Big lies about Windows performance boosters

The Internet is full of plenty of advice about how to speed up Windows --- and much of it is just plain wrong. In fact, as I'll explain, not uncommonly, you'll actually slow down your system by following the tips.

One of the most persistent pieces of advice is that you can speed up boot times by deleting all the files in your C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch directory on a regular basis. As I show you in this article, though, doing that will most likely slow down your system, not speed it up.

That's because Windows uses C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch make your applications launch more quickly. By emptying the directory, you are most likely slowing down how quickly those applications launch.

There's plenty of other similar bad Windows advice floating around the Internet. Lifehacker has a great article that debunks many common Windows performance-tweaking tips, and is worthy reading for anyone who tries to juice up Windows performance. It warns about "snakeoil memory optimizers" and other common myths. I can't I say that I agree with all of its advice, though. It warns against disabling services to speed up your computer, but if done properly, I've found this can be a performance-booster.

If you're looking for tips that do work for getting more from XP, by the way, check out my recent article, Free Windows XP tuneup: Put new life into an old workhorse. It's got tips and downloads to spiff up XP.