Please
note that all of the tools are provided without warranty or support by WRH as a service to the community.
[NI]
denotes the program does not require installation.
eBoostr
[2.2MB] -
Brings the benefits of Windows Vista's
ReadyBoost feature to Windows XP - it made my humble AMD 3000+ PC a lot
more snappy. Note that this software is trialware - it has no expiration date,
but it times out after 4 hours and doesn’t start again until after a reboot [review].
|
CleanMem [1.7MB] - Simply install it and forget it. When installed it
periodically clears out unused data from memory [review]. Cache Cleaner [52KB] [NI]
- Allows the memory cache to be cleared with a single click.
The above two programs freed up 60MB of
RAM on a 512MB RAM XP laptop when used after bootup. SysTrayMeter [15KB] [NI] - Displays the
amount of available free RAM and CPU load in the system tray. |
ClearTweak
[772KB] - Allows the contrast setting of Windows XP's ClearType setting to be modified.
| MRU-Blaster [496KB] -
Prevents the registry from becoming bloated with masses of useless MRU entries.
RegSeeker [438KB] [NI] - Excellent registry search and maintenance tool.
Note: the incorrect deletion of registry entries can wreck the O/S, so this
program is recommended for experienced users only.
Free Registry Defrag [468KB] - Optimizes Windows performance by
compacting the registry.
Some tweak guides recommend tweaking registry settings such as
DisablePagingExecutive, LargeSystemCache and IoPageLockLimit to enhance Windows XP's
performance. Before you do so
read this. [Other
XP myths] |
XP Start Menu Logoff [9KB] [NI] - A tiny utility that removes the Log
Off option from XP's Start Menu.
CCleaner [2.6MB] - An effective tool for removing junk from Windows.
TeraCopy [1.2MB] - Allows large amounts of data to be transferred/copied at speed with a minimum amount of fuss [review].
|
Process Lasso [377KB] -
Helps stop system lock ups by reducing the CPU priority of high load processes. It also allows the startup
priorities of processes to be adjusted to improve PC responsiveness. Note: blindly modifying CPU processes
can cause system problems, so this program is recommended for experienced users only.
Advanced Process Termination [68KB] [NI] - Allows seemingly unstoppable
processes to be terminated. |
Turbo Services Manager [225KB] [NI] - A comprehensive manager for
Windows services. A guide to Windows services can be found
here.
Fast Explorer [925KB]
- Allows program shortcuts to be added to and removed from the right click
context menu.
A43 [838KB] [NI] - A
customisable and highly functional Explorer alternative which uses few resources. I was sceptical when I first
tried this software, but it has ultimately made Windows Explorer and the start
menu redundant on my PC. [Screenshot]
| CTFMON.EXE is a service which loads at boot up. It is
rarely used, can cause system problems, and is a pain to stop [details]. CTFMON-Remover [NI] solves the
problem by swapping ctfmon.exe with an inactive dummy file. The original ctfmon.exe is backed up and can be
easily restored if required. |
SHERLOCK -
The Codec Detective [80KB] [NI] - Displays the codecs installed on a Windows XP computer and checks to
see if any are broken. ShortcutsMan
[36KB] [NI] - Allows broken shortcuts to be easily found and removed.
| Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which tracks everything from
CPU use to hard drive performance. The information for this utility comes from
several performance counter services which run behind the scenes. If you have no
use for this information the counters can be disabled to free up system resources [details].
If you want to recover some hard drive space
reduce the amount of cache set aside for System Restore [details].
|
| 
