Do to popular demand we are listing some simple but effective tips for the Windows XP users out there. These will work on both XP home and Pro. Now remember, if you are not completely comfortable with any of this call us and we will be glad to help you.

Easy sendto menu mod

This one is super easy,
first open
X:\Documents and Settings\username\SendTo\ (it is hidden)
where X is your drive letter and username is your username
make and delete shortcuts to folders at will

Disable Windows Picture and Fax Viewer

By default, Windows XP opens all picture files (gif,jpg,...) with the included Windows Picture and Fax Viewer no matter what other picture viewers you have installed. To disable the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, unregister shimgvw.dll. This can be done from command prompt:
regsvr32 /u shimgvw.dll

Speed up menu display

When using the start menu the you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly.

• · Start Regedit.
• · Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
• · Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right.
• · Right on it and select Modify.
• · Change the value to 0.
• · Reboot your computer.

Look at: http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/fastboot/
great Tool, easy to use.

Get rid of Swap File - 512+ MB ram

For all of you with 512 MB RAM or more, here's my advice.. get rid of that swap file! You will be surprised that Windows XP will run fine without it once you have the RAM available.

If you do not feel comfortable with going without a swap file, then set it to a minimum of 50 MB. To do this, Right-click on the My Computer Icon on your desktop, then select Properties. Click Advanced, then Settings, Then Advanced.

In the section describing virtual memory, click the CHANGE button, then select NO PAGING FILE if you want no swap file.. or CUSTOM SIZE if you want to start at 50 MB.

This will not only improve system performance, but you will be amazed as to how fast your system will run.\

Which services to stop on a gamer machine that have a cable conecction

Put all These services on MANUAL



Routing and Remote Access
Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service** (only if firewll is not used)
Application Management
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ClipBook
COM+ System Application
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Help and Support
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service** (only if do you not use the cd-rw xp record suport)
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider
Net Logon
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
NT LM Security Support Provider
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number
QoS RSVP
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
Removable Storage
Server
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
SSDP Discovery Service
System Restore Service
Telnet
Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Volume Shadow Copy
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Windows Installer
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adapter
Fast User Switching Compatibility ** (only if fast user shiching is not used or the machine have one user only)
Protected Storage
Windows Time
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Task Scheduler
Secondary Logon
Print Spooler ** (only if the pc do not have or use a printer)
Indexing Service
Error Reporting Service
Computer Browser
Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

View XP System Uptime

To view the amount of time that XP has been running with out rebooting or restarting the computer:

1) Open the Command Prompt (located under Accessories)
2) Type 'systeminfo' (without the dashes)
3) Once the system has finished gathering the information, scroll up and the time is displayed in the System Up Time field.

As you can see, running systeminfo also gives a lot of useful information.

How to get to Corporate Windows Update

http://corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

Remove programs from 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.

• · Start regedit, if you are unfamiliar with regedit please see our FAQ.
• · Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Uninstall.
• · Delete the folder of the program.

I used this trick when I had a old NIC card that was removed from a system without uninstalling. It still had DNS and IP information which caused problems. This was used on Windows 2000 and should still apply to XP.

Add the following system environment variable:
devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
(reboot optional)
Open Device Manager
From the View menu select Show Hidden Devices

Locate your hidden hardware in device manager.
Right click
Uninstall