Tips To Make Computer Games Run Faster

If you're using an old computer, running 3D computer games like Pro Evolution Soccer, God of War, Call of Duty 4 and the rest might be kind of slow due to high graphic requirements modern games come with. With many installations, useless Windows processes and lots of applications running in the background, CPU usage gets high and there's a depletion of random access memory (RAM). To make computer games run faster, there are some basic things to do:

1. Reduce the game quality from the game settings

2. Adjust your video card settings and reduce the quality as well

3. Reduce screen resolution for the game

4. Close all running applications before starting a game

5. Stop unnecessary windows processes

6. Starting the game after a restart sometimes increases the speed

7. Install more memory. Increasing your RAM from just 1GB to 2GB or 4GB will make a major difference

8. Update your video card drivers

9. Change your video card if you have to. I recommend Nvidia over ATI though it isn't bad either. Forget about Intel.

10. Check for malwares and update your antivirus. Running a registry cleaner too helps


If you intend to run you computer game at an optimized speed without necessarily reducing the game quality, then what you need is Game Booster. Game Booster allows you to tweak your system and increase PC performance. It stops all unneeded applications and windows processes, cleans up the RAM and makes your computer game run at optimum speed.

Major Features:

* Game Booster v3 can easily and fast close background processes and unnecessary Windows services, to speed up you game playing and avoid possible conflicts and incompatibility. With the innovative "Enhanced 3rd parties' services detection" technology, Game Booster v3 can automatically detect and close more unnecessary background services.

* Fine-tunes mouse, keyboard, and specialized game controllers with ease

* Game Booster v3 can tweak your PC for the ultimate system and Internet speed with a single click

* With the improved defragment engine, Game Booster v3 can quickly defragment game directories and files, to make your games load and run faster than ever

* PC gamers know how important to install new drivers for modern PC games. Now Game Booster v3 keeps every game's specialized drivers up-to-date, including drivers for video/sound cards.

* Game Booster v3 does not overclock your hardware. Game Booster v3 is a freeware, without any virus, adware, and spyware

Game booster does all that with just one click and optimizes your computer's performance making that game run faster!

Download Game Booster V3 from Capriofiles
Download Game Booster V3 from Hotfile

Read More

Hiren's Boot CD 12.0

There are certain PC problems that doesn't require the attention of a skilled personnel. There are certain common computer problems you should be able to solve yourself. For instance, assuming there are damaged sectors on your hard disk and your windows refuse to boot, it's as easy to solve as slotting in a Bootable CD with HD Regenerator to scan and recover bad sectors on your hard disk and your computer is back in business.

Hiren's Boot CD can do more than just this. It's a complete do-it-yourself-kit! Have you forgotten your Windows administrator password or your windows logon is simply denied because of a reason unknown to you? (This might happen if you visit some sites with shady records, trust me) Hiren's Boot CD has a password reset tool to change or reset your windows password.

It's got partition manager to easily manage your partitions in DOS or even while OS is running.

Ever came across this error message on Windows XP?

NTLDR is missing
Press any key to restart

Hiren's Boot CD has a software packaged in to it to fix this problem. There are so many stuffs packaged into this CD and I think it's a tool every computer user should have. It doesn't matter whether you're one of the so called gurus or not. You can access the very best of operating system optimization software in this CD.

Antivirus Tools

Avira AntiVir Personal (07-11-2010) Free anti-virus and anti-spyware on-demand scanner, detects and removes more than 50000 viruses.

ComboFix (07-11-2010) Designed to cleanup malware infections and restore settings modified by malware.

CWShredder 2.19 Popular CoolWebSearch Trojan Remover tool.

Dr.Web CureIt! Antivirus (07-11-2010) a free standalone anti-virus and anti-spyware on-demand scanner.

GMER 1.0.15 Hidden services, hidden registry, hidden file scanner, Rootkit Detector and Remover.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 (07-11-2010) anti-malware application that can thoroughly remove even the most advanced malware.

Remove Fake Antivirus 1.68 a tool to remove virus/malwares which disguises itself to be an antivirus and produces fake alert/warnings and urge you to purchase a useless copy of the fake antivirus.

RootkitRevealer 1.7.1 Rootkit Revealer is an advanced patent-pending root kit detection utility.

SmitFraudFix 2.424 This removes Some of the popular Desktop Hijack malware.

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.6.2 (07-11-2010) Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.

SpywareBlaster 4.4 (07-11-2010) Prevent the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software.

SuperAntispyware 4.45.1000 (07-11-2010) Remove Malware, Rootkits, Spyware, Adware, Worms, Parasites (a must have tool).

Archivers

7-Zip 9.18b File archiver with a high compression ratio Supports 7z, ARJ, BZIP2, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, FAT, GZ, GZIP, HFS, IMA, IMG, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, TAR, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR, XZ, ZIP and Z formats.

EasyUHA 1.1 GUI Tool to create and extract UHA Archives.

Backup Tools

COPYR.DMA Build013 A Tool for making copies of hard disks with bad sectors.

CopyWipe 1.14 Copy old hard drive to a new hard drive by copying the entire contents of one drive to another, CopyWipe can also help prevent confidential or private data from being recovered, by securely wiping the contents of a drive.

Double Driver 3.0 Driver Backup and Restore tool.

DriveImage XML 2.14 backup any drive/partition to an image file, even if the drive is currently in use, a very good freeware alternative to Ghost / Acronis

DriverBackup! 1.0.3 Another handy tool to backup drivers.

Drive SnapShot 1.40 creates an exact Disk Image of your system into a file while windows is running.

FastCopy 2.04 The Fastest Copy/Delete Software on Windows.

G4L Ghost 4 Linux 0.34a a hard disk and partition imaging and cloning tool similar to Norton Ghost.

GImageX 2.0.17 ImageX is used to backup/restore WIM images for Windows XP/Vista and Windows 7.

ImgBurn 2.5.2.0 Lightweight CD/DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray burning application, supports BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI, Ability to build DVD/HD/BD Video discs from a VIDEO_TS/HVDVD_TS/BDAV/BDMV folder, Unicode folder/file names (formerly DVD Decrypter).

InfraRecorder 0.51 An Open source CD/DVD burning software, also create/burn .iso images.

Partition Image - PartImage 0.6.9 supported filesystem includes Ext2, Ext3, Reiserfs, HFS, HPFS, JFS, Xfs, UFS, Fat16, Fat32 and NTFS.

Partition Saving 3.90 A tool to backup/restore partitions (SavePart.exe).

RegBak 1.0 a light-weight and simple utility to create backups of Windows registry files.

Raw Copy 1.2 Useful tool to transfer the data directly from a faulty drive to another drive, built in data recovery function which will also attempt to recover data from bad sectors.

ShadowCopy 1.00 Copy all your files and entire system - even if they are locked by Windows.

SelfImage 1.2.1.92 to create image files of any mounted or unmounted hard disk partition.

Seagate DiscWizard 11.8326 Backup drive/partition to an image file, for Seagate owners (Powered by Acronis TrueImage)

Smart Driver Backup 2.12 Easy backup of your Windows device drivers (also works from PE).

WhitSoft File Splitter 4.5a a Small File Split / Join Tool.

XXClone 0.58.0 The simple way to clone a Windows disk to another disk, it makes a self-bootable clone of Windows system disk.

BIOS / CMOS Tools

Award DMI Configuration Utility 2.43 DMI Configuration utility for modifying/viewing the MIDF contents.

!BIOS 3.20 a powerfull utility for bios and cmos.

BIOS Cracker 5.0 BIOS password remover (cmospwd).

BIOS Utility 1.35.0 BIOS Informations, password, beep codes and more.

CMOS 0.93 CMOS Save / Restore Tool.

DISKMAN4 a powerful all in one utility.

Kill CMOS a tiny utility to wipe cmos.

UniFlash 1.40 bios flash utility.

Browsers / File Managers

7-Zip File Manager 7-Zip is a popular open source file archiver designed for Microsoft Windows.

Dos Command Center 5.1 Classic dos-based file manager.

Dos Navigator 6.4.0 Dos File Manager, Norton Commander clone but has much more features.

Explore2fs 1.08b GUI explorer tool for accessing linux ext2 and ext3 filesystems under windows.

File Maven 3.5 an advanced Dos file manager with high speed PC-to-PC file transfers via serial or parallel cable.

File Wizard 1.35 a file manager - colored files, drag and drop copy, move, delete etc.

FastLynx 2.0 Dos file manager with Pc to Pc file transfer capability.

Macrium Reflect 4.2.2952 Create complete backups of your disk partitions, including operating system, installed programs and all your settings.

Mini Windows 98 Can run from Ram Drive, with ntfs support, 7-Zip, Disk Defragmenter, Notepad / RichText Editor, Image Viewer, .avi .mpg .divx .xvid Movie Player, etc...

Mini Windows Xp Portable Windows Xp that runs from CD/USB/Ram Drive, with Network and SATA support.

Opera Web Browser 9.27 One of the fastest, smallest and smartest full-featured web browser.

Total Commander 7.55a A file manager similar to the Windows Explorer features side-by-side file-browsing panes, built-in FTP, archive management, file search/compare/synchronize and more.

Volkov Commander 4.99 Dos File Manager with LongFileName/ntfs support (Similar to Norton Commander).

Cleaners

ATF Cleaner 3.0.0.2 A personal and easy-to-use temp file removal software to clean all user temp folders, Java cache, Opera/Mozilla browser cache, cookies, history, download history, saved passwords etc.

CCleaner 3.0 Crap Cleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool.

CleanUp! 4.5.2 Removes junk files from all user profiles that accumulate over time and litter your hard drive.

Data Shredder 1.0 A tool to Erase disk and files (also wipe free space) securely.

Delete Doctor 2.2 Delete Files that are hard to delete, Option to delete on reboot or via UNC Name.

Duplicate File Finder 3.5 Scans and identify duplicate files, it compares them based on byte for byte comparison ensures 100% accuracy.

MyUninstaller 1.66 Alternative to the standard add / remove control panel module.

Revo Uninstaller 1.90 Remove unnecessary files and registry entries left behind by incomplete program uninstallation routines.

SpaceMonger 1.4 keeping track of the free space on your computer.

SpaceSniffer 1.1.2.0 Find lost space on your disks the easy way.

WinDirStat 1.1.2.80 a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Windows.

Editors / Viewers

HxD 1.7.7.0 Hex Editor provides tools to inspect and edit files, main memory, disks/disk images.

IrfanView 4.27 A free Image Viewer/Editor/Converter and Optimizer.

Picture Viewer 1.94 Picture viewer for dos, supports more then 40 filetypes.

QuickView Pro 2.58 movie viewer for dos, supports many format including divx.

SumatraPDF 1.1 a free, open source, lightweight PDF Reader for Microsoft Windows.

FileSystems Tools

AlternateStreamView 1.15 View/Copy/Delete hidden NTFS Alternate Data Streams.

EditBINI 1.01 to Edit boot.ini on NTFS Partition.

FileDisk Mount Tool 25 to mount ISO/BIN/NRG/MDF/IMA/IMG images on windows.

NewSID 4.10 utility that changes the security ID (SID) for Windows NT, 2000 and XP.

NTFS Access 2.1 Set NTFS permissions recursively and full access rights to a folder/file owner.

NTFS Dos 3.02 to read-only access ntfs partitions from Dos.

NTFS4Dos 1.9 to read and write ntfs partitions from Dos.

Virtual Floppy Drive 2.1 enables you to create and mount a virtual floppy drive on your NT/2000/XP/Vista.

Hard Disk Tools

Active Kill Disk 4.1.2393 Securely overwrites and destroys all data on physical drive.

Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) 1.0.7 Completely deletes the contents of any hard disk it can detect.

DiskView 2.4 to view graphical map of your disk, allowing you to check where a file is located or, by clicking on a cluster, seeing which file occupies it.

ExcelStor's ESTest 4.50 ExcelStor hard disk diagnostic utility.

Fujitsu HDD Diagnostic Tool 7.00 to check IDE drives for possible defects/problems.

Fujitsu IDE Low Level Format 1.0 Low Level Format Tool for Fujitsu Drives.

Gateway GwScan 5.12 Gateway hard drive diagnostic utility.

Hard Disk Sentinel 1.00.5 Hard Disk health, performance and temperature monitoring tool.

HDAT2 4.53the main function is testing and repair (regenerates) bad sectors for detected devices. A freeware alternative of HDD Regenerator.

HDD Low Level Format Tool 2.36 Low-level format tool for S-ATA (SATA), IDE (E-IDE), SCSI, USB, Flash Cards and FIREWIRE external drive enclosures.

HDD Erase 4.0 Secure erase using a special feature built into most newer hard drives.

IBM Hitachi Drive Fitness Test 4.16 quickly and reliably tests SCSI, IDE and SATA drives.

IBM Hitachi Feature Tool 2.15 allows you to control some of the features of the the HDD.

Maxtor amset utility 4.0 Utility for changing Acoustic Management on the hard drives.

Maxtor Low Level Formatter 1.1 Maxtor's Low Level Format Utility works on any harddrive.

Maxtor PowerMax 4.23 designed to perform diagnostic read/write verifications on Maxtor/Quantum hard drives.

MHDD 4.6 Precise diagnostic of the mechanical part of a drive, perform Low-level format, Bad Sector Sepair, access raw sectors, manage S.M.A.R.T. (SMART) and other drive parameters such as acoustic management, security, Host Protected Area, etc.

Samsung Disk Diagnose (SHDIAG) 1.28 to diagnose the disk when suspected to have failures.

Samsung ESTOOL 3.00g Drive Diagnostic, Automatic Acoustic Management, Enable/Disable SMART etc.

Samsung HDD Utility(HUTIL) 2.10 The Drive Diagnostic Utility.

SeaTools for Dos GUI 2.21 Text 1.10 versions to test Seagate or Maxtor Parallel ATA (PATA and IDE) and Serial ATA (SATA) interface disc drives.

SmartUDM 2.00 Hard Disk Drive S.M.A.R.T. Viewer.

Toshiba Hard Disk Diagnostic 2.00b Toshiba hard drive diagnostic utility.

Victoria 3.33e and 3.52rus a freeware program for low-level HDD diagnostics.

Victoria 4.46 Universal program for testing storage devices

ViVard 1.0 HDD low-level diagnostics, Surface test with remap, SMART-attributes etc.

WDClear 1.30 Restore/Erases the drive back to a factory condition.

Western Digital Data Lifeguard Tools 11.2 for the installation of Western Digital EIDE Hard Drives.

Western Digital Diagnostics (DLGDIAG) 5.04f to quickly and efficiently verify the status of the drive.

Western Digital Data Lifeguard Tools 1.22 to perform drive identification, diagnostics, and repairs on most WD drives

MBR (Master Boot Record) Tools

BellaVista 1.1.0.54 Formerly BCD Editor with lots of options to configure Windows for a developer.

BootSect 6.0.6 Boot Sector Manipulation Tool, This tool replaces FixFAT.exe and FixNTFS.exe.

BootICE 0.80.6 a boot sector manipulation utility.

DiskMan 4.2 all in one tool for cmos, bios, bootrecord and more.

Grub4Dos installer 1.1 an universal boot loader GRUB for DOS GRLDR installer.

grub4dos 2010-11-04 an universal boot loader based on GNU GRUB, can boot off DOS/LINUX or via Windows boot manager/syslinux/lilo or from MBR/CD, builtin BIOS disk emulation.

HDHacker 1.4 Load/Save/View MBR and BootSector from a physical/logical drive.

isolinux 4.03 a boot loader for Linux/i386 that operates off ISO 9660/El Torito CD-ROMs in 'no emulation' mode.

MBRWizard 3.0.65 Directly update and modify the Master Boot Record.

MbrFix 1.3 to backup, restore, fix the boot code in the MBR.

MBR Utility 1.05 to manipulate a drive's master boot record (MBR) via the command line.

MemDisk 4.02 to allow booting legacy operating systems, floppy images, hard disk images and some ISO images.

PLoP Boot Manager 5.0.10 a small program to boot different operating systems harddisk, floppy, CD/DVD or from USB, it can boot from an USB/CD/DVD even without BIOS support.

BootFix Utility Run this utility if you get 'Invalid system disk' message.

Boot Partition 2.60 add Partition in the Windows NT/2000/XP Multi-boot loader.

MBRWork 1.08 a utility to perform some common and uncommon MBR functions.

MBRTool 2.3.200 backup, verify, restore, edit, refresh, remove, display, re-write and more.

MBR SAVE / RESTORE 2.1 BootSave and BootRest tools to save / restore MBR.

Smart Boot Manager 3.7.1 a multi boot manager.

Ms Dos Tools

1394 Firewire Support 1394 Firewire Drivers for Dos.

ASUSTeK USB Driver 3 ASUS USB CD-ROM Device Driver Version 1.00.

Dos tools Collection of dos utilities extract.exe pkzip.exe pkunzip.exe lha.exe gzip.exe uharcd.exe imgExtrc.exe xcopy.exe diskcopy.com mouse.com undelete.com edit.com fdisk.exe fdisk2.exe fdisk3.exe lf.exe delpart.exe wipe.com zap.com format.com deltree.exe more.com find.exe hex.exe debug.exe split.exe mem.exe attrib.com sys.com smartdrv.exe xmsdsk.exe killer.exe share.exe scandisk.exe guest.exe doskey.exe duse.exe move.exe setver.exe intersvr.exe interlnk.exe loadlin.exe lfndos.exe doslfn.com and more.

Interlnk support at COM1/LPT1 to access another computer from COM/LPT port.

SCSI Support SCSI Drivers for Dos.

SATA Support SATA Driver (gcdrom.sys) and JMicron JMB361 (xcdrom.sys) for Dos.

Universal USB Driver 2 Panasonic v2.20 ASPI Manager for USB mass storage.

USB CD-Rom Driver 1 Standard usb_cd.sys driver for cd drive.

Network Tools

Angry IP Scanner 2.21 Scan IP addresses in any range as well as any their ports.

CurrPorts 1.83 displays the list of all currently opened TCP and UDP ports on your computer.

Network Password Recovery 1.30 Recover Windows XP/Vista network passwords / Credentials file.

PuTTY 0.60 r3PuTTY Tray is a free and open source terminal emulator application which can act as a client for the SSH and Telnet.

SmartSniff 1.71 Network monitoring utility that allows you to capture TCP/IP packets that pass through your network adapter.

TCPView 3.02 Lists TCP and UDP endpoints, including the Local/Remote addresses of TCP connections.

WinSCP 4.2.9 A free and open source SFTP/FTP client to secure file transfer between a local and a remote computer.

XP TCP/IP Repair 1.0 Repair your Windows XP Winsock and TCP/IP registry errors.

Optimizers

Defraggler 1.21.209 to defrag your entire hard drive or individual files.

JkDefrag 3.36 Free disk defragment and optimize utility for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/Windows 7.

NT Registry Optimizer 1.1j Registry Optimization for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista.

PageDfrg 2.32 System file Defragmenter For NT/2k/XP.

Other Tools

Bulk Rename Utility 2.7.1.2 Rename multiple files, change timestamps and rename using EXIF data with the click of a button.

Everything 1.21 Ultra fast file/folder search tool with ftp/http server.

Fix NTLDR is missing Fix 'NTLDR is missing, Press any key to restart' for Windows Xp.

HashMyFiles 1.68 Calculate MD5/SHA1/CRC32 hashes of your files.

HBCD Customizer 1.4 HBCDCustomizer.exe is a GUI tool to create custom iso images of Hiren's BootCD.

HBCD Program Launcher 1.8 Hiren's BootCD Program launcher (HBCDMenu.exe and HBCDMenu.csv) can be used to launch all these programs from USB/CD.

Mini Linux Recovery is Possible Linux (RIPLinux 11.1) kernel 2.6.35.4 contains afftools, aria2, beaver, cdrtools, clamav, curl, ddrescue, ddpt, defrag, dump/restore, emelfm2, encfs, epdfview, extundelete, findwild, fuse-exfat, fsarchiver, grub2, hdparm, hpacucli, isomaster, lftp, lynx, lzip, mtpaint, ntfs-3g, openssh, partclone, partimage, pccmoscleaner, pcdiskeraser, pcmanfm, pcloginnow, pcregedit, pidgin, qemu, reiserfsck, rdup, safecopy, smbclient, sylpheed, syslinux, tar, truecrypt, tw_cli, tmux, wiper, xfburn, xfprot, xterm and more.

On-Screen Keyboard A utility that displays a virtual keyboard on the computer screen that allows people with mobility impairments to type data by using a pointing device or joystick.

RunAsDate 1.10 allows you to run a program in the date and time that you specify.

SearchMyFiles 1.55 Alternative to 'Search For Files And Folders' module of Windows + Duplicates Search.

Universal TCP/IP Network 6.5 MSDOS Network Client to connect via TCP/IP to a Microsoft based network. The network can either be a peer-to-peer or a server based network, it contains 98 different network card drivers.

WinMerge 2.12.4.0 Differencing and merging tool which can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle.

WinNTSetup 1.5.0.3 Install Windows 2k/XP/2003 x86/x64 from USB/CD under PE/LiveXp, allows you to apply tweaks and choose driveletter for the new Windows installation.

Partition Tools

eXtended Fdisk 0.9.3 XFDISK allows easy partition creation and edition.

Fat32 Formatter GUI 1.01 Windows XP cannot format a volume bigger than 32GB with FAT32.

GParted Partition Editor 0.7.0 to create, copy, paste, delete, hide, resize or move partitions without losing data, a good freeware alternative to Partition Magic.

Partition Table Editor 8.0 Partition Table and Boot Record Editor.

Partition Wizard Home Edition 5.2 Free Partition Magic Alternative, Partition Resize/Move/Copy/Create/Delete/Format/Convert, Explore, etc.

Ranish Partition Manager 2.44 a boot manager and hard disk partitioner.

Smart Fdisk 2.05 a simple harddisk partition manager.

SPecial Fdisk 2000.03v SPFDISK is a partition tool.

Super Fdisk 1.0 Create, delete, format partitions drives without destroying data.

The Partition Resizer 1.3.4 move and resize your partitions in one step.

USB Format Tool Format/make bootable any USB flash drive to FAT, FAT32, or NTFS partition.

Password Tools

Asterisk Logger 1.04 Reveal passwords hidden behind asterisk characters.

ATAPWD 1.2 Hard Disk Password Utility.

Autologon 3.0 Enables you to easily configure Windows' built-in autologon mechanism, so you don't have to wait on the login screen.

BIOS Master Password Generator Collection of password generator tools to reset BIOS Power on Password / Admin password on Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Phoenix and Samsung Laptops.

Content Advisor Password Remover 1.01 It Removes Content Advisor Password from Internet Explorer.

IE PassView 1.20 It allows you to view username and passwords saved by Internet Explorer.

Kon-Boot 1.1 to bypass Login Password of Windows (32bit, any password) and Linux login as kon-usr.

LicenseCrawler 0.0.42 find the license keys and serial numbers of your programs.

Mail PassView 1.65 Recovers mail passwords of Outlook Express, MS Outlook, IncrediMail, Eudora, etc.

MessenPass 1.35 A password recovery tool that reveals the passwords of several instant messangers.

NTPWD utility to reset windows nt/2000/xp administrator/user password.

NTPWEdit 0.3 Password editor for Windows NT based systems to change or remove passwords for local system accounts.

Offline NT Password Changer 2010-06-27 utility to reset/unlock windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 administrator/user password.

Password Renew 1.1 Utility to set/reset windows passwords.

PasswordFox 1.25 Allows you to view the user names and passwords stored by Mozilla Firefox Web browser.

ProduKey 1.45 Recovers lost the product key of your Windows/Office.

PST (Outlook) Password Recovery 1.12 Small utility that recovers lost password of Outlook .PST (Personal Folders) file.

SniffPass 1.12 A password monitoring tool that listens to your network, capture the passwords that pass through your network adapter, it works on POP3, IMAP4, SMTP, FTP, and HTTP protocols and recovers lost Web/FTP/Email passwords.

WindowsGate 1.1 Enables/Disables Windows logon password validation.

WinKeyFinder 1.73 Allows you to View and Change Windows XP/2003 Product Keys, backup and restore activation related files, backup Microsoft Office 97, 2000 SP2, XP/2003 keys etc.

WirelessKeyView 1.34 Recovers all wireless network keys (WEP/WPA) stored in your computer by WZC Wireless Zero Configuration.

XP Key Reader 2.7 Can decode the XP-key on Local or Remote systems.

Process Tools

Dependency Walker 2.2 Checks for missing/invalid DLL/modules/functions for any exe/dll/ocx/sys.

IB Process Manager 1.04 a little process manager for 9x/2k, shows dll info etc.

OpenedFilesView 1.46 View opened/locked files in your system, sharing violation issues.

Pocket KillBox 2.0.0.978 can be used to get rid of files that stubbornly refuse to allow you to delete them.

Process Explorer 12.04 shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

Process Monitor 2.93 to monitor real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity, This tool replaces Filemon and Regmon.

ProcessActivityView 1.11 Detailed process access information read/write/opened files etc.

RKill (24-10-2010) RKill just kills malware processes, imports a Registry file that removes incorrect file associations and fixes policies that stop us from using certain tools.

Unlocker 1.9.0 This tool can delete file/folder when you get this message - Cannot delete file: Access is denied, The file is in use by another program etc.

Recovery Tools

DiskDigger 0.8.3.176 Undelete and recover lost photos, videos, music, documents and other formats from your hard drive, memory cards and USB flash drives.

DiskGenius 3.2 Restore deleted partition, Rebuild MBR, Rebuild partition table, Recover files, Restore formatted partition, Backup files by partition, Disk clone, Backup partition table, Create/Delete/Format Partitions etc.

IsoBuster 2.8 CD/DVD/Blu-ray and Disk Image File data recovery tool that can read and extract files, tracks and sessions from CD-i, VCD, SVCD, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, DVD, DVCD BD and HD DVD and other media as well as a wide variety of disk image formats, it also has retry-mechanisms for damaged CD/DVD.

Partition Find and Mount 2.31 Partition Find and Mount software is designed to find lost or deleted partitions.

PartitionRecovery 1.0 A freeware tool to recover accidentally deleted partitions.

PhotoRec 6.12b Tool to Recover File and pictures from Dos/Windows/Linux.

Recuva 1.38.504 Restore deleted files from Hard Drive, Digital Camera Memory Card, usb mp3 player etc.

Restoration 3.2.13 a tool to recover deleted files.

ShadowExplorer 0.7 Shadow Explorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and retrieve older versions from files you accidentally deleted or altered.

Smart Partition Recovery 3.3 Find Lost NTFS partitions and restore them back.

SoftPerfect File Recovery 1.2 to restore accidentally deleted files from hard drive, USB flash drives, CF and SD memory cards.

TestDisk 6.12b Tool to check and undelete partition from Dos/Windows/Linux.

Unstoppable Copier 5.2 Allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data.

Registry Tools

ERUNT 1.1j The Emergency Recovery Utility NT Registry Backup and Restore for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP.

Fix HDC Fix the Hard Drive Controller when replacing your motherboard on an XP system.

Glary Registry Repair 3.3.0.852 an advanced registry cleaner that allows you to safely scan, clean, and repair registry problems.

RegFromApp 1.21 Monitors/exports the Registry changes made by the selected application.

Registry Editor PE 0.9c Easy editing of remote registry hives and user profiles.

Registry Restore Wizard 1.0.4 Restores a corrupted system registry from Xp System Restore.

RegScanner 1.82 Tool to find/search in the Registry of Windows.

RegShot 1.8.2 a registry compare utility that allows you to quickly take a snapshot of your registry and then compare it with a second one - done after doing system changes or installing a new software product.

Registry Viewer 4.2 Registry Viewer/Editor for Win9x/Me/NT/2K/XP.

Remote Control Tools

Ammyy Admin 2.13 For remote computer access, desktop sharing, file transfer, voice connect remote computer.

TeamViewer 5.1.9385 Access any remote computer via Internet just like sitting in front of it, even through firewalls.

TightVNC 2.0.2 Cross-platform Remote Desktop Software to view/control remote pc with mouse and keyboard.

Security / Encryption Tools

DiskCryptor 0.9 High speed disk encryption tool to encrypt all disk/partitions, including the system partition encryption support.

TrueCrypt 7.0a On-the-fly Linux/Windows disk encryption tool, can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mount it as a real disk, can also encrypt an entire HDD/Partition/USB Drive.

Startup Tools

Autoruns 10.02 Displays All the entries from startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys, Explorer shell extensions,toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock, LSA Providers, Remove Drivers and much more which helps to remove nasty spyware/adware and viruses.

HijackThis 2.0.4 a general homepage hijackers detector and remover and more.

ServiWin v1.40 Alternative Windows Services/Drivers Tool.

Silent Runners Revision 63 A free script that helps detect spyware, malware and adware in the startup process.

Startup Control Panel 2.8 a tool to edit startup programs.

Startup Monitor 1.02 it notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup.

System Information Tools

Astra 5.46 Advanced System info Tool and Reporting Assistant.

BlueScreenView 1.28 Scans minidump files for BSOD (blue screen of death) crash information.

CPU Identification utility 1.18CHKCPU.EXE Detailed information on CPU.

CPU-Z 1.56 It gathers information on some of the main devices of your system.

CTIA CPU Information 2.7 another CPU information tool.

Drive Temperature 1.0 Hard Disk Drive temperature meter.

GPU-Z 0.4.7 A lightweight utility designed to give you all information about your video card and GPU.

HDTune 2.55 HD Tune is a hard disk health, benchmarking, error scanner and information tool.

HWiNFO 5.5.0 a powerful system information utility.

Navratil Software System Information 0.60.45 High-end professional system information tool.

PCI and AGP info Tool (07-11-2010) The PCI System information and Exploration tool.

PC Wizard 2010.1.95 Powerful system information/benchmark utility designed especially for detection of hardware.

PCI 32 Sniffer 1.4 (07-11-2010) device information tool which is similar to unknown devices.

SIW 2010.10.21 Gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings.

Speccy 1.06.191 an advanced System Information tool for your PC.

System Analyser 5.3w View extensive information about your hardware.

SysChk 2.46 Find out exactly what is under the hood of your PC.

UnknownDevices 1.4.20 (07-11-2010) helps you find what those unknown devices in Device Manager really are.

Update Checker 1.038 scans your computer for installed software and checks for newer releases on FileHippo.

USBDeview 1.81 View/Uninstall all installed/connected USB devices on your system.

Testing Tools

Bart's Stuff Test 5.1.4 Long term heavy stress testing storage devices.

CPU/Video/Disk Performance Test 5.7 a tool to test cpu, video, and disk.

Disk Speed 1.0 Hard Disk Drive Speed Testing Tool.

GoldMemory 5.07 Memory Diagnostic Tests.

H2testw 1.4 Check your USB Flash memory cards, internal/external hard drives and network drives for errors with this tool.

HDD Scan 3.3 HDDScan is a Low-level HDD diagnostic tool, it scans surface find bad sectors etc.

IsMyLcdOK (Monitor Test) 1.02 Allows you to test CRT/LCD/TFT screens for dead pixels and diffective screens.

Memtest86+ 4.15b PC Memory Test.

MemTest 1.0 a Memory Testing Tool.

S&M Stress Test 1.9.1 cpu/hdd/memory benchmarking and information tool, including temperatures/fan speeds/voltages.

System Speed Test 4.78 it tests CPU, harddrive, ect.

Test Hard Disk Drive 1.0 a tool to test Hard Disk Drive.

Video Memory Stress Test 1.7.116 a tool to thoroughly test your video RAM for errors and faults.

Windows Memory Diagnostic a RAM Test tool.

Tweakers

Dial a Fix 0.60.0.24 Fix errors and problems with COM/ActiveX object errors and missing registry entries, Automatic Updates, SSL, HTTPS, and Cryptography service (signing/verification) issues, Reinstall internet explorer etc. comes with the policy scanner.

Disable Autorun A small tweak which disables processing of autorun.inf to protect your PC from usb autorun viruses.

Disable Compress Old Files This registry tweak is useful when Disk Cleanup Tool Stops Responding While Compressing Old Files.

EzPcFix 1.0.0.16 Helpful tool when trying to remove viruses, spyware, and malware.

InstalledCodec 1.15 Disable/Enable Installed Codec drivers and DirectShow filters.

KeyTweak 2.3.0 a program to Remap Keyboard Layout, you can even customize a broken key to an unused key.

Protect a Drive from Autorun Virus Protect your pen drive from being infected when you plug it in an infected PC.

RemoveWGA 1.2 Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Removal tool.

RRT - Remove Restrictions Tool 3.0 to Re-enable Ctrl+Alt+Del, Folder Options and Registry tools etc.

Shell Extensions Manager (ShellExView) 1.47 An excellent tool to View and Manage all installed Context-menu/Shell extensions.

ShellMenuNew 1.01 View/Change the list of all menu items in the 'New' submenu of Windows Explorer.

Show Hidden Devices Device Manager hides nonpresent devices that are not physically present in the system, but still have configuration information in the Registry.

TweakUI 2.10 This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in Windows Xp.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker 2.1 A TweakUI Utility for tweaking and optimizing Windows Vista.

Write Protect USB Devices Tweak your PC to make USB Pen Drive, Memory Card or Thumb Drive as Read Only.

Xp-AntiSpy 3.97.9 it tweaks some Windows XP functions, and disables some unneeded Windows services quickly.

Download Hiren's Boot CD 12.0 Free

Size: 360 MB
Homepage: http://hirene.org



After completing the download, unzip the contents and make the bootable CD.

Read More

TYPEWRITER SOUND ON YOUR KEYBOARD

Are you one of those who would prefer computer keyboards to make that click-click typewriter sound? Or you just want your keyboard to make a sound when pressed, something like an indicator? Then clickey is made for you. It is a very portable Microsoft Windows software that comes with twenty six different click sounds with adjustable volume control. It's easy to work with, just run the executable file, select your desired click sound by pressing A-Z on your keyboard, set the volume and you're good to go. It runs in stealth mode so nobody has to know what's making the click sound!

ClicKey Features:

-Choose from among 26 built-in sounds.
ClicKey contains 26 built-in percussive typing sounds. Some are classic typewriter sounds, others are subtle short clicks, beeps, and boops, while others are more attention-getting and might be appropriate for an on-screen keyboard or public kiosk.
-Independent volume control.
Since you might prefer ClicKey's clicks to be almost subliminal, its sounds can be made as quiet as you like.
-On-screen user-interface, or invisible startup shortcut.
To keep ClicKey as lightweight (just 42 kbytes) and unobtrusive as possible, I designed it to be launched from a Windows shortcut (probably placed in the "Startup" group) containing its sound specification commands (see details below).
-Heard and not seen.
No advertising splash screen and nothing in the Windows "tray" to clutter your screen.
-Nothing to "install" or remove.
ClicKey is just "run" as a stand-alone application. It does not need to be "installed", it places nothing in the registry, and can simply be deleted once it is no longer wanted.
Size: 41.6KB
Homepage: http://www.grc.com/freeware/clickey.htm
OS: WIndows (all versions)
License: Freeware
Requirements: None

Read More

FreeRAM XP PRO 1.52

Capriofiles.com Editor: What is RAM? Random access memory or RAM most commonly refers to computer chips that temporarily store dynamic data to enhance computer performance. By storing frequently used or active files in random access memory, the computer can access the data faster than if it to retrieve it from the far-larger hard drive. The more stuff you do on your PC, the less your RAM becomes and your PC response begins to drop. FreeRAM XP Pro does the job of freeing your RAM, hence optimizing your computer's performance.

Publisher's Description: Freeware application to free and optimize your computer's RAM (Random Access Memory), resulting in an increase in system performance and productivity. Automatically configures itself for ease of use and also features advanced options and customizability. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike.

Features and options include:
* Automatic, real-time memory monitoring and optimization
* Fast, threaded memory freeing with stop option
* AutoFree option intelligently optimizes RAM without sacrificing performance
* system metric and performance monitors
* Advanced tray support
* Memory reporting and diagnostic logging
* Simple, attractive interface
* RAM-cuts (RAM-freeing Windows shortcuts)
* Customizable Windows hotkey support
* Access to Windows memory-related tweaks that could enhance system performance (new in 1.50)
* Process memory usage reporting (new in 1.50)
* Unique memory compression technology directly reduces applications' "working set" memory requirements instantly and without swap file usage (new in 1.50)
* More options and customizability

Size: 605KB
OS: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
Requirement: No special requirement
Homepage: http://www.yourwaresolutions.com/
License: freeware

Read More

TURN YOUR WINDOWS XP TO VISTA

Capriofiles.com Editor: Most Windows XP users love the cool, sexy look of vista but wouldn't sacrifice the simplicity and ease of use of XP for it. VISTA TRANSFORMATION PACK 9.0.1 give you the solution! Retain your Windows XP functionality and get all the great look of Windows Vista.

VISTA TRANSFORMATION PACK 9.0.1
Publisher's Description: Vista Transformation Pac will give to your Windows XP system the new and cool look of Microsoft's future operating system: Windows Vista. The pack changes most of the system icons, skins and toolbars and also adds new enhancements to your desktop such as a dock bar or a different system tray clock. It is free and does a great job of giving machine a look similar to Vista.

It does have uninstallation options in case you decide you want to get rid of it, so there really isn’t anything to lose. However, when you install the software it has to overwrite some system files (it modifies things like the boot screen) so Windows will prompt you stating that your system files have been changed. It will ask whether you want to change them back or leave them, so just leave them if you want the system to function properly.

Features of "Vista Transformation Pack":
• Boot screen
• Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
• New msstyles files (visual styles)
• New desktop and file icons
• New toolbar icons
• Progress Dialogs
• Sounds scheme
• System Tray icons
• New Wallpapers
• Windows Media Player Skins

Changes in Version 9.0.1
-Added ViSplore in unsafe applications list (It's first beta version after all)
-Added restrcting applications don't meet the requirements from startup list (But not from installation so you can set it manually still)
-Added restrcting to set unsafe applications in Personalization page (Welcome Center only)
-Fixed Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibilities (Even non-RTM version can apply so make sure you use official build 5512)
-Fixed "Do not show this welcome screen after restart" option bug that always keep program in startup instead
-Updated Vista Rainbar's launcher for constant waiting cursor activity issue
-Updated Vistalize basic desktop theme components to apply font and toolbar in Personalization
-Updated VisualTooltip default configuration to set area space in bottom from 30 to 0
-Updated WinFlip's configuration for higher reliablity and compatibilities with ViStart

Size: 26.85MB
License: Freeware
Requirements: Windows 2003, XP
Homepage: http://www.windowsxlive.net

Read More

HOW TO OPTIMIZE WINDOWS XP AND MAKE IT FASTER

Remove Annoying Delete Confirmation Messages
Although not strictly a performance tweak I love this fix as it makes my machine ‘feel’ faster. I hate the annoying ‘are you sure?’ messages that XP displays, especially if I have to use a laptop touchpad to close them. To remove these messages:
· Right-click on the ‘Recycle Bin’ on the desktop and then click ‘Properties’
· Clear the ‘Display Delete Confirmation Dialog’ check box and click ‘Ok’.
If you do accidentally delete a file don’t worry as all is not lost. Just go to your Recycle Bin and ‘Restore’ the file.
Disable Indexing Services
Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unnecessary.
To disable do the following:
· Go to Start
· Click Settings
· Click Control Panel
· Double-click Add/Remove Programs
· Click the Add/Remove Window Components
· Uncheck the Indexing services box
· Click ‘Next’
· Optimise Display Settings
Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To optimise:
· Go to Start
· Click Settings
· Click Control Panel
· Click System
· Click Advanced tab
· In the Performance tab click Settings
· Leave only the following ticked:
o Show shadows under menus
o Show shadows under mouse pointer
o Show translucent selection rectangle
o Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
o Use visual styles on windows and buttons
Speedup Folder Browsing
You may have noticed that every-time you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers every-time you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:
· Open My Computer
· Click on Tools menu
· Click on Folder Options
· Click on the View tab
· Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
· Click Apply
· Click Ok
· Reboot your computer
Disable Performance Counters
Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which monitors several areas of your PC’s performance. These utilities take up system resources so disabling is a good idea. To disable:
· Download and install the Extensible Performance Counter List
· Then select each counter in turn in the ‘Extensible performance counters’ window and clear the ‘performance counters enabled’ checkbox at the bottom.button below

Improve Memory Usage With Cacheman
Cacheman Improves the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings. Once Installed:
· Go to Show Wizard and select All
· Run all the wizards by selecting Next or Finished until you are back to the main menu. Use the defaults unless you know exactly what you are doing
· Exit and Save Cacheman
· Restart Windows
Optimise your internet connection
There are lots of ways to do this but by far the easiest is to run TCP/IP Optimizer
· Download and install
· Click the General Settings tab and select your Connection Speed (Kbps)
· Click Network Adapter and choose the interface you use to connect to the Internet
· Check Optimal Settings then Apply
· Reboot
Optimise Your Pagefile
If you give your pagefile a fixed size it saves the operating system from needing to resize the page file.
Windows XP sizes the page file to about 1.5X the amount of actual physical memory by default. While this is good for systems with smaller amounts of memory (under 512MB) it is unlikely that a typical XP desktop system will ever need 1.5 X 512MB or more of virtual memory. If you have less than 512MB of memory, leave the page file at its default size. If you have 512MB or more, change the ratio to 1:1 page file size to physical memory size.
· Right click on My Computer and select Properties
· Select the Advanced tab
· Under Performance choose the Settings button
· Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change
· Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.
Run BootVis - Improve Boot Times
BootVis will significantly improve boot times:
· Download and Run
· Select Trace
· Select Next Boot and Driver Trace
· A Trace Repetitions screen will appear, select Ok and Reboot
· Upon reboot, BootVis will automatically start, analyze and log your system’s boot process. When it’s done, in the menu go to Trace and select Optimize System
· Reboot
· When your machine has rebooted wait until you see the Optimizing System box appear. Be patient and wait for the process to complete
Remove Fonts for Speed
Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of system resources. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.
· Open Control Panel
· Open Fonts folder
· Move fonts you don’t need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain.
INTERMEDIATE
Turn Off System Restore
System Restore can be a useful if your computer is having problems, however storing all the restore points can literally take up Gigabytes of space on your hard drive. To turn off System Restore:
· Open Control Panel
· Click on Performance and Maintenance
· Click on System
· Click on the System Restore tab
· Tick ‘Turn off System Restore on All Drives’
· Click ‘Ok’
Defragment Your Pagefile
Keeping your pagefile defragmented can provide a major performance boost. One of the best ways of doing this is to creat a separate partition on your hard drive just for your page file, so that it doesn’t get impacted by normal disk usage. Another way of keeping your pagefile defragmented is to run PageDefrag. This cool little app can be used to defrag your pagefile, and can also be set to defrag the pagefile everytime your PC starts. To install:
· Download and Run PageDefrag
· Tick ‘Defrag at next Reboot’,
· Click ‘Ok’
· Reboot

Make Your Menus Load Faster
This is one of my favourite tweaks as it makes a huge difference to how fast your machine will ‘feel’. What this tweak does is remove the slight delay between clicking on a menu and XP displaying the menu.
This is the delay time before a menu is opened. You can set it to ‘0? but it can make windows really hard to use as menus will open if you just look at them - well move your mouse over them anyway. I tend to go for anywhere between 50-150 depending on my mood
· Go to Start then Run
· Type ‘Regedit’ then click ‘Ok’
· Find ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop’
· Select ‘MenuShowDelay’
· Right click and select ‘Modify’
· Reduce the number to around ‘100?
Make Programs Load Faster
This little tweak tends to work for most programs. If your program doesn’t load properly just undo the change. For any program:
· Right-click on the icon/shortcut you use to launch the program
· Select properties
· In the ‘target’ box, add ‘ /prefetch:1′ at the end of the line.
· Click ‘Ok’
Ensure XP Is Using DMA Mode
XP enables DMA for Hard-Drives and CD-Roms by default on most ATA or ATAPI (IDE) devices. However, sometimes computers switch to PIO mode which is slower for data transfer - a typical reason is because of a virus. To ensure that your machine is using DMA:
· Open ‘Device Manager’
· Double-click ‘IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers’
· Right-click ‘Primary Channel’ and select ‘Properties’ and then ‘Advanced Settings’
· In the ‘Current Transfer Mode’ drop-down box, select ‘DMA if Available’ if the current setting is ‘PIO Only’

ADVANCED
Speed Up Boot Times I
This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn’t waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It’s quite simple to implement:
· Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
o RD /S /q ‘C:\Documents and Settings’UserName without quotes’\Local Settings\History’
o RD /S /q ‘C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History’
o RD /S /q ‘D:\Temp’ <’'Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder’
· Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a ‘.bat’ file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat
· Click ‘Start’ then ‘Run’
· Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit ‘ok’
· Click on ‘Computer Configuration’ then ‘Windows Settings’
· Double-click on ‘Scripts’ and then on ‘Shutdown’
· Click ‘Add’ and find the batch file that you created and then press ‘Ok’
Speed Up Boot Times II
When your PC starts it usually looks for any bootable media in any floppy or cd-rom drives you have installed before it gets around to loading the Operating System from the HDD. This can waste valuable time. To fix this we need to make some changes to the Bios.
Note: Once this change has been made, you won’t be able to boot from a floppy disc or a CD-rom. If for some strange reason you need to do this in the future, just go back into your bios, repeat the steps above and put your floppy or CD-rom back as the ‘First Device’
· To enter the bios you usually press ‘F2′ or ‘delete’ when your PC starts
· Navigate to the ‘Boot’ menu
· Select ‘Boot Sequence’
· Then either move your Hard drive to the top position or set it as the ‘First Device’5. Press the ‘Escape’ key to leave the bios. Don’t forget to save your settings before exiting
Speed Up Boot Times III
When your computer boots up it usually has to check with the network to see what IP addresses are free and then it grabs one of these. By configuring a manually assigned IP address your boot time will improve. To do this do the following:
· Click on ‘Start’ and then ‘Connect To/Show All Connections’
· Right-click your network adapter card and click ‘Properties’
· On the ‘General’ tab, select ‘TCP/IP’ in the list of services and click ‘Properties’
· In the TCP/IP properties, click ‘Use the following address’ and enter an IP address for your PC. If you are using a router this is usually 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx. If you are not sure what address you could check with your ISP or go to ‘Start/run’ and type ‘cmd’ and then ‘ipconfig/all’. This will show your current IP settings which you will need to copy
· Enter the correct details for ‘Subnet mask’, ‘Default gateway’ and ‘DNS Server’. Again if you are not sure what figures to enter use ‘ipconfig/all’ as in stage 4

Disable Unnecessary Services
Because Windows XP has to be all things to all people it has many services running that take up system resources that you will never need. Below is a list of services that can be disabled on most machines:
· Alerter
· Clipbook
· Computer Browser
· Distributed Link Tracking Client
· Fast User Switching
· Help and Support - (If you use Windows Help and Support leave this enabled)
· Indexing Service
· IPSEC Services
· Messenger
· Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
· Portable Media Serial Number
· Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
· Remote Procedure Call Locator
· Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
· Remote Registry Service
· Secondary Logon
· Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
· Server
· SSDP Discovery Service - (Unplug n’ Pray will disable this)
· Telnet
· TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
· Upload Manager
· Universal Plug and Play Device Host
· Windows Time
· Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use a wireless network)
To disable these services:
· Go to Start and then Run and type ’services.msc’
· Doubleclick on the service you want to change
· Change the startup type to ‘Disable’
Speedup Folder Access - Disable Last Access Update
If you have a lot of folders and subdirectories on your computer, when you access a directory XP wastes a lot of time updating the time stamp showing the last access time for that directory and for ALL sub directories. To stop XP doing this you need to edit the registry. If you are uncomfortable doing this then please do not attempt.
· Go to Start and then Run and type ‘regedit’
· Click through the file system until you get to ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem’
· Right-click in a blank area of the window on the right and select ‘DWORD Value’
· Create a new DWORD Value called ‘NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate’
· Then Right click on the new value and select ‘Modify’
· Change the Value Data to ‘1′
· Click ‘OK’
Improve Boot Times
A great new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This places all boot files next to each other on the disk to allow for faster booting. By default this option in enables but on some builds it is not so below is how to turn it on.
· Go to Start Menu and Click Run
· Type in ‘Regedit’ then click ok
· Find ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction’
· Select ‘Enable’ from the list on the right
· Right on it and select ‘Modify’
· Change the value to ‘Y to enable’
· Reboot
Improve Swapfile Performance
If you have more than 256MB of RAM this tweak will considerably improve your performance. It basically makes sure that your PC uses every last drop of memory (faster than swap file) before it starts using the swap file.
· Go to Start then Run
· Type ‘msconfig.exe’ then ok
· Click on the System.ini tab
· Expand the 386enh tab by clicking on the plus sign
· Click on new then in the blank box type’ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1?
· Click OK
· Restart PC

Improve XP Shutdown Speed
This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.
· Go to Start then select Run
· Type ‘Regedit’ and click ok
· Find ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop’Select ‘WaitToKillAppTimeout’
· Right click and select ‘Modify’
· Change the value to ‘1000′
· Click ‘OK’
· Now select ‘HungAppTimeout’
· Right click and select ‘Modify’
· Change the value to ‘1000′
· Click ‘OK’
· Now find ‘HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop’
· Select ‘WaitToKillAppTimeout’
· Right click and select ‘Modify’
· Change the value to ‘1000′
· Click ‘OK’
· Now find ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control’
· Select ‘WaitToKillServiceTimeout’
· Right click and select ‘Modify’
· Change the value to ‘1000′
· Click ‘OK’

Read More