[Daz3210]

A mate of mine keeps telling me that XP Smoker is such a fantastic tool that no-one should be without it. If I understand it correctly regular use will make XP run as fast as it possibly can.

Now I have a couple of laptops that are becoming apparantly lethargic, so I was wondering whether to try it.

But:-

1. Is it as effective as I am led to believe, and are there any side effects?
2. Is there a better tool available that does the same job?

Thought I had better ask befoer I screw up my machines rather than after.

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There are no magic tools anywhere and this Smoker doesn't smell good to me. Don't use or look for anything like that. If you want to speed up your computer follow these procedures (For most downloads use links from the list below):

1: Click Start > run. Type msconfig. Check Selective Mode and click the "startup" tab. Uncheck everything which is not essential. Leave only antimalware programs (if you change your mind latter you can reactivate those programs). Confirm and reboot. Upon rebooting a message will show up. Please check it and continue. For laptop users: do not uncheck items that clearly relate to the operation of the computer.

2: In Add/Remove programs, in Control Panel, uninstall all unnecessary toolbars such as Yahoo, google and others. Latter on you can download them again.

3: If you have Internet Explorer 7 installed as a windows update, uninstall it in add/remove programs in control panel. This will roll you back to internet explorer 6. Latter on you can download it again as a Windows Update.

4: Download and install CCleaner. Do not install the Yahoo toolbar that comes packed with the program. In addition to items checked by default please check "Old Prefetch Data". Run the "cleaner" and "registry" options a number of times suntil nothing is left to be cleaned. Use the backup option (in "registry") when prompted to do so.

5: Run a thorough scan with updated antimalware programs. Use the link in my list to the malware forum and follow all the preliminary steps. Run full system scans (all files), preferably in safe mode. Run the programs one at a time,

6: If possible remove unnecessary files from you hard disk. Leave at leas 20% free space.

7: Run disk defragmantation. For this operation I use and recommend Auslogic Disk Defrag. Alternatively you can run Microsoft's defragmenter.

8: Download and run PageDefrag. This program defrags registry and page files which are not defragmented by other means. Set it to work upon next boot and reboot.

9: Consider add more RAM to your computer.

[The Skeptic]

There are no magic tools anywhere and this Smoker doesn't smell good to me. Don't use or look for anything like that. If you want to speed up your computer follow these procedures (For most downloads use links from the list below):

1: Click Start > run. Type msconfig. Check Selective Mode and click the "startup" tab. Uncheck everything which is not essential. Leave only antimalware programs (if you change your mind latter you can reactivate those programs). Confirm and reboot. Upon rebooting a message will show up. Please check it and continue. For laptop users: do not uncheck items that clearly relate to the operation of the computer.

2: In Add/Remove programs, in Control Panel, uninstall all unnecessary toolbars such as Yahoo, google and others. Latter on you can download them again.

3: If you have Internet Explorer 7 installed as a windows update, uninstall it in add/remove programs in control panel. This will roll you back to internet explorer 6. Latter on you can download it again as a Windows Update.

4: Download and install CCleaner. Do not install the Yahoo toolbar that comes packed with the program. In addition to items checked by default please check "Old Prefetch Data". Run the "cleaner" and "registry" options a number of times suntil nothing is left to be cleaned. Use the backup option (in "registry") when prompted to do so.

5: Run a thorough scan with updated antimalware programs. Use the link in my list to the malware forum and follow all the preliminary steps. Run full system scans (all files), preferably in safe mode. Run the programs one at a time,

6: If possible remove unnecessary files from you hard disk. Leave at leas 20% free space.

7: Run disk defragmantation. For this operation I use and recommend Auslogic Disk Defrag. Alternatively you can run Microsoft's defragmenter.

8: Download and run PageDefrag. This program defrags registry and page files which are not defragmented by other means. Set it to work upon next boot and reboot.

9: Consider add more RAM to your computer.