Managing Background Applications

• Press "CTRL," "ALT," and "DEL" to access the Microsoft Windows Task Manager. The Task Manager shows all of the programs that are running in the background, many of which can be turned off in order to increase the speed of your PC. This includes "Adobe Gamma Loader," "msmsgs," and "qttask."
  
  

Increasing Menu Speed

• There is always a short delay when clicking on menus in Microsoft Windows XP, but it is rather easy to adjust this setting in order to meet your needs. First, type "regedit" into the "Run" prompt on the Start Menu in order to access the Registry Editor and locate the line "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\MenuShowDelay." The default value should be set at "400," but you can change this to a lower number in order to increase the speed of your menus.
  
  

Virtual Memory Considerations

• Proper Virtual Memory management can go a long way when it comes to maintaining peak performance from a PC. Click on the Start Button, access the Control Panel and double-click on "System." Click on the "Advanced" tab, click "Settings" underneath Virtual Memory and click "Change." An optimal setting is anywhere from 1 1/2 to two times the amount of RAM you have installed in your machine. If your computer has two hard drives, then your Virtual Memory cache should be located on the secondary drive.
  
  

Dealing With DLL Files

• By default, Microsoft Windows XP does not unload the DLL files of previously closed programs. While this can speed up the restarting of these programs, it can slow down the overall performance of your system considerably. This can be fixed by typing "regedit" into the "Run" prompt on the Start Menu in order to access the Registry Editor. Locate the line "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer," click on it and add a DWORD entry of "AlwaysUnloadDLL" with a value of "1." This can be done by right-clicking on the empty space in the right-hand column, selecting "New" and then selecting "DWORD (32-Bit Value)." Save your new entry and Microsoft Windows XP will now unload DLL files after their associated program has been closed.
  
  

Dealing With Temporary Files

• Temporary files can clog up hard drive space and slow down your computer. Make sure you delete any files located in the "C:\WINDOWS\TEMP" and "C:\TEMP" directories, and check them regularly for new files that may be created.