Windows 7 has received rave reviews and many users who initially doubted Microsoft’s ability to release a stable OS are now having second thoughts. Just because Redmond has issued a new OS, however, doesn’t mean that users everywhere have flocked to the new OS. Windows XP, arguably one of the most successful iterations of the Microsoft Windows line, still has a huge installed user base.

Getting More Out Of XP

Corporate rollouts of Windows 7 may be months (or more) away, so how does a user who still works on a Windows XP system get extra performance out of a slow computer?

Windows XP has a lot going for it, but it relies on older programming techniques to provide a quality user experience. With Windows XP, there was often a trade-off between how the computer performed and what the display looked like. The more “eye candy” you’re looking for, the slower your computer will perform. That’s largely because the processing tasks that are involved in the eye-catching tricks make the computer work harder and slower.

So, if you want the computer to perform better, how can you balance the OS to favor function over form? One way to recapture a little bit of performance is to rein in the way Windows XP displays its menus. Turning off visual effects like shadowing and fading will help restore some performance to XP.

To adjust Windows XP’s graphics handling, right-click on My Computer and select Properties. Choose the Advanced Tab. In the top pane, labeled Performance, choose Settings.

Under the Visual Effects tab, select the checkbox labeled “Adjust for best performance.” This will eliminate all of the fancy graphics handling that Windows XP can perform. If you decide that you want the visual effects or that the switch doesn’t improve your computer’s performance enough to warrant it, you can go back into the same location and choose “Adjust for best appearance.” Whether these little visual effects really qualify as the “best” appearance is strictly a matter of personal taste, but you can decide for yourself whether the shadows and fadeouts are worth the extra processor cycles.

If you’re looking for more significant “performance economy,” consider using a registry cleaner to remove unnecessary code from the Windows registry instead.

Photo Credit: Nick Perla, via Flickr