Modifying Network Connections (2)
Windows Explorer automatically causes some optimization problems in the way that it works. For example, open the Folder Options dialog box using the Windows Explorer Tools Folder Options command. Look at the Automatically Search for Network Folders and Printers option on the View tab. When this option is checked, Windows Explorer searches all of the network drives every time you start it up. It’s better to clear this option to save time when opening the application, but some people prefer to leave it on because it does provide a small performance boost when you search network drives. However, even if you keep this option checked, you can reduce its impact by removing excess network connections.
One source of network connections you might not know about is in My Network Places. As you roam the network, Windows XP helpfully creates links such as those shown in Figure 7.19 to places you visit regularly to make it easier for you to find these locations again, even when you’ll never visit them again. The My Network Places folder appears on your Desktop, but it also appears within Windows Explorer. In fact, when you look at these links in Windows Explorer, they appear as specialized folders. Whenever you open Windows Explorer, Windows also tends to update these links. It’s possible for a system to accumulate a hoard of these helpful links that the user doesn’t even know about that end up slowing the system to a crawl.
NOTE The My Network Places links problem is especially severe when some of the links point to locations online and the user has an inactive dial-up connection. Users have reported that Windows appears to connect to the Internet for seemingly no reason at all—this is one source of that problem.
Of course, features such as Automatic Updates also play a part in the mysterious Internet connection problem.
Of course, like any tool, My Network Places does have a use. You can optimize your network browsing by adding your own custom links. Simply double-click the Add Network Place icon that appears in My Network Places. Follow the prompts to add the kind of connection you want to create (there are several). The difference between the custom links that you create and those that Windows creates arbitrarily is that you know about them, so you’re likely to use them. In addition, these custom
links actually point to locations that you want to view. Consequently, the arbitrary links are a source of system resource drain, while the custom links are an example of network connection optimization.
Taken From : Microsoft Windows XP Power Optimization