5. Remove page file from system drive

The operating system can use virtual memory when there is more data that can be stored on physical memory. The Virtual memory is on hard drive, this means is slower than standard memory. What we can do to improve performance is to remove the page file from the drive where operating system is installed on, and put it on other drive.

To do this, right click on "my computer" and select "Properties", Select the 'advanced' tab. Under 'performance' choose the 'settings' button. Select the 'advanced' tab again and under 'virtual memory' select 'change.'

You will get a list with all drives, with page file allocated on each.

6. Create a permanent Page file.

Follow the instructions from the previous tip and select the same value for minimum and maximum size. This prevents operating system to resize page file.

7. Optimize your page file size

By default, windows xp select the page file to 150% of physical memory, but if you have more than 512 physical memory, it's hard to believe that your operating system will need that amount of virtual memory. Change your page file to the same value as your physical memory is ( RAM ), but, if you have less than 512, leave it at 150%. You can do this using the steps at previous tip.

8. Defrag page file with PageDefrag utility

We all know that defragmentint hard drive is a good idea, but windows xp defragmentation utility can't defragment files that are already in use, for example page file ( virtual memory ). For this you can use a freeware tool called Page Defrag This tool is simply to use, just select all files you want to defragment and press Start.

9. Set priority for important programs

If you are using more applications at the same time, but you focus on a single application, you can change the priority for that application to boost its performances. By default, all applications are set to normal priority level. To change this, press CTR+ALT+Del to open Task Manager and select the application you want to rise the priority. On the right-click menu select Go To Process. Press right click on the proccess and select Set Priority. You will have many proority levels. The higher you set priority above normal, the more CPU time the program will steal from other applications when you are multitasking.

10. Check your hard drives with scandisk

Defragmenting hard drive can improve performances, but it can't touch bad sectors or lost clusters.

Because of this, it is a good idea to run XP's built in error checking utility on your drives once in a while. This utility will scan your disks for errors and optionally attempt to correct them.

Open 'my computer.'

Right click the hard disk you wish to check and select 'properties.'

Choose the 'tools' tab and under 'error checking' select the 'check now...' button.

Check both options. You will need to restart the computer to do the full disk check.

Your disk will be fully checked for errors upon reboot, but be aware that this can take quite a while.