Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools (click to enlarge)
Clean and Fast XP System for Free
Clean out the junk files
Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Cleanup
And for better results, use CrapCleaner. After using its safe and efficient cleaner functions for Windows and Applications, be sure to explore its Tools section. There you will find an excellent Uninstaller for unwanted programs as well as a Startup Manager that will allow you to speed your startup and save RAM by deleting unnecessary entries in the startup menu (don't delete anything you're unsure of). And lastly, give your registry a quick and safe scrub with its Registry Scanning tool.
Clean out adware and malware
SpywareBlaster will keep most spyware from ever entering your system.
SUPERantispyware cleans most spyware that you’ve already received.
Use a better browser
Firefox is a faster and safer browser.
Firetune optimizes and enhances the performance of Firefox.
Be sure to have updated anti-virus running on your computer
If you don’t already have anti-virus, try this excellent free alternative:
AVG Anti-Virus
And be sure you activate your firewall
Start / Control Panel / Windows Firewall / On
Clean and organize your registry and file system
Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Defragmenter
If you're satisfied, then you're done.
But if want much better results, then you must clean your registry and defragment your files more aggressively. Before doing so, be sure to create a restore point.
Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore
Or better yet, use Erunt to create a perfect replica of your registry in a matter of seconds.
Clean your registry with RegScrubXP.
After cleaning your registry, install page_Defrag to do the same for your page file.
Next, in order to compress the registry for peak performance, you should use NTregoptimizer, which comes bundled with Erunt above.
After thoroughly cleaning your registry and restarting your computer, clean any junk files, then install and run Defraggler.
It may take a few minutes the first time you employ it, but subsequent runs will be less than 2 minutes. If you have several users on the same computer, regular cleaning of junk-files, followed by thorough defragmentation is absolutely necessary.
