InformIT: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

Check Your System

You can ensure that Windows XP runs at its peak performance by adjusting the operating system to match the way you use your computer. The System Properties window enables you to adjust the following system attributes:

Visual effects: The movement and efficiency of icons and other screen elements that Windows XP uses
Processor scheduling: The method by which your CPU (Central Processing Unit), the chip inside your computer that processes data and follows instructions, assigns priorities
Memory usage: The utilization of your computer's memory during program execution
Virtual memory: An area of disk space set aside for Windows XP's scratchpad use

You adjust these settings from the System Properties window as the following To Do item explains.

To Do: Making System Adjustments

Display the Control Panel.
Click Switch to Classic View if the Control Panel displays its options as categories instead of individual icons.
Select System.
Click the Advanced tab to display the advanced System Properties window shown in Figure 20.1.
Click the Settings button in the Performance section to display the Performance Options window shown in Figure 20.2.
Look through the scrolling list of items and you'll see all the visual features available in Windows XP that occur as you use your computer. For example, you can request that Windows XP animate the opening and closing of windows. Instead of instantly opening and closing them, the windows seem to open out of the taskbar when you maximize them, coming up and going together before your eyes in a cartoon-like (but quick) fashion. Other effects are available such as shadows that can appear beneath open menus and the mouse pointer, window contents that move with a window when you drag the window, and list boxes that slide open instead of dropping down instantly.

Figure 20.1 You can adjust operating system performance from the System Properties window.

Figure 20.2 The Performance Options determine how your computer performs visually.

You can quickly check all these visual options by clicking the Adjust for best appearance button. Be warned, though, that if you do, your Windows XP performance will not be optimized. Each of these visual effects add up to make Windows XP work extra hard every time something happens on the screen. If you turn all these options off, as you can quickly do by pressing the Adjust for best performance button, you gain better use of your system because all the special visual effects go away. The downside is that you lose some of the friendlier aspects of the operating system.
To make your system perform at a good rate and to maintain some of the visual effects you prefer, you'll have to scroll through the list and check and uncheck the options you want and don't want. Over time, you'll return to this window to make further adjustments as you get used to Windows XP's visual effects.

You can adjust further performance options by clicking the Advanced tab in the Performance Options dialog box. This displays the advanced performance options shown in Figure 20.3.

Figure 20.3 You can control more advanced system options.
The Processor scheduling section determines how Windows performs when you run multiple programs simultaneously. Only one program can run in the foreground at one time, and that's the program that is active and whose window's title bar is blue and top-most on your screen. The other programs, running in the background, still run but with fewer CPU cycles. The general idea is that the program in which you're actively working in, the foreground program, is the program you want to give the most processor attention to. If you want to more equally share computer-processing time between both foreground and background programs, click the Background services option.
The Memory usage section determines how memory is doled out to foreground and background programs. By default, the foreground programs are given a larger slice of memory in which to run more freely. If you want to devote more attention to a program you're running in a background window, check the option labeled System cache.
The Virtual memory section determines how Windows XP utilizes the virtual memory area of your disk drive. Virtual memory is disk memory that Windows XP sometimes offloads work to as a temporary holding place. When you click the Change button to change the amount of memory given to the system's virtual memory, the Virtual Memory dialog box shown in Figure 20.4 opens. Keep in mind that the default setting for the virtual memory size is generally the best setting to keep so you'll rarely, if ever, have to change your virtual memory setting.

Figure 20.4 Virtual memory determines how much disk space Windows XP can utilize for a work area.

Generally, the recommended memory, shown at the bottom of the Virtual Memory window, is the value you should keep. Nevertheless, if you have ample disk space and want to devote more space to the system's virtual memory, you can adjust the top value of the virtual memory range in the Maximum size text box. If you are running out of disk space, you can lower this and the Initial size values.

Caution

Generally, you should leave your Virtual Memory settings alone. If you're so low on disk space that you must lower your virtual memory usage, you will notice a dramatic system degradation and Windows will often slow to a crawl—if Windows even continues to work. If you ever make a change to your virtual memory settings, it's best to change the maximum values to allow Windows XP more room to work. But even too much virtual memory can cause Windows to slow down because so much time is spent managing all the virtual memory. The optimum value is almost always best to keep unless you read of a technical reason why a different value might make a difference in your performance.

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