A couple XP tips

from WinCustomize Forums
Here are a couple of tips I've found for having Windows XP run better:

1) Monitor user handles. The more handles in use on your system, the SLOWER your system gets. It shouldn't exceed 9000 handles really and if it's over 12,000 your system will start to crawl. How to monitor:

Ctrl-Shift-Esc. Then click on the Processes tab. Then click the view menu item and choose select columns. Select handle count. Start sorting by handles in use. Anything that uses over 1000 handles is probably evil.

2) GDI objects. Similar to handles. Beware of them. Same process as handles except choose GDI objects. ICQ is a huge pig in this area. People may put down visual styles or WindowBlinds or whatever but compared to ICQ, skins are nothing.

Handles and GDI objects are amongst the lesser known system killers out there.

Hope this helps.
5,388 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cool. Thanks for the input. I have a handle process svchost.exe running at 1,358. That sucks. And there is two instances of them running. Oh well that is Micro$oft for ya. Keep up the good work here. I really (and others I'm sure) really appreciate the time and effort put into this site.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks. BTW, you can try killing that svchost. The one that uses a lot of handles is typically non essential. ONE of them will cause the system to restart if you kill it so it's a bit of Russian roulette though.

The one using a ton of handles is typically the Microsoft theme service which you don't have to put up with if you're using WindowBlinds. (another reason we get a bit antsy when some XP user claims WindowBlinds uses a lot of resources - XP's theme engine is quite big and relatively slow).
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Mmmyeah, but that's no XP tip, dummy.

On my first go in XP I went on a service killing spree, killing every service that had started automatically and had anything to do with networking (the machine is not on a network, so I figured I don't need those services). I ended up crashing Explorer. Wheeee...
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
LancerKMT: Could you please explain to our members just WHY you are hanging out on this site? Your every post just seems to deride the Windows platform and Champion the Mac OS.
Here are some relevant questions for you to answer:

1.Are you even USING a Mac?

2.If you love Mac's so much, why are you hanging out on a WINDOWS customization site?

3. Do you realise how irritating and childish you seem to the rest of us?

I apologize for using words of more than four letters, if you need help go here... http://www.dictionary.com


Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the tips Brad, my 233Mhz processor will really appreciate these!!
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Funny. On my XP system, after being up for 12 days, NextSTART is using 149 handles, WorkShelf 229. Explorer, however, is using 11,078 (!!!) handles, IE is using 5,943 and Outlook Express 4,193.

Isn't this the MS we have grown to love? Har har.

Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 2.80 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Uh...I think LancerKMT needs a lesson in gramar. Correct me if I am wrong, but every post thus far has contained some undecipherable word misplacement that has befuddled me in to a state of facesciousness. Heh...just wanted him to get some use out the link you gave him boXXi.

ps-did anyone "gift" him copy of Object Bar..Heh heh
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
out of all of the handels running on my computer only one is running over 1000 and the is SVCHOST.EXE and it's running at 1333k and thats out of 34 running processes is that good. and now on the subject of windowblinds and nextstart i have used both if i had to pick one it would be nextstarti find it runs better then wb and it don't screw up your registry as NS does not load into it so it says.
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
One thing I want to point out regarding ICQ: The newest versions have vastly improved on GDI usage. I just checked and it's at 538. This is with 2001b (not sure which build). I remember with 2000b (or whatever they called it) it was 1200+!

But I did kill the SVCHost that was running way high (11000+ I think) and my system didn't go poof.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I long ago grew bored reading some of the guff some have spouted (on some boards) about Windowblinds being slow and StylesXP being faster. I was damned if I thought turning off the MS theme service would speed things up, but having just done so I can only say Yippee and bring on more of the same please - from boot svchost.exe is running 1450 handles - switch of the MS theme service and after reboot svchost.exe down to 956 - sweet. Think that tip needs to make it's way into the WB FAQ imho.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Oh no! I think I am in big trouble now! My three svchosts's are using 0, 0; 0, 4 and 8, 11 GDI and USER objects. Damn Microsoft! And their evil theming engine.