrator Tools.
3. Click Services. The Services Window opens.
4. In the right-pane, double-click the Indexing Service entry
from the list of available services. The Indexing Service
Properties window opens.
5. Set the Startup type drop down menu to disabled.
6. Click Apply and OK.
NOTE: The following services are unessential and can be
disabled from loading at Startup by performing the
above-mentioned steps:
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Error Reporting Service
IPSEC Services
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Registry Service
Wireless Zero Configuration
For other tweaks in improving the Windows XP system performance, you can
visit the following website:
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/performance_tweaks.asp
Now, you can check the system performance for your Presario model by
clicking CTRL+ALT+DEL.
You can also download Bootvis from Microsoft. Bootvis is a Boot performance
trace visualization tool for use with Windows XP systems. It gives a
graphical view of what processes are doing what and when during boot and
allow you to optimize your boot up. The URL for download is given below:
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/BootVisdwn.asp?
- Kasvera [mcp]
