my system uses dual processors two(2) intel p4 3G and uses a 256 DDR RAM. it doesnt behave like a p4 system at all. when i launch programs like corel draw it takes too much time and also to process some things. where am i missing it?

"256 DDR RAM" Hardly enough for basic XP need at least 512, IGB better, go to www.crucial.com and find recommended memory..

Disable Indexing Services http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=1335 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html Indexing services is a small program that hogs HUGE amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexing and updates lists of the files on your system, so you can search for them quickly, but it's completley unnecessary. To disable it, go to the Control Panel and click Add or Remove Programs. Click the Add/Remove Window Components. Simply untick the Indexing services and click Next! Go into "My Computer", right click on all your hard drive partitions one at a time, left click "Properties". Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching". Select "Apply changes to subfolders and files". If any files can not be updated select "Ignore All". =================================== HOW TO: Set Performance Options in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417 ===================================== How to Disable the Find Fast Indexer http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q158705 8. THE TRUTH ABOUT FIND FAST http://www.remainsecure.com/whitepapers/hacking/mshidden.htm ===================================== http://www.help2go.com/Tutorials/Protect_Your_PC/System_Changes_to_Foil_Hackers_and_Browser_Hijackers.html 2. Disable the POSIX and OS/2 Subsystem. 6. Disable the Guest account 7. Set the Hosts file to read-only to prevent name hijacking. ===================================== Application Slow-Downs in Windows XP http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/47.htm ======================================= Not networking, this will help. 1) Control Panel -> Internet Options 2) Connections tab 3) LAN Settings 4) Uncheck "Automatically Detect Settings" ======================================= http://www.technobabble.com.au/technobabble/html/tweaks/access.htm http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=145&dPage=3 Just like Windows 2000, Windows XP still fails to set the DMA mode correctly for the IDE device designated as the slaves on the primary IDE and secondary IDE channels. Most CD-ROMS are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still PIO. Setting it to DMA won't make your CD-ROM faster, but it will consume less CPU cycles. Here's how: Open the Device Manager. One way to do that is to right-click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and select Device Manager. Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel". Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. More than likely, your current transfer mode is set to PIO. Set it to "DMA if available". Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. Reboot. Enabling DMA in XP http://www.blackmaxpc.com/Guides/DMA.htm http://www.xtremepccentral.com/foru...9/2002/05/1/885 http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/tech/storage/IDE-DMA.asp http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=7625 http://www.optorite.com/manual/English/manual/dma.htm Problems enabling DMA in XP http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6645 http://www.compguysinc.com/techweb/hardware/dma66.shtml http://www.windowsxpatoz.com/cgi-bin/performance/index.cgi?answer=1036284156&id=1036282433 If the computer persists on having only PIO after reboot even though the hard drive is a flashing super-duper ATA133 and transfer mode set to “DMA if available”, then you have to do the following: Remove the primary device in the device manager and reboot! Voilà, now the harddrive should be running in DMA mode. Repeat on the secondary IDE channel if necessary. ======================================= Disable XP support for zip files http://www.quake3world.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/022654.html http://www.technobabble.com.au/technobabble/html/tweaks/access.htm Windows XP has built-in support for .ZIP files, so that you can view them as normal folders. However, the system uses a sizeable portion of resources doing this, so disabling this feature can increase performance. It's easy to do, you just have to un-register the zipfldr.dll, by going to Start -> Run... Copy & Paste > regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll < , then press Enter. You should see a message telling you the command was succesfully applied. ======================================== SECURITY http://www.quake3world.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/022654.html Disable uPnP! Download this to disable uPnP, a very dangerous service to have running on your pc. http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=34951 ========================================= MEMORY PERFORMANCE TWEAKS http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=120&dPage=5 http://www.windowsxpatoz.com/cgi-bin/performance/index.cgi?answer=1036284180&id=1036282433 http://www.tweakxp.com/TweakXP/display.asp?id=1509 These only apply if you have over 256 mb, otherwise just skip this part. Disable the paging executive In normal usage, XP pages sections from the kernel core and drivers in memory to disk. We can stop this happening and keep the data in RAM, resulting in improved performance. Run regedit.exe ( Start > Run, type in regedit & press Enter) Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management/ The setting we want to change to disable the ’Paging Executive’, as it is called, is called DisablePagingExecutive. Changing the value of this key from 0 to 1 will de-activate memory paging. Note: This tweak may cause problems with some Nvidia cards & drivers. =================================== http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBI/tip4200/rh4299.htm Simple File Sharing is enabled by default if your computer is NOT a member of a domain http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBI/tip4400/rh4487.htm NOTE: Simple File Sharing cannot be disabled on Windows XP Home Edition. To disable Simple File Sharing: 1. Start > My Computer > Tools > Folder Options. 2. Select the View tab. 3. Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) box in the Advanced Settings area. 4. Press Apply and OK. ==================================== 39. How to improve on shutdown time? http://www.xptuneup.com/tip0050.htm Demystifying the Windows Registry http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/Demystifying_the_Windows_Registry-tut74.html Don't Fear the Registry http://hacks.oreilly.com/pub/h/658 Windows has a feature that will automatically close those "non-responsive" program files that you typically have to intervene with (CTRL + ALT + DELETE style) Close apps automatically & quickly at shutdown. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP and look for AutoEndTasks. Default value is 0. Change it to 1. Close Regedit & Reboot. ======================================= Unknown hard drive activity. Right click an empty part of your desktop > Properties > Display Properties > Desktop > Customize Desktop > Desktop Items. Down the bottom of that screen, uncheck > Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days. ======================================= Try to avoid having a paging file on the same drive as the system files. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417 HOW TO: Move the Paging File in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307886 ====================================== Clear virtual memory on shutdown http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-27.htm Windows does not normally clear or recreate the page file. On a heavily used system this can be both a security threat and performance drop. Enabling this setting will cause Windows to clear the page file whenever the system is shutdown. This also means shutdown will be slower. Classic View Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxppspol.html Category View Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxppspol.html Scroll down to "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile". Right click and select properties then click "Enabled". Note: Please note on systems with large amounts of memory, and therefore large swap-file, this tweak could cause a delay at shutdown due to the additional time taken to clear the data from the file. ===================================== http://www.petri.co.il/bypass_the_welcome_screen_in_windows_xp.htm You can also permanently disable the Welcome Screen and Fast User Switching (and you should...). Read the following article: Disable the Welcome Screen in XP Pro and Disable Fast User Switching in XP Pro. http://www.petri.co.il/disable_the_welcome_screen_in_xp_pro.htm http://www.petri.co.il/disable_fast_user_switching_in_xp_pro.htm 1. Open User Accounts in Control Panel. 2. Click Change the way users log on or off. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1153279,00.asp http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279765&sd=tech ===================================== W2KWXPDNSfix Broadband Tip: How to keep DNS Errors from slowing you down! http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/dns_cache.htm Works for dial-up too! ===================================== How to Disable the "There are Newly Installed Programs" Balloon When you install a new program in XP, the operating system helpfully tells you about it and highlights the new program(s) on the Start menu. If you don't like this behavior, there's something you can do about it: Right click the Start button and select Properties. Click the Start Menu tab. Click the Customize button. Click the Advanced tab. Uncheck the box labeled "Highlight newly installed programs." Note: this option is not available if you use the Classic Start menu. ======================================= 23 Ways To Speed WinXP Without Defrag http://www.techbuilder.org/article.htm?ArticleID=47626 4.) Double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button. =================================== Auto Delete Temporary Folder http://www.tweakxp.com/display.aspx?id=2021 First go into gpedit.msc ( only available in the Pro version of XP ) Start > Run, copy & paste > gpedit.msc & press Enter Next select -> Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services > Temporary Folder Then right click "Do Not Delete Temp Folder Upon Exit" Go to properties and hit Disabled. Now next time Windows puts a temp file in that folder it will automatically delete it when its done! ======================================= http://www.windowsxpatoz.com/cgi-bin/performance/index.cgi?answer=1036282565&id=1036282433 In Windows XP everytime you open My Computer to browse folders XP automatically searches for network files and printers. This causes a delay in displaying your icons. You probably see the "default" windows icon and as you scroll it changes to the correct icon. This is how to stop that... 1. Open My Computer 2. Click on the Tools menu and select Folder Options... 3. Under Folder Options select the View tab. 4. Uncheck the very first box that reads "Automatically search for network folders and printers". 5. Click "Apply" or "OK" You should see a dramatic increase in speed when Windows displays your icons. ========================================== Performance Right-click "My Computer", then "Properties". Choose the "Advanced" tab. Under "Performance" click "Settings". In Visual Effects, click on Custom & untick everything, except > Use visual styles on windows and buttons & Smooth edges of screen fonts & maybe > Show shadows under menu's ( Default has everything ticked, except > Smooth edges of screen fonts ) Click Apply & then OK. ======================================== If your computer is NOT a laptop/notebook then you can stop Hibernate. Hibernation, reserves disk space equal to your RAM. http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=145&dPage=5 The mysterious hiberfil.sys http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html =========================================== System Restore Point Start > My Computer > right click & select Properties. Select System Restore & untick > Turn off System Restore on all drives. Select the drive with the operating system on, click Settings & set it on Min or slightly higher if you feel more comfortable with the extra backups. Any other drive or partition, click Settings & tick > Turn off System Restore on this drive. ======================================== User Profile Hive Cleanup Service http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/updates.html http://www.ondemandaccess.com/article_read.asp?id=42 http://www.thin-world.com/slowlogoff.html http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/8/7/a87b3d05-cd04-4743-a23b-b16645e075ac/readme.txt A service to help with slow log off and unreconciled profile caused by profile hive unload problems. Symptoms of these problems include events in the application event log with source Userenv and event id 1000 where the message text indicates a profile unload problem and the error is "Access is denied" or event id 1517 or 1524. The service is set to automatically start when the computer boots so you will not need to start it manually. Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Service Pack 2, Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/8/7/a87b3d05-cd04-4743-a23b-b16645e075ac/UPHClean-Setup.msi http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1b286e6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en

quoting the manufacturers system requirements: • PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended • 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features) • so, 256 MB is a 100% above their recommendation, hence the system should at least run at a decent speed. if it doesn't, the reason is most likely to be found elsewhere, like unnecessary programs and services running in the background, malware, etc. ... there are plenty of cleaning and service/registry tweak guides & tools available, ask mr. google! which version of XP are you using? home or pro? if it's home, then disable 1 cpu in the bios because this version of windows xp does not provide multi processor support. Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.' icq 10183575

As hinted from above - GO GET MORE RAM, it is the most inexpensive way to boost your system's performance especially in this circumstance. I also suspect your system relies on integrated video for its graphical output, further starving not just the OS but other applications of memory. The internet is a series of tubes!

GET MORE RAM --- this is the biggest "bang for your buck" I recently upgraded a PC running XP Home from 256 DDR to 768 DDR RAM. It was starting the MacAfee security suite at startup and taking forever to load. I added the 512 RAM and it cut the startup time from close to 5 mins to less than 30 seconds. Corel draw can "hog" up a lot of RAM. So a little more RAM will not hurt anything. "so, 256 MB is a 100% above their recommendation, hence the system should at least run at a decent speed." well so is the 300 MHz processor. Try using the 300 MHz processor with XP and Corel Draw and see how fast that is too. Hope this helps. John

I have to say something so people won't get the wrong impression. Adding more RAM if you have 256MB will 'probably' improve performance on an XP system. Adding more RAM if you have 512MB 'might' improve performance depending on the workload. Adding more RAM if you have 1GB is not likely to improve performance for the normal home user. So the bottom line is, more RAM only helps if you do not currently have enough. Do yourself a favor BACKUP!