The Best 7 Registry Tweaks for Optimal Performance of Windows XP

Do you wonder why your computer is not working properly? This is the most common problem that computer enthusiasts have encountered every time they used the computer. If your computer will take too much time just to open your file, then your computer has indeed a problem. Sometimes, editing the Windows 7 registry offers the best solution for this kind of computer predicament.

When regardless of all the smart and brainy Windows 7 troubleshooters, your computer will best work if you will have to do an editing on your Windows registry. This is the best option to alleviate malfunctioning computers.

The registry is a critical part of your Windows system. It is because the registry is the central database of applications and hardware installation that are installed on the computer system. Actually, the registry encompasses five registry keys. These are the HKEY_CLASSES _ROOT, HKEY-CURRENT_USER, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, and HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG. All the user preferences and configuration information for software and hardware are being stored in the registry keys.

Since the registry is critical in nature, Microsoft suggests that users should avoid doing from any manual changes to the registry. On the other hand, if you are cautious enough and make a backup of the registry before proceeding with the changes, there are registry tweaks that can be performed. You must need to open the Registry Editor tool by running the “regedit” command. These are some registry tweaks that can improve and enhance computer performance.

1 Minimizing system Shutdown Time

Once you press the Turn Off button, a message will appear that the system is to shutdown. Generally, the default time for the system to shutdown is 20 seconds. You can minimize the time even for 5 seconds. In the Registry Editor, enter the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.

Double click “WaitToKillAppTime” and modify its default value 20000 to 5000 and click the OK button.

2 Faster Menus

To enhance the responsiveness of the drop down menus, navigate the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop

You will have to double-click on the value “MenuShowDelay” and adjust its value data to “0”.

3 Disable CD AutoPlay

To avoid your CDs from playing automatically every time you will insert it in the CD-drive, enter the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom

Double-click on the value “Autorun” and modify its value data to 0.

4 Disable Startup Programs

If there are many programs in the startup, it can slow down computers. To disable the programs, you need to open the following keys accordingly.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You will then have to select and remove the programs that you do not want to be loaded in the startup.

5 Decrease the Time for Windows Reporting an Application as Not Responding

To do this, navigate the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

You need to double click on the string value “HungAppTimeout” and alter the default value from 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds) to a lesser value say 1000 (1 second).

6 Lessen the waiting time for Chkdsk at system startup

To lessen the time for Chkdsk, enter the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager

You will then need to open or create the DWORD value, AutoChkTimeOut and set the number of seconds (in milliseconds) that you want Chkdsk to wait before scanning your hard disk at startup.

7 Hide Desktop Icons

To ensure that your eye-catching wallpaper will not be speckled by icons, do the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

You need to right-click on the right pane, choose Binary Value and name it as “NoDesktop” and modify its value data to 01 00 00 00.

The Registry tweaks can help you enhance computer performance and can even customize it too. These tweaks can guarantee you optimal performance without worrying anymore for sluggish computers.

About the author: Tim Edmonds is a freelance technical writer with over a decade of professional experience. His current interest is PC speed test software.