Speeding-Bullet Performance

Accommodating a multitude of open (and resource-hungry) applications at the same time is the PC equivalent of leaping tall buildings in a single bound. You can give any version of Windows an infusion of pep by tweaking its default settings. Use these tips to make your system a kryptonite-free zone.

All Versions: Tone Down the Effects Your system's performance may be bogged down by excessive visual effects. To get a perkier Windows 98, 2000, or Me, right-click the desktop, choose Properties, and click the Effects tab. Begin unchecking items in the Visual Effects box at the bottom of the dialog box until you find the right balance of speed and attractiveness for you.

If Windows XP becomes sluggish, turn off some of the visual fireworks that may be taxing your screen updates via the Performance Options dialog box. Open Control Panel, and if you're using the default Category view, click the Performance and Maintenance link. Under 'Pick a task', choose Adjust visual effects. If you're using the Classic view of Control Panel, double-click the System icon. (Alternatively, you can right-click My Computer in Explorer and choose Properties.) Click the Advanced tab, and select the first Settings button (under Performance).

The Visual Effects tab lists check boxes for turning individual effects on for more razzle-dazzle or off for better performance (see FIGURE 5). The preset options at the top of the dialog box simplify matters: If Let Windows choose what's best for my computer isn't already selected, choose it and click OK twice. Try this setting for a while, and if you're not satisfied, return to the dialog box and click Adjust for best performance, which unchecks all the visual options. If you miss some of the excitement, open this dialog box again and experiment by turning individual effects on one by one until you find a good balance between sizzle and steak.

All Versions: Lightning Menus Sometimes Windows seems like an endless series of menu options: right-click menus, the Start menu and its submenus, and menus in every application. By default, Windows doesn't show these menus at their maximum speed. One way to change this is by editing the Windows Registry; but it's much easier to install Tweak UI, the free Microsoft Control Panel icon that allows you to customize many arcane aspects of Windows. Depending on the version of Windows you're using, you may be able to download Tweak UI by itself or as part of a larger set of free utilities called Microsoft PowerToys. You can grab Tweak UI 1.33 for Windows 9x, Me, and NT/2000, as well as a free copy of PowerToys for Windows XP, from PCWorld.com's Downloads library.

Downloading and installing Tweak UI on older versions of Windows is tricky. First decompress (unzip) the download file, and then locate a file called tweakui.inf. (If your system is set to hide file extensions, choose Tools, Folder Options in Explorer, and under the View tab uncheck Hide extensions for known file types.) Right-click the tweakui.inf file and choose Install. If you're installing Windows XP PowerToys, the installation process is much more conventional.

Launch Tweak UI by double-clicking its icon in Control Panel. Click the Mouse tab. Under 'Menu speed', drag the slider all the way to the Fast end (see FIGURE 6). Click OK and, with any luck, your menus will be a wee bit more sprightly.

XP: Slow Down User Switches Unlike previous Windows versions, Windows XP lets you switch from one user account to another without logging off or shutting down any programs. This feature is convenient, but it increases the memory demands on your system. For better performance, choose Start, Log Off to log off completely before switching to another profile. You can still allow multiple accounts to run simultaneously when you or another user needs to perform a quick task, but you should log off from the additional accounts as soon as the task is complete. Fast user switching is not an option for Windows XP computers that are connected to a network domain.

All Versions: Lose Some Color The more colors your system displays, the more memory and processing power it expends to manage those colors. If you use an older computer system and you've already tried disabling some visual effects (as described in " Tone Down the Effects," above), you may get the performance boost you're looking for by setting your graphics system to 16-bit 'high color' rather than 32-bit 'true color' (in Windows XP these settings are labeled 'Medium' and 'Highest', respectively). Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Settings tab. If your system is currently set to display 32-bit color, choose the option for 16-bit color and click OK; then follow any on-screen instructions that appear (these vary depending on the graphics system).

All Versions: Memory Gain Many people find that the best way to boost Windows' performance is by adding RAM. This is especially true of machines running in the 300- to 500-MHz range. Make sure that your PC has at least 128MB of RAM--and preferably 256MB or more. As of this writing, a 128MB memory upgrade costs about $40, but memory is a commodity, and prices can change rapidly.

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