Tips and tricks for XP - Modifying visual settings & Enabling/disabling Clear Type text

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Modifying visual settings

If you have only 128 MB RAM, your machine might be a bit sluggish after installing Windows XP. So to achieve optimal performance without buying additional RAM, disable certain visual settings and free up some precious memory. Go to the Control Panel > system > Advanced, and click on the Settings button under Performance. Change various graphical effects, and ensure that the animation and shadow options are unchecked, as they tend to consume a lot of memory. You should get a better response from your operating system, without spending any money on RAM.

Enabling/disabling Clear Type text

Microsoft has introduced a new technology called 'Clear Type' with Windows XP. However, it is not enabled by default. To enable it, right click on a blank area of the Desktop, and choose Properties. Click on the Appearance Tab, and then click on Effects. Check the 'Use following method to smooth edges of screen fonts' option and then choose as per your monitor. For desktop monitors choose the 'Standard' option, and for laptops and other flat screen monitors, choose Clear Type. This option improves the readability of large screen fonts.

The 'Classic Look'

If you are not comfortable with the new look of Windows XP, you can easily switch back to the old classic Windows look. Right click the desktop, select Properties, click the Themes tab and choose Windows Classic from the drop-down list. You will now have the old Windows 2000 look.

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