Shoutbox

This guide was written by me (blade) right now....because I was bored...

Estimated time of tweaks and modifications: 20 minutes or less.
Estimated time of Adware/Spyware/Virus scan and Defrage: Varies from PC to PC.

STEP1: Apperance

If you have a Windows theme program, turning it off will increase performance. To get optimized performance, use the Windows "Classic" theme.

Next, right click "My Computer", go to "Properties" and go to the "Advanced" tab. There should be a section labled "Performane", click the corresponding button. There will be a bunch of check boxes. Go through and uncheck the ones you don't want. Doing so will decrease Windows apperance, but it will increase performance.





STEP 2: Settings

In the same porperties box ("System Properties") as used in stepo 1, go to the "Automatic Update" tab. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO MANUALLY UPDATE,  turn that off, it will save memory, otherwise just leave it. Next, go back to the "Advanced" tab and hit  the button under "Performance" yet again.  There will be another tab labled "Advanced" in this box, go to it. Click the button under "Virtual Memory" at the bottom. Depending on the size/number of HDD you have, set this amount. It will speed up performance mildly. I have an 80 and 120 GB HDD, so I have the Initial and Max set to 4096 (the max) on both HDD's.



STEP 3: Services

Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
This part will require thorough reading.

The following services MAY be stopped and set to "Manual" without causing problems. To do so, right click the service and hit "Properties". Your Services section should looks similar to this:



* Automatic Updates - Searches for Windows Updates, but slows the Computer down aswell. (Advanced users only!)
* Error Reporting Service - Does anybody still use this? Sends an error report to Microsoft when a program crashes.
* FTP Publishing Service - Only needed if your computer is a server.
* Indexing Service - Speeds up searches, but not enough to be worth the memory usage.
* Machine Debug Manager - An un-needed program debugger.
* Messeger - Not related to MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger, it is not nedded unless your computer is a server
* Plug and Play (Advanced) - Automatically detects and attempts to install new hardware. Only disable this if you are an advanced user.
* Security Center (SP2) - This annoying program that Windows calls the "Security Center" really doesn't do a whole lot, and doesn't work properly.
* Remote Registry Service -- You don't remotely access the Registry of other systems on your local network.
* Run As Service -- You don't use any applications that run as an alias.
* World Wide Web Publishing Service - Again, only needed for a server.

Note: This step can also be done through msconfig, but it is not recommended unless you really know what you're doing.


STEP 4: Clean-up
Are there any programs that aren't needed anymore that start automatically?  Whatpulse? Steam? Disable as many programs that automatically start with your PC.


Next, we'll get rid of that un-wanted Ad/Spyware. Download (if you do not already have) one of the following programs.
AdAware
Spybot S&D

After installing one of those, run an adware check. Delete all of the files it finds unless you KNOW they are needed. Note: Before using the adware/spwyware programs to delete un-wanted wares, it is best to attempt to do so manually using Start >  Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.


This next part may take some time, so don't do this if you have anything you need to do on the PC:

1)Update your Anti-Virus Virus definitions (if applicable) and your Operating Sytem through Windows update.
2) Do a virus check if you have an Ant-Virus. If you don't, I suggest getting Norton Anti-Virus. Also: Thanks to Keystorm for noting, those without an Anti-Virus can do a free, online scan HERE.
3) Do a Disk De-Fragment ( Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragment )


After that's all said and done, I also suggest you look through your HDD(s) to find things you no longer need, then un-install or delete them (depending on what they are).



END OF TUTORIAL

Something else that may help you out: Your Connection up/down rate. Go to http://www.dslreports.com/stest and follow the directions given


Tutorial by Blade
Hope it helps
Note: If you have anything I should add to this tutorial, or comments, please post in this thread. Please excuse any spelling errors.

Also note: I will add more to the guide, and more screenshots later