Tweak the System

• 1). Turn off unused devices in the BIOS. For example, if your computer never connects to a network, disable the on-board LAN. If your graphic requirements are minimal, reduce the amount of allocated video memory. Serial ports can usually be disabled as well.
  
  
• 2). Install the appropriate kernel for your computer's architecture: if you have a 686 processor install an i686 kernel; if you have a dual core processor install an SMP kernel; and so on. Use your package manager to find the newest kernel version in your repository.
  
  
• 3). Choose XFS or ReiserFS instead of Ext2/Ext3 when installing Linux. Ext2/Ext3 is a bit more stable, but XFS and ReiserFS are much faster file systems.
  
  
• 4
  Disable unused services to speed up Linux.
  
  Disable unused services. Enter your Linux version's "Services Settings" and disable services you don't use like VNC Server or Software RAID, for example. Uninstall any unused programs as well.
  
  
• 5). Use lighter applications. Avoid using resource-intensive programs like Open Office. Use applications like Abiword instead. Also, install a lighter file manager like Thunar to make Linux run much faster.
  
  
• 6). Use a light window manager. Gnome and KDE are fantastic window managers, but they are resource heavy. Use a lighter window manager like Window Maker or Enlightenment to see amazing increases in performance.
  
  

Install and Use Prelink

• 1). Install Prelink through your system's software repository. Prelink significantly decreases application start-up times. In a Debian based system like Ubuntu type "sudo apt-get install prelink" in a terminal to start the installation process.
  
  
• 2). Configure Prelink. Open a terminal and type, "sudo gedit /etc/default/prelink" ignoring the quotes and replacing "gedit" with your favorite text editor. Change "PRELINKING=unknown" to "PRELINKING=yes" after the page opens. Save and close the page.
  
  
• 3). Type "sudo /etc/cron.daily/prelink" in a terminal to run Prelink for the first time. Prelink will run for several minutes, but you can use your computer during the process.