[deXter]

Did you try Ranish Partition Manager yet?

You're most probably lying. If your laptop is using Genuine Windows, then in all probability would be an OEM version. In short, you'd be having an OEM key. Tiny XP is based on a corporate/VLK license, so the OEM key will most certainly not work.

Download the entire file, open it with a burning program like Nero, and burn it. Do not burn the image itself! (ie, do not start a new compilation and drag-drop the image). If you're having problems doing it on your PC, you should do it at some other PC, like at a public internet cafe.

Why is it considered warez? Is it a corporate edition repackage? FYI, "Tiny XP" is a package that includes a modified Windows XP Setup along with an illegal product key. This whole package is distributed across various public media like Torrents, P2P, public File Hosting servers, etc. It's quite obvious that using/downloading "Tiny XP" is illegal and should be discouraged at the maximum extent, both for legal and compatibility reasons.

Copy-paste this into notepad and Save As something.bat ( choose All Files in the drop-down box). Run the batch file. @echo off net stop AudioEndpointBuilder net stop CscService net stop EMDMgmt net stop Netman net stop PcaSvc net stop SysMain net stop TabletInputService net stop TrkWks net stop UmRdpService net stop UxSms net stop WdiSystemHost net stop WPDBusEnum net stop wudfsvc pause net start AudioEndpointBuilder pause net start CscService pause net start EMDMgmt pause net start Netman pause net start PcaSvc pause net start SysMain pause net start TabletInputService pause net start TrkWks pause net start UmRdpService pause net start UxSms pause net start WdiSystemHost pause net start WPDBusEnum pause net start wudfsvc After each Pause, a service is started. Wait for a service to load and check the memory usage. If its normal, then that's not the service. Keep starting the services and waiting till you get the service that's using up the memory.

You can use Windows Updates Downloader to download the updates. There's an option to remove obsolete/replaced updates. Another option is using RyanVM's Update Pack to directly integrate all the latest updates in one go. The update pack is available as a single file download around 50 MB and its maintained and updated regularly. Using this pack, you don't need to worry about outdated or obsolete updates. Finally, there's ERPMan's Windows 2000 & Windows XP System Updates Page which lists all the current updates along with which updates replaces what.

I found VirtualBox to be slightly faster than VMware, but I uninstalled it as I couldn't get drag-n-drop, shared folders, networking, etc to work. Microsoft Virtual PC is horribly slow and lacks important features. As for VMware Workstation vs VMware Server, if you're on a home PC/workstation, you should run the Workstation version. QEMU is probably the fastest of the lot, but its simplicity and lack of features makes it better suited to quickly test bootable images.

1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type CMD, and then press ENTER. 3. Type TASKLIST /SVC, and then press ENTER Check which svchost is causing the problems by opening the Task Manager and matching the PID shown there with the PID shown in TaskList. Once you identify the proper svchost, take a look at the services that are being launched by that svchost. Disable all the services started by it and enable it one by one to isolate the exact service that's causing the problem.

I have around 54 processes running at any time, yet it isn't slow. Perhaps it's your AntiVirus? Which AntiVirus are you using? I never told you to use nLite. You can slipstream SP2 directly into windows by this command: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe /integrate:C:\XPCD Where C:\XPCD is folder where your XP Setup files are located. (The above filename is for the English SP2. Replace it by the name that's appropriate for your language.)

Yes, I've finished the program. Just running a few tests.

Thank you, deXter, for a better explanation. If under SP2 it takes 5 minutes to open outlook, I think it is too long. How can I test it? Then something is wrong. Because on my 450 MHz computer, it takes just a few seconds to open Outlook. I am an ordinary user, I don't know anything about computers. Do you mean that some services coming with Windows are harmful? How can I know what services to disable? Maybe they are important? That is why there are forums like these, to help out people. There are plenty of threads here on how to make your PC faster, on how to disable unnecessary services. Search the forums. Do you mean I have to do anything more that it was already done? I didn't clean anything, Windows did everything by themselves how it was meant to be, I guess. I meant, the best way to install any Service Pack is to slipstream it into the setup disk and perform a clean install. (A clean install is when you're installing for the first time, instead of upgrading. It's basically when you format the windows drive and install). You don't *have* to do it, but its always better to perform a clean install instead of a 'upgrade' install, because: 1) Installing a Service Pack takes almost the same (or more) time as installing Windows 2) You may face errors due to your existing software or configuration 3) A lot of files get fragmented, slowing down your system 4) You'll need additional space for storing the temporary files, for backup, etc 5) If/when you're (re)installing windows, you won't have to waste your time installing SP2 seperately.

I use WinInstall LE. It captures setups, settings, etc and creates standard MSI files. You can even edit the MSI later on. And best of all - its free!

That's completly incorrect. The System Requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 2 page clearly states that the minimum requirements for SP2 are: • 233 megahertz (MHz) processor • 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM • 1.8 GB of available hard disk space during installation This configuration can hardly be called powerful. It's maybe incorrect when you are running plain Windows, but if you have a lot of other stuff running + annoying automatic updates which tend to restart your computer at the most unexpected moment, then it's correct. From my experience I can say that SP1 is faster than SP2. I don't know what hidden processes are there running, but SP2 constantly writes something and that slows down everything. So I use XP-AntySpy to turn a lot of unpleasant things off. As for erunt, as I said, you can use it to restore your registry from BartPE, the only bootable thing available. Can anybody tell me why for Linux there are plenty of nice little things like Knoppix available, and for Windows only one ugly BartPE? You can disable the Security Center (Administrative Tools -> Services). Windows Firewall is also new to SP2, so if you wish, you may disable that too. System Properties -> Automatic Updates -> "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them." And how did you test this? Did you disable the new services that come with SP2? Because if you didn't, then its unfair to say that SP1 is faster than SP2. Did you do a clean, slipstreamed installation of SP1 and SP2 and run benchmarks? Because Linux is free and Windows isn't. Since Linux is free, it's possible to create LiveCDs like Knoppix and distribute them. You can't do that for Windows for obvious reasons. Which is why BartPE exists so that you can create your own LiveCD from your own Windows files, legally. However, if you're willing to pay money, there are easy to use Windows LiveCDs, like ERD Commander. ERD can perform many recovery tasks including System Restore - you don't have to boot into your Windows anymore to perform System Restore.

That's completly incorrect. The System Requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 2 page clearly states that the minimum requirements for SP2 are: • 233 megahertz (MHz) processor • 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM • 1.8 GB of available hard disk space during installation This configuration can hardly be called powerful. I can confirm that the requirements are true as I have personally installed SP2 on computers using the above configuration. I'm sure plenty of others here in this forum installed XP on such a configuration. Infact, SP2's requirements are almost the same as XP's, except that you'd need 300 MB more disk space. I'm pretty sure you're using a disk drive greater than 2 GB. You could also use "System Restore".

You can try Ranish Partition Manager. It's one of the best, free partition manager for DOS. If you don't mind using a LiveCD, then GParted is your best option.

Yes, the delims is a tab, but there's no need to specify it explicitly as the default delims set consists of space and tab. FOR /? ... delims=xxx - specifies a delimiter set. This replaces the default delimiter set of space and tab. ...

An alternative to that would be to simply turn off Autorun on your USB key. Yes, you could also press the Shift key while inserting the USB drive, but that's besides the point- There are malware that disguise themselves as files/folders that are already existing on the USB drive, which may trick the user into executing them accidentally. Turning off Autorun isn't an alternative solution, its added protection.

FOR /F "skip=4 tokens=2*" %%i in ('REG QUERY ^"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders^" /v Personal') DO SET KEY=%%j That REG.EXE output actually generates 7 lines, the first 4 of which should be ignored.

Most USB drives have a small write-protect switch/slider which you can use to make the drive read-only. If your drive doesn't have one and its essential for you, then consider buying one that does have the write-protect feature- USB drives are quite affordable these days. There are, however a few things you can do, like Securing your thumdrive with TrueCrypt or using a Registry Hack to Disable Writing to USB Drives. To protect your own system, you should plug-in the drive only when you're in a Limited User account - this would prevent malware from doing any damage to your system. Keep your files and folders well organized. Enable the "Show hidden files and folders" option in explorer. Uncheck the option "Hide extensions for known file types". This will enable you to distinguish between your files and a possible malware if its been copied. It's also a good idea to change the default folder icons in your PC- quite a few malware are disguised to look like folders to trick the user into clicking them. Finally, running a good, regularly updated AntiVirus software does help. I recommend Kaspersky or BitDefender, but if you want something that's light on resources, use NOD32.

There is never a conflict. HKLM is the 'master' key. Windows (or an app) would first look in HKCU for the current users settings, if its present, it'll use it. If a particular value isn't set in the HKCU, it'll get it from HKLM.

► Diagnosis: • To confirm if it's a software or hardware issue, boot from a Linux LiveCD (Eg: Knoppix) and try copying large files and/or deleting files. If you're able to do so without any problems, then its a Windows issue. ► If it's a Windows issue: ▪ Possible solution 1: • Click on Start > Control Panel (or Start > Settings > Control Panel). • Double-click on System, then open the Hardware tab. • Click Device Manager. • Click the + at Universal Serial Bus Controllers. • Right-click USB Root Hub and select Properties. • Open the Power Management tab. • Clear the checkmark from "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". • Click OK. • Repeat the above steps for all the rest of the Root Hubs. ▪ Possible solution 2: • Open Device Manager. • Click the + at Disk Drives. • Right-click your external drive and select Properties. • Open the Policies tab. • Make sure "Optimize for quick removal" is checked, and toggle the option "Enable write caching". ▪ Possible solution 3: • Unplug all USB devices. • Open Device Manager. • Uninstall all your external USB drives. (will be shown under the appropriate device type) • Uninstall all your Root Hubs. • Uninstall all your USB Host Controllers. • Open Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to uninstall any related software/drivers. [if present] • Reboot and let windows re-detect all your USB Controllers and Hubs • Reboot again, and connect your external devices. ► If it's a Hardware issue: • You need to confirm if it's a problem with your PC or the device itself. Connect the drive to some other computer and try the same procedure there. If you're getting errors on the other computer too, then it's a fault in the device. ► If its a problem in the device, try changing the USB cable and/or the power supply. If that doesn't work, then it could be a chipset problem- send the drive for repairs/replacement. ► If its a problem with your PC, try getting a USB 2.0 PCI Card and connect your drives to it. If its a problem with your onboard USB controller, then the connecting it to thru the card should solve the problem.

But AutoIT/AutoHotKey can perfectly hide windows. Can you give some example of a particular App that AutoIT or AHK isn't able to hide but OuttaSight can?

I agree with nmX. You should really be using NTFS. Please immediately convert your drives to NTFS. The errors you get regarding the space are typical of FAT drives. • You should run a CHKDSK on all your drives. Type CHKDSK C: /F /V /X in Run or CMD. Do the same for all your other drives, replacing C: by D: and so on. For G: drive, perform a full CHKDSK by using the /R parameter like this: CHKDSK G: /F /V /R /X . • Reboot to finish the CHKDSKs. • Convert all your drives to NTFS after you're done with the CHKDSKs. The command is CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS . Do the same for all your other drives, replacing C: by D: and so on.

I was going to recommend SetACL, but did you read my second reply?

I don't see how it could be much more easier, and if it has features that make OuttaSight easier, it could be scriptable too. However, if you were using AutoIT only for that particular function, then I suppose there isn't any advantage as to using AutoIT, you'd be better off sticking to OuttaSight. Personally I run a master script that runs in the background for performing many tasks. ( I use AutoHotKey - born off AutoIT, but easier to use and having more features.)