Most people don’t realize that hard drive indexing creates a huge searchable database of all the stuff inside your files. Then click Indexing Service and right click the default index and select All Tasks->Empty Catalog. Right-click My Computer and select Manage. To get to services, click Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services and find the Indexing Service. Set the Indexing Service to Manual (and stop it if it is running). In the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog, select All changes to C:, subfolders and files. Un-check the box that says “Allow indexing service to index this disk for fast file searching”. Right click the C: drive and select Properties. Here is my check-list of things that will speed up Windows XP and the reasons they work. As with any complicated system, there are multiple layers that contribute to the problem and to get to a solution a multi-tiered approach is required.

The problem is not entirely with the operating system alone though. As your My Documents and Program Files folders grow over time, Windows XP has more and more things to keep track of…more things to keep in mind so to speak…and this causes it to inevitably slow down. Unfortunately Windows XP has some design flaws that cause it to get bogged down by all that data you are creating. As you use your computer over time, you create and acquire data. So, if you’re one of those people that prefer the eleven year old unsupported predecessor to 7…and are wondering how to speed it up, here is how:įirst off, let me delve into some of the reasons Windows XP tends to get sluggish with time. When it comes down to changing habits formed by years of repetitive use productivity can be hampered. Time behind the wheel, as they say, is the reason some prefer to delay an upgrade. The “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke approach” has some advantages…a familiar environment, for example, allows people to be more productive. Whether its the overall price tag of an upgrade or the fear of having to deal with something new, people tend to prefer the status quo.

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