Windows XP Performance Tips

WINDOWS DISK INDEXING
This is a performance tip that I strongly recommend you implement. The Windows Disk Indexer constantly indexes all files on your machine to allow for faster searching using the Windows Search function for example. Since most people don't search their machine very often, having Disk Indexing enabled provides a performance hit for no good reason, and also increases fragmentation. Follow these steps to turn off the Windows Disk Indexer to improve hard drive performance and responsiveness:
1. Go to Windows Explorer, right-click on your hard drive name (e.g. C:) and select Properties.
2. Untick the 'Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching'.
3. Select 'Apply changes to [Drive letter]\, subfolders and files' in the subsequent prompt.
4. Your system will now go through and remove all indexing on existing files, and not index any new or moved files in the future - this will speed up drive read/writes and general responsiveness. Ignore any 'errors' which are shown, this occurs simply because some files are in use or protected and can't have their properties changed to remove indexing - this is normal.

Make sure you also disable the 'Indexing Service' service as it is no longer necessary when disk indexing is removed from your hard drive.

DEFRAGMENTATION
I strongly suggest you get into the habit of defragmenting often, specifically after you delete or add large files or install software.

PREFETCH
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management\PrefetchParameters]
EnablePrefetcher=3

I personally leave the Prefetcher registry setting above at its default of 3, and set the Task Scheduler service to Disabled. This means the prefetcher won't create application prefetch files under the Window\Prefetch directory. I also clear all out existing prefetch (.PF) files in that directory. I have found that this provides for the fastest Windows bootup time.

CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM

> ADVANCED > PERFORMANCE SETTINGS
For fastest performance, I recommend deselecting everything except 'Use visual styles on windows and buttons' and 'Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop'. That will reduce usage of system resources for graphical effects, while still retaining the majority of Windows XP's trademark appearance.

> ADVANCED > PERFORMANCE SETTINGS > ADVANCED > VIRTUAL MEMORY

This is where you can set the size of your pagefile. To determine the optimal pagefile size you should ideally see how much memory your most memory intensive programs use and then set the pagefile to comfortably accommodate this.

Before setting a new pagefile size, first clear your existing pagefile. To do this select the 'No Paging File' option and click the Set button, then reboot your system. This step does two things: first it deletes the pagefile, fixing any potential pagefile corruption which can occur after a bad shutdown (remember this tip for future troubleshooting purposes); and secondly it ensures that any new pagefile you create will start off as a single unfragmented contiguous block on your hard drive for optimal performance, which will remain unfragmented in the future. Note that if you have any problems booting up into Windows due to a lack of a pagefile during this step, enter Windows in Safe Mode (See Backup & Recovery section) and continue the setup procedures for Virtual Memory from there.

Here is a simple general recommendation which is both safe to use on all systems, regardless of how much RAM you have, and provides good performance:
Set the Initial and Maximum pagefile sizes to 2560MB each - i.e. allocate 2.5GB for the pagefile. Whatever you do, don't set a zero pagefile.

> ADVANCED > STARTUP & RECOVERY SETTINGS
For a system with a single operating system, select '"Microsoft Windows XP [Home/Professional]" /fastdetect' in the list presented. If you only have one operating system, or you don't want to select a different operating system each time you boot up, untick the 'Time to display list of Operating Systems' option.

Under the 'System failure' section untick all three options for optimal performance, and the 'Write Debugging Information' option should be set to None. That way if you run into problems you'll see the error displayed (usually a Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) message) and your system won't automatically reboot. At the same time you won't get lots of logfiles and dumpfiles of the event cluttering up your hard drive.

> ADVANCED > ERROR REPORTING
Click the Error Reporting button and select 'Disable Error Reporting' and tick 'But notify me when critical errors occur'. This will prevent your system continually informing Microsoft of errors occurring on your system, but at the same time will still show you important system messages and errors for notification and troubleshooting purposes.

> REMOTE
I strongly recommend that you disable the available options in this section for security and performance reasons.

> AUTOMATIC UPDATES
I recommend 'Turn off Automatic Updates' and instead use the manual method of regularly checking the Windows Update site for updates.

> SYSTEM RESTORE
Turn off System Restore, as it can take up a great deal of disk space

CONTROL PANEL > SOUNDS & AUDIO DEVICES
Disable as many sounds as possible as they take up system memory by being loaded into RAM at startup.

CONTROL PANEL > FOLDER OPTIONS
Use Windows Classic Folders
Open each folder in the same window
Double-click to open an item
Under View, I recommend you tick the following options:

• Display file size information in folder tips
• Display simple folder view in Explorer's folder list
• Display the contents of system folders
• Display the full path in the address bar
• Display the full path in the title bar
• Do not cache thumbnails
• Show hidden files and folders
• Show Control Panel in My Computer
• Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color

It is recommended that the rest are unticked for best performance and functionality.

MOUSE

• untick pointer shadow
• auto default dialog button jump
• pointer precision

SCREENSAVER
I recommend you set the screen saver to None to prevent burn-in (permanent image imprinting)

DISABLE STARTUP PROCESSES
Go to Run > msconfig and then choose the Startup tab.
Examine the list and disable any items you do not want started when your computer boots e.g. ypager, iTunesHelper etc.

DISABLE SERVICES
Go to Run > services.msc and then disable the following:

• .NET Runtime Optimization Service
• ASP.NET State Service
• Clipbook
• Error Reporting Service
• Fast User Switching Compatibility
• IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
• Indexing Service
• Infrared Monitor
• Machine Debug Manager
• NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
• Network DDE
• Network DDE DSM
• Network Location Awareness (NLA)
• Performance Logs and Alerts
• Portable Media Serial Number Service
• QoS RSVP
• Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
• Remote Registry
• Routing and Remote Access
• Secondary Logon
• Security Center
• Smart Card
• SSDP Discovery Service
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
• Telnet
• Terminal Services
• Uninterruptible Power Supply
• Volume Shadow Copy
• WebClient
• Windows CardSpace
• Windows User Mode Driver Framework
• Wireless Zero Configuration
• WMI Performance Adapter

Windows System Tools

These are useful tools which will tell you all you need to know about your Windows system:


BUILT-IN UTILITIES

• MS INFO
  Start > Run > msinfo32
  System information.
  You will need to have the 'Help and Support' service enabled


• DEVICE MANAGER
  Start > Run > devmgmt.msc
  Displays your hardware devices which you can choose to update or uninstall


• DIRECTX DIAGNOSTICS
  Start > Run > dxdiag
  The most useful function for DXDiag is its ability to create a text file with all your major system information, including your main hardware specifications, driver files, and environmental settings.


• MSCONFIG
  Start > Run > msconfig
  Allows you to select which programs are automatically launched when your computer first starts up. Also allows you to stop/start services.


• REGEDIT
  Start > Run > regedit
  Launches the Registry Editor. The Registry contains information that Windows continually references during operation, such as profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer and the types of documents that each can create, property sheet settings for folders and application icons, what hardware exists on the system, and the ports that are being used.

EXTERNAL SOFTWARE

• System Information for Windows
  SIW is the System Information for Windows tool which can be downloaded from the SIW Website. "Everything you want to know about your computer."


• CPU-Z
  You can download CPU-Z from the CPU-Z Website. Provides you with everything you need to know about your CPU, such as its name/number, core stepping, package, voltage, cache information etc. It will also tell you about your system's current Bus speed under the CPU tab, your full motherboard details under the Motherboard tab, and your RAM's complete details under the Memory and SPD tabs. Note that for information to appear under the SPD tab you will have to first select the slot(s) on the motherboard that your RAM stick(s) occupy, otherwise the box will be empty.


• NERO INFOTOOL
  You can download the Nero Disk InfoTool Utility from the CD Speed Website. It is a utility which analyses and displays the most important information about a drive, disc, configuration and software. The information can also be printed or saved to a text file.


• JDiskReport
  You can download it from JGoodies. Illustrates with the help of graphs, how much space the files and directories consume on your disk drives and it helps you find where space is being used up.

Windows vs Linux System Calls

Windows has grown so complicated that it is harder to secure. The images below are a complete map of the system calls that occur when a web server serves up a single page of HTML with a single picture. The same page and picture. The more system calls, the greater potential for vulnerability, the more effort needed to create secure applications.

The first picture is of the system calls that occur on a Linux server running Apache.


This second image is of a Windows Server running IIS.

Linux - CPU, Memory and Version

Find out which version of SuSE you are running:

more /etc/SuSE-release

SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 (i586)
VERSION = 9
PATCHLEVEL = 2

Find out how much Memory you have:

more /proc/meminfo

MemTotal:      8141344 kB
MemFree:       1983696 kB
Buffers:         74736 kB
Cached:         258836 kB
SwapCached:    2581836 kB
Active:        5485116 kB
Inactive:       444240 kB
HighTotal:     7299036 kB
HighFree:      1408888 kB
LowTotal:       842308 kB
LowFree:        574808 kB
SwapTotal:     9437144 kB
SwapFree:      5436028 kB
Dirty:             244 kB
Writeback:           0 kB
Mapped:        5571044 kB
Slab:            75912 kB
Committed_AS:  5085896 kB
PageTables:      28032 kB
VmallocTotal:   112632 kB
VmallocUsed:      9720 kB
VmallocChunk:   102640 kB
HugePages_Total:     0
HugePages_Free:      0
Hugepagesize:     2048 kB

Find out how much processor power you have:

I have a dual core 2.2 GHz machine.

more /proc/cpuinfo

processor       : 0
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 33
model name      : AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 275
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 2204.865
cache size      : 1024 KB
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8...
bogomips        : 4325.37

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 33
model name      : AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 275
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 2204.865
cache size      : 1024 KB
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8...
bogomips        : 4325.37

processor       : 2
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 33
model name      : AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 275
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 2204.865
cache size      : 1024 KB
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8...
bogomips        : 4407.29

processor       : 3
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 33
model name      : AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 275
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 2204.865
cache size      : 1024 KB
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8...
bogomips        : 4390.91