Here are a few sites with "RELIABLE" information on tweaking XP. These sites contain information on: Disabling unneeded services, tweaking your paging file, and some other handy dandy stuff. I have used information from all these sites and have not had any problems with anything suggested. I will update the list as I find more.

Black Viper Temporarily down
TweakXP
Doug Knox's Tweaks
Kelly's Korner
Boatload of Information
Elder Geeks
Winguides

Thanks, parputt, v useful having all these links in a single list.

Actually, that is not true. I just like to sit watching your avatar

Thanks for the links, parputt.

hey Parputt,

Thank you for the links - never ceases to amaze, how much stuff goes into one of these little boxes...and how much i don't know! like this one for instance - i think it was Kellys Korner made the point of using a Limited Account/User for your everyday computing. is the advantage that, if the computer crashes and i'm logged on as Admin it will be a lot worse? more (potentially) files lost, registry pollution/corruption, etc...

about this CPU usage thing (one more, then i swear i'll let it go!): every now and then i'll hear the fan kicking in, so i'll quickly click the Performance tab in TM, and that's when i'll see the 100% usage. not every time, but often enough to concern me. so i open Processes -right next door there- but by the time i get there, everything's back to normal, or on its way. the point is, i don't see anything except the System Idle Process at 99, which is pretty much constant.

what i'm wondering is whether Processes shows the whole story...and whether i'm making too much of this whole thing.

Thanks again and again Parputt. i really appreciate your help.

The idea behind using a Limited User account for every day use is for security purposes. Like sitting at your desk at work then getting up and going to the bathroom. If logged in as Limited User someone cant just walk up and start messing with files. Also, if your on a network it limits file sharing. For the average one computer home user it is pretty much a mute point. I run as Admin. all the time.

If you are still concerned with the processes here is my suggestion. Head on over to our Hijack Forum. Go to the stickies at the top and find the links for AdAware, Spybot Search and Destroy and Hijack This. Install, update and run both AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy (letting both fix any errors they find) then reboot. Then run Hijack This (only after updating it) and post the log in the Hijack This forum for the Experts to look at. I guarantee you, if there is anything suspicious on your system they will/can find it.

thanks Parputt.
will do the Hijack posting, see if anyone notices anything evil. appreciate your help.

Anytime.

Thx, above inform are helpful for XP newbie

In addition to posts above and the question from jackstraw about system activity, we regularly use the System Performance Logs & Alerts to catch misbehaving software or services. It is especially useful for networks that we support and monitor remotely to have an email sent to a tech when problems begin. Ken

thanks for the sites parputt.

bump

Thanks for the links parputt, I found them most useful, especially living in Australia, hanging upside down by my long toenails

i've seen "bump" used a few times, what does it mean

before this post was locked in place it would get moved down the forum by other posts. and putting a new post of any kind bumps it back up.
but do not do that in the hijack this forum. or a log won,t get looked at!

help please,

I don't see any text at all in the posts of paisley/parputt/phonex22/drdeth or wawadave. Do I have something "turned off" that may safely be turned on?

Am usingxp home/Opera browser/spybot with teatimer/adaware/spyware guard/spyware blaster.

Thanks for any suggestions.