winxp sp2 best performance

[ironail]

Greetings,

I'm kinda new in this forum and after reading/searching some post regarding smallest version created, i would come up with "smallest" regarding to size of the iso cd. What i would like to get is a nlite'd version with optimal/best performing of winxp sp2. Is there a repository of lastsessions or regtweaks here or maybe somebody has created already a good version. what i need are:

- single user (no fancy desktop themes, cursors)

- internet/filesharing/windows firewall (im in a LAN with ics installed)

- gaming (low ram usage on idle tasks to increase performance of games/application)

- default drivers (cause i have lots of usb devices such as flashdrives, digicam)

- watching movies, playing mp3

btw, since i dont know what windows services(or what are they for) that are running on background/idle, so i dont know if i should really remove them when i tried to make my own version.

I tried TinyXp which i heard was made with nlite, but the windows firewall was disabled. I need it to open up some ports and port forwarding.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[extrabigmehdi]

hi ironail

Removing/disabling services, is the part that affect the more the performance of your final image.

But this is also the part that induce induce the more problems.

From what I know, the most annoying sevices of XP are:

* indexing service

* system restore

* error reporting

It would be tempting to remove system restore, but I got problem with ther software "look n stop",

so I just disabled it instead. (off course I have an other solution for restoring system: acronis true image)

For a first try , I recommend that you avoid playing too much with services,

and remove components you want.

Otherwise you can take a look at black viper websites regarding services: http://www.blackviper.com/

tried TinyXp which i heard was made with nlite, but the windows firewall was disabled. I need it to open up some ports and port forwarding.

tinyXP... cough.. cough.... I remember that's a legal forum....

Otherwise that's a nonsense what you said: if windows firewall is disabled, that means that all ports are open....

Also, I like to disable windows firewall, and replace it by a better one ....

If you have a hardware firewall (router of wifi, might be) , then you need to configure it.

[Sancho]

I don't like TinyXP or those others because they either remove too much stuff or leave too much junk in. I like some of the tweaks, though, so I gutted what was in the $OEM$ folder. Also I don't even like XP, I think a stripped down Server 2003 is better all around (except for some compatibility).

Concerning what is removed, I pretty much remove all the drivers except for what hardware is in my PC right now, but watch out for some issues like with digital cameras needing the "Teletext Codec" or whatever. They're rare but test your equipment. I also take out all the languages and any extra networking protocols because all I need is TCP/IP, not any microsoft crap (then you can set Computer Browser and Workstation to disabled, and Server to manual).

Another dirty trick there is if you don't need multiple users: the minlogon.exe replacement. The file is from XP Embedded, and you replace the winlogon.exe file with it. It completely bypasses most of what is done during logon, but there are a few quirks, like some desktop settings might not be saved correctly and there are no extra user profiles being used outside of Default User. The only reason I didn't use it is because Ctrl+Alt+Delete doesn't work, but someone did create a hack by installing an extra service for the sole purpose of recognizing the command (though it may only have XP Home functionality). Some don't really consider this trick legal or whatever, so I won't link to anything in this post.

Also here's a session preset I just used that you can compare to for trying new removals:

Last_Session.ini

[ironail]

Thanks for the replies. Ive'd started making my own comparing it with some of the lastsessions i found here.

nlite has some of the services/tweaks that are red meaning they shouldnt be changed. or can i? which of the red items are really "safe" to remove?

after making my own version it actually grew ~5mb more ) cause i added all my drivers of my devices and lots of service packs ) i dont really mind the size, im more concerned of the perfomance since, i forgot to mention earlier, i have a low pc (p3 1ghz, 256 ram, 64mb video). Thats the reason why we make tweaks/lite versions so we can still use our old computers.

anymore suggestions from other readers are welcome. thanks.

[Sancho]

Red ones are fine to delete, it's just that they may be important or something else depends on it. The description usually gives good hints. I also never remove anything that says it would cause an error or delay, no matter how small it may sound.

[Octopuss]

I could probably send you my config I've been using. It is pretty tweaked with all the crap removed. 170MB of size Works like a charm.

[303]

I was driving around today and was daydreaming about why M$ doesn't offer a "Gaming Edition" version of Windows...

There's a Server and Business edition... so why not cater to us gamers??

Or at least have a feature that would allow a choice from a selection of multiple profiles or environments (aka. "Gaming Mode" or whatever floats your pickle), youknowwhatimean??

eg. Have a *custom* mode/environment that disables certain services / drivers / hardware... as opposed to just having seperate user accounts that are basically the same services and harware/driver wise...

Edited August 22, 2007 by 303

[IrfCore]

Gaming Edition

Nah, most gamers probably use a pirat version of windows