Difficulty Level: Beginner

By default XP saves items that you load into the "Prefetch folder". The idea behind this is that it saves time when XP goes to load something, however, this folder fills up over time and slows the process down. I would recommend deleting the content of this file monthly. XP will still put the items back in there as and when you load things so all deleting the folder contents does is to get rid of the items that you no longer use. (note:upon first reboot you system may appear slower(20 sec's approx)as XP loads items no longer in Prefetch and copies them to Prefetch)

To delete the contents of the Prefetch folder download and run ATF Cleaner. Alternatively to do this manually navigate to:

C:/Windows/Prefetch

Open the Prefetch folder, highlight all the contents and press delete. You will receive a prompt asking if you are sure you want to delete all the items, click yes.
(note: If you cannot see the Prefetch folder, you need to enable viewing of hidden System files. Simply go to Start>Control Panel/Folder Options click on the view tab then select "show hidden files and folders", click apply then ok)

 

7. Uninstall unwanted software/programs 

Difficulty Level: Beginner

The majority of people have programs/software on there computer that they no longer want or use. These programs should be uninstalled to assist in the maintenance and general health of the PC. Unwanted programs use up hard drive space and system resources helping to slow down your pc. Uninstalling unwanted programs is relatively simple. Go to:

Start>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs

Windows XP searches for all installed programs, to remove the ones you want simply click the "Remove" tab next to the programs you want to remove. Once the programs have been uninstalled, i recommend you then remove the remnants of the program's that have been left behind by going to C:/Program Files and delete the folders for the programs you have just uninstalled. I also recommend that you run a registry cleaner to remove remnants left behind in the registry, then defragment hard drive.( Note: see Recommended Download to get a Registry Cleaner, you can also uninstall Programs with TU2009)

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Defragmenting your hard drive should be a routine task and carried out every month. Windows XP writes files to the the hard drive in such a way that it does not check whether the complete file can be put on the hard drive in such a way that all the file remains together. Instead it starts writing a file only to realise there is not enough space there for the full file, so moves on to the next available space This means that one file can be split up across the hard drive called fragmented files, thus adding extra load on hard drives and slowing down system performance.

Windows Xp has an inbuilt tool called a defragmenter to gather the contents of each file and ensure they are not fragmented. Whilst the inbuilt tool is very basic compared to other products like Raxco's excellent Perfect Disk, the free inbuilt tool is still better than nothing. To run the inbuilt "defragger" navigate to:

Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter

When the Disk Defragmenter program starts, highlight the drive you want to defragment, then click the "Defragment" tab. This sets the computer defraging files, you should leave your computer alone until Disk Defragment has finished.

(note: Raxco's Perfect Disk is available on a 30 Day free trial, i recommend you download and run that. You can run it after XP's inbuilt one has completed defragmenting to see the difference and you will see why i recommend this rather than the inbuilt tool)