Optimize XP - A Windows XP Optimization Guide

[CTho9305]

The worry about people breaking applications is unfounded, it just does not happen as much as people are led to believe by service fear mongers.

Service fear mongers? What interest does spyordie007 have in keeping you from doing the ultra-l33test tweaks to gain that 0.1% performance on your box, besides the fact that he knows you'll quite possibly break something and then need help fixing it?

The system restore issue is simply not a big problem. By default it can consume quite a bit of disk space everytime a restore point is made. In practice 1-2 restore points is all that is ever needed.

I agree the default is too much disk space (especially on large drives). I try to keep at least 3 restore points around, so that if I break more things in the process of attempting to fix stuff, I still have an older restore point .

The TCP/IP Problem happens frequently using P2P programs when you attempt search queries as an example.

What kind of awful P2P app are you using? Every reputable source I've seen has shown no ill effects.

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Turning them off frees up available memory and reduces security risks (for some)

Most home users are behind some form of NAT router so the security risks are a minimal and absolutely no memory will be freed because if the server is really inactive it'll be evicted from memory and paged back in if necessary.

Not if you disabled the page file because some guy on a forum said he saw <insert good thing backed up with no evidence>.

 

[Nothinman]

Not if you disabled the page file because some guy on a forum said he saw <insert good thing backed up with no evidence>.

Even if you disable the pagefile, unless you modify the running copy of the service. Anything that was paged in from disk (in this case an executable and it's supporting libraries) that hasn't been changed is simply discarded when the memory is needed because it can be paged back in from the same files it was originally.

 

[GeneralAres]

No most users are not behind some form of NAT router. How many people do you install broadband for on a daily basis? I do about five a week. I would say at most one in ten.

besides the fact that he knows you'll quite possibly break something and then need help fixing it

This just doesn't happen that much. I'm sorry its a big myth that all these people are breaking applications by carelessly disabling services. Sure there are some people out their but it is far from the majority and those that do break things sure never used any type of reference nor read the warnings in the reference.

 

[GeneralAres]

What kind of awful P2P app are you using? Every reputable source I've seen has shown no ill effects

It doesn't have to be aweful it just has to be a large enough network were people are constantly coming on and offline.

 

[Nothinman]

No most users are not behind some form of NAT router. How many people do you install broadband for on a daily basis? I do about five a week. I would say at most one in ten.

You install cable modems for a living and you're trying to tell me that I'm an elitist asshole that doesn't know anything about computers? Wow.

And no, I don't install broadband, infact the only installations I can remember doing are my own and helping with one when I happened to be at a friend's house when he got his installed last year, the techs who did the install were pretty cool except for the fact that they didn't know anything about how their network was setup. Everyone I know is behind a NAT device of some sort but maybe it's just the type of people that I know. But even so, most ISPs block the MS filesharing and RPC ports on their routers which takes care of nearly all of the services that come with Windows.

 

[stash]

I've met alot of "experts" online as well. Also Microsoft Employees who hold low end positions at Microsoft, helpdesk ect... While I'm sure the majority of posters are easily pursuaded when someone throws up a bunch of what "appears" complex information they copied out of some book or another web site or another forum, I'm not. They immediately get tagged "Expert". I'm not interested in their opinions.

You mean this Kyle Farlow who has still has Duke University email address? And lists his experience as "MIS Support Assistant Summer 1999"? Which means he worked at the schools Helpdesk? Now he does have a BA in Electrical Engineering and is attending or attended graduate school. But even if he is in some way associated with Microsoft he has no more then 2 years of entry level experience. My brother can be classified as a "Windows Developer" by these standards. How nieve are you people?

I could care less if you are interested in my opinion or not, but please refrain from making sweeping generalizations about people you know nothing about. Neither Kyle nor myself are in entry-level positions at Microsoft. A person's age is not representative of the experience or knowledge that they have. Do you realize that Anand, the person who created this site, is younger than I am (and I think Kyle)? Would he be considered entry-level as well?

I worked with many customers in the past who had decades of experience in IT, and were absolutely clueless when it came to certain technologies. What is it that you do that makes you such an expert, and that allows you to make broad, demeaning statements about people you don't know? Is everyone who disagrees with you some pimply teenage helpdesk lackey (if I may indulge in some stereotyping of my own) with no 'real-world' experience?

I won't speak for Kyle or the other Microsoft people here, but I can assure you that I am not in an entry level position, helpdesk or otherwise. My job requires a top secret clearance and my work has a significant impact on a great many people. We don't post here to boost our egos, but we do it because we like to help people.

So you can keep quoting the same passages over and over, but it doesn't necessarily make you right. Again, I frankly don't care. There are so many tweak guides out there, and pretty much all of them are inaccurate and misleading. But if people want to read them and use them, it's their computer. But you lower your credibility when you step out of line and assume to know things about people that you don't. So just stop.

 

[GeneralAres]

Yeah I install Cable Modems for living, please. Please sssume some more.

And no, I don't install broadband, infact the only installations I can remember doing are my own and helping with one when I happened to be at a friend's house when he got his installed last year, the techs who did the install were pretty cool except for the fact that they didn't know anything about how their network was setup. Everyone I know is behind a NAT device of some sort but maybe it's just the type of people that I know. But even so, most ISPs block the MS filesharing and RPC ports on their routers which takes care of nearly all of the services that come with Windows.

Therefore you have no concept or idea of the number of people who are behind NAT firewalls.

 

[GeneralAres]

I could care less if you are interested in my opinion or not, but please refrain from making sweeping generalizations about people you know nothing about. Neither Kyle nor myself are in entry-level positions at Microsoft. A person's age is not representative of the experience or knowledge that they have. Do you realize that Anand, the person who created this site, is younger than I am (and I think Kyle)? Would he be considered entry-level as well?

Actually age is directly related to experience and knowledge. So get over your self. Anand is a smart guy but would I consider him an authority on anything, no.

I worked with many customers in the past who had decades of experience in IT, and were absolutely clueless when it came to certain technologies. What is it that you do that makes you such an expert, and that allows you to make broad, demeaning statements about people you don't know? Is everyone who disagrees with you some pimply teenage helpdesk lackey (if I may indulge in some stereotyping of my own) with no 'real-world' experience?

Who said I was an expert? Please quote me where I said that. Someone with more experience and knowledge then yourself would not have gotten this wrong. Sorry that the stereo type fits so often. I'm meerly defending my position that has been attacked as "Idiotic".

I won't speak for Kyle or the other Microsoft people here, but I can assure you that I am not in an entry level position, helpdesk or otherwise. My job requires a top secret clearance and my work has a significant impact on a great many people. We don't post here to boost our egos, but we do it because we like to help people.

I just proved a point, I gaurantee you no one bothered to spend the five minutes it took me to find some information about Kyle before declaring him an Expert. Granted he sounds like a smart guy and I'm sure he is but just because someone says they work for Microsoft does not qualify them as an "Expert".

So you can keep quoting the same passages over and over, but it doesn't necessarily make you right. Again, I frankly don't care. There are so many tweak guides out there, and pretty much all of them are inaccurate and misleading. But if people want to read them and use them, it's their computer. But you lower your credibility when you step out of line and assume to know things about people that you don't. So just stop.

I know what I know no more, no less. The passages defend my point and you and anyone reading this know it but the ones arguing it will never admit it. I'm not going to stop defending my position when I have proof it is accurate.

 

[Nothinman]

Yeah I install Cable Modems for living, please. Please sssume some more.

Oh look who's talking, Mr "Which means you're young and most likely do not work in the field".

Therefore you have no concept or idea of the number of people who are behind NAT firewalls.

And you've been all around the world counting the number of people with and without NAT routers?

 

[KoolDrew]

This just doesn't happen that much. I'm sorry its a big myth that all these people are breaking applications by carelessly disabling services. Sure there are some people out their but it is far from the majority and those that do break things sure never used any type of reference nor read the warnings in the reference.

Actually it happens very often. I had to help a few people that try to disable services thinking it will give them better performance. Then they run into problems and since they disabled so many services it is hard for them to troubleshoot themselves. IN fact I helped someone with that exact problem yesterday.

Also not to mention alot of sites out their including blackvipers site do not go in as much detail as needed for certain services. That makes it even harder for the tweak to troubleshoot problems for disabling services. All these for no performance gain at all too.

Actually age is directly related to experience and knowledge

So by your reasoning my Grandpa must know more then everyone here and I do not even think he has ever even touched a PC.

 

[GeneralAres]

I am still suspecting young. I have more data then you do to show that your assumption about most people are using NAT routers is flawed.

 

[stash]

Granted he sounds like a smart guy and I'm sure he is but just because someone says they work for Microsoft does not qualify them as an "Expert".

By the same token, just because you post a tweak guide on the Internet you dont get the right to become rude and obnoxious toward people who are more knowledgable than you and/or those who disagree with you.

 

[GeneralAres]

By the same token, just because you post a tweak guide on the Internet you dont get the right to become rude and obnoxious toward people who are more knowledgable than you and/or those who disagree with you.

Yeah right, they were rude and obnoxious to me. I'm sorry if you think there are people here who are so "knowledgeable". I don't, are there people here who are competent? yes am I in awe of their knowledge? no. BTW this sort of behavior of being awe struck by "experts" happens to younger impressionable people.

 

[stash]

BTW this sort of behavior of being awe struck by "experts" happens to younger people

Thanks for the tip, Dad. Oh I'm sorry, how old did you say you were? How old did I say I was? How old did anyone here say they were? Please stop making less than subtle references to people here that, again, you are grossly unqualified to make.

 

[Nothinman]

I am still suspecting young

Your suspicions are irrelevant. And if you really think age is that big of a factor you're the one who needs more experience in the real world. For the record, I've been with my current employer for nearly 7 years doing helpdesk, networking, unix/linux, security and I've been known to help out the Windows guys on occasion. So I've done my fair share of things.

I have more data then you do to show that your assumption about most people are using NAT routers is flawed.

So is yours. You may have a ton of data on Bunghole, Wisconsin, or wherever you live, but there's no way your guess can be any more or less accurate than mine. And really I couldn't care less because I don't have to deal with them, other than watching them try to spread CodeRed and crap.

 

[KoolDrew]

Yeah right, they were rude and obnoxious to me

We were simply correcting you. Trying to teach you something. I never knew trying to teach someone something was being rude..

I'm sorry if you think there are people here who are so "knowledgeable". I don't, are there people here who are competent, yes am I in awe of their knowledge no. BTW this sort of behavior of being awe struck by "experts" happens to younger people.

We're sorry we were not awe struck because you wrote some misinformative tweaking guide which was probally what you were expecting and now you are just mad as that is not what happened.

 

[GeneralAres]

Thanks for the tip, Dad. Oh I'm sorry, how old did you say you were? How old did I say I was? How old did anyone here say they were? Please stop making less than subtle references to people here that, again, you are grossly unqualified to make.

Well if your older and go around hero preaching, then I'm sorry that is embarrassing.

 

[stash]

Well if your older and go around hero preaching, then I'm sorry that is embarrassing.

Where is there hero preaching here? I respect a lot of people here, but nobody's my hero (sorry folks )

So far the only embarrassing things I see here are your posts.

 

[GeneralAres]

Your suspicions are irrelevant. And if you really think age is that big of a factor you're the one who needs more experience in the real world. For the record, I've been with my current employer for nearly 7 years doing helpdesk, networking, unix/linux, security and I've been known to help out the Windows guys on occasion. So I've done my fair share of things

Actually it sounds like my suspicions are true.

So is yours. You may have a ton of data on Bunghole, Wisconsin, or wherever you live, but there's no way your guess can be any more or less accurate than mine. And really I couldn't care less because I don't have to deal with them, other than watching them try to spread CodeRed and crap.

LMAO, Comcast Data is irrelevant? (BTW I don't work for them). Needless to say this proves another point you consistently make careless assumptions based on information you do not have and have no way of obtaining.

 

[GeneralAres]

We were simply correcting you. Trying to teach you something. I never knew trying to teach someone something was being rude..

PLEASE get over yourself, you're not teaching me anything. Just because I choose to use a definition of Virtual Memory that I can back up with sources does not mean I have to use your "definition".

We're sorry we were not awe struck because you wrote some misinformative tweaking guide which was probally what you were expecting and now you are just mad as that is not what happened.

It is more like the other way around.

 

[KoolDrew]

Needless to say this proves another point you consistently make careless assumptions based on information you do not have and have no way of obtaining.

...and you are not?

PLEASE get over yourself, you're not teaching me anything. Just because I choose to use a definition of Virtual Memory that I can back up with sources does not mean I have to use your "definition".

That is because you refuse to listen and actually learn something from people. Did you even ever check out some of the sources mentioned in this thread? Such as Sunner's links, my links and the books that were mentioned by Nothinman. All of which define Virtual Memory correctly.

It is more like the other way around.

Sure buddy...

 

[GeneralAres]

You don't learn do you?

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: GeneralAres
You don't learn do you?

Learn what? There is nothing in this thread that you said that I could learn from. I also like how you completely ignore everyones qustions such as my last one about you even checking out the sources others have posted. This is because you did not check them out. If you are not going to at least take a look at what other people post and listen to what they have to say then you have business being here.

 

[GeneralAres]

That is not what I meant.

 

[dev0lution]

Dell built more than 1000 systems running ME and I don't consider them an expert on pagefiles and VM *lol*