14 DAY TRIAL // When you want to get even the last drop of performance out of your Windows XP, you have two solutions: one is to google for registry tweaking guides, read and use them (of course, you must assume the risks), the other is to use a specialized program to do this for you, and sometimes a bit more.
Tweak XP is a tools suite for tweaking and cleaning your Windows and its creators, TotalIdea Software claim it to be also the first tuning software especially designed for Windows XP.
Now let's see what Tweak XP has to offer!
First of all, you can try it for free and it's only limited to 30 executions, but the feature set is the same as that of the full version. After starting the program for the first time, you will be asked to create a system restore point, and I recommend you to do it ("you never know what can go wrong?").
The program has 5 main areas - System Tweaks, Windows Tweaks, Windows Utilities, Internet Tweaks and, finally, Settings and Help. We'll start with the first and explore them one by one, pointing out only the most useful functions, so I won't steal you the pleasure of discovering some by yourself.
The System Tweaks area is extremely rich, with thirteen features. The available Hardware Tweaks can help you optimize your video card, your CPU cache settings and your CD/DVD drive speeds. An option that can be very useful for some of you is the RAM Disc Drive, that enables you to use an area of your computer's memory as temporary storage (to store your browser's cache files, for example), in order to speed up your applications.
The Harddrive Tweaks is another feature that will be useful. It enables you to optimize the memory and CPU usage, clear the swap file on shutdown, enable boot defrag for faster booting and more.
Next, we have the optimization triad - Memory, Cache and Prefetcher Optimization. Note that while the Memory Optimization feature can be accessed only from the main System Tweaks area, the Cache and Prefetcher are also available from the Harddrive Tweaks.
The Configuration Files feature allows you to edit the system configuration files while the last one, System Restore, can be used to create new restore points or display all those available.
Now we're moving on to the Windows Tweaks, an area with no less than sixteen features. What can be done here? In a word: everything. Everything related to your Windows XP configuration, of course (no features to be found here will pay your taxes or mow the lawn, for example).
You can see the Tweaks area, as WinBoost with a lot of added features. Here you can hide all icons from your desktop, hide items from your Start menu, make the taskbar transparent and adjust its transparency or speed up your network access. And this is only the beginning?
You want to change the desktop style? No problem! You have four styles available, from the classic icon mode to the detailed report mode. Tired of typing your password each time you reboot or startup your computer? The Windows XP Auto-Logon will take this burden off your shoulders in no time!
When it comes to adding and removing programs, you have your solution here - the Uninstall Software feature enables you to remove programs, change their details or change the path to your Windows XP installation files. Do you need to create a virtual drive or to restrict access to some of the existing disk drives? Then Virtual Drives and Hide Disc Drives are your tools! The last two features to be found here are dealing with screen fonts, and to be more specific, font smoothing and font management.
The next area, Windows Utilities, has the same number of features, sixteen. The first feature, Windows Internal Utilities, is a gathering of all the useful utilities to be found into your operating system, like the disk defragmenter, the performance manager, the registry editor and many more.
For those who have no inspiration when changing passwords, the Password Generator is the perfect helper. If you want to deny access to an application, so it can no longer be used on your system, you can use the Program Censorship feature to do it. There are a lot of other useful features that wait to be discovered and used, like the Zip-File Doctor, Windows Auto-Shutdown or the two cleaners, but I won't say more about them, since we still have two main areas to go through.
The Internet Tweaks area has only eleven features. They will help you tweak your connection, monitor your bandwidth and ports or IE settings for cookies, history, cache and other IE tweaks. You can also block unwanted pop ups and ads using the Ads and Popup blocker. The last two features in the Internet Tweaks area are useful for the Outlook users and enable them to change the security settings (the Outlook Security feature) and other additional tweaks, like the ability to use HTTP mail or disable the "Today Page".
The last main area of the program is dedicated to the Tweak XP settings and enables you to restore a registry backup, check for the latest version and update your program if needed or open the Tweak-XP help. An extremely useful feature of the program, especially for those who don't have much time to waste browsing through all the available options is the Tweak-XP Auto Tuner. The Auto Tuner is an excellent way to perform an optimization of your system with as few mouse clicks as possible, and it can be the right place to start using Tweak-XP for the beginners.
The Good
Tweak-XP has a clean interface, well organized, so you won't get lost through all the available options. The Auto Tuner is a great time saver for those who just want to optimize their system with few mouse clicks and without knowing all the details about what's being done. The program's Help is well documented, and covers a lot of interesting topics for those who want to know more about the innards of his Windows XP.
The Bad
The trial version starts with a countdown timer - when it's complete you have to click the "Start Demo" button to start using the program. This wouldn't be annoying if the demo screen won't return to you from time to time.
The Truth
I must say it was a real pleasure for my eye and for the performance addict in me using this program - it can do a lot for your system and make your computer user life a joyride. It may not be that cheap, but it's for sure a buy to consider. Just two last words: try it!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
