Chapter 13: Performance Tuning

Overview

Windows XP Professional automatically configures performance settings based on the hardware resources available on the computer at the time that the operating system is installed. However, Windows XP's self-assigned performance settings can usually be fine-tuned for additional performance gains.

Windows XP's performance tuning involves refining processor and memory settings, as well as optimizing other resources such as hard disk drives. Users who use their computers to play video games or run graphically intensive applications will see improved performance gains by configuring display settings. Finally, mobile users can get more life out of their laptop computers by enabling power management settings.

Administrators can use Windows XP's built-in monitoring utilities to keep an eye on performance in order to assist users by anticipating their future hardware requirements. Performance monitoring utilities can also be used to troubleshoot system performance problems by providing administrators with tools that can remotely monitor resources and help track down system bottlenecks.