Running on a slow laptop/desktop? While upgrading your hardware is the best solution (but rather costly), there are some workarounds to at least reduce the annoyance caused by using a slow system.

Disable Unused Services
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Services are programs that running on background of your OS. Some of the services are automatically turned on while your system is on. However, not all services are neccessary for a normal home user and it might consume a lot of resources when those services are running on background.



Check out on How to disable unnecessary services and also this link.

How do you know which service is necessary and which is not?
Check out the following websites

• Site 1
• Site 2
• Site 3
• Site 4

Tweaking Tools/Guides
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Tweak is referred to as changing registry settings, adding programs, etc. in order to make your computer run faster or more efficiently. Here are some recommended tweaking software/sites.

• Tweak Now
• Powertoys for Windows XP
• Tuneup Utilities (trialware)
• CCleaner (Registry cleaner included)
• Cacheman Utilities
• Registry Guide for Windows (guide)
• Windows 2000/XP Registry Tweaks (guide)

Some tips
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• Try cleaning up your startup folder, only allow software to startup automatically when you really need it. A lot of software like Limewire and Free Download Manager will have auto-startup option defaulted during installation, check it off before proceeding because those programs might consume a lot of resources.
• If you're using Windows XP, try to change the System Properties in such a way that the settings are adjusted for best performance. Refer to screenshot below.
  
• Also try not to use too many theme sound, wallpaper, screensaver and other fancy stuff in order to get better system performance.
• Try to use software that consume less memory. For example, go for FoxIt reader instead of Adobe Reader, go for Irfan View instead of ACD See, use µTorrent instead of Bitcomet and etc...
• Try not to make the system too bloated. Install exactly what you need but not more than that.
• Upgrade your hardware

(Disclaimer: samurai1337 is not liable for any damage caused to your system)

This post has been edited by samurai1337: Jan 10 2006, 09:31 AM