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It is a fact of life that the more you use your computer, the more it can struggle to handle its work load.  Over the passage of time, as applications and new hardware devices are installed, the computer has to cope with more and more demands on its resources.  Even when applications are uninstalled and hardware devices removed, some files can be left behind and add to the general clutter that builds up on your hard disk.  This state of affairs can be remedied by using a product such as XP Tuner which has been designed to help improve the running of your computer.

As its title indicates, XP Tuner has been developed specifically for the Windows XP environment whether it is the Home or Professional version.  XP Tuner takes up 70MB of hard disk space and needs 64MB of RAM.  Installation is straightforward and a handy icon will be placed on your desktop to launch the software.

See also: Utility software

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Those running the software for the first time will be shown brief notes on running XP Tuner before progressing to the main interface.  This consists of icons to check for newer versions of the software and undo any changes made (more on this feature later) plus a column of buttons to access the various categories of tools.  There is also a main display area where the content changes to reflect the selected activity.  Before moving on to the different categories you can set a couple of options that include an animated start up plus create a password to restrict access to the main program.

The category at the top of the column covers system information and benchmark tests.  A report on your system can be created.  This features areas such as Windows, drives, CPU, display and memory.  Benchmarks, dealing with 3D performance and the overall power of your computer, can be run.  Information is presented in a clearly set out manner although it was a little disconcerting that the program’s interface disappears for a second or so as you switch between tasks.  This tends to happen with all the modules of XP Tuner.

The next category deals exclusively with the Internet.  It allows the user to customise various settings; block the unauthorised sending of data with especial regards to Microsoft; and activate a Popup killer. You need to be aware that the features in this section only work with Internet Explorer version 4 or later.

The System Settings category comes next.  This is sub-divided into areas designated as System, Policy Manager (requiring administrator privileges), Files and Registry.  The last two areas can be used to search for and delete unnecessary files and superfluous entries in the Registry.

If you want to make visual changes to various elements of Windows, then you need to select the Optical Changes category.  A tabbed interface lets you add personal customisation tweaks to various elements such as task bar, Start Menu and Explorer.  You can also change the default icons for various system features and drives plus adjust the size and spacing used on the desktop.

As well as adjusting settings for the desktop, XP Tuner lets you specify settings for some Microsoft applications that include Office XP and Outlook 2002.  The feature can be found in the Other Changes category.  There are also tools to edit the list of applications automatically launched at Start-up and delete items from the list of installed software.

The final category contains Wizards to optimise your system and undo any changes that might have been made by XP Tuner.  This latter feature makes use of restore points that the software automatically creates when it carries out any task.  I found this feature particularly useful as some of the changes I made did not turn out as I expected.  It is reassuring to know that any experimentation could quickly be undone if it proved to be unacceptable.

XP Tuner provides a reasonable range of features.  It does suffer a little from being too reliant on Microsoft products, especially with regards to the Internet, and the disconcerting method of moving from one section to another.  Priced at around £15, XP Tuner is not outstanding but is worth considering.

http://www.phoenixglobalsoftware.co.uk/axelab/xptuner/index.asp