Is it a noraml that XP machine face performance issues ?

[Ponch]

Why not just image?

Are we lost in space ?

The original poster (remember him ?) wants his computer to go a bit faster because he's been using it for numerous years. That's the kind of people who will reinstall a machine maybe every five years, if ever. A normal user (they exist, they're everywhere, they are the majority).

First answers were about spending few minutes tweaking it. Time well spent.

Now here we go, ...save more time,

- learn nLite, learn unattended, learn imaging, then you'll be reinstalling in few minutes. In real world, we're not talking minutes we're talking months !!!

[GetCool]

Why not just image?

Are we lost in space ?

The original poster (remember him ?) wants his computer to go a bit faster because he's been using it for numerous years.

Everything in this thread has been relevant.

When one of my friends or family members (who are "average" users) runs the same Windows install for a few years and then asks me for help because their computer is slow, I almost always reinstall for them. But I know that if I reinstall and just leave it at that, in another few years they will be in exactly the same spot. It is exactly this reason why I invest the time in making images.

If you can give an answer to a question that fixes the problem, great. If you can give an answer that fixes the problem and will prevent it from recurring, even better. That's all this was.

I think I can safely assume that most users reading this forum are not just "average" users. Average users don't give a crap about tweaking their machines or getting them to run better or reinstalling. They want to sit down and use their computer, and when it doesn't do what they want it to do, they seek out the fastest solution possible which is to get someone else's help.

Anything suggested in terms of automated installs and imaging can take days, weeks, even months to get right. But I assume that most people reading this forum can probably handle it if they choose to. It's really not rocket science. Most people who are considered "computer experts" are really just individuals who have memorized various nuances and patterns for accomplishing tasks in Windows... which boxes to click on and in which order.

There are always multiple ways to accomplish a task. It's always up to the individual. If the original poster's machine is running slowly, he could spend weeks developing an automated install method that he could use over and over, spend just a day reinstalling once and forgetting about it, or spend only a few hours removing programs from his startup and running malware scanners/cleaners. It's up to him. I will offer my suggestions for how I would do it, and leave it at that.

[Ponch]

Translation:

I have important data, saved forms, passwords, applications in current machine which I do not want to mess up only due to OS issues.

Translation: I don't want to reinstall. (I think most people missed that one)

I am facing tooo many issues with XP now a days, is it because that my OS installation become older now ? or there are common issues with XP ? in following link they have mentioned to turn off printer sharing, clear disk, clear start up programs etc...does that make any sense ?

Translation: I may not be a basic user but I surely am on the OS level. There for, I'm asking for some help/info

Now,

When one of my friends or family members (who are "average" users) runs the same Windows install for a few years and then asks me for help because their computer is slow, I almost always reinstall for them. But I know that if I reinstall and just leave it at that, in another few years they will be in exactly the same spot. It is exactly this reason why I invest the time in making images.

You invest your time because you have the knowledge and the background that makes it 'cost effective'. I did as well, most of us did. Now imagine your friends or family members taking their time (hours? months ?) making images based on your explanations (nothing personal here really). Would you try that ? Would you expect them to ?

Now what if they want to ? As a matter of facts, the OP has posted, got his answers, all on the 14th of december and never logged on again, this confirms my understanding of what he wanted and why this post has afterwards gone ... "lost in space".

I think you can understand what I meant so I stop here. Cheers