Review: XP Tuning Suite 3

You're spoilt for choice when it comes to tweaking or optimising Windows XP.

Microsoft did such a good job of hiding many of XP's configuration settings that it prompted a myriad of software developers to produce their own customisation tools.

XP Tuning Suite 3 is packed full of hundreds of such options, but focuses more on offering you the ability to change settings yourself rather than trying to do it for you.

Split into a typical category set, you're hard pushed to find any area of XP that isn't covered somewhere along the line.

The drawback of this is that it's often hard to find what you're looking for, and resort to just scanning through each toolset until you see one you want to work with.

Highlights include the Service Manager, which advises you of the purpose and importance of each running service, and a simple tick box to disable the pesky TCP connection limit that was introduced with the XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) update.

You can also review installed drivers, patches and updates, and uninstall each individually if required.

Notable by their absence are interactive scanning and tuning options that you often find in more specific system management tools like System Mechanic or Tuneup Utilities.

You can scan and clean the registry, but don't expect the software to make sweeping changes or scan of all aspects of your system.

As such, it's more suited to intermediate or advanced XP users; beginners will undoubtedly be daunted by the vast array of tools and settings available.

There is help available in the form of the Windows Wizard, which is second only to M icrosoft's Clippy, which was dropped in 2001, as the most annoying software assistant, but the advice on offer does come in useful when you're completely stumped.

There are also quick tips that appear and offer suggestions on how to improve the usability or functionality of Windows, which is another nice touch.

XP Tuning Suite 3 will leave you neck deep in customisation options and, although it could have been presented in a more linear fashion and housed some interactive scanning tools, it still packs a hefty punch in terms of features.