Super XP tweaking guide

Has anyone seen this site (from langa.com) and if so what do you think of it.

http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm

I have already backed up my system but lets face it want to squeeze that little extra out of it. Is this a good solid site with valid advice. I am an owner evolving into a user but would like some feedback before I start tweaking. I will partion my drive beforehand any good apps for this would also b greatly appreciated.

My sys:

P4E, 3.0 GHz 1Mb L2 Cache (800FSB socket 478 Prescott CPU with HT*)
MSI 661FM2-LSR (601-7060-050)
ATX Midi Tower
2x512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
1x80GB HDD 7200 RPM
ATI Radeon 9200 Pro (RV280) 256 MB

 

Its ok. I'd stay away from a lot of the registry changes, broadband tweaks, and prefetch settings.

 

Actually, I'd just skip this page:

http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks11.htm

 

Thanks for advice and I wont go near the reg. I will have a look at this site as well before I start fiddling, as they say I know to little to confidently understand what I am doing but enough to be bloody dangerous on my system. So I am being ultra cautious and tredding slowly. Any opinions about this site as well:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

Also for PC tuning.

 

I have started with the tweaks and after only the first two pages on the site plus assessing my taskmanager against the entries in:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

Switching off the things I dont need etc I am finding very noticable performance differences especially with percieved P2P download speed, increased by 10%.

I recommend this to any one but make sure you backup, keep a record of what you have tweaked(I cut and paste all of the web pages into Word and then yellow highlighted the changes I made for future refrence and easy reversal).

 

Langa's site is as solid as they get. He's careful to check things and advise agains going in over one's head. Anytime you mess with the registry, be backed up.

 

Answersthatwork seems to have a rather short apps list for most things, but a few good ones in there. Some really good ones not listed, though, such as Irfanview for graphics.

 

Importantly I wonder about thier tasks manager listings and the advice they provide for different listings, does it seem solid info or is it possibly questionable?????

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

 

Cheers, subtle tweeks at the moment and concurring with more experienced geek on any questionable aspects. How about dumping INCD, have Nero (latest version) and INCD seems piss poor for lack of better words and a bit greedy.

 

Cheers again;

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

states:

"InCD are only ever guaranteed to be readable in CD Writers that are the same model as the CD Writer in which the CD was created – it is not unusual not to be able to read a CD created via InCD, in another CD-ROM drive) lead us to always recommend its removal."

Therefore it is a DRIVE specific app which is pain if you want to use CD/DVD in other sys w/out exact same drive.

and:

"We advocate to instead always use its sister product, Nero (also called “Nero Burning ROM”), to create CDs, as that is the only method that guarantees that you will be able to read the CDs you create in any other CD, CD‑Writer, or DVD drive – a crucial consideration if you are using CDs and DVDs for data backups or movie presentations !"

Currently both these processes are using:
InCD.exe 3,820k
InCDsrv.exe 4,020k
and if the above quotes are correct that this app so drive specific then it is a waste of processing power.

Does this seem like sound info from the site because I will dump it if so. All precautions have been taken (backup, recording of the steps/methods of removal, etc). Thanks for any comments.

 

Also from:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/

".......there are significant problems with some versions of InCDSrv, from excessive memory usage which adversely impacts other applications, to the often reported inability to access CD-ROM or CD-Writer drives when trying to use software other than InCD (with error messages such as “Drive inaccessible” or “Recordable CD device not detected”)."

 

InCD is a packet writing module of Nero. (Roxio's is DirectCD etc)

It allows you to use a CD/DVD as a big floppy, to put it in laymans terms.

It can also cause problems by locking the drive tray, as InCD (and all packet writing programs) requires exclusive access to the burner to work.

This can cause all sorts of problems and conflicts.

These days, with MultiSession burning etc, InCD really isn't as useful as it once was.

Also, XP has this feature built-in anyway. (using DirectCD plug-in)

My advice is to uninstall InCD. (Nero is great. Leave the other modules and just remove InCD)