Increase performance of windows XP

Tips on cleaning up your computer: Windows Xp
How to cut off the System Restore.

Right click My Computer.
Click on Properties.
Click on System Restore Tab.
Put a check beside of Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply and OK.

How to clear out the Internet Files.

First right click on the Internet Explorer Icon, then click on properties.
Now click on Delete cookies then OK.
Now click on Delete files, now put a check in Delete all offline content. Now click OK.
Now click on Clear History, then yes.
Now click ok to close out the Internet Properties.

How to clear out the TEMP folder.

Double left click on My Computer.
Double left click on "C" drive.
Now go to "tools" and select Folder options.
Now click on View and select "show hidden files and folders" under the folder Hidden Files and Folders.
Click apply and then OK.
Double left click on the Documents and Settings folder.
Double left click on the main User's Folder. (example: John Doe)
Double left click on the Local Settings folder.
Double left click on the TEMP folder.
Now go to Edit, then select all and click on the delete button on the main toolbar.
You should not delete any files newer than 3 days.
If you don't have a delete button on the toolbar then go to File and then Delete.
Click on yes when asked if you want to send the items to the recycle bin.

How to clear out the Prefetch Folder.

Double left click My Computer.
Double left click on "C" drive.
Double left click on the Windows folder.
Double left click on the Prefetch folder.
Now click on Edit, then Select all.
Now click on delete or go to "File" then Delete.
I would do this about once a month.

Be sure to run Scandisk and Defrag REGULARLY ! Run Scandisk First.
To run a ScanDisk on XP....

Double left Click My Computer.
Right click on "C" Drive.
Click Properties.
Click Tools.
To do a Scandisk Click check now.
Put a check in both boxes "Automatically Fix File System Errors" and "Scan for and attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors".
Then click Start.
Now when asked "Do you want to Schedule this Disk Check to occur the next time you Restart the Computer",
Click Yes.
Now Restart your Computer.
Also be sure to empty the Recycle Bin !

Defrag

Double left Click My Computer.
Right click on "C" Drive.
Click Properties.
Click Tools.
Click on Defragment Now
Click on Defragment

After Following All the Above, Turn System Restore Back On.

Right click My Computer.
Click on Properties.
Click on System Restore Tab.
Remove the check beside of Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply and OK.

Tips on cleaning up your computer: Remove Adware & Spyware

Spyware is software that sends information from the user's computer without their knowledge whenever the computer connects to the Internet. Usually the information sent is benign in nature, mostly concerned with general marketing information (ie., spending habits) rather than specific information like credit card numbers, although some programs are capable of retrieving specific information as well. The problem with Spyware lies in the fact that this information is transmitted without informed consent. Additionally, Spyware programs are sometimes poorly written, containing bugs and causing the computer to malfunction. Spyware does not respect your privacy. If you are bothered with this, then removing adware from your computer might be a consideration. Click HERE to be taken to the Link.

Auto Delete Temporary Folder (XP Pro)

First go to Start, then run and type in gpedit.msc
Next select -> Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Terminal Services/Temporary Folder. Then right click "Do Not Delete Temp Folder Upon Exit" Go to properties and hit disable. Now next time Windows puts a temp file in that folder it will automatically delete it when its done! Remember, GPEDIT (Group Policy Editor) is only available in XP Pro.

How to remove all the System Restore points except the recent one?

All the System Restore points can be cleared by disabling and enabling the System Restore option. However, Windows XP provides an option to clear all the System Restore points except the very recently created point. This can be accomplished through the Disk Cleanup Utility in XP.
Click Start, Run and type CLEANMGR and press Enter.
Select the hard disk partition and press OK.
At the top of the dialog, click the tab More Options.
Under System Restore section, click the button "Clean up..."
Now, all the System Restore points (except the recent one) are cleared and more hard disk space will be free.

Remove Deleted Programs from the Uninstall List

If you deleted a program instead of uninstalling it, most likely the program will still be listed in the windows uninstall list. Follow the directions below to remove programs from list manually.

1. Click on Start then Run and type regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
3. Delete the folder of the program.
Also See "How to Manually Remove Programs from the Add or Remove Programs Tool"

A Better Windows XP Disk Cleanup Tool

These instructions will show you how to create an unattended disk cleanup which will also empty your prefetch folder providing Windows XP is installed in c:\windows.

1. Create a new text file and place the following contents inside:
c:\windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe /dc /sageset: 1
c:
cd \
cd c:\windows\prefetch
del *.* /q

2. Save the file, changing the extension from .txt to .bat
Now name it diskclean.bat

3. Execute the file. This will run the Disk Cleanup program in a special mode which asks what items you will want cleaned when Disk Cleanup performs an unattended cleanup. Check the items you wish to have cleaned up, then click OK.

4. Right-click on the diskclean.bat file and click edit. Change the first line to read:

c:\windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe /dc /sagerun: 1

5. Save the file. You can execute this file in place of running Disk Cleanup, or, to have this program run unattended, run the Add Scheduled Task Wizard in the Control Panel and create a scheduled task using the clean.bat file you just created.

To download one already made click HERE.
Save to your Desktop and then follow the instructions at #3.