Fine Tune your System Settings with Registry Editor

Most of the system settings can be tuned up easily within Windows by using the system tools that come along with Windows XP. However, for some complex settings and to get an enhanced / desired performance you need to dive into the registry. To make any changes into the system registry we use the Registry Editor tool that is a part of Windows. To open the Registry Editor in Windows do the following:

Click Start, and then click Run. Type regedit.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.

Backup the Windows Registry

Before making any changes to the Registry it is highly advisable to take a system backup, create a restore point, or backup the registry. We have already discussed “how to take a system backup” and “how to create a restore point” in the previous post. Here we will discuss how to manually backup the registry in Windows XP.

1. Open the registry editor. Click Start, and then click Run. Type regedit in the Open box and click OK.
2. When the Registry Editor opens up, then click File option on the Menu bar.
3. In the File drop down, click on Export and chose a location where you want to save the backup file. Save the registry backup at the desired location.

Now suppose, after performing the registry tweak, if something goes wrong; or for any other reason, you want to revert back to the old registry, then navigate back to the registry backup file, Double click on the file and click on OK.

Corruption and increase in windows registry size are the common causes of window crashes; start up problems, System Freezing. Due to unwanted, and invalid entries in the windows registry, the performance of the whole system degrades. To enhance the system performance, registry optimization is a must.

Here I am going to discuss some of the registry tweaks to fine tune your system performance. I have not invented any of these tweaks by any chance. I found them strewed over the web. The ones I found useful, I have included them in my collection of registry tweaks. I hope you will find my collection useful. I will keep on adding the new ones in my following posts.

How to make Windows XP turn off faster:

Windows XP normally takes time to stop all the process before shutting down the computer. Normal Shut down from the start menu is always a long process. To make your Computer turn off faster The first thing we need to do is access the Registry by going to Start \ Run and type in regedit then click OK.

1       Now with the Registry Editor open navigate to the following key:  HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop

1.1         Now  on the right hand side of the screen, scroll down to HungAppTimeout and change the default 5000 to 1000 then click OK.

1.2         Then scroll down to WaitToKillAppTimeout and change the default value from 20000 to 1000 then click OK.

1.3         Scroll down to AutoEndTasks and change the default value from 0 to 1 and click OK.

2        Next we are going to the following key location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control  and double click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout to 1000 then click OK.

3        Finally, we need to navigate to the following registry key:  HKEY_USERS \ DEFAULT \ Control Panel \ Desktop  

3.1         Now  on the right hand side of the screen, scroll down to HungAppTimeout and change the default 5000 to 1000 then click OK.

3.2         Scroll down to WaitToKillAppTimeout to 1000 and click OK.

3.3         Change the default value of AutoEndTasks from 0 to 1.

Speed up the Menu Display

When using the start menu the you will notice that there is a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. Due to this delay some functions like the Start menu won't display as fast as it normally should.  Here I will discuss two tweaks which will speed up the menu display in Windows XP. 
1.           With the Registry Editor open, navigate to the following registry key : HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop

1.1        Now on the right hand side of the screen, scroll down to MenuShowDelay, and change the default value of 400 to 0.   

1.2        Restart your computer.

2.           To speed up the menu display, follow the given steps:

2.1        Right click on My Computer and then click on Properties. This will bring up the System Properties window.

2.2         Click the Advanced tab. In the Performance area, click Settings.

2.3         On the Visual Effects tab in the Performance Options dialog box, clear the Fade or slide menus into view check box.

2.4         Click OK.

2.5         In the System Properties dialog box, click OK.