Mz XP Tweak (formerly Mz Ultimate Tweaker)

You don't have to be a tweak-addict to go ahead and put your signature on your Windows installation. A piece of advice though - the first thing to do first is backup the registry, just in case your intervention goes bad. The next thing to consider is the path you will take – “break and enter” your registry directly or use a smoother approach. The second choice means you are opting for an application to guide your steps into the tedious process of tweaking.

Mz XP Tweak is one piece of software that's aware of its power over the operating system. This is why, after its brief installation, recommends the creation of a full registry backup. At first glance, the program displays a rather generous amount of available tweaks. We assure you that is not true. On a short count, the estimated number is somewhere above one hundred and fifty items. We can choose to perform an `Automatic Optimization` of the system the boost its performance.

The idea of increased system speed of execution, higher security and complete repair in case of faulty Windows XP installation sounds too good to be true. This has been the topic of many discussions throughout the years and everybody has their own opinion – the skeptics prefer the Microsoft defaults while the “open-minded” will always look for ways to improve the standard. It's a question of taste in the end, thus the answers are as many as the number of Windows-based PC users.

Mz XP Tweak certainly requires more than average knowledge of the operating system for in-depth customization. The application allows us to finely tune Disk, Memory, CPU and even optical drives. The tweaks go from general to more specific system and Internet services. The `Visual Tweaks` section provides personalization for `Automatic Login`, Icon, Start Menu and Desktop items in terms of the looks of the OS.

You can optimize the `Internet Tweaks` for given presets such as 56K / ADSL / Broadband or faster T1 / T3 or LAN modems. Moreover, the supported applications of this program include Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Windows Media Player. Whether you want to disable to Registration Wizard Control, Windows Product Activation or Zip Folders, you have the required tools within the `One-Click Tweaks` category, alongside Uninstall MSN Messenger, Optimize Boot Files and Rebuild Icon Cache options.

Other `Useful Tweaks` are available in the last section of Mz XP Tweak and they refer to games, CPU / RAM optimization, intelligent cleaning, registry defrag or laptop / netbook power management. All of these may require more than a few minutes to spend deciding the appropriate customization tweak scheme, but then you have this great application to help you out.