Sometimes it might not seem like it, but each version of Windows has many of the best minds in computing working on ways to make it faster, smoother and more reliable. One of the features these guys added in Windows XP is called the "prefetch." Numbering sometimes over 100 files, this bit of programming gives XP a head start in starting up, and is supposed to reduce boot up times.

At least, in theory that's what it does. In practice, files in the prefetch can become corrupted. And that mean achingly slow boot times or even the occasional startup crash, which many XP users have become all too familiar with. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to clean out the old prefetch files for faster load times.

Prefetch from Scratch

You can usually find prefetch with your Windows files, so search for C:\Windows\prefetch (or replace C with whatever drive you've installed Windows on). When you open the folder containing prefetch files simply select them all - then delete them all. Please note: clean the slate sparingly. Although it's perfectly safe, and recommended, to delete these files, I would only do so about once or twice a year - most computer experts think that gathering all these prefetch items is a bit taxing for your hard drive.

The Windows operating system has a tragic flaw: the registry. The registry is an area that keeps records of changes to your system. Over the lifetime of your computer, it fills up with dead or corrupted entries that squander memory, cause slowdown and can sometimes crash your computer. Worse, malicious programs love the registry, as it's a great place for them to hide while they work their voodoo on your machine. (Goofing around with the registry can cause permanent damage to your computer, so it's generally hard for anti-malware software to go in there to find the bad guys.)

No wonder then, in the last couple of years, registry cleaners have proliferated, and are now one of the most-downloaded types of software. Once controversial, numerous studies have shown that using a reliable registry cleanser can result in real improvements for most computer users. The trick is, of course, finding the right one.

What to look for in a registry cleaning product

• Safety features. A good registry product will make a complete backup of the registry before doing anything else, and it'll give you the option of restoring any erased or fixed entries to their original state. This way, on the off chance something goes wrong, you can fully restore your system.
• Log keeping. Again, the registry is really sensitive, so you want accurate records of any changes made in there in case you want to fully restore the registry to how it was before the cleaner started its work. As an extra precaution, the best registry products will keep careful records of all registry activity.
• Entry repair. In addition to wiping out junk entries left by discarded programs (or malware), you'll want a registry product that helps repair good entries that have become corrupted. Many computer researchers believe that fixing damaged entries of commonly used programs is one of the keys to improving PC performance.
• Detailed reports. Find a program to shows detailed reports of each registry key it will fix and what's wrong with that key. Many programs find false-positives or inflate the error count to make you think you have more problems than you really do.
• File management. To get the most bang for your buck, choose a registry product that includes speed-enhancing extras like a defragmenter for your hard drive, a disk clean up tool that helps you locate and eliminate unwanted programs, or a startup manager that lets you choose what programs run when your PC boots up.