New to the overclocking scene- ISO, Info...

Ok, I've done a bit of reading on overclocking now and from what I understand, I basically put my computer through a lot of stress- and after doing so, my computer will respond more quickly when doing other activities.
I use to run a bunch of programs at the same time once in a while- just to make sure my computer can handle a bunch of stuff (more for personal amusement then anything else)... I'd run stuff like SlingPlayer, AutoCad, PaintShop, a few movies, music, Sirius radeo, and Internet with like...15 tabs open... idk- if thats "overclocking" or not... When I did all that it use to only take up like 16% of my cpu usage... But now i'm sure it takes up like 50+
I've been searching for ways to make my cpu quicker, and i'm not sure if this is it. I don't know what to post, as far as system info, so any help would be great
Thanks

 

did you read ACE's guide? overclocking is making components run faster than they were supposed to. For example, i have a pentium 4 stock at 3.0ghz. I overclocked it all the way up to 3.6ghz and it runs quite a bit faster. You change the processors speed via the FSB (front side bus) which you change in the BIOS.

if any of this sounds like a different language, give this a read: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showpost.php?p=505945&postcount=1

 

Yeah I read it and I understand a bit more about overclocking now, but... Someone told me it is unwise to overclock on a laptop where It is harder to cool/ maintain the system, is this true? What measures should I take to prevent computer damage?

 

yes it is true. is that what you're trying to do? those things run hot as it is, and i wouldnt consider it a good idea. another reason being, laptops have locked BIOS so u cant edit the FSB unless u can find a compatible program

 

Yes, I was trying to do that, but now I see how it would most likely be a bad decision. So what could I do to push my computer a lot... run 20 videos at a time? I guess I no longer want to OVERclock, but who's to say I shouldn't... un-der.. clock? Are there other ways to optimize processing speed? That wont hurt my computer? Heres what my "General" system property says... (idk what other information is needed :confused)
Toshiba Sattellite
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU
T5500 @ 1.66GHZ
1.66 GHz. 1.49 GB of RAM
150 GB HardDrive
It's all ready kinda fast, but it has a terribly long boot time + it's starting to take a while opening up programs, sometimes it takes 20sec-1/2 minute to open up AutoCad, or Microsoft word..
And ever since my msconfig incident (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=1021283&posted=1#post1021283)... things like My Computer and Wireless Network Connection have taken longer to open/load. I hope you can help me out in some way

 

check out this stuff, scroll down the XP section: http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/articles.htm

Black Viper configs are awesome, he knows his stuff

 

Yo, NEED MORE DETAILS: "RULE #1: ALWAY'S KEEP EVERYTHING COOL"! RULE#2: "A GOOD COOLING FAN(S) IS A CHEAP INSURANCE POLICY TO INSURE THAT YOU DONT DAMAGE YOUR PROCESSOR"!! "RULE #3 REFER TO: RULE #1!!! ADVISE YOU ALWAYS USE AN EXTERNAL COOLING UNIT WITH ANY LAPTOP (DUE TO BATTERY & PROCESSOR TEMPS) "What OS r/u running(Windows XP, Vista,[which flavor] ). What type of Mainboard r/u using? AMD, ASUS, MSI etc... What type of Prosessor r/u using AMD, INTEL? What's your Socket Designation on your Mainboard (example: socket 939 etc...)? R/U using The International Version on "nTUNE" (majorgeeks.com)? R/U using "Clock-Gen" (clockgen.com? R/U using "Pc Wizard 2007" (pcwizard.com) R/U using "CPUID" (cpuid.com) nTUNE is kinda self explanatory advise you read everything 2x. Clock-Gen allows you to set & read your "system clocks on the Fly". CPUID is for comparing B/4 & after results for "OVERCLOCKING" PcWizard 2007 is a stand alone "Task Manager" that tells you everything you always wanted to know about your Machine but, didn't know to get the needed Data!!!