Project 15 - TuningWindows XP In this laboratory we review some useful utilities and methods for improving the performance of the Windows XP operating system. As we move from Vista to Windows 7, the Windows XP operating system remains the most popular OS for desktop computers. Windows XP have a proven track record of stability and maintainability and stands out as the best OS product from Microsoft to date. As with any OS, XP needs occasional attention. Regular defragmentation and disk clean-up is required, and it is important to keep up with the critical security updates provided by Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx. MSCONFIG - The first utility we will review is Microsoft System Configuration Utility designed to help you troubleshoot problems with your computer. From the Run dialog (or from a console window) type msconfig and press enter. You should see the System Configuration utility similar to the one shown here. Let's walk through each of the tabs to become familiar with their uses. General - Under the general tab you can choose Normal startup, Diagnostic startup, or Selective startup. The selected mode will take effect on your next system startup. Under normal startup all drivers and services will be launched during boot. Under diagnostic startup only essential drivers and services will be launched giving you an opportunity to successfully boot an otherwise damaged OS and to conduct repairs or recovery of files. Under selective startup you may choose which drivers and services you want to load. If you have problems with your Windows system, you may use the Diagnostic Startup mode to diagnose the cause of the problem. Diagnostic startup enables Windows to determine the basic device drivers and software to load when you start Windows. When you use this method, the system temporarily
disables Microsoft services such as Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting. To perform a diagnostic startup, follow these steps: Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK. On the General tab, click Diagnostic Startup, and then click OK. Restart your computer. If the problem does not occur, use Selective Startup mode to try to find the problem by turning individual services and startup programs on or off. NOTE: Running in diagnostic startup mode will delete all restore points. SYSTEM.INI & WIN.INI - were basic startup files used in earlier versions of Microsoft Windows to load device drivers and the default Windows shell (Program Manager or Windows Explorer). Many of these settings were honored in Windows 9x, although the files had begun to be phased out in favor of the Windows registry. Windows XP still acknowledges some entries in the SYSTEM.INI & WIN.INI files, to provide backwards compatibility. BOOT.INI - Windows XP system uses the boot loader NTLDR (NT LoaDR) which requires a startup file called BOOT.INI. This file contains configuration options for a boot menu. For example, the following boot.ini defines a boot menu with 2 operating systems: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="windows XP" /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="windows 2000" /fastdetect If you run "msconfig.exe" and click the BOOT.INI tab, you will see that it allows you to set various boot options for each boot entry:
If your computer display multiple OS options during boot that you did not create or that you do not want, you can click on the Check All Boot Paths button under BOOT.INI. If one or more of these OS options is not valid they can be removed here. Services - "msconfig.exe" can also be used to view, enable or disable a system service. Here are the steps to do this: 1. Click Start, click Run, type "msconfig", and then click OK. 2. Click the Services tab, you will a list of services defined on the system: 3. If you want to disable a service, remove the check sign from the checkbox next to the service name. 4. If you want to enable a service, keep the check sign from the checkbox next to the service name. 5. Click OK to close the "msconfig" window to save the changes. Startup - "msconfig.exe" can also be used to view, enable or disable a startup program. Here are the steps to do this: 1. Click Start, click Run, type "msconfig", and then click OK. 2. Click the Services tab, you will a list of services defined on the system: 3. If you want to disable a startup program, remove the check sign from the checkbox next to the program name. 4. If you want to enable a startup program, keep the check sign from the checkbox next to the service name. 5. Click OK to close the "msconfig" window to save the changes.
Speed Test - There are a number of Websites offering network connection speed tests. It is not recommended that you use or trust the speed test utilities provided by your Internet service provider. Rather select a third-party that has no stake in the level of performance of your Internet/Network connection. Some good sites are: http://speedtest.net/ http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ http://www.auditmypc.com/ http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/ Security Test - All computers that are connected to the Internet should be equipped with virus checking, anti-spyware utilities and a firewall. Once your machine has be properly outfitted with security measures it is a good idea to have it tested. There are sites that will evaluate your computer and tell you how secure it is against attack. BEWARE! Many of this sites are sources of malware and/or expensive ineffective software. As a general rule, avoid sites that sell security software. Some safe sites are: http://www.dslreports.com/ http://www.auditmypc.com/ References http://www.herongyang.com/windows/msconfig-what-is-msconfig.html http://www.optimizingpc.com/optimize/msconfig.html http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/ http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ http://www.dslreports.com/
Project 15 - Tuning Windows XP Name Score Complete the tasks of this project, answer the questions below, remove and attach this section of the project form to a copy of your source code. Please DO NOT include a copy of any automatically generated (Designer Code). 1. Run msconfig and check the boot paths on your laboratory computer. List them here 2. Using the indicated Web sites and msconfig find and list at least one essential startup program, one optional and one unnecessary startup program currently running on your computer. essential useful but optional unnecessary 3. List the top three services running on your computer. 1. 2. 3. 4. Run a speed test on your computer using two different test sites and list the results upload upload download download Explain the differences if any 5. Run Firewall Test (and/or other security tests) using one of the listed Web sites and describe the level of security on your computer.