Improve The Performance and Speed of Windows XP
Your computer's RAM decides how efficiently your PC will function. Upgrading the RAM is ofcourse the best option, but not feasible at all times, so the next best option is to keep your RAM free from cluttering programs or rather Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL's) When programs run they use DLL's, which contain programming instructions and applications to make a program run. Usually when we end a program, the DLL's that it uses are released from RAM, [most of the times], however there are DLL's that get seated in RAM and occupy unnecessary space and thus reduce the performance of your system and make it slow.
Now all we need to do to keep the performance of our PC at its best, is to ensure that all the DLL's related to a program get released by RAM as soon as we close that program. And this is what we need to do:
Click on "Start" menu and then select and click on "Run"

In the "Run" window type "regedit" and click on "OK"

In the "Registry Editor" window that opens, navigate to:
My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
In Explorer, in the right pane of the window, right click on an empty area, select "New" and then "Key"

Rename the key as "AlwaysUnloadDLL" and in the right pane of the window for the "(Default)", double click it and set it its value to "1" and click on "OK"

Reboot the computer for the change to take place. And the next time when you close any program, all the DLL's associated with it will also vacate that place in the RAM that they were occupying leaving your computer to function at its best!
Increase The Performance Of Your Computer
A simple one method which can make a drastic difference to your computer's performance. All you need to do is:
Click on "Start" menu. Navigate to "My Computer". Right click it to click on "Properties"
In the "System Properties" window that opens, under the "Advanced" tab in the "Performance" area, click on "Settings"
In the "Performance Options" window that opens, within the "Visual Effects" tab, select the "Custom" option and disable by unchecking the following items:


- Fade or slide menus into view
- Fade or slide ToolTips into view
- Fade out menu items after clicking
- Show Shadows under menus
- Slide open combo boxes
- Slide taskbar buttons
- Use a background image for each folder type
- Use common tasks in folders
Start Your PC In Seconds
It does get on your nerves when you wish your PC would start right away, but it seems to be taking an eternity to start. Well, here we have a tweak to make it start in seconds, so that waiting time is over! Just follow the steps below and you will notice a drastic change in the speed with which your computer boots.
Start by clicking on the "Start" menu followed by clicking on "Run"
In the "Run" window that opens, type "regedit" and click on "OK"

The "Registry Editor" window would open. There, navigate to:
My Computer\HKEY_LOACAL_MECHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex
In the right pane of the window, search for ""Startup Delay" key.
When you double click on "Startup Delay", a popup window, titled "Edit DWORD Value" would show up. There in the "Base" section, click on "Decimal". You would see the default figure for "Value Data" comes as "480000". Change this figure to "40000" and click on "OK"
Close the Registry Editor, reboot your PC, and there you are, your computer boots in just few seconds.
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