13. Turn off Windows animations.
Turn off Windows animations. Turn off Animation - Go to Start> Run, type in
regedit. Follow this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. Click on WindowMetrics once to open its
contents in the right pane. Look for "MinAnimate", double-click it and set the
string value to 0
to turn off animations. If MinAnimate does not exist, right click inside the right
pane and choose New> String Value. Type MinAnimate then press enter.
Now that the string value is created, double click it and set the string value to
0.
source - http://www.internetfixes.com/help_desk_nt4/winsNT_12.htm
14. Use the Disk Cleanup Utility.
Start Menu ->(choose) Programs ->
Accessories -> System Tools ->
Disk Cleanup
Pick a time just before you will not be needing your computer for
a long stretch, and run the Disk Cleanup Utility. The process can
go very fast or it can hang your computer for hours.
You can be aggressive about what to delete, although if Disk Cleanup finds Office Setup Files,
its generally better to keep them. This is because if you ever update MS Office via the Microsoft
Office Website (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate/default.aspx) its generally handier
to use the files on your computer, rather than find and load the Office disks (although finding the
setup files is difficult too).
Also keep setup logs as they are sometimes necessary for software uninstallation.
There are many freeware tools out there that can help you do the same thing as Disk Cleanup
and more, but be careful not to delete uninstall launching executables themselves (as some
programs do) as these are obviously necessary for software uninstallation, if you decide to do so
later on down the line.
15. Delete unneeded programs.
Start Menu-> Settings ->
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs
Delete unneeded programs. These clog up your disk, registry and slow the
display of your Start Menu. You can do this by clicking on Start -> Settings ->
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.
16. Delete unneeded files.
Delete unneeded files. Apparently once your disk gets past the 50% full its performance degrades and as it gets near the full mark, it
seriously degrades.
17. Disconnect unneeded or little used Network Drives.
-> right click on your mapped drive -> choose disconnect
If you have a network or home network and you have used the My
Computer or Explorer option "Map Network Drive," you may have network
mappings where the drive or folder no longer exists or is accessible from
your PC.
Unfortunately, this greatly increases time before your Desktop appears after
you log on (or a plain start your computer if you do this automatically and
by pass the login screen). What happens is the PC will try a set number of
times to contact this drive or folder before giving up, but this can be a
minute or two. In fact according to one technician I know he has seen it
delay boot up 30 minutes!
You can do this by right clicking on the drive and choose "Disconnect."
18. Use the Quick Launch Toolbar.
This is not displayed by default, so right click on a blank part of the toolbar and
choose toolbars and then check Quick Launch, see below:
The Quick Launch Toolbar allows you to start frequently used programs without
opening the Start Menu or going to the Desktop. You can drag shortcuts onto toolbar
from the Start Menu (which will cause them to move off the Start Menu) or your
Desktop (which causes them to be copied).
19. Use keyboard shortcuts.
Use keyboard shortcuts. Once you get in the habit of using these, they are such a boost to efficiency
20. Don't wait for Internet Downloads, start them and move onto something else.
Don't wait. You've visited a search engine and got a list of sites to check out. You click on the first link, and it's taking ages to load. Don't
hang around waiting, just click on the Stop button.
Often the bulk of the page will appear immediately. If it doesn't, hit Reload to fetch the rest. An alternative approach is to work your way
down the list of sites, right-clicking on the best links and choosing Open in New Window.
Once you have three or four windows open, switch between them, viewing whichever page is displayed first.
source - http://www.netmag.co.uk/features/default.asp?siteid=23§iontypeid=8&subsectionid=511&subsubsectionid
=220&pagetypeid=2&articleid=9938&page=2
21. Break folders up with large amounts files and few folders, to many folders containing manageable amount of files.
The effect of this is to cut down the amount of time WIndows takes to build views when traversing folders.
Windows may stop and build a view of each folder as you try to get deeper in a folder structure or find one file in a folder of a thousand
documents.
This can take an annoying amount of time.
22. For the same reason as in step 20., if you have a large amount of programs on your Programs part of the Start Menu,
break them up into categories. Put often used programs and folders on the initial Start Menu.
It's easiest to work with Explorer when you want to manipulate the Start Menu. In fact if you right
click
on the Start Menu and choose "Explore," it will open most likely open right to the Start Menu Folder
in you
you C:\ Drive File Tree.
23. Switch from the new XP Start Menu to the Classic View.
Choose the Start Button -> Settings ->
Taskbar and Settings -> Start Menu Tab
-> Classic Start menu
The Classic View packs information (actually program shortcuts) more efficiently.
24. Turn off personalized menus on your Start Menu and in all your MS Office Programs.
Choose the Start Button -> Settings ->
Taskbar and Settings -> Start Menu Tab
-> Classic Start menu -> Customize ->
Uncheck "Use Personalized Menus"
For MS Office Programs:
Right Click -> Choose Customize
-> Choose the Options Tab ->
Check "Always Show Full Menus"
This is a pet peeve of mine. That is I get annoyed at, not being sure something is on a menu because it is not immediately shown, or
having to wait for less used item to appear.
25. If your using dialup, turn off the download of graphics.
Internet Explorer -> Tools Menu
-> Options -> Advanced Tab ->
Scroll Down to Multimedia ->
Uncheck Show Pictures
ImageToggler for IE 5 (works with IE 6 too - it's part of the Web Accessories for Internet
Explorer 5 - it installs a shortcut on the Links Toolbar in IE)
To Display the Enact the Image
Toggler After Installation:
Choose View Menu in IE -> Toolbars
-> Check Links-> Go to the Links
Toolbar. Select "Toggle Images.exe,"
which should be the last item
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