[EvilGenius]

So if you've ever had a "friend" who was running Windows XP on a system that wasn't quite up to the task, you might have wondered if there was some way that you could improve the performance. Good news... THERE IS! Bad news.... it's hidden, Windows style. (As you'll see, you get to go to about 8 sug-menus to get there).

Configuring Windows XP for systems utilizing minimal hardware:
Right click on a "My Computer" icon and select Properties.

Choose the advanced tab (red) and click on the settings button (blue).

In the window that opens select “Adjust for best performance” to turn off all of the features.

Now, check each of the items shown below (or whichever ones you think you need) to provide the best performance/appearance ratio.

Configuring the paging file for systems with less than (or equal to) 512MB RAM is highly recommended. So, select the Advanced tab (red) in this window and hit the Change button (blue).

Setting the page file to a custom size with both the initial and maximum size equal can provide significant performance boosts. Choosing the right size can be challenging but it is recommended that at least 768 MB be allocated. If you find performance is not at desired levels, increase in 256 MB increments. Set whatever values you decide on in the boxes indicated.

Additionally, you may wish to adjust the amount of space your Recycle Bin takes on your hard drive. This can be done by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin and choosing Properties. Now, you'll see something like the image below. Simply set size to something that is more reasonable than the Windows default, which is I believe 10%.

After setting your page file (or your recycle bin) you should defragment your hard drive (if possible use a third-party app and do so while not booted into Windows).
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-EvilGenius V$^PK