There are numerous ways of keeping your PC running smoothly, from keeping it clear of clutter to regularly updating drivers and patching software. However, there is a little more to getting the very best performance out of your machine, and to do so you need to get your hands dirty.

The first steps to take are mentioned above, and mainly involve running the likes of Windows update, disk defrag and updating hardware drivers. These will ensure you have an up to date system and benefit from added features and stability. It is also a good idea to run Anti Virus scans, remove unwanted applications and clear temporary folders Internet files.

The next step is a little more involved, and it is important that you take care in entering appropriate values to avoid severe system instability. The Page File acts as virtual memory, and stores frequently accessed data. The majority of machines are set to handle virtual memory automatically, and whilst this is ok, you can often improve performance a little by doing the following. Go to Start � Settings � Control Panel � System � Advanced � Performance Options. Click on Change, located under the virtual memory section. Set the �Initial Size??? to 1.5x the RAM in your system, and the �Maximum Size??? to 3.0x the RAM in your system and click on.

Another way to boost performance is to turn of Indexing. By default, Windows Indexes your files hence reducing search times, though this can have an adverse effect. To turn off Indexing, go to My Computer, right-click on your hard drive and select Properties. Uncheck �Allow Indexing Service�??? and select Apply.

If you use XP, you may have noticed numerous graphical features such as translucent menus and so forth. These may look visually appealing, but they also affect performance, particularly on lower specification systems. For best performance without losing the visual appeal, go to Start � Settings � Control Panel � System � Advanced Tab � Performance � Settings. In this dialogue, leave only the following checked: Show shadows under menus, Show translucent selection, Use drop shadows and Use visual styles. Those with a high end machine will not see much of a performance boost, but those running near to the minimum specification will certainly appreciate the added smoothness within the Windows desktop environment.

The Recycle Bin is often overlooked when optimising, and you will often be surprised how much is left in there and from how long ago. To reduce the space taken by the Recycle Bin, right-click on Recycle Bin, click on Properties, navigate to the Global tab and move the slider to around 3-5%. This will free up extra disk space and reduce the number of outdated files left on your machine.

Just by following these few steps, you can have a machine running quicker in no time. Although optimisation doesn�t stop there, these few ideas will help you learn about the inner workings of Windows and how to get the best out of your machine no matter how old it is.

In our previous article related to optimising Windows, we covered various methods to help get the very best out of your system in terms of performance. However, we only scratched the surface in terms of what can be done to get things running that little bit quicker.

Having gotten your system free of clutter, minimised the disk space lost to various Windows processes and optimised the Page File, its time to dig even deeper into the inner workings of your PC.

Many applications start with Windows, and whilst you may use them regularly, they can add up to a painstakingly long boot time. To see which programs start with Windows, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\%User Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Remove the shortcuts to any applications you no longer use, or don�t require to start with Windows, as this will drastically reduce the time you spend looking at the desktop waiting for everything to load.

You may also wish to check the registry keys located at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. To do this, go Start � Run � regedit and navigate your way to the keys specified. Again, remove any keys that refer to old or unused applications.

Windows XP contains a function called Prefetcher, which preloads necessary files to start Windows and applications. Whilst you want your machine to preload boot files, preloading application files may result in an unnecessary wait. To ensure that only the boot files are preloaded, use RegEdit to change the DWORD value of the following key from 3 to 2: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement\
PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher.

You may also have noticed the amount of time spent watching various messages relating to hardware during boot up. This is known as the POST, or Power On Self Test, and is the process whereby your machine detects hardware, tests RAM, checks CPU speed and so forth. If you enter your BIOS by pressing the required key during start up, you can turn off some of these tests to decrease boot time, such as checking for faulty RAM. You could also set your hard drive as the first boot device to save waiting whilst the floppy disk drive or CD ROM drives are checked for inserted media. These will all shave a little time off, though you should make a note of what you have changed should you run into any problems. Make sure you know exactly what you are disabling before doing it. Unfortunately, the options available vary greatly between machines so specific guidelines cannot really be outlined here.

By now you should be experiencing much slicker start up times, though if your thirst for speed isn�t quite quenched, here are a few other tweaks that will save you another second or two here and there.

Removing your background image in Windows can save a fraction of time, particularly if you have a high resolution image as your desktop, though things will look a little barren at first. To remove the background image, right click on your desktop and select properties. In the following dialogue box, scroll to the top of the background images list and select none, then click OK.

You can also remove the Windows splash image shown during start up. To do this, open up an instance of My Computer and double click on your primary hard drive. Scroll down until you find a file called boot.ini. Note � you may have to go to Tools � Folder Options � View tab and check �Show hidden files and folders� and uncheck �Hide protected operating system files�. This will allow you to see all the files on your system, though be careful as this will allow people to see hence accidentally remove critical system files. You may wish to reset these options once you have done this tweak.

Open the file in notepad and find the line that is similar to multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Windows XP Embedded” /fastdetect and add � /noguiboot� to the end. Save the file and close it. From now on, you should get a black screen as you boot instead of the Windows splash screen.

There are hundreds of other tweaks and options you can change to get a little more speed out of your PC, but those mentioned here and in the previous article should be more than enough to cater for your optimisation needs.