Windows XP has lost of colours, themes and similar special effects to make your PC look great. These effects slow down your PC and that is the main problem.

If your computer is running slow, and you are sure you do not have a virus, spyware or adware you may try using some of these Win XP tweaks. The more special effects you remove the better.

Some of the effects that slow your PC are:

1. Pictures on the desktop background. A blank wallpaper is the best. Animations or even sounds in the background slow PC even more. Remove Shortcuts on the Desktop. This will be described further below as well.

Right click on My Computer icon and select properties. Go to Advanced Tab, and select Settings next to Performance. Finally select Adjust for best performance. Click OK twice. That is one of the best Win XP tweaks.

2. Is your browser by default plain, or did you install many extensions, themes and cursor symbols? Those slow down speed, so removing them is the best solution if you have a slow PC.

Switch to Windows Classic Theme by right clicking on Desktop and go to Properties.

3. Sounds also cause speed problems, so removing them is another good tweak. These include also startup and shutdown sounds. Remove sounds from your control panel. Double click on the Sounds icon.

4. A lot of MsWord, Notepad, Image and similar files scattered around on your desktop or located in shortcuts can be removed or arranged.

Create new folders, and organise your files. A folder for MsWord documents, images, sounds and Notepad files so you do not waste space.

Shortcuts on your desktop, in start menu and anywhere else can be removed to tweak XP. These are unwanted and are safe to be removed. You know if an icon is a shortcut or not because once you click delete you can read:

"Are you sure you want to delete this shortcut?"

5. Use the search tool to find unwanted files. WIn XP search tool allows you to search for certain file types. For example you can search for only images .gif or .jpg. You can find all the images on your PC, and remove all the unwanted image files.

Same with sound files, documents and you will be amazed about this stuff that has piled up during the years. A brand new computer does not need to search for these files.

Be careful though when using this tweak. Do not remove files you are not sure what their use is. Some files may be system files useful for your PC to work well.

Doing so can damage your PC.

6. Bookmarks or favorites inside your web browser have their negative side too. Same with cookies, cache and browser history.

Remove unwanted sites from your favorites. In Internet Explorer remove cache, cookies and history by selecting Tools, Internet Options and clicking the desired action.

In other browsers these options can also be tweaked from the menu which is usually under Tools. Remove these unwanted files often, or weekly. A weekly or more often job is clearing your recycle bin which helps cleaning wasted space.

Those 6 tweaks will organise your PC for a faster performance. It is the basic for XP users who suffer from slow speed. Even if your PC is not slow, some of the tweaks are still useful in the long run.

This article was posted on November 28, 2006