Strip down XP SP3 to Win2k SP0 funcionality

[MarkusW]

For performance reasons I installed Windows 2000 on all my computers for years. Unfortunately more and more setup programs insist on XP SP2 as the minimum OS version.

So I thought I take my XP Professional CD, slipstream SP3 and deactivate everything that wasn't there in Win2k SP0. If I just could find a list of the things I have to deactivate...

Can you help me?

Thanks in advance,

Markus

[TranceEnergy]

That would be anything that is not in windows 2000. Isn't that obvious?

[MarkusW]

That would be anything that is not in windows 2000. Isn't that obvious?

Yes, that is obvious. What's not obvious (at least to me) is how to find out what is in XP but not in Windows 2000.

I can tell a few things like the dialog that pops up when you insert an usb stick or the desktop cleaning wizard or the firewall or the security center. But I'm sure there's way more.

Is there a list or something? Or does nLite provide a way to tell if any given option is there in XP but not there in Windows 2000?

I hope this clarifies what I'm looking for.

Markus

[GrofLuigi]

You can't look at it that way. XP has some things not present in 2000, but really worth keeping (i.e. better/newer/more drivers), and 2000 has some useless stuff worth getting rid of (kodak image viewer - for some folks at least; its own Tour etc).

Then there are different versions of 2000 and of XP.

Just take what YOU need and search/ask if don't know what something is for.

GL

[MarkusW]

You can't look at it that way. XP has some things not present in 2000, but really worth keeping (i.e. better/newer/more drivers), and 2000 has some useless stuff worth getting rid of (kodak image viewer - for some folks at least; its own Tour etc).

...

Just take what YOU need and search/ask if don't know what something is for.

You're right. But I'm completely lost with the many things you can check/uncheck in nLite. So this would take a month of my spare time at least and I don't like to invest that much time. ;-)

So if someone could kindly provide a list of topics I have to check/uncheck in nLite that would improve the process by magnitude. :-) A session.ini of someone who already went through the same steps would be a good starting point for me, too.

Markus

[t001z]

I don't think what you are trying to do is really all that possible. You can strip out some of the features, but the bulk of what you don't want/don't need will still be there.

I do this with lots of computers that I put together for people and the way that I do it is to use a product called XPLite (they also have a product called 2000Lite, I think when you buy one, you get the other, but I digress). Like I said, I have been using this product for years and have gotten XP installs down under 300 MB (I am NOT recommending that though). As of today, they have a beta release for support of XP-SP3.

I hope this helps you out, I know everyone wants free utilities but the product is very inexpensive and really will make your life easier if you do this more than once.

[GrofLuigi]

You can't look at it that way. XP has some things not present in 2000, but really worth keeping (i.e. better/newer/more drivers), and 2000 has some useless stuff worth getting rid of (kodak image viewer - for some folks at least; its own Tour etc).

...

Just take what YOU need and search/ask if don't know what something is for.

You're right. But I'm completely lost with the many things you can check/uncheck in nLite. So this would take a month of my spare time at least and I don't like to invest that much time. ;-)

So if someone could kindly provide a list of topics I have to check/uncheck in nLite that would improve the process by magnitude. :-) A session.ini of someone who already went through the same steps would be a good starting point for me, too.

Markus

Well, every item is important in its own way and has implications on the final result. You should know best your habits and expectations of the operating system best. What may seem insignificant to one person can be very irritating for another. For example, in 99 % of the cases when some friend asks me to "clean" or "optimize" his/her XP installation, I turn off themes service and window animations and they end up shocked. (I kill dozens of services, but they don't notice.)

There were some threads here about people talking about 'templates' of "last session inis" but I don't think they took off. Everyone has his/her own idea of what's important and what's not, so I think no two people would end up with the same last_sesson.ini.

What I said about searching, I meant - you must already know some of the components (what are they for and whether you need them or not). For the unknown ones, search the entire name of the component in quotes, either here or in google, and you'll get at least some idea what's it about. Your best friends also are this topic, nLite FAQ and guides.

The difficult thing with nLite is that you usually can't easily revert your decisions (install the removed parts onto an installed system), so trial and error is inevitable (best done in a virtual machine so you don't mess up something badly). We all have made our mistakes, but have been rewarded with deeper knowledge of the operating system.

GL

[MrCobra]

If it's .msi based installs then you can modify the .msi file to allow them to install. With few exceptions like requiring routines not present in the OS, most of the newer stuff installs and works on 2000 just fine. For InstallShield based installers, run them and then copy everything from the temp folder they are stored in and modify the .msi files (if there are any) or import the scripts into InstallShield and modify those.

The majority of the OS checks in the installers are artificial.

[newsposter]

why not just run win2k with the win95/XP gui?

As I recall, the GUI (shell) was released on it's own as a beta for win2k sometime in 1995/1996.

[gamehead200]

why not just run win2k with the win95/XP gui?

As I recall, the GUI (shell) was released on it's own as a beta for win2k sometime in 1995/1996.

Because...

Unfortunately more and more setup programs insist on XP SP2 as the minimum OS version.

[MarkusW]

Well, every item is important in its own way and has implications on the final result. You should know best your habits and expectations of the operating system best. What may seem insignificant to one person can be very irritating for another.

Well, you're completely right and I wouldn't try to contradict. I read your message and also took a look at the links you provided. While they are useful they don't answer my initial question. ;-) So I try it a different way:

You can nLite Windows 2000 professional and you can nLite XP professional. If you put the two side by side you will notice that there are options in nLite with XP professional that are not there in nLite with Windows 2000 professional. What I'm looking for should be a list of just these options.

Get the point?

Markus

PS: If I had the source code of nLite I could probably compile this list myself...

[newsposter]

Or you can do for yourself what you are asking other to do; experiment with XP removals until you get to the minimum functionality that is specific to your needs.

Seriously, everyones 'needs' are different and it's a bit much what you are asking for.

[noseph]

Markus,

You should take a look at Black Viper's Web Site (http://www.blackviper.com/index.html). I have used it for years to help understand Windows configurations.

[CBC]

Or you can do for yourself what you are asking other to do; experiment with XP removals until you get to the minimum functionality that is specific to your needs.

Seriously, everyones 'needs' are different and it's a bit much what you are asking for.

Exactly right.

[GrofLuigi]

You can nLite Windows 2000 professional and you can nLite XP professional. If you put the two side by side you will notice that there are options in nLite with XP professional that are not there in nLite with Windows 2000 professional. What I'm looking for should be a list of just these options.

I know, and I understood from the start what were you asking for, but those differences are not in nLite, they are in the OS's themselves (well duh!) and Nlite detects them. I personally haven't dealt that much with 2000 to know it 'by heart' while the opposite can be said for XP.

You can try this: make two test runs with your versions of 2000 and XP removing everything; compare the two Last_Session.ini's with some text compare tool. You'll get a pretty good idea about the differences. It will be easy, because nLite sorts the items under each section (unlike many other programs that use ini files) and that's what I like about it.

GL