Dress Down For Speed

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The default Windows XP visuals look pretty but they do nothing for system speed; in fact some of them can slow your PC down quite noticeably.


Not all of the fancy fripperies are bad, though, and you can still keep the XP look and feel without sacrificing too much performance.


Here’s how, go to Start > Control Panel > System, select the Advanced tab then click the Settings button under Performance. For the best compromise between speed and appearance uncheck everything except:


- Show shadows under menus


- Show shadows under mouse pointer


- Show translucent selection rectangle


- Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop


- Use visual styles on windows and buttons


Click Apply and OK to exit the dialogue box and your new visual settings will be applied.