XP on Steroids Part 2

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XP on Steroids Part 2

In Part 2 I'll show you 3 more ways to squeeze more speed out of your XP system.

QoS Tweak, L2 Cache Tweak and Network Fix.

1. QoS Tweak

Windows XP comes with QoSRRP. This acronym stands for Quality of Service Resource Reservation Protocol. Basically, programs either use QoS APIs and are passed through QoS when trying to access information through whatever bandwidth is available, or they are passed to another API called TCI.

One of the differences between QoS and TCI is that it is possible to reserve bandwidth for QoS applications. This is great if you are using QoS applications, but if you don't use any, it means that a percentage (20% by default) of your bandwidth is sitting unused.

To change this, go to Start -> Run..., then type 'gpedit.msc'. Now, open the branches Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Network -> QoS Packet Scheduler.

Now, double-click the option in the right-hand window 'Limit reservable bandwidth', and then set it to Enabled, and the Bandwidth Limit to 0%.

Now, you should have more free bandwidth to play with (20%, hopefully :)

2. L2 Cache Tweak

The L2, or second-level, cache, is an integral part of your CPU. However, XP is very shoddy at detecting it, so setting it manually is sometimes necessary. It's easy to do, though, you simply have to navigate to RUN>Regedit>

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management

in the registry and find the value SecondLevelDataCache. You must then adjust it to the value (in kilobytes) of the L2 Cache of your processor.

You should be able to find the L2 Cache value of your processor from its manufacturer.

NOTE: The L2 Cache of your processor should be entered in Decimal mode.

3. Brief Network Fix

Actually, this is a fix and not a tweek. Many people have this problem when they first instal XP, and it can be incredibly annoying.

Basically, in another of XP's weird quirks, it sometimes disallows network access to people, including the Guest account, meaning that most people cannot connect to your computer and access your shares, etc.

To fix up this problem, open the Control Panel, go to Administrative Tools, and open up Local Security Settings. Now go to Local Polices -> User Rights Assignments.

Now find the value called 'Deny access to this computer from the network'. Right click on it and go Properties. Now, if the Guest account is in here, remove it by clicking it once then going to remove, then close down the properties dialog. While you're in the User Right Assignments dialog, check the 'Access this computer from the network' setting, and make sure 'Everyone' is in there.