Enable / Disable Firewall

Open Control Panel and double click on Network Connections. In the new box that appears right click on the Connection and click on the Advanced tab. Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.

Disable unnecessary services to free system resources

Services are programs that run when the computer starts up and continue to run as they aid the operating system in functionality. There are many services that load and are not needed which take up memory space and CPU time. Disabling these services will free up system resources which will speed up your overall computer experience. I recommend that you sort through the list and read the descriptions to decide if you need that service depending on what you want to do with your computer. Remember, you can always turn the service back on if you find that you need it in the future. Below is the procedure to turn off a service.

1. Click the start button.
2. Select run from the bottom of the right column.
3. Then type services.msc in the box and click ok.
4. Once the services window has loaded we are ready to turn off unneeded services.
5. For instructional purposes we are going to turn off the Portable Media Serial Number service.
6. Find this service in the list and select it with the mouse.
7. Right click and select Properties.
8. Once the properties windows has loaded locate the Start up type drop down box and select disable.
9. Then just click ok and the next time the computer starts the service will not be loaded.

Disable System Restore

You can gain a lot of drive space by disabling System Restore. (You should already have a backup regimen in place before you do this.) In Vista, right-click My Computer, select Advanced system settings, click the System Protection tab, and uncheck any drives. In XP, right-click My Computer, then under System Tasks, click on "View system information." Click on the System Restore tab and click the box next to "Turn off System Restore on all drives" to disable it.

Disable Delete Confirmation

You can disable the confirmation that pops up whenever you delete something by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and selecting Properties. Uncheck the delete confirmation box, click Apply and then OK, and you're done. Also, you can bypass the Recycle Bin entirely by holding down the Shift key while deleting files.

Disable Error Reporting

1. Open Control Panel
2. Click on Performance and Maintenance.
3. Click on System.
4. Then click on the Advanced tab
5. Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows. 6. Select Disable error reporting.
7. Click OK
8. Click OK