Slimming down WinXP with Nlite?

[OldSchool38]

I've been toying around with the idea of redoing my homebuilt system (out of action after ditching the old hard drive) and installing XP Home in it.  I've heard that N-lite can remove various components to make things run quicker-which ones are safe to take off?  Also-can I get rid of IE without any ill affects?  Would this also make my computer safer online?

[submix8c]

Google either one of these.

nlite "not to remove" site:msfn.orgnlite "removal" site:msfn.org

HTH...

[vinifera]

IE gives you shell parts

you can't remove it without breaking system

 

no IE = no Icons, no various functions within explorer, no task pane's and who knows what else

Edited September 20, 2015 by vinifera

[jaclaz]

IE gives you shell parts

you can't remove it without breaking system

 

no IE = no Icons, no various functions within explorer, no task pane's and who knows what else

Well "breaking" is maybe a bit excessive.

 

FDV's approach (Fred De Vorck) has historically allowed to remove completely IE with only a bunch of (what I believe minor) inconveniences, just for the OP interest:

http://www.vorck.com/windows/xpsp4.html

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/140941-fdv-fileset-for-xp/ 

but I believe nlite has similar possibilities, and Fred actually recommends it for "finer tuning".

 

There is a learning curve with nlite, that goes through doing tests and, upon failure, re-do without removing a component you need .

Of course if you remove something, that something won't be there, but the issues raise when (sometimes) there are connections between a removed component/part and a completely different feature  that is needed that are not straightforward.

 

jaclaz

[w2k4eva]

I've been toying around with the idea of redoing my homebuilt system (out of action after ditching the old hard drive) and installing XP Home in it.  I've heard that N-lite can remove various components to make things run quicker-which ones are safe to take off?  Also-can I get rid of IE without any ill affects?  Would this also make my computer safer online?

 

I generally remove other languages that I would never use anyway, and maybe get rid of Messenger, for me that is about it. Quicker can be had by disabling unwanted services and startup items, but this doesn't really require NLite. As for safer, you would get some of that by using some other browser that is not IE and does not use ActiveX stuff, there are many to choose from.

 

IE gives you shell parts

you can't remove it without breaking system

 

no IE = no Icons, no various functions within explorer, no task pane's and who knows what else

 

The missing parts would include Add/RemovePrograms, WindowsUpdate, HTML Help, but these have workarounds so aren't critical. Whether these are considered "ill effects" is debatable and likely depends on who the intended user is.

 

You could use either NLite or HFSLIP but it would be best not to try to mix the two methods. FDV has a fileset to help with the removal. I haven't actually done this myself.

 

You may also want to read http://www.vorck.com/windows/  and-or http://www.vorck.com/windows/xpsp4.html

 

 

edit - looks like jaclaz typed a little faster than I did...

 

 

[Dibya]

IE gives you shell parts

you can't remove it without breaking system

 

no IE = no Icons, no various functions within explorer, no task pane's and who knows what else

Are you thing sliming down is foolish?

I have slimdowned xp with xptsp without any problem

It improves performance and make your pc much faster

[Components]

;# Applications #

Accessibility Options

Briefcase

Charmap

Games

Internet Games

NT Backup

Pinball

Screensavers

Wordpad

;# Drivers #

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

Cameras and Camcorders

Display Adapters

Display Adapters (old)

IBM Thinkpad

InfraRed

ISDN

Logitech WingMan

Modems

MultiFunctional

Portable Audio

Printers

Scanners

Sony Jog Dial

Tape drives

Toshiba DVD decoder card

;# Hardware Support #

ATM Support

Brother Devices

Gravis Digital GamePort

Logical Disk Manager

Multi-port serial adapters

Secure Digital host controller

Sony Memory Stick

Teletext codec

Video Capture

Windows CE USB Host

Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

;# Multimedia #

Acm Core Codecs

AOL ART Image Format Support

DirectX diagnostic tool

Images and Backgrounds

Media Center

Mouse Cursors

Movie Maker

Music Samples

Old CDPlayer and Sound Recorder

Speech Support

Tablet PC

Windows Sounds

;# Network #

Active Directory service

Client for Netware Networks

Communication tools

Connection Manager

FrontPage Extensions

Internet Connection Wizard

Internet Information Services (IIS)

IP Conferencing

MAC Bridge

Map Network Drives/Network Places Wizard

MSMail and MAPI

MSN Explorer

Netmeeting

NetShell Cmd-Tool

Network Monitor Driver and Tools

Network Setup Wizard

NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Protocol

Peer-to-Peer

Synchronization Manager

TAPI Application Support

TCP/IP Version 6

Vector Graphics Rendering (VML)

Web Folders

Windows Messenger

;# Operating System Options #

.NET Framework

16-bit support

Administrative Templates

Administrator VB scripts

Application compatibility patch

Color Schemes

Command-Line tools

Desktop Cleanup Wizard

Disk and Profile Quota

Disk Cleanup

Document Templates

DR Watson

Extra Fonts

FAT to NTFS converter

File and Settings Wizard

File System Filter Manager

Help

Input Method Editor

Logon Notifications

Manual Install and Upgrade

MS Agent

Private Character Editor

Remote Installation Services (RIS)

Save Dump Utility

Search Assistant

Security Center

Service Pack Messages

Shell Media Handler

Task Scheduler

Tour

Web View

;# Services #

Alerter

Application Layer Gateway

Autoupdate

Background Intelligent Transfer (BITS)

Beep Driver

COM+

Distributed Link Tracking Client

Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC)

DNS Client

Error Reporting

Event Log

Fax Services

Imapi

Indexing Service

Internet Authentication (IAS)

IPSEC Policy Agent

Management Instrumentation (WMI)

Message Queuing (MSMQ)

Messenger

Network DDE

Network Location Awareness (NLA)

Network Provisioning

Performance Logs and Alerts

QoS RSVP

Quality of Service (QoS)

Remote Registry

Removable Storage

Secondary Logon

Service Advertising Protocol

Shell Services

SNMP

System Event Notification (SENS)

System Monitor

System Restore

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

Telnet Server

Terminal Services

Text Services Framework

Volume Shadow Copy

WebClient

Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

Windows Time

Wireless Zero Configuration

;# Directories #

DOCS

SUPPORT

VALUEADD

;# Compatibility #

[KeepFiles]

msconfig.exe

[RemoveFiles]

clock.avi

[Options]

CABRecompress

ClassicSetup

BlackSetupBack

GuestName = ""

AdminName = ""

ProfilesDir = "%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings"

TargetPath = "WINDOWS"

temp_dir = %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp

isovol = WinLite

isoatt = -allow-multidot -no-iso-translate -relaxed-filenames -allow-leading-dots -N -l -d -D -joliet-long -duplicates-once -no-emul-boot -b boot.bin -hide boot.bin -hide boot.catalog

[Patches]

TcpIp = 16777215

UsbPoll = 125

DoUxTheme

DoSFC

[services]

StiSvc,3

AppMgmt,3

AudioSrv,2

CryptSvc,2

HidServ,4

HTTP,3

HTTPFilter,3

IpNat,3

NDProxy,3

Netman,3

PlugPlay,2

ProtectedStorage,2

SamSs,2

SCardSvr,3

TapiSrv,3

UPS,3

xmlprov,3

LanmanWorkstation,2

RasAuto,3

RasMan,3

RemoteAccess,4

IpFilterDriver,3

IpInIp,3

DHCP,2

Browser,2

NetLogon,3

RpcLocator,3

NtLmSsp,3

LanmanServer,2

[Tweaks]

Desktop-Internet Explorer icon-Hide

Desktop-My Computer icon-Show

Desktop-My Documents icon-Hide

Desktop-My Network Places icon-Hide

Desktop-Recycle Bin icon-Show

Explorer-Add 'CMD Shell' to all Drives and Folders

Explorer-Advanced Search: preconfigure options

Explorer-Change Explorer Folder View to: details

Explorer-Classic Control Panel

Explorer-Disable Beep on errors

Explorer-Disable Prefix: Shortcut to

Explorer-Remove Send To on context menu

Explorer-Show all files and folders

Explorer-Show Drive Letters in front of Drive Names

Explorer-Show extensions of known file-types

Explorer-Show Full Path in Address and in Title-Bar

Explorer-Show Statusbar in all windows

Internet Explorer-Disable information bar when popup is blocked

Internet Explorer-Disable Market Place bookmark

Internet Explorer-Disable Media Player 6.4 created bookmarks

Internet Explorer-Disable sound when popup is blocked

Internet Explorer-Enable Google URL-Search

Internet Explorer-Keep IE URL-History for-50 Days (max recommended)

Internet Explorer-Set Homepage-www.google.com

Internet Explorer-Set Internet Explorer to accept 10 connects at a time

My Computer-Add Control Panel to Context Menu

My Computer-Add Device Manager to Context Menu

My Computer-Add Services to Context Menu

My Computer-Add Software to Context Menu

My Computer-Remove Shared Documents

My Computer-Show details in Device Manager

My Computer-Show non-present devices in Device Manager

Network-Disable automatic search for network folders and printers

Network-Disable restoring mapped network drives on logon

Network-Disable Simple File Sharing

Privacy-Clear most recently opened documents list on logoff

Privacy-Disable and Remove Documents List from Start Menu

Privacy-Remove Alexa Spyware

Security-Always show Updates under Software

Security-Disable Screensaver

Security-Disable Web Open With prompt

Speed-Disable Optimize harddisk when idle

Speed-Disable Tracking of Broken Shortcut Links

Speed-Do not cache thumbnails

Speed-Use Windows classic folders / No Tasks Sidepanel

Start Menu-Disable Highlight newly installed programs

Start Menu-Disable popup on first boot

Start Menu-Reduce popup delay

Start Menu-Remove My Music

Start Menu-Remove Search the Internet from Search

Start Menu-Remove Set Program Access and Defaults

Start Menu-Remove 'Windows Catalog' from Start Menu

Taskbar-Disable Balloon Tips

Taskbar-Disable Group similar Taskbar buttons

Taskbar-Disable Hide inactive icons

Visual Effects-Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing-Disable

Visual Effects-Fade effect on menus and tooltips-Disable

Visual Effects-Show shadows under mouse pointer-Enable

Visual Effects-Show translucent selection rectangle-Enable

Visual Effects-Show window contents while dragging-Enable

Visual Effects-Slide open combo boxes-Disable

Visual Effects-Slide taskbar buttons-Disable

Visual Effects-Smooth edges of screen fonts-Enable

Visual Effects-Use common tasks in folders-Disable

[unattended]

UnattendMode = DefaultHide

ComputerType = Automatic

MaximumDataStorePercentOfDisk = 12

ProgFilesPath = "C:\Program Files"

[vinifera]

you dumb or blind or both ?

[Dibya]

you dumb or blind or both ?

 

Donot think yourself  most knowlegable person .

Can you tell me what is the use of keeping useless features , vulnerable component and driver older than 2001.

[j7n]

I have reached the opinion that removing bundled drivers and small components from 2k/XP doesn't make that much difference in practice anymore, once you add modern software post-installation, such as bloated drivers or any web browser. And adding removed components back, once their dependancies are better understood, takes some effort. Currently I have an XP system that doesn't have users displayed in task manager, nor can I search for them to add permissions, because I was over-eager in my removals.

XP is plenty fast already when clean installed, with basic tweaks and a couple services stopped (indexing).

I would disable System File Protection for a considerable cut in disk usage (dllcache folder) and installation time, and set a great number of registry tweaks that I consider best practice, as a convenience to not go over the long list again. Perhaps I would remove 'totally useless' features: msn, wmp, oobe (with VLK), iis. I have an irrational hatred toward them... But then again if I was to install XP for someone else, they might actually "like" WMP and the unstable shell media extension, so the build with all the registry tweaks ceases to be universal. But most of the things like mosue pointers and sample music just exist on disk passively, without causing trouble.

If you want to install XP on a very very constrained target system with around 128 MB of RAM, I'd consider using Win2K or XP SP1, as a starting point, and use it with small period applications only.