A common issue amongst PC users is the ever-recurring problem of a slow PC.  While the truth of the matter is that fixing the slow computer problem isn’t generally complicated – many users falsely assume that because they know little about PC repair and maintenance, that there is nothing that they can do on their own.  That is, apart from dropping their computer off at a computer repair location.  However, this is patently false information and we’re going to disclose a few methods that even novice PC users can use to speed up their PCs.

Scan for viruses, spyware and other malicious programs

Many computer owners are not aware of the devastating effects that malicious programs can have on their computer’s performance.  It’s very common that a virus, trojan horse, spyware or adware will so integrate itself into one’s computer that it is constantly in-demand and continually eating up available computer resources.  By removing malware from your PC you’re not only going to notice an overall speed difference, you’ll be protecting your own privacy and security.

Registry cleaning – the one-step PC booster

Cleaning your computer’s registry should be part of your regular computer maintenance – though many PC users fail to recognize the importance of continual registry cleanings.  Basically, your Windows registry is the head-of-operations on your computer; everything that runs on your PC runs through the registry.  Through general usage over time, your computer’s registry will store redundant, invalid or flat-out errant information, which this degradation of your registry can lead to less-than-stellar PC performance as well as intermittent errors and computer crashes.

Remove excess and unused programs from your computer

If you are low on hard drive space, it is time to clean house and remove some of the programs that you have not used in months (or years!).  These unused programs are taking up space on your hard drive, they are taking up space in your registry, and it is always possible that certain applications came pre-installed with various forms of malware, which could be slowing down your computer in and of themselves.

When you are removing programs from your computer, be sure that you use the proper channels to do so – the Add and Remove programs option in your Windows Control Panel is the best way to remove a program.  Doing so any other way could actually cause you problems due to registry corruption.

Speeding up your PC doesn’t have to be difficult and there are certain things, such as we outlined above, that can be performed by computer users of nearly any experience level.  If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you can save yourself some cash by trying out the suggestions above before you take your computer into the repair center.

It’s fairly common for people to want to learn how to speed up their Windows XP startup and boot up; in fact, it’s actually quite the popular topic.  However, we’re going to head to the opposite side of the spectrum right now and delve into how to speed up Windows XP shutdown. Now, since you’re here you’ve probably been suffering from deplorably slow PC shutdown, and we have three tricks that may enable your PC to shut down within seconds as opposed to mind-numbing minutes. Yes – we said seconds.

What we’re going to be sharing today will involve manually editing your computer’s registry.  We generally we advise against such activities because it can be dangerous – however, if you follow our advice and be careful when you’re editing the registry, you should fare just fine.

Before you start – backup the registry

This is a word to the wise whenever you’re making any changes to your computer’s registry, and it’s important to do now.  In order to backup the registry, though, you need to access your PCs registry editor:

Click Start from your desktop >> Run >> Type in “regedit” (no quotes) >> Press OK

At this point you should have your Windows Registry editor in front of you.  To create a backup of your registry:

Click File >> Export

When you’re prompted for the file name, we suggest creating something like “registrybackup-todays.date” or something like that so that you know what the file is.  By default the backup file should be in your My Documents folder.

Important Note: Before you click “Save”, at the bottom of the Export Registry File screen you will see two options under Export Range: All and Selected Branch.  Be 100% sure that you choose All, otherwise you will not have a complete backup of your registry.

Click Save >> Backup Complete!  Be patient, though as it may take a minute or so to process.

Now, onto the tweaks

In order to continue, you should already have your Windows registry editor open.

Tweak #1: This tweak will lower the amount of time Windows allows itself before it kills open applications when you press the shutdown or restart button.

Click HKEY_CURRENT_USER >> Control Panel >> Desktop

Be sure that Desktop is highlighted (in the left panel) and in the right panel find the following:

HungAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 and hit OK

WaitToKillAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 then hit OK

Tweak #2: This really is an extension of the first tweak, except this one will enable the faster shutdown time for all users instead of just the current user.

Click HKEY_USERS >> .Default >> Control Panel >> Desktop

Just as before, we’re going to change the following values to 1000:

HungAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 and hit OK

WaitToKillAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 then hit OK

Tweak #3: Our third tweak involves changing the registry to increase the speed by which Windows will kill running services when you press on the restart or shutdown button:

Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >> SYSTEM >> CurrentControlSet >> Control

In the right panel you’ll see the entry:

WaitToKillServiceTimeout – double click on this, enter 1000 then hit OK

That’s it – Just close your registry editor, reboot your PC and enjoy the faster shutdown speed for your Windows XP Computer.

Before we go, though, we want to give a special thanks to JohnTP.com for sharing his expertise as the idea for these tweaks came from his website.  We have personally applied these tweaks and can say with 100% certainty that these tweaks speed up Windows XP shutdown considerably.

Enjoy!