Optimizing Windows XP Ver. 1.0

Optimizing Windows XP Ver. 1.0

Aquired Knowledge

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Optimizing Windows XP Ver. 1.0

Just like the title says, this tutorial/guide will allow you to optimize Windows XP (Home & Pro, and some of it applies to Vista as well) so that it boots faster.

Note: For the sake of this guide, I use the term "boot" to mean load the desktop - start button, icons, etc, faster, and makes your system a bit more responsive.

There are a number of ways to do this:

1. Disabling unnecessary programs from starting up - Yahoo messenger, AOL messenger, MSN/Windows Live messenger, Adobe utilities (update managers, etc), Itunes, Printer utilities (update managers, general printer applications, etc) are some of the more common applications that start up.

The biggest thing that I should point out is that:

These applications will still be installed on your system, however, they wont run automatically/immediately when you log into Windows

2. Disabling services.

You're probably asking "Mr. computer guru, what is a "service" and how does this affect my systems performance?"

Well tadpole, listen and learn:

A service is essentially a small program that runs in the background. How is it different than your ordinary, garden variety applications? Unlike applications, services usually have a specific function.

Case in point: Background Intelligent Transfer Service (also known as BITS)

BITS is essentially a service that allows your pc to download data when your connection is idle. A perfect example of this, is Windows Updates (for those of you who actually do it like a good computer user =oP )

Cryptographic Services

This manages security certificates, and provides a database of signatures of key Windows files (ie: drivers). Ever see the notification that a driver hasn't been "digitally signed"? Cryptographic services provides the database that Windows checks against to verify if its been signed (and thus, verifies the validity of the security certificate that it receives when it DOES get signed)

Part 1 - Using the MSCONFIG utility. I can't compose a complete list, as there are hundreds of thousands of software titles that are out there, but I can create a list of the commonly used applications that you can disable using msconfig.

Now. for the meat & potatos of this guide:

1. Click start 2. Click "run" 3. Type in "msconfig" (without the quotes - see figure 1)

Figure 1

When you click "ok" or hit return, you should be greeted with the following screen:

Figure 2

Click on the tab that says "Startup"

Figure 3

Put your mouse curser on the area that's circled - your mouse cursor should change to a cross hair. When it does, click and drag that to the right, so it expands wider.

You will see 3 columns: Item name, command, location

The 3 columns display the following information:

Item name: The name of the item (should be obvious)

Command: The path to the executable - ie: c:>program files>Yahoo!>Messenger>YahooMessenger.exe -quiet

Location: The registry key that relates to the item.

Common applications that you can disable:

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk. I take no responsibility if something goes wrong. When in doubt, GOOGLE is your friend. Google the executable file (usually located at the end of the command) to see what application it belongs to if your unsure. In the example above (where I explained the contents of each column) if you "googled" for YahooMessenger.exe, you will see that it belongs to Yahoo Messenger, although, we already knew that based on the filename. Some of them are obvious. Others are not. Once again tadpole: Google is your friend.

Communications: Yahoo Messenger - Self explanatory

AOL Instant Messenger/AIM - Self explanatory

MsnMsgr - MSN/Windows Live messenger (Might also been seen as Msmsgs.exe)

Skype - Skype VOIP. Basically, its telephone via pc

Multimedia: Qttask - QuickTime task manager

RealPlay - Real Player

WinampAgent - Winamp agent that runs in the background. Notifies you of updates, new versions, etc.

Productivity: Adobe Updater - This alerts you to updates that are available for Adobe Acrobat Reader. (You will be alerted that there are updates if you open Adobe. IE: You double click on a PDF file)

Reader_sl - Adobe Reader speed launcher.

Adobe Reader Speed Launch Adobe Reader Synchronization

Microsoft Office - This is definitely a resource hog

Miscellaneous: Jusched - Java Update scheduler. Same function as Adobe Updater, just for Java.

Igfxtray - This is a "helper" for pc's that have Intel graphics accelerators

These are just applications that start up. Like I stated previously, they will STILL be installed on your system, they just won't start up with Windows. In the next section, I will talk about various services, what they do, and under what circumstances you can safely disable them, and if you DO disable them, what impact it can have on your pc.

Section 2 - Disabling Services using Administrative Tools

The list I am compiling, is a list of common services. There are more that will be listed, however these will more than likely be "critical" services, that shouldn't be disabled.

Here is how to disable services that you do not need:

1. Click start 2. Click control panel (see figure 4) Figure 4

3. Within Control Panel, double click on "Administrative Tools" (see figure 5) Figure 5

4. Double click on "Services", and you should be brought to the following screen (See figure 6) Figure 6

5. Right click on the service you want to disable, select properties, then under the "start up type" drop down menu, select "disable" if you want to disable it, "manual" if you want to manually have to start it, or leave it on "automatic" if you want Windows to start it when you log into the system.

The services themselves:

Automatic Update Reccomendation: Leave it enabled

What it does: Self explanatory.

If you disable this, you won't be able to use the Automatic Update feature (that nifty little ballon that pops up to alert you of new updates available from Microsoft)

I am not sure if this affects using the Windows Update site itself, you can test disabling this, then going to the Update site to see if you can download/install the updates. If you cant, then re-enable the service. If you can, then you can then leave it disabled.

Background Intelligent Transfer Service Reccomendation: Leave it enabled

What it does: Transfers data in the background when your connection is idle. Usually used when doing Windows Updates, although it's not used just for that.

Computer Browser Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Keeps track of other computers on a network running Microsoft Client for networking. This is what provides the list of computers that show up when you open up My Network Places, and see all the computers available for you to navigate to/through.

If you only have one pc, then you can disable this, seeing as how one computer doesn't comprise a network.

However, if you have multiple computers in your home, and those computers share resources (ie: a printer, or shared folders) and you disable this service, then you won't be able to browse to it using My Network Places.

DHCP Client Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Provides support for dynamic network configuration. This isn't system critical, but is needed if you don't set your IP addressing manually.

Distributed Link Tracking Client Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: Keeps track of links to files on an NTFS volume on your computer, or across a network. This is not system critical, and can be disabled.

Error Reporting Service Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: Allows debugging information to be sent to Microsoft when an application crashes. This is basically used for Q/A testing which could eventually lead to a patch or hotfix that will fix whatever issue is causing the program to initially crash.

Fast User Switching Compatibility Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: It allows users to switch profiles without logging of.

Personally, I would disable it. Why? For conserving system resources. If they don't log off, whatever application they're running (lets say, MS Word) will still be running even though you could be logged in with your profile. (Whereas by comparison, the application shuts down when a user logs off) Then, you will have 2 instances of MS Word running: One instance on the other persons profile, and one instance on your profile.

Help & Support Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Used for the Help & Support center. This will more than likely affect the Remote Assistance utility if disabled. If you use Remote Assistance (which, MSN/Windows Live messenger does) then it might be a good idea to leave this enabled. If not, feel free to disable it.

HTTP SSL Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Allows the Webserver functionality in XP (IIS 6.0) to provide secure data transfer (SSL - Secure Socket Layer) over HTTP (web). Usually, you can disable it - the average person wont be using their home computer to host a website.

If you DO use your pc to host a website, then you might want to leave this enabled.

Machine Debug Manager Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: Provides support for program and script debugging. Most people don't program, so they don't need this. It can be safely disabled.

Messenger Reccomendation: Disable it (If you don't have Service pack 2)

What it does: Allows users to send popup messages to computers on the same network. This used to be abused by spammers, and with the advent of Service pack 2, it's been disabled by default.

Remote Registry Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: Allows the system registry for the local pc to be accessed remotely. This can be considered a security risk, because if the registry is changed to start files (ie: spyware) the entire system can be compromised.

Security Center Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Monitors your system security settings to notify you if there is something that could potentially breached (ie: no antivirus or firewall) Essentially, this is that nifty little balloon that pops up and says "Your computer security is at risk" then tells you what your missing.

If your good with PC security (Synja and eXec come to mind here) then you can disable it. If not, leave it be.

Server Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Provides the ability to share files and printers over a network. If you only have one pc, then you can disable it. If you have multiple pc's that both host and access resource shares, its wise to leave this enabled. If not, then feel free to disable it.

System Restore Service Reccomendation: Leave it

What it does: Should be self explanatory. This service creates the system restore points that you have access to when you need to roll back your system. By default, I believe Windows creates a new restore point for every 24 hours of uninterrupted uptime, as well as any time you install new software or drivers, or any time you execute a successful shut down. This is where "Last known good configuration" comes from when you press F8 during boot up, and access the boot options.

Task Scheduler Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: This allows you to schedule tasks to be ran - ie: disk cleanup utilities, defragment, etc.. If you don't schedule tasks, then you can disable it.

Terminal Services Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Allows remote desktop connections to be made to/from your pc to another. This is another component of the Help & Support service, by allowing Remote Assistance to be used either through MSN/Windows Live messenger, or the Help & Support center. If you don't use Remote Assistance, then you can disable it.

Themes Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Flashy user interface. Green start button, blue task bar (unless you use the "silver theme" then it's a silver task bar) If you disable it, you end up getting a Windows 98/2000 taskbar/start button - the one that looks like chiseled slate.

WebClient Reccomendation: Disable it

What it does: Adds support for Web based file management for technologies like WebDav. Most people will never use this, so it can be safely disabled.

Windows Image Acquisition Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Used to acquireimage data from optical devices such as web cameras and scanners. If you don't use scanners or webcameras, you can disable this.

Wireless Zero Configuration Reccomendation: Depends

What it does: Windows "built in" wireless configuration utility. SOMETIMES this causes conflicts with the packaged software that comes with most wifi cards. Linksys comes to mind with this, and I personally have experienced where I've had to disable the Linksys network monitor software so that I can successfully connect, and the exact opposite has happened as well.

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