23 Ways To Speed Up Windows XP

Since defragmenting the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
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9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.
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18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

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Boot Windows XP Fast

Follow the following steps

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' grayed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

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Crack Office 2007 activation without a crack

For those who don't like confronting with Microsoft
For this procedure, you will need
* Office 2007 that requires activation
* A computer able to run Office 2007 (XP or higher required for Office 2007)
* At least 3 minutes of time
Instructions
* Uninstall Office 2007 from your computer if you have it on there right now
* Install Office 2007 IMPORTANT! When installing Office 2007, when it asks for a serial number, just click Continue and with the dialog that pops up, click No. Then continue with your installation.
* Once Office 2007 is installed, you should be able to open Office apps and be prompted for activation. This is normal.
* Close all open Office apps.
* In Windows Explorer, browse to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE12\Office Setup Controller\Proof.en
* In any plain text editor you want, open Proof.xml
* Find:

Code:

      </Feature> <Feature Id=”SetupXmlFiles” Cost=”1248″>
      <OptionRef Id=”AlwaysInstalled”/>
      </Feature>

* Replace "AlwaysInstalled" to "neverInstalled" (make sure to get the casing right) so that it will look like the this:

Code:

</Feature> <Feature Id=”SetupXmlFiles” Cost=”1248″>
      <OptionRef Id=”neverInstalled”/>
      </Feature>

* Save the XML file.

* That's it! You're done. Next time you open an Office app, it will not rudely ask for a serial number

The Trojan hidden in Monster.com

The Trojan stealing the data was hidden in a fraudulent advertisement on online job sites like Monster.com

Security researchers have unearthed the single largest cache of stolen identities, thanks in part to a Trojan stealing the data that has been hidden in a fraudulent advertisement on online job sites like Monster.com.

Don Jackson, a researcher with security company SecureWorks, told InformationWeek that he found 12 data caches connected to one group using the latest variance of the Prg Trojan, which also is known as Ntos, Tcp Trojan, Zeus, Infostealer.Monstres and Banker.aam. Several of the 12 found caches contain information on about 4,000 to 6,000 identity theft victims, but one contains about 10,000 and the largest one contains 46,000.

He estimates that between the 12 caches, there probably is information on about 100,000 stolen identities.

“That’s at least four times as large as the largest ones I’ve run across before,” said Jackson. “That tells me they’re using a lot of different methods to do what they do or they’ve found really reliable methods to do it.”

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Jackson calls the identity theft organization behind the caches the “car group” because they’ve named each of the servers storing the information for a different auto manufacturer, like Ford, Mercedes, Chrysler, and French carmaker Bugatti.

The data, which includes bank and credit card account information, Social Security numbers, online payment account usernames and passwords, comes from victims who were all individually infected with the Trojan beginning in early May.

He said the latest variant of the Prg Trojan has been running on fraudulent ads on at least two online job sites. One, he said, is Monster.com. Representatives from Monster did not return a request for an interview.

“The hackers behind this scam are running ads on job sites and are injecting those ads with the Trojan,” said Jackson. “When a user views or clicks on one of the malicious ads, their PC is getting infected and all the information they are entering into their browser, including financial information being entered before it reaches the SSL-protected sites, is being captured and sent off to the hacker’s server in Asia Pacific.”

Jackson said one server is still collecting stolen data and they are seeing 9,000 to 10,000 victims sending information to the server at any one time. When someone clicks on the advertisement, they’re taken to a malicious Web page where their computer is infected with the Prg Trojan.

He said they’ve given information about the caches and the phony ads to the FBI. Jackson also said they tried contacting Monster.com but they haven’t received a response yet.
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“When I first discovered this large cache of data, I couldn’t figure out how the hackers were compromising so many Web sites, and as a result, infecting so many victims,” added Jackson. “However, when I uncovered the Trojan-injected advertisements, it made total sense. These job sites get tons of traffic so it is no wonder that the hackers are having such success.”

The Trojan is designed to exploit several different software flaws, including vulnerabilities — all of which have been patched by the vendors — in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, WinZip and Apple’s QuickTime.

Jackson said they found the caches by writing signatures that detect the Trojan communicating with the hackers’ command server, which sends out instructions to the malware and accepts data from it. Researchers followed the traffic back to several servers. He said some are located in the Russian business network, others are in Hong Kong, and they believe the major cache is on a server in Malaysia.

Different hacker groups are selling a kit that helps malware authors compile new versions of the Prg Trojan. The kit, which sells for about $300 on underground forums and marketplaces, even re-scrambles the code to evade anti-virus detection.

SecureWorks noted that computers infected with the Prg Trojan will have a backdoor proxy server listening for connections on Port 6081. “This port is in not assigned to legitimate services and is not hidden by the rootkit functionality. f port 6081 is open on your computer, you are likely infected with the Prg Trojan,” said Jackson. “If anti-virus is not detecting the infection, then you will need to boot the computer into Safe Mode and run another scan. If that fails, manual removal or reinstalling the operating system may be necessary.”

Working with Username and Password, using net user command

The following example shows the syntax of the net user command:
net user [username [password | *] [options]] [/domain]
username {password | *} /add [options] [/domain]
username [/delete] [/domain]

You can use the net user command to create and modify user accounts on computers. When you use this command without command-line switches, the user accounts for the computer are listed. The user account information is stored in the user accounts database. This command works only on servers.
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You can use the following parameters with the net user command:• username
Is the name of the user account you want to add, delete, modify, or view. The name of the user account can have as many as 20 characters.
• password
Assigns or changes a password for the user’s account. A password must satisfy the minimum length set with the /minpwlen option of the net accounts command. It can contain as many as 14 characters.
• *
Produces a prompt for the password. The password is not displayed when you type it at a password prompt.
• /domain
Performs the operation on the primary domain controller (PDC) of the current domain. This parameter applies only to computers running Windows NT Workstation that are members of a Windows NT Server domain. By default, Windows NT Server-based computers perform operations on the PDC.
• /add
Adds a user account to the user accounts database.
• /delete
Removes a user account from the user accounts database.