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The Mother of All Windows XP Tweaking Guides

tweakguides.com — The TweakGuides Tweaking Companion Version 3.1 is the complete system optimization guide for Windows XP users. It contains an enormous amount of detailed descriptions and resources together in one free 175 page downloadable PDF file.

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  • tidu, on 10/12/2007, -64/+7"We must build a barrier between us and the snakes!"
  • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Version 3.2 is out now at the same link
  • abouthere, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I can't recommend this guide enough to people. If you're looking for something that'll help you get the best out of your system then this is spot on. If you're looking for some magic fix to get that last extra FPS out of your graphics card then I've news for you - there's no such thing as a magic fix.

    This guide provides clear and well formatted answers to any tweaking scenario.
  • robosnake, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7The only tweak guide you will ever need for windows xp. Get it, now!
  • sigloiv, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6This guide is absolutely awesome. I wouldn't do a fresh XP install without it.
    • sbrown123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If you are going to install fresh take a look at TinyXP. Same XP with less fat and performs better.

      http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3464091/TinyXP_Rev03_(eXPerience)_%5B28.03.2006%5D
    • khigh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Good idea about TinyXP - for some...

      A better link would be http://thepiratebay.org/search.php?q=tinyxp since there are several different versions that are geared towards different things. For instance one of the builds has only enough networking left for internet - as it's geared towards gaming - one is geared more towards serving, etc - the releases are not sequential like most software - they're just "different".

      Even better, if you know exactly what you want, is to "roll your own" version of Windows in the same way the TinyXP people did - so that you get what you want and ONLY what you want - using nLite from http://www.nliteos.com/
    • CoolWind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sbrown; thanks for sharing TinyXp. It looks good.
  • bigtabs, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4Great guide and site, been using it regularly.
  • framaris, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3If you don’t have this guides already, you haven’t look much for tweaks on the net!
    Every aspect of XP is set under a loupe, it is very easy to read and understand for everyone.
    If you like it, the deluxe version is nicely illustrated. I don’t print much books but this one had to be on my book shelf.
    The site as a forum with one of the best community on the net, a real mountain of GOOD information’s.
    Most of all it is all free!
  • RobN, on 10/12/2007, -10/+0Dugg to Death.

    Anybody put up a mirror yet?
  • radiofrequency, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2This guide does rock. Makes Windows XP usable.
  • SpamMeMucho, on 10/12/2007, -29/+1Mirror:
    http://www.duggmirror.com/gaming_news/Top_Ten_Best_Physics_Games/
  • stinknugget, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1http://www.winguides.com/
    http://www.sysinternals.com/

    nuff said.
  • Gornall, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Awesome Guide...must have for anyone.

    Dugg
  • ActiveMatx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Well the site is mirrored, but the guide isnt downloading. Anyone have a host?
    • ActiveMatx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Why are you guys modding me down? The link is dead! We need a host for the site, otherwise this topic is rather pointless. Dont mod me down, or if you do, atleast have the courtesy to ask for a mirror (for the file: TGTC_3.1.zip).

      Thanks
    • agoodm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I am mirroring it. Gimme 10 minutes, the site is like 56k speed.
  • Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Where are the uber tweak guides useful to people who still run 2k pro?
  • Yeabudy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I finally got through to the download, but it is running at a measly 2KB/sec
  • ochito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2First one to download the whole thing please mirror it somewhere. I'll mirror it too once I get it.
  • totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2however the name has been changed due to legal action by Microsoft."

    wha? this free guide helps make XP better..what legal action would they take?
    • jimmy87lee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2In fact, they're doing Microsoft a favor by creating this sort of indept documentation.
  • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Now I'm getting a file not found. Hmm.. I think it was removed. If anyone has a mirror, or has the file, let me know and I can mirror it.

    Joeyowo [at] gmail [dot] com
  • kingfoot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2downloaded it fine at 2kbps...however when the unzip[ping began...error missing file or damaged file.
    • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I had the same thing. It would download a portion of it, and then say that it was finished, only to be corrupted.
  • spr33, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4It's the tubes!
    • drewskyjones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes, the tubes...they must be getting clogged because google isn't paying AT&T so that we can access google's content. Yes, I'm kidding.
  • ers35, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19Mirror for the guide:

    http://rapidshare.de/files/30374292/TGTC_3.2.zip.html

    I verified this file is not corrupt. Have fun!
  • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26http://www.musictracker.org/TGTC_3.2.zip

    No BS mirror. Enjoy.
    • thethimble, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2thank you ilovemusic =)
      you have done a great deed...lol

      works fine
    • ochito, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Much better, thanks ilovemusic
    • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Mirror is now removed, as requested by the author.
  • BaylorDawg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Thanks ilovemusic!
  • Geekforlife, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2How does something that has been submitted 3 days ago make it to the front page. It seems to me that after 24hrs most stories are then buried if they don't make it to the front page. Just curious if anyone knows.
  • daharris, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3http://rapidshare.de/files/30376327/TweakingCompanion_3.2.pdf
  • ryness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this is a very complete guide for the semi-beginner/gamer to Windows XP. Only problem is it should be a series of webpages so it will show up in search engines! Share the knowledge...
  • tsupersonic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've seen a previous version of this guide some time back and I thought it was pretty much easy stuff. Once you learn how to tweak the crap out of XP to use minimal resources, services, etc, it's easy to do on all XP machines. I guess I'll just check it out to find out what's been added.
  • heavensblade23, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2I prefer the ArsTechnica XP tweaking guide:
    1. Install XP
    2. Turn on automatic updates and the firewall
    3. Leave it the ***** alone
    • khigh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This ArsTechnica you speak of - some sort of newb repository? I'm pretty sure no one who can even *define* firewall would advocate using the Windows Firewall.

  • PirateFSM, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1"I do not grant permission for anyone to reproduce and/or alter any part of this guide and/or host it or
    distribute it on their site: the latest version of this guide is always available for free from TweakGuides.com.
    I do not grant permission for anyone to produce translations of this guide: unfortunately I canʹt be sure of
    the quality and accuracy of any translations and hence I donʹt allow my works to be translated. I apologize to
    my non‐English readers."

    ? WTF It's knowledge. How do you copyright knowledge?!
    • CourageousRobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@PirateFSM

      I understand the argument against IP, but if you look at the guide (written by Koroush Ghazi), you'll see just how thorough it actually is.

      The author put a lot of work into this guide and deserves credit. Copyright of written works is very valid - and this falls into that category.
  • mobilehavoc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This guide is NOT all it's cracked up to be - I just skimmed through it and nothing earthshattering in here that an existing Windows power user wouldn't know already.

    Also be warned, there are some tweaks that he mentions risks of implementing AFTER the tweak itself.

    Enjoy but don't bitch when you ***** up your system for that imaginary "speed increase"
  • ronjohnson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This is back again, not a bad guide, just old news
  • Gism0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Cool guide but I managed to spit water all over my monitor when I scrolled down to the introduction. I wasn't prepared for such a hilarious picture xD
  • foobarra, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Another mirror to share the bandwidth:

    http://www.pbandjelly.net/TGTC_3.2.zip

    Kind Regards.
  • klippoth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Here ya go, I posted a torrent of it at The Pirate Bay:

    http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/hashtorrent/3515146.torrent/The_Tweakguides_Tweaking_Companion_v3.1.3515146.TPB.torrent
  • santho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Anybody ever bothered to measure the actual difference in speed those "tweaks" bring? 100+ pages of tweaks is just a waste of time.
  • klippoth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I agree that 100+ tweaks may seem a little excessive, because eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns. But I do believe that there a few major tweaks one can do right off the bat that dramatically increase performance. So I guess the answer is, all tweaks are valuable and useful, but you show how tweak-serious you are by how many pages of tweaks you actually maker it through before you give up. Me, I'm probably about a 30 page kinda guy (seeing as how that's probably about how many pages worth of tweaks I normally do). Beyond that, I have trouble seeing much more improvement (although I'm sure it's there, even if it takes scientific instruments to measure it).
  • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok guys I'm the guide author and I've temporarily turned off the TweakGuides Forums to allow more traffic to the main site. We are on a hefty server but a combination of this story being Dugg, our regular heavy traffic, plus a story I posted about a Vista RC1 download page has meant we're being hammered.

    Anyway check back again now, and please keep in mind that tweaking is not just about "speed". It is about making sure your system is running at 100% efficiency, and with perfect stability. This guide covers all the one-off tweaks and tips you see typically posted (sensationally) on blogs, but in one free downloadable, searchable resource, and following it along with my other guides should see your system far more stable and responsive.

    The 'marginal gains' are much more than marginal if you can prevent crashes, reduce stuttering in games for example. It's not just all about FPS and speed.
    • SuperBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Dude... you got dugg ;-)

      But really... great guide! good work and thanks,
    • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thanks mate. Ironically we are going to get a super-duper new server in the next week or two :(

      I'm on Australian time, and when I went to sleep at 2:00am Australian time last night, this link had only around 45 Diggs on it, so I just assumed it would never snowball the way it has. I woke up late this morning and I found I was Dugg.

      By turning off the Forums the site is now accessible and reasonably responsive, and the file is available for download. Please take down the various mirrors as they are not authorized. I've put a lot of work into this guide, and if you'd like to support this work - particularly as I'll be doing a similar one for Vista - please bookmark TweakGuides.com and check out the other guides when you get the chance :)
    • xroman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Congrats on getting back up so fast from the diggeffect ;)
      sucks about the forums, cant wait till you get that new server
  • st1nkf1nger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thank you Koroush, very nice.
  • Eric21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1keep up good work koro
  • Computer_Kid, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1my guide:
    get ubuntu disk
    burn ubuntu disk
    put ubuntu disk in drive
    fallow directions on screen
  • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Thanks guys, and for the person who asked why the guide was renamed from "Windows XP Tweaking Companion" to "TweakGuides Tweaking Companion" - well it's because Microsoft sent me a polite but firm 2-page letter from their law firm (Seed IP Law) stating that I am not allowed to use the term 'Windows XP' in the title of the guide, so I complied and changed the title. There is nothing illegal or immoral in the guide, and the contents have not been modified due to MS action, only the title has been changed.
    • agoodm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2However he is quite happy slamming the people that have helped him get his works distributed with ungreatful and unthankfull emails. Next time I see a site in trouble I know what I will do with MY bandwidth.
    • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I neither asked nor permitted anyone to distribute my guide without my permission. Most of the people who are "generously" hosting my guide are doing so to increase traffic to their own site, and to get more ad clicks with adsense ads.

      After the initial slowness, my site is up and serving the guide to all who want it. I'm already providing an original free unbiased 177 page PDF Windows XP Tweak Guide. Is it too much to ask that I at least be allowed to distribute it in the manner I see fit? If you don't like this, then please take the time to write your own guide and host it wherever you find appropriate.
    • mxcl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Though you have the right to restrict copying of your works, I have the right to think you're a *****.

      Before you slate me, I distribute all my work under the GPL or even less restrictive licence, and I've got money enough to play with.

      We can differ in our opinions of what is acceptable, but it doesn't mean I'll respect you much.
    • mxcl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I regret calling you names, but still think there's something wrong with your attitude.

      If you're clever and you have knowledge, you owe it to everyone in the world to put up as few barriers as you can to its distribution.

      Money gets in the way, but not so much on the web.
    • mxcl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I spose I'm guilty of only reading a few choice quotes and judging you. You seem to have a reasonable opinion in fact. So apologies.

      With my OSS projects we often get people offering bug reports for old software. The only way to deal with it is to prominently tell people to check for a newer version of the software/whatever, and to date things everywhere so people see the date and think, crikey this is old, I'll check for a new one.
  • yahoofrom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Here's one simple trick to speed up Windows XP.
    Get hypnotized. Say "My Windows is going to speed up" several times slowly.
  • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Sorry, but I make no money hosting your zip file. I just use my bandwidth so that people can use this guide. I'd rather people be able to download it than have to wait. But thanks for the kind words.
    • abouthere, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1but in doing so you are breaching the Author copyright

      Have you removed the shared file like you were requested to do so? Surely you can respect the author's request?
    • ilovemusic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yeah, it's removed.
    • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I understand that some of you are indeed only trying to help. But there are three important reasons why I want to keep the distribution of this guide tight:

      1. I frequently release updates for it - hence the fact that it's up to Version 3.2 in just under 2 years - and if I have lots of different versions of it floating around on various websites, it completely negates my ability to update the guide properly. I still get emails from people who are reading Version 1.2 of the guide for example and telling me the links are dead or that I should include this or that, because they downloaded the very old guide off a torrent.

      2. I want to raise awareness of my site and the many different guides it has. I can hardly do that if other people host the file and distribute it, without a user every visiting my site and seeing for themselves the various guides on offer (prominently displayed on the left side of the download page for example).

      3. I'm not a saint; I do believe I have the right to try to get some (minimal) revenue and donations for writing the guide, but I can't get that if other people host the file and the user never visits my download page which has ads, as well as details of how to purchase the Deluxe Edition of the guide which can provide me with some revenue.

      So I'm not just being mean-spirited or anal about this, I've put out a completely free guide, but if my site and my work is to survive, I need control over my work, I need some revenue, and I need the traffic and recognition which can help me get sponsors.
    • ActiveMatx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Koroush, first off thank for the Guide, it rocks.

      Secondly, I don't think the people hosting your guide meant any intentional harm. When the site made the front page of DIGG the article was not available. (Your server was being trashed, and no one could download the file). If it weren't for the kind people to mirror your guide, this topic probably wouldn't have sky-rocketed the way that it did.

      Now that it is up their with over 2000 diggs, you want the people who helped get this thing to the main page to take off their mirrors?

      I think that if you ask them to take the file off their server then they should, since it is a violation of copyright infringement. However, you should also take note that they helped you get to get where you are now, so a nice kind note or gesture of some way might make things brighter. Nice guide by the way, and I hope your servers continue to operate at "digg worthy" speeds.
    • Koroush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I do appreciate it when people try to help me out, but for the reasons I've outlined above, and also to be quite honest because I've had problems with people hosting my material before and not removing it when asked, I've tried to make it as plain as possible that I really don't like my guides hosted elsewhere. For the record I only contacted two of the sites hosting my guide to ask them to remove it, so I didn't go nuts and try to pull down every mirror.

      Anyway my site seems to be handling the load for the moment, and I hope everyone who wants a copy gets a copy and enjoys it. I really did try my best to pack every conceivable type of Windows XP tip, tweak and useful utility into the guide :)
  • Ukonu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Great job on the guide.
    The only problem I see with it is that usually with PDF's this huge there are premade "bookmarks" displayed on the left that I can just click on to go to each page.
  • havuk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i think i'll just use xp smoker:

    http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page11.html#XP Smoker
  • RedShadowHero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Interesting, a 'tweaking' guide. Why doesn't anyone make a book titled 'Nice things you can do with Windows XP,' becasue all I see are the words 'tweak,' 'hack,' 'workarounds,' etc. Microsoft, if it just keeps adding on to the latest, greatest, OS, will end up one day with a problem they can't, without starting from scratch. Anyway, I digress.

    This book seems very informative and halfway (or more) helpful. Another book I would reccomend to everyone is "Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks," by O'reily. Anyone ever heard of it?
  •  

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