Performance enhancement tips for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

This article contains basic performance enhancement tips for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

You may notice decreased performance of your Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based computer, or you may notice that the free space on your hard disk drive is insufficient. These problems occur because the constant file creation and removal that is required when you watch and record live TV requires a high rate of drive fragmentation. Additionally, other applications may create temporary files that are not removed because of abnormal program termination.

To minimize the effects of these issues, you can perform some maintenance tasks. These tasks include removing temporary files, memory dump files, and temporary Internet files, defragmenting the hard disk drive, removing spyware, and increasing the paging file size. To perform these tasks, follow these steps:

Remove temporary files

1. Close all programs that are open on your computer.
2. Click Start, and then click Search.
3. Click All files and folders.
4. In the All or part of the file name box, type *.tmp.
5. In the Look in box, choose Local Hard Drives.
6. Click More advanced options.
7. Click to select the following check boxes:
   • Search system folders
   • Search hidden files and folders
   • Search subfolders
8. Click Search.
9. When the search finishes, click Yes, finished searching.
10. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
11. On the File menu, click Delete, or press the DELETE key on the keyboard.
12. Right-click the Recycle Bin, and then select Empty Recycle Bin.

Remove memory dump files

1. Close all programs that are open on your computer.
2. Click Start, and then click Search.
3. Click All files and folders.
4. In the All or part of the file name box, type *.dmp.
5. In the Look in box, choose Local Hard Drives.
6. Click More advanced options.
7. Click to select the following check boxes:
   • Search system folders
   • Search hidden files and folders
   • Search subfolders
8. Click Search.
9. When the search finishes, click Yes, finished searching.
10. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
11. On the File menu, click Delete, or press the DELETE key on the keyboard.
12. Right-click the Recycle Bin, and then select Empty Recycle Bin.

Remove temporary Internet files

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. On the General tab, click Delete Cookies.
4. Click Delete Files, and then click OK.

Remove spyware

For information about how to remove spyware and adware from your computer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Defragment the hard disk drive

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
2. Select the first hard disk drive in the list.
3. Click Defragment.
4. To defragment additional hard disk drives, select the appropriate drive from the list, and then click Defragment.

Increase the paging file size

1. On the keyboard, hold down the Windows key while you press the PAUSE key.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Performance section, click Settings.
4. Click the Advanced tab.
5. Under Virtual memory, click Change.
6. Click Custom size.
7. In the Initial size (MB) box, enter a new initial paging file size. The size should be at least 1.5 times the amount of system RAM.
8. In the Maximum size box, enter the maximum paging file size. The size should be at least two times the size of the initial paging file size.
9. Click Set, and then click OK three times.
10. Click Start, and then click Turn Off Computer.
11. Choose Restart.

For more information about Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, visit the following Microsoft Web site: