Mr. Natural
April 14th, 2004, 05:17 pm
Be advised that some of these suggestions involve editing the registry. Only attempt this if you are comfortable with the registry editor. If you make an improper change in the registry it can prevent your pc from booting! Be advised and use at your own risk.
Open an Explorer (my computer will suffice)
Tools >> Folder Options >> View
Select Show Hidden Files and Folders
DESelect Hide Extension for Known file types and Protected OS Files
You'll get a UI asking you to confirm if you want to do this, "yes".
Hit Apply
Next select the "Offline Files" tab
DESelect Offline Files
Hit OK and you're done here.
Now go to C:\Windows\INF (it'll show up as a faded folder now)
And Find and open the Sysoc.inf file
Perform a CTRL+H
You'll have a "Replace" window now
Under "Find what:" enter HIDE
Leave "Replace with:" w/ blank
Then ALT+A (this will replace all instances of HIDE with nothing... which is good).
Then File >> Save >> Exit
Open Control Panel and selet "Add or Remove Programs" >> Add/Remove Windows Components
Select "Accessories and Utilities" click "Details" and remove Accessibility Wizard.
Then select Communications click "Details"
Remove Chat, HyperTerminal and PhoneDialer click OK
If you want to dump Games go ahead ;)
You'll head to multimedia from here.
Hit OK again.
Unless you need it, dump Fax Services next
Dump MSN Explorer next
You'll also see Messenger now... even if you use it, remove it from here. This is part of taming the beast.
Once your done cleaning stuff from here, hit Next.
We're done w/ Add or Remove Programs
Stay in control panel and open USER Accounts
Select the "Change the way Users log on and Off"
This is up to you but I hate Fast User Switching and that damn Welcome Screen. Fast User switching does sit as a process eating up cycles (and memory).
We're done here for now (we'll come back to set up user accounts later)
Right Click on My Computer and Select Properties.
Goto Advanced
Select Performance
Unless you're into the whiz bang features, turn off everything under visual Effects. Hit Apply
Select the Advanced Tab and then virtual Memory.
Select the Windows Installation Drive and then select "System Managed size" and then Select SET.
Hit OK (you'll be given a message box telling you it won't take effect until after you reboot, just OK it).
We're done w/ the Performance Section.
Go down to the Startup and Recovery section and select Settings disable "Restart Automatically". We're done w/ Startup and Recovery.
Next
Select the Environment Variables button (down towards the OK, Cancel, Apply buttons)
We're going to take owner ship of where files go.
I personally change the User variables for my account, I HATE dumping stuff into "Documents and Settings"
You can decide to change this or not. You can also decide to change the TEMP and TMP variables under System Variables on this same page.
We're done with this, I believe here you'll get a Reboot request, say No.
Leave the System Properties UI open, and select Remote, clear the check box for Remote
Assistance. Hit Apply
Now select the SystemRestore tab and here's where you need to decide what you want to do.
I turn off System Restore on all my drives, but I would suggest for safety sake, you select the drive Windows is installed on and hit settings. Move the slider to the MIN side and hit okay. Then select the other drives, then properites and check the "Turn System Restore off on this drive".
We're done here, you should reboot at this point.
When you're back right click and go to your display properties.
Under Screen Saver, select power, clear the Enable Hibernate Check box. Accept that, then move to the Appearance tab.
I don't know about you, but I’m not in love with the new UI. It does eat memory so I can it. Next select the effects tab and the ONLY thing I use here; Check "Use the Following Methods to smooth edges of screen" and then select Clear Type from the list box. I clear all check boxes on this page except the one for Clear Type... have I mentioned CLEAR TYPE ROCKS!!!
We're done with the display properties.
And we are pretty much done with the not so secret tweaking.
Next I would setup your user Accounts.
You can always right click on a application and Run As User if you want to really lock down your system or turn off applications. That's where you need a good Administrator password you can remember
Onto a little more power leveling.....
Get only this Power Toy. (tweak UI)
http://download.com.com/3000-2341-2...tml?tag=lst-0-1
Here you can get rid of Autoplay all together, save the EXE to a backup folder and then install it, it will show up in the Programs direcotry Play around with the Tweak UI settings to find what you do and don't like there really isn't anything here that's going to be a major perf saver. Under the "My Computer" setting you'll find your saviour..."AutoPlay"
Play around with this guy's suggestions for MSCONFIG Services
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
Don’t disable everything at once, just do a couple, reboot, make sure what you need working still works and go to the next batch. A few you can totally get rid of and not have issues with are;
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry Serives
Secondary Logon
Server
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
If you're feeling saucey and adventerous;
Open up RegEdit:
User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer]
Value Name: DesktopProcess
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (1 = Separate Process, 0 = Default)
Chagne this to a 1, this will spawn the desktop process as a separate thread on the kernel and it does help eliminate some of random desktop crap that happens when all the processes log jam into one thread.
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\
Memory Management]
Value Name: DisablePagingExecutive
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable system paging)
Disable System Paging, if you'd like the long drawn out version of why, email me back, otherwise take my word for it.
ONLY if you know the L2 Data Cahce on your processor;
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\
Memory Management]
Value Name: SecondLevelDataCache
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: Cache (in Kb) using Decimal Notation Eg. if you have a L2 of 256, enter 256.
Open an Explorer (my computer will suffice)
Tools >> Folder Options >> View
Select Show Hidden Files and Folders
DESelect Hide Extension for Known file types and Protected OS Files
You'll get a UI asking you to confirm if you want to do this, "yes".
Hit Apply
Next select the "Offline Files" tab
DESelect Offline Files
Hit OK and you're done here.
Now go to C:\Windows\INF (it'll show up as a faded folder now)
And Find and open the Sysoc.inf file
Perform a CTRL+H
You'll have a "Replace" window now
Under "Find what:" enter HIDE
Leave "Replace with:" w/ blank
Then ALT+A (this will replace all instances of HIDE with nothing... which is good).
Then File >> Save >> Exit
Open Control Panel and selet "Add or Remove Programs" >> Add/Remove Windows Components
Select "Accessories and Utilities" click "Details" and remove Accessibility Wizard.
Then select Communications click "Details"
Remove Chat, HyperTerminal and PhoneDialer click OK
If you want to dump Games go ahead ;)
You'll head to multimedia from here.
Hit OK again.
Unless you need it, dump Fax Services next
Dump MSN Explorer next
You'll also see Messenger now... even if you use it, remove it from here. This is part of taming the beast.
Once your done cleaning stuff from here, hit Next.
We're done w/ Add or Remove Programs
Stay in control panel and open USER Accounts
Select the "Change the way Users log on and Off"
This is up to you but I hate Fast User Switching and that damn Welcome Screen. Fast User switching does sit as a process eating up cycles (and memory).
We're done here for now (we'll come back to set up user accounts later)
Right Click on My Computer and Select Properties.
Goto Advanced
Select Performance
Unless you're into the whiz bang features, turn off everything under visual Effects. Hit Apply
Select the Advanced Tab and then virtual Memory.
Select the Windows Installation Drive and then select "System Managed size" and then Select SET.
Hit OK (you'll be given a message box telling you it won't take effect until after you reboot, just OK it).
We're done w/ the Performance Section.
Go down to the Startup and Recovery section and select Settings disable "Restart Automatically". We're done w/ Startup and Recovery.
Next
Select the Environment Variables button (down towards the OK, Cancel, Apply buttons)
We're going to take owner ship of where files go.
I personally change the User variables for my account, I HATE dumping stuff into "Documents and Settings"
You can decide to change this or not. You can also decide to change the TEMP and TMP variables under System Variables on this same page.
We're done with this, I believe here you'll get a Reboot request, say No.
Leave the System Properties UI open, and select Remote, clear the check box for Remote
Assistance. Hit Apply
Now select the SystemRestore tab and here's where you need to decide what you want to do.
I turn off System Restore on all my drives, but I would suggest for safety sake, you select the drive Windows is installed on and hit settings. Move the slider to the MIN side and hit okay. Then select the other drives, then properites and check the "Turn System Restore off on this drive".
We're done here, you should reboot at this point.
When you're back right click and go to your display properties.
Under Screen Saver, select power, clear the Enable Hibernate Check box. Accept that, then move to the Appearance tab.
I don't know about you, but I’m not in love with the new UI. It does eat memory so I can it. Next select the effects tab and the ONLY thing I use here; Check "Use the Following Methods to smooth edges of screen" and then select Clear Type from the list box. I clear all check boxes on this page except the one for Clear Type... have I mentioned CLEAR TYPE ROCKS!!!
We're done with the display properties.
And we are pretty much done with the not so secret tweaking.
Next I would setup your user Accounts.
You can always right click on a application and Run As User if you want to really lock down your system or turn off applications. That's where you need a good Administrator password you can remember
Onto a little more power leveling.....
Get only this Power Toy. (tweak UI)
http://download.com.com/3000-2341-2...tml?tag=lst-0-1
Here you can get rid of Autoplay all together, save the EXE to a backup folder and then install it, it will show up in the Programs direcotry Play around with the Tweak UI settings to find what you do and don't like there really isn't anything here that's going to be a major perf saver. Under the "My Computer" setting you'll find your saviour..."AutoPlay"
Play around with this guy's suggestions for MSCONFIG Services
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
Don’t disable everything at once, just do a couple, reboot, make sure what you need working still works and go to the next batch. A few you can totally get rid of and not have issues with are;
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry Serives
Secondary Logon
Server
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
If you're feeling saucey and adventerous;
Open up RegEdit:
User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer]
Value Name: DesktopProcess
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (1 = Separate Process, 0 = Default)
Chagne this to a 1, this will spawn the desktop process as a separate thread on the kernel and it does help eliminate some of random desktop crap that happens when all the processes log jam into one thread.
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\
Memory Management]
Value Name: DisablePagingExecutive
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable system paging)
Disable System Paging, if you'd like the long drawn out version of why, email me back, otherwise take my word for it.
ONLY if you know the L2 Data Cahce on your processor;
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\
Memory Management]
Value Name: SecondLevelDataCache
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: Cache (in Kb) using Decimal Notation Eg. if you have a L2 of 256, enter 256.