How to Speed Up Applications in Windows XP

by Gilberto J Perera View Comments Share

Update: Please read the article below as changes were made regarding the value to use when changing registry settings and the applications affected by the change. Thanks to the users that pointed it out!

The tweak I am going to describe below increases system stability by instructing the operating system to separate processes for each instance of an application. In other words if you have three Internet Explorer windows open and one of them crashes it will allow you to close out that crashed instance of Internet Explorer without affecting the other two. I consider this to be a life saver because I run multiple instances of Internet Explorer a lot of the time as well as a performance boost that you gain from this tweak. Below you will find the steps necessary to accomplish this. As always comments/suggestions are welcome.

Note: This tweak is only recommended for users with more than 512MB of RAM, the reason for this is the extra use of memory due to separate processes.

1. These tweaks require that you venture into your registry, please backup your registry.

2. Go to Start > Run when the Run box opens type in regedit

3. Your registry should have opened [Just checking...have you backed up your registry?] Navigate to the following keys; HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Control > PriorityControl

4. When you get to PriorityControl click on it, the pane to the right should have a listing of several keys, double-click on;

>Win32PrioritySeparation, change it to ‘00000026‘ which is 38 in hexadecimal (changing this optimizes the priority control for processes)

5. Under any explorer window, My Computer, My Documents, etc. Go to Tools > Folder Options

6. A Folder Options dialog box opens, click on the View tab and under Advanced Settings scroll down until you find Launch Folder windows in a separate process.

7. Make sure to check Launch Folder windows in a separate process, click OK

8. Once you’ve changed these settings restart your computer and your settings should have taken effect.

Sources: Kadaitcha, X-setup, Tech Republic

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About the author

Gilbert is a Microsoft MVP, a full-time blogger, and technology aficionado. When Gilbert is away from his bike and his iPad, he's busy writing technology how-to's from his home-office in Miami, Florida on the latest programs and gadgets he can get his hands on. He's locally known as "the computer guy" and has spent the last 12 years helping family, friends, and GilsMethod.com visitors with their computer questions and problems. He was awarded the 2009 MVP award from Microsoft for his contributions in forums and blogs and is enjoying the new addition to his family.

View Comments to “How to Speed Up Applications in Windows XP”

AndrewBoldman says:
June 4, 2009 at 9:22 am

I really liked this post. Can I copy it to my site? Thank you in advance.
- Gil says:
  June 4, 2009 at 11:51 am
  
  I’m glad you find it useful. If you would like to share this how-to with your readers I would prefer you provide a summary on your page and link back to this page for the entire how-to…I put a lot of time and effort when writing for this website. Thank you for your consideration.