23 XP Quickcomers

Many software companies have developed defragmentation software, and they want you to believe that their software does improve system performance. But some internal tests have shown that the results are not ideal. Steve Gibson and other system testers have recently discovered that defragmentation has actually helped computers improve performance and speed in the past, but now it's not only 7200 rpm or even faster. IDE hard drive, SCSI hard drive, SATA hard drive (coming soon to become mainstream), there are great improvements in retrieval and waiting time, there are many hard disk 8MB cache, plus Windows XP efficient NTFS file system, all this Making the defragmentation no longer plays a big role in the acceleration system.

Tips

Despite this, defragmentation is still a very important task. First, power consumption and heat can directly affect a hard disk with debris. When the computer operating system requests data, if there is a file storage location that is not adjacent, additional retrieval is required on the disk. Second, one of the most important considerations is disk failure. Suppose a hard disk is really faulty. If the data inside is adjacent, the possibility of successfully obtaining data from a bad disk or a damaged partition is much better than randomly distributing the data on the disk.
Since defragmentation does not make a big difference to improve the performance of Windows XP, there are 23 suggestions that can help enhance the performance and reliability of your computer, and most of them don't cost you too much money.
1. Use high-speed hard disk
To reduce the system startup time and improve the performance of the system, it is recommended to configure the computer with an Ultra-133 or SATA hard disk with 8M cache, no need to buy disk finishing software, Windows A defragmentation tool is enough.
2. Increase memory
If your computer's memory is less than 512MB, or increase the memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and simple way to significantly improve system performance.
3. Use NTFS partition
It is recommended to use Windows XP new NTFS file system. Although the file system of the boot disk can be FAT32 or NTFS, it is better to use the NTFS file system, which has high security, reliability, and high efficiency for large-capacity hard disks.

Tips

How to convert hard disk partition to NTFS format
Right click on the C drive and select "Properties" if the file system is FAT32. Then immediately back up the important data on the disk, then click "Start → Run", enter cmd Enter, enter "CONVERT C: /FS: NTFS" at the command prompt and press Enter to confirm (if the C drive is in use) It will prompt you to automatically switch and restart when you next reboot. This process may take a while. Make sure that the computer is not interrupted. It is best to unplug the network cable to avoid viruses or hackers. After the conversion is complete, restart your computer.
4. Close the file index
The index service extracts information from the hard disk's documents and other files to generate a "search keyword". As you can imagine, this process is very time consuming in any system. In the absence of an indexing service, the search function that comes with Windows XP has enough ability to perform this search, only a little longer. We can cancel it completely: right click on the corresponding hard drive letter, select "Properties", uncheck "Allow Indexing Service", apply all changes to the subdirectories and files of the C drive, and click "Confirm". If a warning or incorrect message appears (such as "access denied"), click the "Ignore All" button.
5. Update the driver
Update the computer's graphics card and motherboard chipset drivers, and update the BIOS of the motherboard and other hardware.
6. Empty pre-read files
Windows XP can pre-read some of the frequently used data and applications, so that when users access, the process is faster. But after a long time, the pre-reading folder will become very large, and there are a lot of useless files inside, and then preloading them will waste time and reduce system performance. It is recommended to empty all files under the Windows Read-Ahead folder every three months or so (located under the Windows directory, such as <C:\\Windows\\Prefetch>).
7. Clean Disk
Run the disk cleanup program once a month. Double-click "My Computer", right-click on the C drive, select "Properties", click the "Disk Cleanup" button, this will delete all temporary files and return to the normal state.
8. Set the correct transfer mode
In the "Device Manager", double-click "IDE ATA /ATAPI Control Device", double-click the Primary IDE channel, click the "Advanced Settings" tab, ensure that device 0 Both the transfer mode of the device 1 and the device 1 are set to "DMA active", and the same operation is performed for the secondary (IDE) IDE channel. Make sure that each drive connected to the primary and secondary interfaces uses DMA.
9. Replace the data cable
Due to the improvement of the hard disk technology, the requirements for the cable are also higher. Be sure to use the 80-pin Ultra-133 cable on all IDE devices to properly connect to the main/auxiliary/motherboard sockets. The location of each device on the cable is very important. A separate device must be at the end of the cable. Connecting a device to the middle of the cable can cause a signal error. If the Ultra DMA hard disk is connected, these signal errors will hinder. It works at maximum performance.
10. Delete monitoring software
Delete all monitoring software in the computer, such as AdAware, SpyBot Search & Destroy.
11. Remove unnecessary startup content
Delete all unnecessary programs or projects in Windows startup. You can use the msconfig program, run "msconfig", click the "Start" tab, and cancel the project you don't want to start when Windows starts.
12.Delete unnecessary programs
Delete unnecessary or unused programs from the "Control Panel→Add/Remove Applications" area.
13. Turn off the fancy function
Turn off all unnecessary animation effects and close the active desktop. Click the Control Panel → System icon, click the Advanced tab, and select the Settings button under Performance. You are free to choose the options here, these changes will not cause any damage to the computer, just make the response faster.
14. Modify the registry
Modify the registry related key value can increase certain system performance, but there is a certain danger.
15. Regularly upgrade
Regularly visit Microsoft's Windows upgrade site, download all critical updates, and download the updates you can choose based on your own judgment.
16. Do not mix anti-virus software
Must ensure that only one anti-virus software is installed, it is best to upgrade the anti-virus software virus database every day. Mixing anti-virus software will definitely cause problems in system performance and reliability.
17. Reduce font installation
Try to reduce the type of fonts installed on your computer. The more fonts are loaded, the slower the system will become. Although Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than previous versions of Windows, too many fonts (more than 500) can significantly increase the system burden.
18. Can be considered not to partition
It is recommended not to partition the hard disk, Windows XP NTFS file system runs more efficiently on large partitions. Data is not easy to manage in a separate partition, and it is not necessary to format the hard disk when reinstalling the system. You can use a folder instead of a partition. For example, create a folder such as Drive_D and Drive_E instead of D and E partitions. Independent partitions have the same effect, and there is no reduction in system performance. In addition, your remaining space is not limited by the size of the partition, but is limited to the entire hard disk.
19. Make sure the memory is normal
Check the memory to make sure it works, use Memtest86 to make a boot CD or floppy disk, it can automatically run 10 extended detection after booting, if the program is wrong, turn off the computer, open the chassis , remove a memory and re-detect. Remember that the memory in question must be replaced.
20. Upgrade firmware
If your computer has an optical drive or a DVD burner, check the manufacturer's website for software updates. This can increase the speed and performance of the optical drive and is free.
21. Disable useless services
Windows XP loads a lot of unwanted services, refer to the small fish e-book to disable them.
22. Open the folder window in a separate process
Open "My Computer", click "Tools → Folder Options", then click the "View" tab, check "Open in a separate process" "Folder window", restart the computer to take effect.
23. Remove dust and debris
Open the case regularly to remove dust and debris. By the way, check if all the fans are working properly and the capacitors on the motherboard are not expanding or leaking.
According to any of the above suggestions, there will be a significant improvement in the performance and reliability of the computer, but the disk fragmentation still needs to be sorted out. The main goal of this is to enable you to save the hard disk when it encounters a hard disk failure. data.

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Terminology
SCSI
SCSI is short for Small Computer System Interface, which is "small computer system-specific interface". It allows the computer to add additional external devices to improve system performance or add new features such as hard drives, optical drives, scanners, and more. SCSI hard drives are faster than regular hard drives.
SATA hard disk
The hard disk we generally use is the parallel interface hard disk, SATA is the serial interface hard disk, it is faster than the parallel interface hard disk, no data interference, no need to set the master and slave disks. More and more motherboards support SATA hard drives.
Disk fragmentation
Disk fragmentation is caused by the computer frequently reading and writing hard disks, which causes files to be scattered and saved to different places on a disk instead of being continuously stored in consecutive clusters of disks. Excessive hard disk fragmentation will cause the system to look back and forth while reading files, causing system performance degradation and severely shortening disk life. In addition, excessive disk fragmentation may also result in the loss of stored files.
Ultra-133
Ultra DMA 133 shorthand, is a data transfer protocol based on direct memory access technology, which improves the performance of ATA/IDE, the burst transfer rate reaches 133Mbps, and also enhances data transmission. Integrity.