Make Windows XP last for seven years

Optimize your Internet connection.

A computer without a fast Internet connection isn't much of a computer nowadays. Vista automatically tunes the Internet connection for best performance, but you can get performance that is nearly as fast on XP by using a connection tuning tool. The tool from SpeedGuide.net is free and easy to use.

Just choose Optimal Settings near the bottom of the main screen, select the rated speed of your Internet connection using the slider bar, click Apply changes, click OK, and then reboot your computer. If the tuning causes any problems, you can restore the previous settings from the backups that TCP Optimizer keeps each time you make changes.

Limit Windows' junk-file caches.