DL.

If you've got a very old/slow computer I assume you might see slightly higher usage when setting the update speed to high. But if anything at all it's got to be to a very minor extent, absolutely nothing to worry about. Why do you even have to keep the task manager mnimized? It's so easy to start it when needed, just hit ctrl+shift+esc. This is one of those things that can be considered a total non-issue, no offence to you for asking but that's what it is.

You are correct, but it's easier to put it there rather than having to specify the path to another folder. Read more on "cmdlines.txt" here. You could put the file in $OEM$\$1 or $OEM$\$$ without having to specify the path, and then also apply them at RunOnce to make sure all tweaks stick.

At the root of your "$OEM$"-folder, the same folder where you put "cmdlines.txt". More on the $OEM$-folder structure here.

Have you read this?

Search!

The spam filters have improved considerably in the last few years. I wouldn't consider the small amount of spam I get a problem. Since I bought the premium service the amount of spam has decreased even more. I use all of my 50 filters (premium user) for other mail, but I could use a few more to make the spam totally non-existent. So as far as spam is concerned I see no reason to switch to Gmail. Any other reason for it?

Yahoo mail, I've been using it since -98. + Clean interface (if you're using the premium service). Drag and drop. Virtually unlimited space. Good spam protection and antivirus. Has built-in chat client for YM and MSN. You can create additional addresses for your account. - Only a limited number of filters allowed: 15 for the free version, 50 for premium. Displaying the mail folders may be a bit slow at times. Spam protection could be even better. I haven't tried Gmail, but maybe I will some day.

Can you boot from any other CD, but just not this one?

Does the large cluster size actually give you any noticeable performance benefits (I assume that's why you've set it like that) compared to the more "normal" sizes?

It's an interesting question you got there about PSU aging, I thought about it myself when checking out the "eXtreme PSU calculator". 2) No, it doesn't. However, it's usually caused by a bad driver or faulty hardware. 3) Your system may become unable to start, for example the hard drive not spinning up or the system won't even POST. In the worst case the actual PSU itself will be damaged by overload (in rare cases and under too much load there have been PSUs catching fire). 4) Similar to 3). You can also sometimes hear some high-pitched or other unusual noise coming from the PSU. Having multiple components failing in a short period of time is a surefire sign that something i wrong. Also if the system just shuts down (multiple times) for no apparent reason you could suspect the PSU to have something to do with it. But not everything like that is caused by the PSU, the mainboard may also play a part. A bad PSU may damage your components; a few of my friends had a number of HDDs dieing on them because they used cheap noname PSUs. After switching the PSUs they haven't had a single problem of that kind.

@Witt3439: Leaving devices in "standby"-mode is a bad habit for some people, read 9. here. Or just search for "standby energy" or similar. @ideas: Have you tried moving your mouse to wake it up? Try using the screen with another computer and try another screen for your comp, to find out in which cases the same thing happens. Check your monitor and comp for any settings that may be relevant. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the graphics driver...

It all depends on how you intend to use it. For gaming it's a no no, that graphics card is NOT meant for games. It can probably handle lighter everyday tasks with ease though.

Have you read this?

@tactzer0: I've downloaded and listened to it, but that kind of music doesn't quite need all that good quality. You can hear the music is somewhat "deeper" with higher quality. @Ponch: Even though it's not exactly about audio quality, but It's still quite cool. The effect is probably even better with good headphones. One thing I've noticed while using my Sennheiser HD595 is that sometimes you can hear details that you couldn't hear when using speakers or cheaper headphones. For example in some songs you can hear the individual band members singing (not just the lead singer/singers) or you can hear small details in the music.

If it works better with a non-vLited Vista then it's most likely something you removed/disabled, and not the actual router. Updating the firmware for the router probably won't hurt, but since it's most likely your vLited setup (or a combination) that is causing problems that may or may not help either. Try searching for "d-link 524 vista" or similar and you'll find mulitple hits on that topic. This is the KB they're often referring to: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/928233 Are you using a wired or wireless connection to the router?

Router model? Have you tried updating the firmware for it? Does it work better with a normal/non-vLited Vista?

You can delete that too.

I don't see his specs anywhere in this thread, so how do you know your machine is faster than his?

No, it probably won't. You may be able to run it yes, but it will most likely not be fast.

If a service which other services depend on is not starting, it may cause delays like these. Check your event log for errors, those will show you the services that are not starting.

@All and especially leinan: It all depends on what you're after, a barebones supertweaked setup only for gaming or something that works for most other tasks as well. Getting a system with plenty of RAM and which is used for regular everyday tasks down below 40MB of RAM usage is a total no no: -The more RAM you've got the more it will use (mentioned multiple times earlier in this thread). -With a config like that you will run into problems or annoyances where you have to manually start services all the time just to do simple tasks. @jmbattle: Disabling "Network Connections" will make you unable to configure those (at least in the GUI). I don't quite remember what it was, but there was some unwanted side effect (not just the Autoplay-tab) from disabling "Shell Hardware Detection" (enough for me to keep it for my regular config). If you have a router and have set a static IP you could disable "DHCP Client".

@godfromdfo: You've disabled Eventlog and PlugPlay to get only one svchost, I haven't tried that since those the most important services (along with RpcSs). @spystyle: In the first two I was talking about my own system. It's not that extreme, but made to work well for normal everyday usage without causing any problems. I'd rather let it use a few more MBs of RAM than having a system that doesn't work because of missing components. I hate reinstalling so my current installation has been running fine (used almost daily) since 2006-01-28, but I will make a new nLited setup now that SP3 is out. I've found a few minor mistakes recently in the lastsession.ini I used back then so I will make a new one soon, but you can get my services config (the most important part of all) if you like. It works for me, but it may or may not work for you depending on which features you use (every system and user is unique). I'm not sure it's 100% accurate, I may have done some minor changes manually and forgot to set them in the file too: Dserv.reg

It's interesting to compare your own moderately nLited and rarely reinstalled system to the really hardcore barebones-systems. RAM usage doesn't even come close, but then again the more RAM you've got the more it will use. Doing a fresh install will probably help a bit. About the number of processes: For XP you should definitely get below 30, even for Vista you should hover around that mark. But it depends on your hardware too, if it needs some drivers/progs to be running (=using a process of their own) at all time you may have to get by with a few more (mostly for laptops). My very functional setup has 13 processes including taskmgr, going lower will make you lose some functionality (my temporary gaming setup has 11). Below 10 (excluding taskmgr) is not possible unless you kill Explorer too.

Have you tried checking out TeamViewer? I'm not quite sure if that's what you want, but it works without having to do lots of settings and is easy to use for remote support.

If your target is lowest possible memory use then some replacement may be nessecary. But yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not quite sure what taskman needs to work, I think some service had to be running. Did you try opening it with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc, since Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't work with Minlogon. But you could try using Process Explorer instead.