Slimmed Down Xp Vs Beefy Xp

[suryad]

Yes I swear by nLite. Kudos to the guy who developed this brilliant idea. Thank god I was able to get useless junk outta the system.

I believe other OSes have always had the ability of the user compiling into the kernel what they only need and not what they dont. This is as close as to what Windows users will ever get to that kind of awesome functionality. I just hope Longhorn is just as easily configurable with an nLite for Longhorn.

[purewaveform]

Wether the image you use is large, or small it really doesnt matter. As has benn mentioned problems can occur. If you use a full installation then you have to do work after to set up / stop / etc services that are bad, or unnecessary. By removing them then you dont have to configure. My personal preference is to install everything then just run a script to disable the components that are not needed. For example COM isnt that important, nLite can remove it, but why? you can just go in and disable TCP/IP bindings for COM objects and then all the security issues with COM go away, and you havent lost any functionality. Then again, removing a service like remote registry I believe is a good idea. Or you can disable it. With how cheap harddrive are why bother.

[albator]

The point is not to make free space for other stuff. Th point is to have c: drive/partion max 500-600meg totaly drefraged. The perfomance is the improved...

[gui_m]

Albator... so you only have the OS files in C: partition. Do u put Program Files in a seperate drive? Do u have to reinstall them upon formatting C:\?

[sonu27]

I enjoy installing the software again.

And doing the settings.

Make my knowledge increase.

Plus I dont want to burn a CD ever so often.

And I don't like removing software.

[billybob bo buck]

If you format C: (drive with Windows) you still have to reinstall all the programs on another drive unless you save registry on a disc or something similar.

[albator]

Albator... so you only have the OS files in C: partition. Do u put Program Files in a seperate drive? Do u have to reinstall them upon formatting C:\?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In my Program file folders I have

Divx

RAxco Perfectdisk

Windowsmedia player

and winrar.

For the rest of software need, I use all standalones application, In my E:.

I never need to reinstall them, just 1 registry click for the association of file the first time I boot windows...

U recommend that method to every power users, once you begin it, you can'T come back to old way...

[Zxian]

I'd like to consider myself a "power" user, since I make use of my laptop for several hours a day and I know most of the ins and outs of Windows... but I don't rely on standalones to do most of my stuff.

Most programs that are standalone are more specifically tailored to a specific task than their full-registry/everything counterparts. For example, there are many alternative e-mail programs out there to replace Outlook, but none of them support calendars, notes, and tasks like Outlook does, or allows you to sync that information with your PDA.

Also, for most "work" based applications, you can't find a reasonable standalone version to replace them. If you can find a good small standalone replacement for Mathematica, please tell me...

And as for the Office replacement software that's out there, they may do the trick for the common user, but when you start using all the useful tools within Word and Excel, the formatting turns to garbage when you try to open the files in OpenOffice (for example).

[Marthax]

I always try to keep it simple. If you can use one program to make most things, then use it. I totally agree with Zxian when it comes to Outlook. Perhaps there maybe many programs out there to replace it but, I must say that I've never found program that's better than Outlook. There are many things to cover when it comes to keeping it simply with as few programs as possible. Before, I used to use WinAce when I needed to unzip/zip something. Then, when I tried ZipGenius I've never returned to WinAce. So far, I've never seen a file that ZipGenius cannot handle. When i used WinAce, that problem often occurred. If you keep it simple then the computer is fast, secure and reliable. And if you can do this unattended, then that's even better.

[xboxhaxorz]

system restore (use a real backup software like acronis true image)

indexing service (slowing drives)

and 15-20 services + alot of junk...

Wuts wrong with system restore, backup software is only useful if you make a backup. System restore automatically backups up the files. Yes, i do hate it sometimes it doesnt work. But when and if it does it makes things much easier.

[gdogg]

a beefy windows will always have its uses.

but in the end, the best windows to use, has only what you need to do what you want left.

[Aegis]

I believe other OSes have always had the ability of the user compiling into the kernel what they only need and not what they dont. This is as close as to what Windows users will ever get to that kind of awesome functionality. I just hope Longhorn is just as easily configurable with an nLite for Longhorn.

Something much closer than nLite to this goal is Windows XP Embedded . Surprised most people haven't heard of it, since it's better than nLite at nearly everything (including deployment time) except user friendliness. After the install of the tools and database, I can get a functional build to install in five minutes. It also offers more customization, as it's XP Pro with everything componentized. For example, if you choose to remove certain parts of DirectX, instead of removing all of DirectX, you can remove DirectSound or DirectInput only.

[bledd]

Some people just like slimmed down versions of XP. It's a trade off between compatability and security/performance. In the long run, it all depends on what you use your PC for.

You can NLite the hell out of your PC and make a gaming machine noticeably faster. But you'll run into problems later if you try to, lets say, share a directory on the network.

To each their own.

i use folder sharing all the time and have a pretty heavily stripped down xp..

I enjoy installing the software again.

And doing the settings.

Make my knowledge increase.

Plus I dont want to burn a CD ever so often.

And I don't like removing software.

what the hell?

making unattended switchless installers broadens your knowledge far more than clicking next next next ok, finish. all computer companies (that know what they're doing) will use silent installers -usually msi's

have you ever used nlite? boot times decrease, speed of user interactivity increases, and you can install xp on any dog old pc that it shouldn't really be able to run on, and they become perfect for web browsing / mp3 boxes, i've got a pii333 that i use just for this now

just give it a shot before ruling it out completely

system restore (use a real backup software like acronis true image)

indexing service (slowing drives)

and 15-20 services + alot of junk...

Wuts wrong with system restore, backup software is only useful if you make a backup. System restore automatically backups up the files. Yes, i do hate it sometimes it doesnt work. But when and if it does it makes things much easier.

whats right with system restore more like!?

its a nice concept, but now viruses and spyware hide in system restore, so if you don't know to disable it, you can never get rid of any malware. its constantly running using up resources and hard drive space.

microsoft should seriously ditch system restore, and keep ONLY the driver rollback part, not that i've used it for about 3 years, but that part does have its benefits

as for making backups of needed files? -robocopy is a freeware tool made by microsoft that is perfect for most people