Released in 2001, Windows XP is still widely regarded as one of the best operating systems around. Microsoft officially ended support for XP in april 2014, that doesn’t mean you have to move on just yet! I have a few hints and tips to ensure you can squeeze a bit more life of out your XP system

• Don’t use Internet Explorer!
  The latest version of Internet Explorer available for XP is IE8. It is long in the tooth now and many websites simply don’t display properly. I would recommend using Firefox or Chrome to view your websites
• Antivirus
  I would still recommend using Antivirus software. Microsoft Security Essentials no longer functions on XP so get rid of it and use Avast or AVG Free Edition.
• More RAM
  Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the Hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer’s performance than upgrading the CPU (explanation taken from here)
• Optimise system, remove unnecessary programs and startup objects
  Removing programs, especially those that startup with windows will help to speed up the time it takes for your computer to come on. Example, telling Skype to not start with windows means it doesn’t load every time, but can still be fired up whenever you want to use it.

If you need any help or advice with any of the above, I’m only a phone call or email away,

07779 610840 / info@mobile-computerservices.co.uk

Ian @ MCS