Use an effective antivirus
As just mentioned, Microsoft no longer takes care of the security of Windows XP. This means that you have to "fend for yourself" by trying to protect your computer in the best possible way. One such way is to install an effective, XP-compatible antivirus that is still updated regularly. You can find several in my post on free antivirus in cittàn.
Disable XP unnecessary features
Another operation that I highly recommend you to do is to disable the unnecessary functions of XP. In this way you will get a slight improvement in the performance of the operating system and you will avoid the risks that could cause any security flaws present in them.
To disable the unnecessary functions of XP you can use XP AntiSpy, a small free and portable application (that is, it does not require installation to work) through which it is possible to disable the functions and services of Windows XP considered useless or even "spy", that is, harmful to the user's privacy.
To download XP AntiSpy on your computer, connect to the program's website and click on the item first Download, then on cittàn flag and finally on the icon ZIP. When the download is complete, open the zip package that contains XP AntiSpy ( xp-AntiSpy_.zip), extract the contents to any folder and start the program xp-AntiSpy.exe.
Nella finestra che si apre, click on your button Yes to start a backup of the current Windows configuration, then select the item Advised from the menu profiles and click on Apply the settings to disable all settings recommended by XP AntiSpy. In case you want to disable other functions and / or services, scroll down the list in the application window, check the options to be disabled and press on Apply the settings per salvare i Cambiomenti.
In case of problems or second thoughts, to restore the original settings of XP, just call up the voice System profile (date) from the menu Fillet and click on the button Apply the settings.
Disable unnecessary programs at startup
Net of the security talk, using an old PC I guess you want speed up Windows XP as much as possible. Then let me give you some "tips" to improve the overall performance of the operating system.
First, I suggest you disable all unnecessary programs that start automatically when you turn on your computer. So go to the menu Home Windows, select the item Esegui ..., type in the window that opens the command msconfig and press the key Submit on the computer keyboard to access the system setup utility.
At this point, select the tab Start from the window that opened, remove the check mark from the items relating to the programs you no longer want to start when Windows starts and click on Apply / OK to save the changes. The programs to be deactivated must be identified by you. Just be careful not to disable antivirus, other security software, or Windows components (such as Windows search).
Disable animations and graphic effects
Another way to optimize XP is to disable all animations and graphic effects with which the operating system is “adorned”. To find out how, go to the menu Home, right click on the icon Computer resources and select the item Property give the menu to compare.
In the window that opens, then select the tab Advanced and presses the button Settings collocato sotto the dicitura Performances. Finally, put the check mark next to the item Adjust for best performance and click on Apply / OK per salvare i Cambiomenti.
In addition to the animations, the colored graphics of XP will also be disabled (the one that allows you to have the blue taskbar and the green Start button, so to speak). To restore it, put the check mark only next to the item Use visual styles for windows and buttons e pigia his Apply / OK to save the settings.
Defragment your hard drive regularly
Windows XP includes a hard drive defragmentation feature that is far inferior to that found in Vista and later. First of all it does not have the same level of effectiveness, and then it is not performed automatically (the user must start it with some regularity).
To bypass these problems and further improve system performance, you can rely on third-party defragmentation software, such as the excellent Auslogics Disk Defrag Free which is more effective than the XP defragmenter and includes a defragmentation scheduling function.
To download Auslogics Disk Defrag Free on your PC, connect to the program's website and click on the button Download now. Then open the software installation package (disk-defrag-setup.exe), metti il segno di spunta accanto alla voce Custom Install, toglila da Installa Auslogics BootSpeed (another Auslogics system optimization software that you don't need) and presses on Click to install to complete the setup.
At this point, to defrag your computer hard disk with Auslogics Disk Defrag Free, put the check mark next to its icon (eg. Local disk (C :)) and click on your button Defrag. To schedule automatic defragments, instead, select the icon of theclock located at the bottom left and put the check mark next to the item Defragment automatically.
Free up disk space
Although this operation does not directly impact system performance and has absolutely nothing to do with the end of support talk for Windows XP, I suggest you do some cleaning on your computer's disk with CCleaner.
You've probably heard of it before. CCleaner is a very famous system maintenance software that allows you to free up disk space by deleting all the temporary files that accumulate in the cache of various applications, deleting the web browsing history and removing all the useless files that in the long run fill up the PC hard disk.
To download it to your computer, connect to its official website and click on the link Piriform placed under the heading relating to CCleaner Free. When the download is complete, start the program installation package (ccsetup506.exe), select thecityno from the drop-down menu for language selection and first click on Next and then NEXT three consecutive times. Then uncheck the items related to Chrome e Google Toolbar (to avoid installation) and click on Install e end but I will complete the setup.
At this point, recati nella scheda Cleaning CCleaner, select all the elements to remove from the left sidebar (if you don't know what to choose, leave the default settings active) and press on Start cleaning to start deleting unwanted files from your hard drive.
CCleaner also includes a function for cleaning the Windows registry, but I do not recommend that you use it if your system is running well and does not give strange errors. In case of problems that could be related to obsolete keys in the Windows registry, use the program that I recommended in my tutorial on how to clean the registry (by making a good backup of the registry beforehand, I recommend).
Try Linux!
If you don't have to use specific programs that are only available on Windows, try giving your old PC a new lease of life by installing one Linux distribution instead of Windows XP. This way you won't have any more security problems and you will almost certainly be able to make your computer go faster. All free! To find out more, try reading my article on how to install Linux.
How to speed up Windows XP
