benyahuda0

I've stuck with slipstreaming SP 2. But lately I have NOT gone to Windows update or slipstreamed the 30 odd updates since SP 2 came out. My computer is faster without them, and more reliable too. I have been following this policy for about 6 months now and have really had a better computer experience than I did when I kept my comp up to date every update Tuesday. Ad-Aware catches a little spyware once in a while, but I have had 0 virus problems, with fewer crashes and much better bootup and application response. I think SP 2 is a good call, but I may not bother with the other updates until (or if) there is an OFFICIAL SP 3. Most of those Update Tuesday patches just seem to be more trouble than they are worth. And between them and their uninstaller caches they waste too much HD space.

[When you do a fresh install of XP Pro sp2/slipstreamed and ALL hotfixes, is there anything running in the background. If so, can i prevent any of that from installing? Or can i delete them. What I'm doing is using the pc for only 1 purpose only. Audio recording. I don't want any other microsoft crap using the processor. No internet connection ever. Know what I mean? Only 1 other program besides the audio program (cubase) needs to run and that is just for the hardware. Basically i just want to install the absolute minimums of XP. But i do need the service pack and hotfixes for driver related issues.] --------- nlite is a great way to put XP on a diet. For your use you might also consider NOT slipstreaming SP 2 or most of the newer hotfixes and updates (critical or otherwise). If you are never connecting to the internet with this machine it will not need most of this stuff (maybe none of it depending on what you are using application wise). And most of the updates will actually slow your machine down somewhat. Plus they do use HD space (including space needed for their uninstallers) and CPU cycles, whether you need them or not. Other things like system recovery are generally not needed in situations like yours. Investigate nlite (it's not all that complicated) and check out bold fortunes guide too and you could seriousely speed up and slim down your XP install. I do these things and the performance on my 2 year old P-4 3.2-EE machine runs head to head with up to date and supposedly much faster machines quite easily. You might even consider using an XP Gold release (if you have access to one) as SP 1 is also almost exclusively internet oriented. If you are not on line with this machine you don't need any of it. All it represents in your case is unneccessary overhead. Dump it.

I have 5 HDD's for 330 G. One, a 40 G drive holds my four OS's. XP Pro, Whatever LH is current, Server 2003 and Linux (UBUNTU). The second is 74 G and holds all my backups plus archived programs so that when I do a reformat/reinstall of XP I don't have to spend hours and hours scouring the internet to replace all my favorite applications. Especially those which are older, but in my opinion better, versions. The third is 80 G and is used like a common Program Files folder where all my installed Windows applications live (I use nLite to export my Program files folder to this drive) as many of them only require one installation but can be called from any Windows install (I export shortcuts to the various Windows installs). Of course this doesn't work with applications that use the registry, but it does for almost everything else. The other two totaling 140 G's are for data which for one reason or another hasn't been burned to a CD or DVD. I've been into computers since the '70s and can quite well remember when there were no hard drives. And I remember sitting in darkened rooms with a small flourescent light (for the 60 Hertz flicker) carefully timing floppy drive motors so as to squeeze DS/DD out of DS/SD drives. There is never enough storage.

I run 2k3 and XP Pro and for most things I think 2k3 kicks XPs butt. In my case if I could get reliable sound in 2k3 I'd probably never use XP again. In fact I'd probably un-install it. I have the same problem of having too many apps open crashing XP. Well I need them because Im using them. Thats why I have 2 gigs of memory and 8 HDDs and an uber processor. I have checked task manager and found I had plenty of memory left (600+M) and the CPU had plenty of idle left. XP just gets in over it's head. It doesn't seem to properly allocate resources and when it gets into a corner it just quits. 2k3 can handle the load. But just lacks a couple of things to eliminate XP from my computer entirely. Now that Longhorn has been tasked to the 2K3 kernal this may only be a year and a half away.

from what I have seen it's not specified in the EULA anywhere that u must evaluate the WHOLE os and not just parts of it...because evaluating is just what I do when slamming together those files..evaluating for my purposes. But when going from that to get it out from that VPC environment ur bound to hit some patrol... As for minilogon I don't use it, I loose to much functionality... But in the end of the day ur right ofcourse, XP is what the majority uses here so it will for sure be most benefitial to other members if we all stick to that. ..will not stop me "developing" both in parallell though, 2003 is just to darn spankin' good and easily scalable to be left alone <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I enjoy playing the same game with my OS'es. And yes 2k3 is just too good to not be an attention getter. I believe there are 180 day trials for 2k3 and whats the problem if a person say 'uninstalls' and 're-installs'. Another 180 days, maybe? If you read all the fine print that M$ has scattered everywhere. You are breaking the license of Windows XP by removing or adding anything to the OS that has not gotten the nod from some god on Olympus, or is it Redmond. I believe if they wanted that would even include uxtheme patcher kinda stuff. Remember this is the company that last summer prosecuted a kid from Ohio because he sold his own store bought copy of Office on Ebay. He bought it and found out he didn't need it and tried to return it, unopened. The store refused to accept it. He then tried to return it to M$ and they also refused. So he sold it and they sued him on the principal that they actually own the software and they and their licensed resellers are the only ones allowed to sell it. By his sale of his copy on Ebay their logic came to the fact that he deprived M$ of that sale. M$ lost with a serious tongue lashing from the judge for tying up the US court system with such a stupid lawsuit.

Alex I checked both of the XP installations on my computer and found that on the main installation (where most of my work gets done) the .NET Framework uses 170,652 KB This is the .NET SDK. On the other installation which I use for testing software the .NET Framework (no SDK) comes in at 8,151 KB. This installation consumes 9.975 GB in total. It also has WinFX, Avalon and Indigo from the March CTP installed. Your 8.5 GB install is probably about right for an XP installation that sees some development work etc. As for the .NET Framework you are right, you probably should keep it. There is quite a bit of software that already requires .NET 1.1 and I use an HTML editor which requires .NET 2.0, I also use a graphics application which requires .NET 2.0.