Download X-Setup 6.6 (older
version, free):
*Note, this program used to be free,
then went to $8, and is now $19.95 for a single license and 1 year
of updates.
Download locations for the old version
are disappearing, hear are a few locations:
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page5.html#X-Setup
(click the "download" link)
if all else fails:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22X-Setup+6.6%22&hl=en&start=0&sa=N
***UPDATE
The software verndor has gone belly-up and has made
the last version available for free. See
MajorGeeks for download & Info.
Why the use of a tweaking app? I've
dealt with the issues of people tweaking XP for over 3 years. The
email usually begins something like "I know you said to back up but
I didn't and now 'xyz' doesn't work".
Using a tweaking app allows both the
novice and expert to quickly and safely do/undo tweaks. If you don't
want to use an app for this see the Creating Your Own Registry Files
section.
Using
X-Setup
X-setup is an especially powerful
program which I encourage you to explore. One word of caution. When
choosing some options in X-Setup you may get a warning message that
basically states that messing with these settings can hose your
system. Pay attention to these warnings!
After you launch X-Setup, choose
"Classic" under "start options"
Performance
Purpose:
Performance
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance >
Explorer > Settings > Explorer Options > check box that says Enable
fast update and apply changes. Be sure to uncheck the other 2
options if you do not want to use them.
Action:
Stop Windows from looking for Scheduled Tasks when browsing network
*All Levels
Purpose: Free system/network resources.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Network >
Explorer > Remote Computers Special Folders > uncheck "Show
Scheduled Tasks" when viewing network computers. If you don't have a
shared network printer then uncheck the other box too. Apply
changes.
Action:
Disable 8.3 Name Creation
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Performance
All X-Setup Plug-ins > System > File
System > Windows NT/2K/XP Options > Windows File System Options >
uncheck Create 8+3 filenames (NTFS partitions only)
This tweak may cause errors with an
occasional program including the installation (not the running of)
Norton products.
From
Microsoft: "When disable8dot3 is set to 0, every time you create
a file with a long file name, NTFS creates a second file entry that
has an 8.3 character-length file name. When NTFS creates files in a
folder, it must look up the 8.3 character-length file names
associated with the long file names."
Action:
Disable NTFS Time Stamp
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Performance
All X-Setup Plug-ins > System > File
System > Windows NT/2K/XP Options > Windows File System Options >
uncheck Enable update of "Last Access" attribute.
From
Microsoft: "Disabling the Last Access Time improves the speed of
folder and file access...Note that using the disablelastaccess
parameter can affect programs such as backup and Remote Storage that
rely on this feature."
More info for the above 2 tweaks -
Optimizing NTFS Performance
Action:
Disable Thumbnail Cache
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Free up system resources.
This stops the creation of that annoying
little Thumbs.db file. If you go into folders containing pics often
you may not want to use this tweak.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance >
Explorer > Settings > Thumbnails Enabled > uncheck Enable creating
thumbnails and apply changes.
note
- Using this tweak will slow the viewing of thumbnails a tad. The
advantage is that the thumbnails will always reflect the current
version of the pics and you won't have thumbs.db files all over your
hard drives.
Action:
Execute 16bit Applications In Separate Process
*All Levels
Purpose:
Stability
In X-Setup 6.6 - All X-Setup
Plug-ins > System > Memory > Memory Settings > check Execute 16bit
Applications Separated and apply changes.
This IS NOT a performance tweak, in fact
it is just the opposite (it uses more memory). The purpose of this
tweak is to keep one crashing 16bit program from crashing all active
16bit programs.
Action:
Automatically Restart Explorer After Crash
*All Levels
Purpose:
Stability, ability to save data.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > System > Crash
Control > Crash Control Options #1 > check Automatically restart
Explorer after crash and apply changes.
Action:
Make Internet Explorer Behave
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Free system/network resources.
In X-Setup 6.6 - All X-Setup
Plug-ins > Internet > Internet Explorer > System > Advanced Options
#1 > uncheck "Check for Updates on microsoft.com" and "Enable Error
Reporting"Â and apply changes. (Don't forget to run Windows
Update!)
Action:
Clear The Prefetch Folder
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Performance, system maintenance.
Clearing the prefetch folder isn't
something you should be doing very often. Prefetching is a great
feature of XP. I've seen more than one "expert" opine that you
should clear the prefetch folder "monthly" or "often".
Really? WHY??? Time is exactly what
makes the prefetching feature more efficient.** The only reason to
mess with the prefetch folder is after major changes to your
machine. (see the Bad Tweaks section)
To clear the prefetch folder:
All X-Setup Plug-ins > System > File
System > Windows XP Prefetching > Clear The Prefetch > hit the
button Clear Prefetch Folder.
DO NOT mess with any other prefetch
settings.
Security
Purpose:
Security
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Internet >
Instant Messaging > Windows Messenger > System > Allow Run Options >
uncheck both boxes and apply changes.
Appearance
Action:
Change Windows Media Player Title
*All Levels
Purpose:
Fun!
More Info -
See "purpose"!
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Internet >
Windows Media Player > Window Title, change to whatever you desire.
Action:
Show user and computer name on "My Computer"
*All Levels
Purpose:
Fun!
More Info -
See "purpose"!
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance >
Desktop > Icons > 'My Computer' Options > Show USERNAME on 'My
Computer' > check the box on the right of the screen and apply
changes. Right click on desktop and choose Refresh to see changes.
Action:
Activate/Deactivate Tool Tips
Levels 3
& 4 only
Purpose:
Free up system resources.
More infoAll X-Setup Plug-ins >
Appearance > Desktop > Options > Explorer/Desktop ToolTip Options,
uncheck the box (to deactivate) on the right of the screen and apply
changes.
Action:
Name/Rename your computer!
Levels 2
, 3 , 4
Purpose:
Fun!
More Info -
See "purpose"!
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance > OEM
Branding > OEM General > name as you like and apply changes!
Action:
Create a logon message
*All Levels
Purpose:
fun!
More Info -
See "purpose"!
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Startup/Shutdown
> Startup > Windows NT/2K/XP > Before Logon Window > Legal Notice >
type what you want to appear, like "Death to all who enter" or
whatever! Lots of great options in the Startup section!
Functionality and Other Good Stuff
Purpose:
Free up system resources, User preference.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance >
System > Find Files Dialog > Find Files Dialog Appearance, uncheck
the box and apply changes. (Thanks to
Theo for suggesting this tip)
Purpose:
Fast access to operation.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Appearance >
Files&Folders > Folders Context menu > Encrypt/Decrypt Context menu
> check box on right and apply changes.
Action:
Show hidden devices in device manager
*All Levels
Purpose:
Information.
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Hardware > System
Settings > Windows Phantom Devices > check the box on the right and
apply changes.
Action:
Disable Windows Key
Level 4 only
Purpose:
Some Gamers find the Windows key annoying.
More Info -
If you are an avid gamer with fast fingers, you already know why you
want it disabled!
All X-Setup Plug-ins > Hardware >
Keyboard > Enable Windows Keys > uncheck button Enable Windows Keys.
Using
PowerToys TweakUI
Performance
Action:
Visual Tweaks that can help performance (and get rid of some
annoying things!)
*All Levels
Purpose:
Free up system resources. User preference.
Click on General > uncheck
everything EXCEPT "Optimize hard disk when idle" and click apply.
Functionality
Action:
Change location of Special Folders
Purpose:
Performance. Free up disk space. Store files on different
drive/partition for data security.
TweakUI allows you to easily change the
location of "Special Folders". These include:
The My Documents folder OR just parts of
it. Favorites folder.
My Computer > Special Folders
> in the section entitled Special Folders on the right, use
the arrow to choose which folder you want to move. Click the
Change location button and enter the new location. ***Be sure to
move your files from the old folder to the new one. This method does
not automatically do it for you.
Appearance
Action:
Remove Shortcut arrows
*All Levels
Purpose:
Because those arrows suck!
Click on Explorer > Shortcut
> check the NONE box on the right and apply.
Logon
Action:
Automatic Logon
Levels 2
, 3 , 4
Purpose:
Faster boot.
This effectively bypasses having a logon
password to start XP. Someone can sit down at your computer, use it,
and access all resources (including network) in your name. I do not
recommend this in 99% of situations.
Logon > Auto logon > check
Logon automatically at system startup and click Apply.
Action:
Remove Unread Mail from Welcome screen
Purpose:
User preference.
Logon > Auto logon >
uncheck
Show unread mail on Welcome screen and click Apply.
Action:
Remove users from Welcome screen
Purpose:
Security. User preference.
This allows you to remove users
including Administrator (or whatever you renamed the Administrator
account to) from the normal Welcome screen. This does not apply to
the Safe Mode welcome screen.
Logon (the main section) >
uncheck the users you do not want to appear and click Apply.
**For those who want to argue about
this. Do a search for windows xp, layout.ini, and prefetch. After
studying the information you find I think you'll agree with my
reasoning.
No comments:
Post a Comment