hi al here are some of the best windows xp tweeks around that really work
after doing all these i got a 40% increase in performance
INCREASE I/O CACHE SIZE
Now go start/run and type regidit and hit return: and look for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l SessionManager \MemoryManagement.When you select the MemoryMangement folder look on the right half of the window for IoPageLockLimit.right click on it and choose modify,click on decimal,and type the following number in the value data field : 32768 then press ok, all done..
Disable Disk Performance Counters
Win XP like Win2000 is set to collect physical drive data. Most don't need this as it consumes extra drive transfer time. To disable the disk performance counters: Go to->Start->Programs->Command Prompt Now type in: diskperf -n then reboot. There is a space between the f and the dash (-).
Disable Error Reporting
I have not found much use for this and it does tie up a small amount of disk space and HD accessing. To disable this go to Start > Control Panel > System then click on Advanced Tab - click on the "error reporting" button and then check box that says Disable error reporting but also check " but notify me when a critical error occurs". Then OK
Reduce Wait For Memory From Cache To Write To Disk
I found this TWEAK to be very beneficial in shutdown and actually bootup + run stability. Not sure of all the specifics but appears it is reducing the wait for memory from cache to write to the disk. You can loose data if it is not written to the disk from cache while the system is shutting down. This is important in XP makeup to get all info right given the stuff it does on a re-boot. Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter goto "HKCURRENTUSER\Control Panel\Desktop\" and check that the setting "HungAppTimeout" is 5000(default) make "WaitToKillAppTimeout" 4000 (default is 20000) Also, go to "HKLOCALMACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\W aitToKillServiceTimeout" and make it 4000 (Default is 30000). Reboot (Note - for value changes right click then select modify to change the value).
Turn off Indexing to speed up Drives in XP
This one is often overlooked and is a common reason why hard drive performance appears sub-par. Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk so when a search is done on the hard drive it is done faster. There is a downside to this because the computer has to index all files, it will slow down normal file commands. Turn this off .
1. Open my computer
2. Right click your hard drive icon and select properties.
3. At the bottom of the window you�ll see "Allow indexing service to index this disk for faster searches," uncheck this and click ok. A new window will pop up and select apply to all folders and subfolders. It will take a minute or two for the changes to take affect. Do this for all drives and should enjoy faster performance on each.