For Windows users, the biggest problem that starts once you start loading more and more of useful Applications and create files, is - SPEED and overall performance of the Operating System. I had been suffering from this problem too and have been able to find out some tricks that helped me in solving the speed issue to a great extent. In this post I will be sharing some of those tricks so that you could benefit too.

You would be wondering Windows XP? That’s an operating system that Microsoft has shelved for quite sometime now and why the heck I am giving some tips for this operating system? So let me tell you that these tricks also work for Windows Vista and Windows 7 Operating Systems. Again, I believe that there are many users, like me, who still use Windows Xp. I had migrated to windows Vista but then had to revert back to Windows XP as there were many flaws in Vista...:( Sad, but true. Now I am in no mood to shift to Windows 7 however good it might be! And, there are many others who are still using older versions of the Operating System.

So for all the Windows Operating System Users, following are the tips that you can use to speed up the performance of your operating system.

1. Disk Scan
I would recommend using the scandisk utility that ships with the windows operating system. This utility does a thorough checking of the hard disks for any errors and fixes them if instructed. Perform the Scandisk with thorough mode settings and if you have any bad sectors on the disk they will get detected. This utility will also rectify the other errors in the file system like broken links.

2. Clean Up
Run a disk cleanup utility. The clean up utilities take care of removing the Temporary Files that get created as you work along with windows operating system. They clean the files in temporary internet folder, trash can, temp system files, etc. The advantage that you get from this is that the files are removed and there is more space on the disk available.

3. Dupe File Finder
There are times when we start copying files and this, results in files with same content but different filenames. I would recommend using an application that would help you in identifying the duplicate files and you can remove the duplicates to recover some disk space.

4. Defrag
Once you have removed all the temporary files, run the Defrag Utility (pre-bundled with Windows Operating System) on all partitions and all disks that you have. This will help in arranging the contents of the file which will help the operating system in accessing the files faster.

5. Registry Cleaner
After the removal of the non-required files and the Defragmentation of the Disks, it would be wise to run a registry cleaner utility which would scan the registry of the windows Operating System and correct it. Errors start getting into the registry files once you start installing and uninstalling applications on your windows operating system. All these errors need to be fixed and the non-repairable entries need to be removed. This will speed up the working of operating system.

6. Classic Styles
Under XP, you can tell Windows to use Classic Style on your desktop, - this will remove the neat single click and internet-style desktop but for lower end systems this will improve performance in other areas, such as gaming and multi-tasking.

7. Run Required Apps on Startup
When we start installing applications, several of them register themselves to start during windows startup. To cite an example - if you have installed Yahoo Messenger or Google Talk, these applications automatically start up when your operating system starts. Many a times we do not want such applications to keep running from the start. Run msconfig and under startup and only keep the programs that are essential to load in the tray icon (and hence stay resident in memory). Uncheck anything else non-essential, like an ATI or Nvidia control panel, Quicktime utility, Real Audio, etc.

8. Upgrade drivers
Check for the latest BIOS, video, motherboard, sound, etc drivers from the manufacturers. A newer driver will help accessing the contents faster and this implies that the processing will be faster.

9. Backup
Backup your files (data files) quite often. If you want you can store them or Re-writable media or also Pen Drives. Do this to keep the number of files on your computer to the minimum. This may not be actually helpful, but you can also boast of doing this when times are bad and you are recovering from a hard disk crash.

10. Anti Virus
I know some of my friends had the habit of installing multiple anti-virus softwares on their computers just with the notion that many anti-virus mean a better security. Please if you have the same notions and beliefs, remove all of the anti virus software that you have on your computer and install a recommended or reputed anti virus application which also protects you from Internet. Read my earlier post on this.

As a last moment tip, you can also keep visiting the Operating System Manufacturers and the Software Vendors for knowing about the minimum system requirements needed to run the software. You might also consider an increase in the RAM or Hard Disk capacity to meet these requirements.

Hope you found this post useful... Comments would be appreciated as ever.

Cheers