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Who's right, or what when tweaking XP?

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mikee55

Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Location
South UK
Hi all, I've read various tweaks and tips from around OC FORUMS, and some info conflicts with what is said. As an example, Do you clean out the Prefetch folder in c:/windows/Prefetch or not? What size is the best swapfile?, 1 GB or 3x whatever Ram? Don't have one?:bang head

I've just tweaked this and that, then I stumbled on this site
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html
and I'm now confused. I can't overclock my PC, I mean its too risky and because I still don't fully understand and probably can't with my MSI6390 mobo and AMD Athlon XP, 1545 MHz (11.5 x 134) 1800+ Thoroughbred-B.512mb ddr at 233mhz (sorry). So I tweak what I can. I figured this site must be in the know, because you're into all things fast:)

So I need to know too, what can I do?

Cheers mikee55
PS we're decorating at the mo, so I can't buy any hardware yet.
 
These are just my personal opinions...
As an example, Do you clean out the Prefetch folder in c:/windows/Prefetch or not?
NO... prefetching is already optimized in XP. The Prefetch folder contains information regarding the optimal disk layout of program files so they launch quicker. You may delete all those files, but XP will rebuild that folder so that your PC runs as efficiently as possible. After deleting the prefetch files, your PC's performance will suffer slightly until the prefetch folder is rebuilt. It takes approximately three reboots to properly rebuild the prefetch folder contents.

Windows XP's Built-In Optimization
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1149277,00.asp
What size is the best swapfile?, 1 GB or 3x whatever Ram? Don't have one?
Let Windows manage the size of the Paging File. You may notice a slight speed increase by disabling it altogether (although in actuality the PF can't be totally disabled), although you will find that some apps require a PF (like Photoshop for example)... and will complain in some form or another if there isn't one. Another untruth is in regards to setting the minimum and maximum PF size to the same value, which may have worked in earlier versions of Windows... but doesn't apply to NT-based OS's like XP/W2K. This article may be of some help to you in regards to understanding how the PF and virtual memory work in XP...

Virtual Memory in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

AFA what tweaks work and which ones don't, the best thing for you to do is experiment... and don't automatically take everything you read about tweaking Windows as gospel. Only you will know what tweaks make a discernible performance difference on your system, and which ones don't. Regarding which so-called tweaks are truths, and which ones are fallacies... there's so many of both at thousands of Windows tweak sites. Try to find reputable sites like the last one I linked you to for example, ones that are written by MS MVP's as a for instance.

I've experimented over the years with altering / moving / disabling etc. the PF on many different systems, and have personally not found any discernible difference in speed whatsoever. Others will disagree, which is why I suggest you experiment and find out for yourself what works best on your particular system. Altering or disabling prefetching in XP is another fallacy as I said before, but you could always experiment with altering the prefetch DWORD values in the registry (you might want to backup the specific Key(s) that the value(s) reside in beforehand though)... as that site you linked to made note of.

If you're ever unsure about a tweak that you've read about, before actually trying it (especially when it comes to manually modifying the registry, or merging registry edits that you may have downloaded from a tweak site) visit the MSKB here...

Search the Support Knowledge Base (KB)
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1

... and type in a few key words like 'prefetching' or 'virtual memory' / 'paging file', after selecting your product... like XP for example. This way you can get explanations directly from MS, and not a third party source that you may be unsure of... like the tweaking site you linked to. There are literally tens of thousands of articles in the KB related to every MS software / hardware product that they've ever released.
 
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