Windows 2000/XP OS Install Guide

 

Windows 2000 Professional Install Guide

Introduction

After many requests for this information, I have drafted this guide to help.

If you wish to use FDISK before hand, check out this guide.

If you wish to Multi-Boot, check out this guide.

If you cannot configure your system to boot from a CD-ROM (DVD) drive, you must first create boot floppy setup disks and configure your system to boot from those newly created disks rather than CD-ROM.

The utilities to do so is located on the Windows 2000 CD under the directory /BOOTDISK. Select either MAKEBOOT.EXE for DOS or MAKEBT32.EXE if running from Windows.

1) Windows Setup Screen: (Image 1.1)

Shall we begin?

After configuring the system for booting from a CD, the Windows Setup screen appears.

At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation.

2) Welcome to Setup: (Image 1.2)

 

The Welcome to Setup screen appears with the option of Continuing Setup, Repair a previous installation, or Quitting.

Press ENTER to Continue Setup, R to Repair, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

3) Windows 2000 Licensing Agreement: (Image 1.3)

The Windows 2000 Licensing Agreement screen, otherwise known as EULA, displays the legal in's and out's of this particular software package.

You may press F8 to signify that you agree with the terms, hit ESC if you do not agree and PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN to scroll through each screen. Note: If you do not agree to the terms, setup will quit and reboot the system.

4) Hard drive partition information: (Image 1.4)

Hard drive partition information is now displayed. This varies with each systems hardware configuration.

This example already has a partition defined. I will choose not to use this and create a new one by pressing D. You may skip this and the next few steps if you do not have any partitions defined.

At this point, the options include pressing ENTER to Install on the selected partition, D to Delete the selected partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

5) Warning screen: (Image 1.5)

After pressing D to delete the selected partition, a warning screen appears explaining the pitfalls of deleting it. This particular screen only appears when the partition selected to be deleted is formatted as a bootable system partition. Other partitions will display the next screen.

I want this to happen, so I press ENTER to continue.

The options include pressing ENTER to continue, or ESC to Cancel.

6) Confirmation screen: (Image 1.6)

A confirmation screen that displays the logical drive, what file system the partition is currently using, the size in MB and controller information.

Options include L to Delete the partition and ESC to Cancel the action.

7) No partitions have been previously defined: (Image 1.7)

If no partitions have been previously defined, this screen will be displayed. You may section your hard drive in as many partitions as you wish by selecting C to Create a Partition and then entering in a value less then the total available. Here, I will Create a Partition in the highlighted, unused portion.

Select the partition you wish to install to using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys.

Press ENTER to use the highlighted partition and Install, C to Create a Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

8) Enter in the partition size: (Image 1.8)

Enter in the partition size in MB within the displayed minimum and maximum. I chose the default or maximum available here.

You may choose ENTER to Create the new partition or ESC to Cancel the action.

9) Continue to create partitions: (Image 1.9)

Continue to create partitions until all space is used or the configuration meets your requirements. Note: a small portion will be unavailable to partition. This is normal. In this example, it is 4 MB.

I chose drive C: to install the Operating system.

You may choose ENTER to Install to the selected partition, D to Delete the highlighted Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

10) Format the partition: (Image 1.10)

Since this OS supports NTFS, format the partition with it. If you do not, many folder and file security features will be unavailable. Note: If you are dual booting your system, a previous OS will not be able to read the local information. This is a fact with Windows 9x and Me. If you have a requirement to view this partition from another OS installed on the system, do not format it as NTFS. Also, the boot partition must be formatted with FAT32 if you wish to dual boot. I have found no problems accessing a NTFS partition mapped as a network drive from an older OS.

Select what format you wish to use by pressing the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys.

Press ENTER to confirm your selection and Continue or ESC to Cancel.

11) Setup formats the partition: (Image 1.11)

Watch the progress bar as Setup formats the partition, or get up and get a soda. It may take awhile.

12) Creating File List: (Image 1.12)

Setup is now figuring out what files to copy over to the hard drive.

13) Setup copies various files: (Image 1.13)

After the partition is finished formatting, Setup copies various files to support booting from the hard drive and continue on.

14) Creating various information files: (Image 1.14)

Setup then creates various information files required to continue on with setup.

15) Press ENTER to Restart (Image 1.15)

The first reboot and the end of the blue background has arrived. If you are impatient, press ENTER to Restart before the 15 seconds expire.

ENTER to Restart the Computer is the only option available.

16) Windows 2000 boot screen: (Image 2.1)

The new Windows 2000 boot screen is displayed.

17) Windows 2000: (Image 2.2)

Sit back. It may be awhile.

18) Setup Wizard: (Image 2.3)

The Setup Wizard will be displayed. SelectNext to continue on.

19) Installing Devices: (Image 2.4)

Windows 2000 will begin installing devices, such as "mouse and keyboard," even though you have already been using them. :)

20) Region and Input Languages: (Image 2.5)

A little while later, you will be prompted with options of configuring your Region and Input Languages. The default was fine for me, so I selected Next.

Options include Customize buttons plus the standard Back and Next.

21) Enter in your name: (Image 2.6)

Enter in your name and optional Organization information, then select the Next button.

22) 25 digit Product Key: (Image 2.7)

Thought you could get away from it? Think again.

Enter your unique 25 digit Product Key that came with your CD, then select the Next button.

23) Enter a Computer name and an Administrator 

Password: (Image 2.8)

The "suggested" name for the computer is always really whacked out. Choose one that meets your needs.

Enter an Administrator Password now. It is very important that you keep this information safe and remember what it is!

"01Pa$$word" is not a good choice. Think of something secure and never lose or forget it.

24) Date, Time and Time Zone: (Image 2.9)

Configure the proper information for the Date, Time and Time Zone here.

25) Network Setup: (Image 2.10)

Networking information is now setting up.

26) Network Settings Dialog: (Image 3.1)

The Network Settings Dialog is next. Under usual circumstances, the Typical settings are fine, but I never choose them so I can poke around under the hood. I selected Custom here.

Choose your method and select the Next button.

Choose your method and select the Next button.

27) Custom settings: (Image 3.2)

TCP/IP Properties contains the standard options. Adjust them for your particular needs as required. For now, I kept the default settings. Basically, it is using DHCP to configure TCP/IP.

Select the Advanced button to further configure your TCP/IP options.

In the custom settings, many options are abound. I cannot go into all of them here, so I will leave everything as default.

28) Workgroup or Computer Domain? (Image 3.3)

Workgroup or Computer Domain, that is the question. I am not going to set up this system to connect to a domain controller, so I will place it as a member of a workgroup.

Please, change "WORKGROUP" to something else. I hate defaults. :)

Select the Next button after making your choice and entering your configuration.

29) Copying files: (Image 3.4)

Installation of all files and components may take awhile. Sit back and watch the pretty bar wander across the screen. :)

30) Final Tasks: (Image 3.5)

After the files finish the transfer, setup performs final tasks. including setting up the start menu and cleaning up temporary directories.

31) Setup Finished: (Image 3.6)

The system will reboot after selecting the Finish button on this dialog.

32) Windows 2000 is starting up: (Image 4.1)

The moment we have all been waiting for, Windows 2000 Professional is starting up "for the first time." Remember that quoted statement with Windows 95 setup?

33) Network Wizard: (Image 4.2)

Windows 2000 Network ID Wizard is displayed with the option of canceling or selecting Next.

I chose Next here.

34) Click Back: (Image 4.3)

At this point, an initial option was not offered.

Click the Back button to see it.

 

35) Choose your option: (Image 4.4)

Here, I choose to select the second option of The computer is part of a home network and not part of a business network.

Does it make any difference? Not sure, but it makes me feel better.

After choosing your option, select Next to continue.

 

36) Auto Login: (Image 4.5)

Windows 2000 offers the ability for you, right now, to create a user account, password it, and "always login" as this person.

This is what I "usually" do as I have no worries about anyone in the house cracking the system, but if your circumstances warrant it, I would not have auto login enabled. However, you should still create a "normal" user account and not always use the Administrator account for daily activities.

NEVER leave an account unpassworded.

 

37) Windows 2000 Desktop: (Image 4.6)

Since I chose to auto login, I did not get the pop up dialog asking for password.

The desktop is now displayed!

I hope this gave you some insight as how "easy" it really is to install Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 Professional and Server 

SP4 Service Configurations

Notes for a happier Computer and User

• Before disabling ANY service, check out the information I have about each service by clicking on the name.
• Service settings are global, meaning changes apply to all users.
• Still unsure? Put your setting to "manual" or the listing under "Safe." Manual allows Windows 2000 to start the service when it needs to (or when ever it feels like it), but not at boot up. NOTE: Depending on your configuration, not all services will start when required while in Manual mode. If you find you need a service, place it in Automatic.
• After adjusting your service settings, reboot your computer.
• All of these services are "Standard" with Windows 2000 Pro and Server using Service Pack 4. If you discover something other than these listed here running, they were installed by another program. I have listed a few of the more common ones for Windows XP. Most, if not all, are valid for Windows 2000, also. View the Info!
• Disabling all of the "unneeded services" frees up 12-70 MB of RAM, depending on system.
• Before posting your question on the forums, see if your question has been addressed in the FAQ!
• Viewing Instructions: If the table is hard to read, please check out your viewing options.

Table Header Information

• The columns are sortable. Select the column header to sort by that field.
• Display Name ~ is how it is displayed in the Services Control Panel
• Process Name ~ name of the Process running in the background (displays in Task Manager by hitting Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
• Dependencies ~ describe what services this service needs for proper functionality.
• DEFAULT Server ~ this is what runs by default on Windows 2000 Server.
• DEFAULT Pro ~ this is what runs by default on Windows 2000 Professional.
• "SAFE" Configuration ~ this is the configuration that 95% of the people will be able to use with little or no side effects. It will also minimizes the amount of "errors" that is reported in the Event Viewer. This does NOT guarantee it will work for you, but if this scares you, this configuration would be a good starting point. Note: This is not for Windows 2000 Server in a corporate environment. Every network is different. Only you can decide what you need.

Configuration Information

• Automatic ~ With a service in this state, it will start at boot time. Some services, when no longer required, will also automatically stop when not needed. However, this is very rare. If you find you do not need a service, place it into Manual or Disabled.
• Manual ~ Manual mode allows Windows to start a service when needed. However, very few services will start up when required in Manual mode. If you find you need a service, place it into Automatic.
• Disabled ~ This setting will stop a service from starting, even if needed. Errors in the Event Viewer will show up complaining of that fact. Some services, while Disabled, will constantly complain. However, this situation is taken care of if placed in Manual. The service descriptions identifies those that should be in Manual vice Disabled.

Black Viper's Windows 2000 Professional and Server SP4 

Service Configurations

Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Alerter	services.exe	Automatic	Manual	Disabled
Application Management	services.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Automatic Updates	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Background Intelligent Transfer Service	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Boot Information Negotiation Layer	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
ClipBook	clipsrv.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
COM+ Event System	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Computer Browser	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
DHCP Client	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
DHCP Server	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Distributed File System	Dfssvc.exe	Automatic	Not Available
Distributed Link Tracking Client	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Manual
Distributed Link Tracking Server	services.exe	Manual	Not Available
Distributed Transaction Coordinator	msdtc.exe	Automatic	Manual	Manual
DNS Client	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
DNS Server	dns.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Event Log	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Fax Service	faxsvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
File Replication	ntfrs.exe	Manual	Not Available
FTP Publishing Service	inetinfo.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
IIS Admin Service	inetinfo.exe	Automatic	Not Installed	Not Installed
Indexing Service	cisvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Internet Authentication Service	svchost.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Internet Connection Sharing	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Intersite Messaging	ismserv.exe	Disabled	Not Available
IPSEC Policy Agent	lsass.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Kerberos Key Distribution Center	lsass.exe	Disabled	Not Available
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
License Logging Service	llssrv.exe	Automatic	Not Available
Logical Disk Manager	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service	dmadmin.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Message Queuing	mqsvc.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Messenger	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
Net Logon	lsass.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing	mnmsrvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Network Connections	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Automatic
Network DDE	netdde.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Network DDE DSDM	netdde.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP)	inetinfo.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
NT LM Security Support Provider	lsass.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
On-line Presentation Broadcast	nslservice.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Performance Logs and Alerts	smlogsvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Plug and Play	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Print Server for Macintoch	sfmprint.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Print Spooler	spoolsv.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Protected Storage	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
QoS RSVP	rsvp.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Remote Access Connection Manager	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator	locator.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Remote Registry Service	regsvc.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
Remote Storage Engine	RsEng.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Remote Storage File	RsFsa.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Remote Storage Media	RsSub.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Remote Storage Notification	RsFsa.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Removable Storage	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
RIP Listener	svchost.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Routing and Remote Access	svchost.exe	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
RunAs Service	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
Security Accounts Manager	lsass.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Server	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)	inetinfo.exe	Automatic	Not Installed	Not Installed
Simple TCP/IP Services	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Single Instance Storage Groveler	grovel.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Site Server ILS Service	inetinfo.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Smart Card	SCardSvr.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Smart Card Helper	SCardSvr.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
SNMP Service	snmp.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
SNMP Trap Service	snmptrap.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
System Event Notification	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Task Scheduler	MSTask.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Manual
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
TCP/IP Print Server	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Telephony	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Telnet	tlntsvr.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Terminal Services	termsrv.exe	Disabled	Not Available
Terminal Services Licensing	lserver.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Trivial FTP Daemon	tftpd.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Uninterruptible Power Supply	ups.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Utility Manager	UtilMan.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Windows Installer	msiexec.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)	wins.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Windows Management Instrumentation	WinMgmt.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extension	services.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual
Windows Media Monitor Service	nspmon.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Windows Media Program Service	nspm.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Windows Media Station Service	nscm.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Windows Media Unicast Service	nsum.exe	Not Installed	Not Available
Windows Time	services.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Wireless Configuration	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Server	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"
Workstation	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
World Wide Web Publishing Service	inetinfo.exe	Automatic	Not Installed	Not Installed

Windows Me Super Tweaks Installation Guide

Top tweaks for a much faster PC.

The following is what I do directly after a clean install of Windows Me. This does not mean that everything I do will work for you. Keeping that in mind and ensure you are fully aware of the risks of tweaking your system before doing so.

1) If you are experiencing "random" slowdowns and "high" CPU usage for no reason, this service is THE most likely cause of the problem. This service is also a major cause of "missing" disk space. System Restore could be taking up 3 GB of space, just on its own.

System Restore creates system snap shots or restore points for returning to at a later time. Every time you install a program or new driver, plus on a schedule, this service creates a "restore point" to roll back to if a problem occurs. This service would have been nice in the Win95 days due to plenty of problems occurring (new DirectX version every 15 minutes) but not required for the "much" more stable WinMe. This is the FIRST thing that I get rid of on a clean installation. If you use this and enjoy it, good for you. I never will. I feel it is faster and less hassle to just install clean. A rather GOOD (and possibly the only) reason to use this "feature" is to roll back your OS after installing an unknown program or testing software. For example: BETA software of any kind. NOTE: If you disable this service, your previous "restore points" will be deleted. If, for what ever reason, you do not want this to happen, do not disable this service.

According to this knowledge base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q290700

You could have problems restoring a point created after September 8, 2001. Also, after applying the fix, you cannot restore a point BEFORE September 8, 2001. Have I convinced you of the reliability of this feature, yet?

Get rid of System Restore Service. Where do you find it?

Turning off "System Restore"
Start --> Control Panel -->	"View all Options" (if not already there) -->
System -->	Performance Tab --> File System Button
Trouble Shooting Tab: Check "Disable System Restore."

2) Turn off Automatic Updates.

Using default values, WinMe"Automatically" downloads the updates and asks to "install" them. A few reasons why you may think this is unacceptable in your situation:

• You could have a dial-up connection. If WinMe feels like downloading whenever it wants, it just may not allow you to do what "you" want.
• You may also:
  • Wish to know what, when and how an update installs BEFORE using any bandwidth.
  • Want to read about the update BEFORE downloading.
  • Want to know WHY you need it and WHAT it fixes.

It is very important that if you decide to disable the Automatic Updates Service, you check the Windows Update site often to ensure the latest critical updates and security patches are installed.
Where do you find it?

Turning off "Automatic Updates"
Start --> Control Panel -->	Automatic Updates: Select "Turn off Automatic Updating."

3) While you are in the control panel, disable Task Scheduler Service:

Start --> Control Panel -->	Scheduled Tasks -->
Advanced Menu --> Select "Stop using Task Scheduler

4) Adjust the Page File to a respectable level.

Can you get rid of the page file? Yes and no. If you have a boat load of memory (greater than 512 MB) you may be able to function just fine.. Some games REQUIRE a certain amount of swap space to be created to even run, no matter how much RAM is available. Also, under certain conditions, my sound card goes crazy (or does not function) in some games with no swap file (oddly enough, Age of Empires 2). If you decide to test your luck with no swap space or page file, you are on your own. :) Please do not E-Mail me with your war stories about no swap. Every system is different. I usually do not have one "unless something requires it that I am running that day."

Adjust Page File
Start --> Control Panel -->	System -->
Performace tab --> Virtual Memory Button	Adjust as needed, or select "Disable Virtual Memory," then click "OK"

If anything, create (preferably on a separate partition), a swap space of constant size. For example, select Custom Size and place 1000 in "Initial" and 1000 in "Maximum" Size boxes, then click Set Button. This will reduce the amount of work needed to dynamically resize the page file, usually when you need it most.
From Fastest to Slowest, these are the configuration you can try:

• No swap file at all. Some software may fail. You also need "much" memory to do this. Greater than 512 MB.
• A static swap file on a separate hard drive (and preferably, controller) from Windows and frequently accessed data.
• A dynamic swap file on a separate hard drive (and preferably, controller) from Windows and frequently accessed data.
• A static swap file on a separate partition, but on the same physical hard drive as Windows.
• A dynamic swap file on a separate partition, but on the same physical hard drive as Windows.
• The Default: A dynamic swap file on the same partition and physical hard drive (usually C:) as Windows.

Benchmark using Unreal Tournament 2003 "Benchmark.exe" and various swap configs:
System = P4 1.8 w/768 MB PC-133 Memory and a GF3
No Swap File	System Managed	Static (1150 MB)

As you can see, graphics card benchmarks are "not affected" by the status of a page file in this configuration. Only you can decide if it is worth it to you during game play and on your system.

If you have not already, reboot now.

5) I also remove the desktop picture. Why? Usually, back in the old days, the desktop picture was a ".bmp" which is very uncompressed. Since I do not like a bit map taking up so much memory (from 1.2 to 3 MB per image) I make them go away. Small tiles or .jpg's are better if you just HAVE to have a desktop and not a blank color.

6) Go to the "Add Remove Programs" and click the "Windows Setup Tab." Here, take out all the crap you do not need. Such as "Online Services" and such.

7) Download and install ALL updated drivers from the hardware manufacture sites. I cannot tell you what site you need to go to, but do your computer a favor and get updated drivers for everything.

Reboot again.

8) After updating all my drivers, I remove any excess icons (all of them, basically) from the system tray (lower right). Contrary to popular belief, those little "quick access" icons take up a lot of room.

For example, MS messenger takes up about 3.6 MB just sitting there... not even logged in... Bring it up, select tools, options, then uncheck "load at startup" and uncheck "allow to run in background."
Also, Creatives "AudioHQ" running is REALLY not required.

Turning off "AudioHQ"

Uncheck "Load on Startup" and "Show icon on Taskbar" in AudioHQ's Options menu.

ICQ's little "Net Detect" sucks up WAY too much memory. Make it go away. Various Quick Tweak icons and even EZCD creator's icon annoys the hell out of me. Make them all go away. If you just HAVE to have that quick access to those programs, place them in the "quick launch bar" (located in the lower left by default, where IE and "Show Desktop" buttons are). The icons will not clutter your desktop and you can easily hit them from any normal windows application. To top it all off, they do not take up memory or resources constantly running in the background. Another plus, this will reduce your boot up time.

9) I run msconfig and get rid of any annoying startup programs that may be hiding from me. If you are not familiar with the operation and features of msconfig, I am not going to go into them here.

10) Defrag the hard drive. Even if WinMe tells you that it does not need to, do it anyway. It has much tolerance for what "needs" to be done and what should be done. After all, if it was really efficient, there would be no need for you to read this page.

Defrag again after installing your applications and games. After that, there should be little need to do it again for awhile unless you delete/uninstall/reinstall a lot of stuff.


This listing is by no means complete, but it does hit on the high points.

Windows XP Home Install Guide Introduction: After many requests for this information, I have drafted this guide to help. If you wish to use FDISK before hand, which is not required, check out this guide. If you wish to Multi-Boot, check out this guide. If you cannot configure your system to boot from a CD Rom (DVD) drive, you must first download the boot floppy setup disks from Microsoft at this address: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q310994 And configure your system to boot from those newly created disks rather than CD Rom. Important Information Before the install/reinstallation of Windows XP, I highly recommend that you download Service Pack 3 "for multiple computers" and burn it onto a CD. The download is approximately 316.4MB. If you choose not to do this step, your system could become infected with a virus or worm exploiting the vulnerabilities that Service Pack 3 fixes. I also recommend that you do NOT have your system connected to the Internet until after the installation of Service Pack 3. This means that you cannot activate your XP installation during setup, but you can accomplish that task following a reboot after Service Pack 3 is installed. 1) Shall we begin? (Image 1.1) After configuring the system for booting from a CD, the Windows Setup screen appears. At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation.   2) Welcome to Setup: (Image 1.2) The "Welcome to Setup" screen appears with the option of Continuing Setup, Repair a previous installation, or Quitting. Press ENTER to Continue Setup. You may also choose R to Repair, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. 3) Windows XP Licensing Agreement: (Image 1.3) The "Windows XP Licensing Agreement" screen, otherwise known as "EULA," displays the legal in's and out's of this particular software package. You may press F8 to signify that you agree with the terms, hit ESC if you do not agree and PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN to scroll through each screen. Note: If you do not agree to the terms, setup will quit and reboot the system. 4) Insert the previous version. (Image 1.4) As this is an Upgrade, a previous qualifying product is required to be inserted in the CD drive to continue. Even though Microsoft states that "Windows 95" cannot be upgraded to XP Home, the CD is good enough for a clean install. At this point, the options include pressing ENTER to Continue or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. 5) Hard drive partition information: (Image 1.5) Hard drive partition information is now displayed. This varies with each systems hardware configuration. This example already has a partition defined. I will choose not to use this and create a new one by pressing D. You may skip this and the next few steps if you do not have any partitions defined. At this point, the options include pressing ENTER to Install on the selected partition, D to Delete the selected partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. 6) Warning screen: (Image 1.6) After pressing D to delete the selected partition, a warning screen appears explaining the pitfalls of deleting it. This particular screen only appears when the partition selected to be deleted is formatted as a bootable system partition. Other partitions will display the next screen. I want this to happen, so I press ENTER to continue. The options include pressing ENTER to continue, or ESC to Cancel. 7) Confirmation screen: (Image 1.7) A confirmation screen that displays the logical drive, what file system the partition is currently using, the size in MB and controller information. Options include L to Delete the partition and ESC to Cancel the action. 8) No partitions have been previously defined: (Image 1.8) If no partitions have been previously defined, this screen will be displayed. You may section your hard drive in as many partitions as you wish by selecting C to Create a Partition and then entering in a value less then the total available. Here, I will Create a Partition in the highlighted, unused portion. Select the partition you wish to install to using the UP arrow and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to use the highlighted partition and Install, C to Create a Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. 9) Enter in the partition size: (Image 1.9) Enter in the partition size in MB within the displayed minimum and maximum. I chose the default or maximum available here. You may choose ENTER to Create the new partition or ESC to Cancel the action. 10) Continue to create partitions: (Image 1.10) Continue to create partitions until all space is used or the configuration meets your requirements. Note: a small portion will be unavailable to partition. This is normal. In this example, it is 2 MB. I chose drive C: or Partition1 to install the Operating System. You may choose ENTER to Install to the selected partition, D to Delete the highlighted Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. 11) Format the partition: (Image 1.11) Since this OS supports NTFS, format the partition with it. If you do not, many folder and file security features will be unavailable. Note: If you are dual booting your system, a previous OS will not be able to read the local information. This is a fact with Windows 9x and Me. If you have a requirement to view this partition from another OS installed on the system, do not format it as NTFS. Also, the boot partition must be formatted with FAT32 if you wish to dual boot. I have found no problems accessing a NTFS partition mapped as a network drive from an older OS. Select what format you wish to use by pressing the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to confirm your selection and Continue or ESC to Cancel. 12) Setup formats the partition: (Image 1.12) Watch the progress bar as Setup formats the partition, or get up and get a soda. It may take awhile. 13) Creating File List: (Image 1.13) Setup is now figuring out what files to copy over to the hard drive. 14) Setup copies various files: (Image 1.14) After the partition is finished formatting, Setup copies various files to support booting from the hard drive and continue on. 15) Creates various information files: (Image 1.15)   Setup then creates various information files required to continue on with setup. 16) Press ENTER to Restart: (Image 1.16) The first reboot and the end of the blue background has arrived. If you are impatient, press ENTER to Restart before the 15 seconds expire. ENTER to Restart the Computer is the only option available. 17) Windows XP boot screen: (Image 2.1) The new Windows XP boot screen is displayed. 18) Windows XP Installation: (Image 2.2) If you have installed Windows before, this type of screen will look familiar. Sit back. It may be awhile. 19) Faster and more reliable: (Image 2.3) Every Windows OS that comes out has the same claim. Faster and better. It is subject to debate whether or not it could get "any worse." 20) Region and Input Languages: (Image 2.4) A little while later, you will be prompted with options of configuring your Region and Input Languages. The default was fine for me, so I selected Next. Options include Customize button, Details Button, plus the standard Back and Next. 21) Enter in your Name: (Image 2.5) Enter in your Name and optional Organization information, then select the Next button. 22) 25 digit Product Key: (Image 2.6) Thought you could get away from it? Think again. Enter your unique 25 digit Product Key that came with your CD, then select the Next button. 23) Enter a Computer name: (Image 2.7) The "suggested" name for the computer is always really whacked out. Choose one that meets your needs. Select Next to Continue. 24) Date, Time and Time Zone: (Image 2.8) Configure the proper information for the Date, Time and Time Zone here. 25) Network Settings Dialog: (Image 3.1) The Network Settings Dialog is next. Under usual circumstances, the Typical settings are fine. Choose your method and select the Next button. 26) Display Settings Pop-up: (Image 3.2) Windows XP no longer likes the "default" resolution of 640 x 480 and prompts you of that fact. Select OK to continue. 27) Please wait: (Image 3.3) 800 x 600 is a wonderful thing, however, I chose to have it time out and return to 640 x 480 for this guide. 28) The Welcome Screen: (Image 3.4) The "Welcome Screen" will now appear while Windows XP Home continues to load in the background. 29) Display Settings Pop-up: (Image 3.5) Since the initial screen resolution is set to 640 x 480, a balloon dialog appears. You may click the pop-up balloon to raise the resolution up to 800 x 600 automatically. For the rest of this guide, I chose to ignore it.

Windows XP Professional Install Guide

IntroductionAfter many requests for this information, I have drafted this guide to help.
If you wish to use FDISK before hand, check out this guide.
If you wish to Multi-Boot, check out this guide.
If you cannot configure your system to boot from a CD Rom (DVD) drive, you must first download the boot floppy setup disks from Microsoft at this address:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q310994
and configure your system to boot from those newly created disks rather than CD Rom.

Important Information

Before the install/reinstallation of Windows XP, I highly recommend that you download Service Pack 3 "for multiple computers" and burn it onto a CD. The download is approximately 316.4MB. If you choose not to do this step, your system could become infected with a virus or worm exploiting the vulnerabilities that Service Pack 3 fixes. I also recommend that you do NOT have your system connected to the Internet until after the installation of Service Pack 3. This means that you cannot activate your XP installation during setup, but you can accomplish that task following a reboot after Service Pack 3 is installed.

1) Shall we begin? (Image 1.1) After configuring the system for booting from a CD, the Windows Setup screen appears. At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation.

2) Welcome to Setup: (Image 1.2) The "Welcome to Setup" screen appears with the option of Continuing Setup, Repair a previous installation, or Quitting. Press ENTER to Continue Setup. You may also choose R to Repair, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

3) Windows XP Licensing Agreement: (Image 1.3) The "Windows XP Licensing Agreement" screen, otherwise known as "EULA," displays the legal in's and out's of this particular software package. You may press F8 to signify that you agree with the terms, hit ESC if you do not agree and PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN to scroll through each screen. Note: If you do not agree to the terms, setup will quit and reboot the system.

4) Hard drive partition information: (Image 1.4) Hard drive partition information is now displayed. This varies with each systems hardware configuration. This example already has a partition defined. I will choose not to use this and create a new one by pressing D. You may skip this and the next few steps if you do not have any partitions defined. At this point, the options include pressing ENTER to Install on the selected partition, D to Delete the selected partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

5) Warning screen: (Image 1.5) After pressing D to delete the selected partition, a warning screen appears explaining the pitfalls of deleting it. This particular screen only appears when the partition selected to be deleted is formatted as a bootable system partition. Other partitions will display the next screen. I want this to happen, so I press ENTER to continue. The options include pressing ENTER to continue, or ESC to Cancel.

6) Confirmation screen: (Image 1.6) A confirmation screen that displays the logical drive, what file system the partition is currently using, the size in MB and controller information. Options include L to Delete the partition and ESC to Cancel the action.

7) No partitions have been previously defined: (Image 1.7) If no partitions have been previously defined, this screen will be displayed. You may section your hard drive in as many partitions as you wish by selecting C to Create a Partition and then entering in a value less then the total available. Here, I will Create a Partition in the highlighted, unused portion. Select the partition you wish to install to using the UP arrow and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to use the highlighted partition and Install, C to Create a Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

8) Enter in the partition size: (Image 1.8) Enter in the partition size in MB within the displayed minimum and maximum. I chose the default or maximum available here. You may choose ENTER to Create the new partition or ESC to Cancel the action.

9) Continue to create partitions: (Image 1.9) Continue to create partitions until all space is used or the configuration meets your requirements. Note: a small portion will be unavailable to partition. This is normal. In this example, it is 2 MB. I chose drive C: or Partition1 to install the Operating System. You may choose ENTER to Install to the selected partition, D to Delete the highlighted Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system.

10) Format the partition: (Image 1.10) Since this OS supports NTFS, format the partition with it. If you do not, many folder and file security features will be unavailable. Note: If you are dual booting your system, a previous OS will not be able to read the local information. This is a fact with Windows 9x and Me. If you have a requirement to view this partition from another OS installed on the system, do not format it as NTFS. Also, the boot partition must be formatted with FAT32 if you wish to dual boot. I have found no problems accessing a NTFS partition mapped as a network drive from an older OS. Select what format you wish to use by pressing the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to confirm your selection and Continue or ESC to Cancel.

11) Setup formats the partition: (Image 1.11) Watch the progress bar as Setup formats the partition, or get up and get a soda. It may take awhile.

12) Creating File List: (Image 1.12) Setup is now figuring out what files to copy over to the hard drive.

13) Setup copies various files: (Image 1.13) After the partition is finished formatting, Setup copies various files to support booting from the hard drive and continue on.

14) Creates various information files: (Image 1.14) Setup then creates various information files required to continue on with setup.

15) Press ENTER to Restart: (Image 1.15) The first reboot and the end of the blue background has arrived. If you are impatient, press ENTER to Restart before the 15 seconds expire. ENTER to Restart the Computer is the only option available. 16) Windows XP boot screen: (Image 2.1)   The new Windows XP boot screen is displayed. 17) Windows XP Installation: (Image 2.2) If you have installed Windows before, this type of screen will look familiar. Sit back. It may be awhile. 18) Faster and more reliable: (Image 2.3) Every Windows OS that comes out has the same claim. Faster and better. It is subject to debate whether or not it could get "any worse." 19) Region and Input Languages: (Image 2.4) A little while later, you will be prompted with options of configuring your Region and Input Languages. The default was fine for me, so I selected Next. Options include Customize button, Details Button, plus the standard Back and Next. 20) Enter in your Name: (Image 2.5) Enter in your Name and optional Organization information, then select the Next button. 21) 25 digit Product Key: (Image 2.6) Thought you could get away from it? Think again. Enter your unique 25 digit Product Key that came with your CD, then select the Next button. 22) Enter a Computer name and an Administrator Password: (Image 2.7) The "suggested" name for the computer is always really whacked out. Choose one that meets your needs. Enter an Administrator Password now. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you keep this information safe and remember what it is! "01Pa$$word" is not a good choice. Think of something secure and never lose or forget it. 23) Date, Time and Time Zone: (Image 2.8) Configure the proper information for the Date, Time and Time Zone here. 24) Network is installing: (Image 2.9) Wait here while the Network is installing. You could read all the marketing dribble, but I do not recommend it. :) 25) Network Settings Dialog: (Image 3.1) The Network Settings Dialog is next. Under usual circumstances, the Typical settings are fine, but I never choose them so I can poke around under the hood. I selected Custom settings here. Choose your method and select the Next button. 26) Custom settings: (Image 3.2) In the Custom settings, many options are abound. I cannot go into all of them here, but I will hit on the high points. 27) QoS Packet Scheduler: (Image 3.3) QoS Packet Scheduler is not required unless your network uses it. For this system, I will choose to uncheck it. 28) TCP/IP Properties: (Image 3.4) TCP/IP Properties contains the standard options. Adjust them for your particular needs as required. For now, I kept the default settings. Basically, it is using DHCP to configure TCP/IP. If you are using a static IP address, enter in the proper information here. Select the Advanced button to further configure your TCP/IP options. 29) Workgroup or Computer Domain: (Image 3.5) Workgroup or Computer Domain, that is the question. I am not going to set up this system to connect to a domain controller, so I will place it as a member of a workgroup. Please, change "WORKGROUP" to something else. I hate defaults. :) Select the Next button after making your choice. 30) Install screen: (Image 3.6) The system will reboot after all files have been copied over to the install partition. Now may be a good time to take a break. It may be awhile. 31) Windows XP is starting up: (Image 4.1) The moment we have all been waiting for, Windows XP Professional is starting up "for the first time." Remember that quoted statement with Windows 95 setup? 32) Display Settings Pop-up: (Image 4.2) Windows XP no longer likes the "default" resolution of 640 x 480 and prompts you of that fact. Select OK to continue. 33) Please wait: (Image 4.3) 800 x 600 is a wonderful thing, however, I chose to have it time out and return to 640 x 480 for this guide. 34) Login to the Administrator account: (Image 4.4) With the "Welcome" screen, you no longer have to hit the "Three Finger Salute" combination of Ctrl+Alt+Delete to login to the Administrator account. You did remember your password, right?!? 35) Applying computer settings: (Image 4.5) Please wait while the Administrator account is configured "for the first time." No. I will not mention Windows 95 again... 36) Display Settings Pop-up: (Image 4.6) Since the initial screen resolution is set to 640 x 480, a balloon dialog appears. You may click the pop-up balloon to raise the resolution up to 800 x 600 automatically. For the rest of this guide, I chose to ignore it.

Windows XP  Service Configuration

Introduction

This information is valid for all versions of XP x86 (32-bit) running Service Pack 3. XP Pro x64 (64-bit) Service information and Configurations are also online.

Before adjusting your service settings, ensure that you or your system has already installed all updates by "checking now" for any available updates via Windows Update.

I cannot possibly test all configurations extensively (meaning, each persons specific computer needs), but what I can offer is what "works for me" and the obstacles I have came across so you do not have to discover them on your own. If information on this page needs a revision or expanded, please check out the forums.

An * (asterisk) indicates changes from the default.

Two ** (asterisks) indicates changes from Service Pack 2 to Service Pack 3.

Notes for a Happier Computer and User

• Do not use "msconfig" to disable services, type "services.msc" in the Run box instead! (Why?) 
• Before disabling any service, check out the service information about each by selecting the service name links provided.
• If you do not wish to select/change each service by hand, I offer up Service Registry files to adjust them with only a few clicks. Currently, "Default" and "Safe" are available.
• If you wish to create a custom registry file, you can use my Custom Services Registry File Tool.
• Service settings are global, meaning changes apply to all users.
• All of these services are "Standard" with Windows XP after the installation of Service Pack 3. If you discover something other than these listed here running, another program installed them or they were installed with optional updates via Windows Update. Examples of this include .NET services and WMP services. View a listing of the more common ones.
• Still unsure? Put your setting to "Manual" or the listing under "Safe." Manual allows Windows XP to start the service when it needs to (or when ever it feels like it), but not at boot up. Depending on your configuration, not all services will start when required while in "Manual" mode. If you find you need a service, place it in Automatic.
• After adjusting your service settings, reboot your computer.
• If you do not have some of these services listed, do not panic! If your computer manufacture "pre-installed" your XP, they choose not to have certain services installed for you. This is, in most cases, a fact with OEM versions of Windows XP Home.
• Before posting your question on the forums, see if your question has been addressed in the FAQ!
• Disabling all of the "unneeded services" reduces the footprint of the OS by up to 70%, depending on system.
• Viewing Instructions: If the information is hard to read, please check out your viewing options.

Table Header Information

• The columns are sortable. Select the column header to sort by that field.
• Display Name ~ How it displays in the Services Control Panel.
• Service Name ~ What name is used in the registry.
• DEFAULT ~ What Bill G. thinks should be running on Windows XP.
• "SAFE" Configuration ~ This is the configuration that 95% of the people will be able to use with little or no side effects. It will also minimize the amount of "errors" that is reported in the Event Viewer. This does not guarantee it will work for you, but if adjusting your services scares you, this configuration would be a good starting point.
• Tweaked Configuration ~ This is the power user setup. This setup is a system that connects through a network (such as a gateway / router) to the internet, provides file and print sharing resources and gaming enjoyment. Some things may not function with this setup. No passwords save. Its use is not for a computer with analog modems or some direct DSL/cable connections. Try the "Safe" Configuration first.
• Bare-bones Configuration ~ This is the super geek setup. This setup is a system that connects through a network (such as a gateway / router) to the internet with a static IP address. This system does not provide file and print sharing resources, nor have the ability to print. Its use is not for a computer with analog modems or many direct DSL/cable connections. You can use this configuration for extreme tweaking and testing purposes. Many things may not function with this setup. No passwords save. The Event Log will display "errors" of not being able to start certain services. Built in Windows CDR-RW functions may no longer work. Please do not ask, "How do I fix" questions while using this configuration. The answer will be "Use SAFE." This information's intention is for my reference only.
  

Configuration Information

• Automatic ~ With a service in this state, it will start at boot time. Some services, when no longer required, will also automatically stop when not needed. However, this is very rare. If you find you do not need a service, place it into Manual or Disabled.
• Manual ~ Manual mode allows Windows to start a service when needed. However, very few services will start up when required in Manual mode. If you find you need a service, place it into Automatic.
• Disabled ~ This setting will stop a service from starting, even if needed. Errors in the Event Viewer will show up complaining of that fact. Some services, while Disabled, will constantly complain. However, this situation is taken care of if placed in Manual. The service descriptions identifies those that should be in Manual vice Disabled.
• "Started" ~ A service that either set to Manual or Automatic that is running by default at or shortly after boot time.
• "Not Started" ~ A service set into Automatic that is not running by default at or shortly after boot time.

Service Dependency Abbreviation Information

• H ~ Windows XP Home
• M ~ Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• P ~ Windows XP Pro
• T ~ Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005

Black Viper's Windows XP x86 (32-bit) Service Pack 3 Service Configurations

Show and Hide Columns:

• Display Name
• Service Name (Registry)
• DEFAULT Home
• DEFAULT MCE 2005
• DEFAULT Pro
• DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005
• "SAFE"
• Tweaked
• Bare-bones

Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Alerter	Alerter	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Application Layer Gateway Service	ALG	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Application Management	AppMgmt	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Automatic Updates	wuauserv	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Background Intelligent Transfer Service	BITS	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
ClipBook	ClipSrv	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
COM+ Event System	EventSystem	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
COM+ System Application	COMSysApp	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Computer Browser	Browser	Automatic (Not Started)	Automatic (Not Started)	Automatic (Not Started)	Automatic (Not Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Cryptographic Services	CryptSvc	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
DCOM Server Process Launcher	DcomLaunch	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
DHCP Client	Dhcp	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Distributed Link Tracking Client	TrkWks	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Manual *	Manual *	Disabled *
Distributed Transaction Coordinator	MSDTC	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
DNS Client	Dnscache	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Error Reporting Service	ERSvc	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Event Log	Eventlog	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Extensible Authentication Protocol Service **	EapHost	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Fast User Switching Compatibility	FastUserSwitchingCompatibility	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Fax	Fax	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
FTP Publishing	MSFtpsvc	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Health Key and Certificate Management Service **	hkmsvc	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Help and Support	helpsvc	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Manual *	Disabled *	Disabled *
HTTP SSL	HTTPFilter	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Manual (Started)	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Human Interface Device Access	HidServ	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
IIS Admin	IISADMIN	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service	ImapiService	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Indexing Service	cisvc	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
IPSEC Services	PolicyAgent	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
IPv6 Helper Service	6to4	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Logical Disk Manager	dmserver	Manual	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Manual *	Manual *	Disabled *
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service	dmadmin	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Media Center Receiver Service	ehRecvr	Not Available	Automatic (Started)	Not Available	Not Available	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
Media Center Scheduler Service	ehSched	Not Available	Automatic (Started)	Not Available	Not Available	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
Message Queuing	MSMQ	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Message Queuing Triggers	MSMQTriggers	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Messenger	Messenger	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
MHN	MHN	Not Available	Manual	Not Available	Not Available	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider	SwPrv	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Net Logon	Netlogon	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing	mnmsrvc	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Network Access Protection Agent **	napagent	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Network Connections	Netman	Manual (Started)	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Network DDE	NetDDE	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Network DDE DSDM	NetDDEdsdm	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Network Location Awareness (NLA)	Nla	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Network Provisioning Service	xmlprov	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
NT LM Security Support Provider	NtLmSsp	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Peer Name Resolution Protocol	PNRPSvc	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Peer Networking	p2psvc	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Peer Networking Group Authentication	p2pgasvc	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Peer Networking Identity Manager	p2pimsvc	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Performance Logs and Alerts	SysmonLog	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Plug and Play	PlugPlay	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Portable Media Serial Number Service	WmdmPmSN	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Print Spooler	Spooler	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Protected Storage	ProtectedStorage	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
QoS RSVP	RSVP	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager	RasAuto	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Remote Access Connection Manager	RasMan	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager	RDSessMgr	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)	RpcSs	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator	RpcLocator	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Remote Registry	RemoteRegistry	Not Available	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Removable Storage	NtmsSvc	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
RIP Listener	Iprip	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Routing and Remote Access	RemoteAccess	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Secondary Logon	seclogon	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Security Accounts Manager	SamSs	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Security Center	wscsvc	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
Server	lanmanserver	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Shell Hardware Detection	ShellHWDetection	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)	SMTPSVC	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Simple TCP/IP Services	SimpTcp	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Smart Card	SCardSvr	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
SNMP Service	SNMP	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
SNMP Trap Service	SNMPTRAP	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
SSDP Discovery Service	SSDPSRV	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
System Event Notification	SENS	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
System Restore Service	srservice	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
Task Scheduler	Schedule	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service	LmHosts	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
TCP/IP Printer Server	LPDSVC	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Telephony	TapiSrv	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Telnet	TlntSvr	Not Available	Disabled	Manual	Disabled	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Terminal Services	TermService	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual (Started)	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Themes	Themes	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
Uninterruptible Power Supply	UPS	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Universal Plug and Play Device Host	upnphost	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Volume Shadow Copy	VSS	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
WebClient	WebClient	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Windows Audio	AudioSrv	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Windows Firewall / Internet Connection Sharing	SharedAccess	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled *
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)	stisvc	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Windows Installer	MSIServer	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Windows Management Instrumentation	winmgmt	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extension	Wmi	Not Available	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *
Windows Time	W32Time	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Wired AutoConfig **	Dot3svc	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *
Display Name	Service Name (Registry)	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT MCE 2005	DEFAULT Pro	DEFAULT Tablet PC Edition 2005	"SAFE"	Tweaked	Bare-bones
Wireless Zero Configuration	WZCSVC	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Disabled *	Disabled *
WMI Performance Adapter	WmiApSrv	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Workstation	lanmanworkstation	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic (Started)	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
World Wide Web Publishing	w3svc	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed

An * (asterisk) indicates changes from the default.

Two ** (asterisks) indicates changes from Service Pack 2 to Service Pack 3.


Windows XP  Super Tweaks

The following is what I do directly after a clean install of Windows XP. This does not mean that everything I do will work for you. Keeping that in mind and ensure you are fully aware of the risks of tweaking your system before doing so.

Point to note: Ensure that you are logged in as an "Administrator" or have Administrator rights before performing any of these steps.

Even though I do these steps directly after a clean install, all of them can be done at any time.

Before posting your question on the forums, see if your question has been addressed in the FAQ!

1): System Restore and Indexing Services

This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro.

If you are experiencing "random" slowdowns and "high" CPU usage for no reason, these two services are the most likely cause of the problem. These services are also a major cause of "missing" disk space. System Restore Service could be taking up 3 GB of space, just on its own.

For an easy method of creating multiple Service Configurations, please check out my Windows XP Services Profile Guide.

System Restore Service creates system snap shots or restore points for returning to at a later time. Every time you install a program or new driver, plus on a schedule, this service creates a "restore point" to roll back to if a problem occurs. This service would have been nice in the Win95 days due to plenty of problems occurring (new DirectX version every 15 minutes) but not required for the "much" more stable WinXP. This is the first thing that I get rid of on a clean installation. If you use this and enjoy it, good for you. I never will. I feel it is faster and less hassle to just install clean. A rather GOOD (and possibly the only) reason to use this "feature" is to roll back your OS after installing an unknown program or testing software. For example: BETA software of any kind or before installing Service Pack 1 or 2. NOTE: If you disable this service, your previous "restore points" will be deleted. If, for what ever reason, you do not want this to happen, do not disable this service.

Get rid of System Restore Service and Indexing Service. I disable both, plus uncheck the box, just in case it may decide to fire back up. This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. Where do you find it?

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select System
5. Select System Restore Tab
6. Check "Turn off System Restore"
7. Select the Ok button to apply the settings

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select System
4. Select System Restore Tab
5. Check "Turn off System Restore"
6. Select the Ok button to apply the settings

Screen shots of the process are also available.

After that, Disable and Stop the System Restore Service:

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select Administrator Tools
5. Select Services
6. Select "System Restore Service" (Double Click)
7. Select General Tab
8. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
9. Select the Ok button to close the panel

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Administrator Tools
4. Select Services
5. Select "System Restore Service" (Double Click)
6. Select General Tab
7. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
8. Select the Ok button to close the panel

Screen shots of the process are also available.

While you are there, you can disable and stop the Indexing Service:

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select Administrator Tools
5. Select Services
6. Select "Indexing Service" (Double Click)
7. Select General Tab
8. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
9. Select the Ok button to close the panel

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Administrator Tools
4. Select Services
5. Select "Indexing Service" (Double Click)
6. Select General Tab
7. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
8. Select the Ok button to close the panel

Screen shots of the process are also available.

2): Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing

Remove Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing.

Take note: Remote Desktop Sharing is not available with Windows XP Home. You may request assistance from someone only using Windows XP Pro.

Where do you find it?

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select System
5. Select Remote Tab
6. Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
7. Select the Ok button to apply the settings

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select System
4. Select Remote Tab
5. Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
6. Select the Ok button to apply the settings

Screen shots of the process are also available.

3): Page File

Adjust the paging file to a respectable level. This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro.

Can you get rid of the paging file? Yes and no. If you have a boat load of memory (greater than 2GB) you may be able to function just fine. Some games require a certain amount of swap space to be created to even run, no matter how much RAM is available. Also, under certain conditions, my sound card goes crazy (or does not function) in some games with no paging file (oddly enough, Age of Empires 2). If you decide to test your luck with no paging file, you are on your own. :) Please do not E-Mail me with your war stories about no paging file. Every system is different and each persons requirement of how many applications are open at a time is different.. I usually do not have one "unless something requires it that I am running that day."

Where do you find it?

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select System
5. Select Advanced Tab
6. Under Performance, select the Settings button
7. Select Advanced Tab
8. Under Virtual Memory, select the Change button
9. Adjust as needed, or select "No paging File," then select the Set button
10. Select the Ok button to apply the settings
11. You must reboot for the changes to take effect

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select System
4. Select Advanced Tab
5. Under Performance, select the Settings button
6. Select Advanced Tab
7. Under Virtual Memory, select the Change button
8. Adjust as needed, or select "No paging File," then select the Set button
9. Select the Ok button to apply the settings
10. You must reboot for the changes to take effect

Screen shots of the process are also available.

If anything, create (preferably on a separate partition), a paging of constant size. For example, select Custom Size and place 1000 in "Initial" and 1000 in "Maximum" Size boxes, then click Set Button. This will reduce the amount of work needed to dynamically resize the paging file, usually when you need it most.

Some definitions need to be explained:

Physical RAM ~ The amount of Memory (RAM) installed on a system. Physical RAM is "way" faster than a "paging file."

Paging File ~ The file that is located on your hard drive that "acts" like Physical RAM but is way slower.

Virtual Memory ~ The name used for the sum of Physical RAM and the Paging File. In other words: Physical RAM + Paging File = Virtual Memory. You cannot "disable" Virtual Memory even if you disable the Paging File. Meaning, 2 GB RAM + 0 MB Paging File = 2 GB Virtual Memory.

If you have not already, reboot now.

4): Themes

Reduce the overhead associated with WinXP's new Themes. This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. I have observed between 4 MB to 12 MB of RAM used for the new themes.

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select System
5. Select Advanced Tab
6. Under Performance, select the Settings button
7. Select Visual Effects Tab
8. Select "Adjust for best performance."
9. Select the Ok button

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select System
4. Select Advanced Tab
5. Under Performance, select the Settings button
6. Select Visual Effects Tab
7. Select "Adjust for best performance."
8. Select the Ok button

Screen shots of the process are also available.

After that, Disable and Stop the Themes service.

With the default Category Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select Administrator Tools
5. Select Services
6. Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
7. Select General Tab
8. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
9. Select the Ok button to close the panel

With the Classic Control Panel:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Administrator Tools
4. Select Services
5. Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
6. Select General Tab
7. In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
8. Select the Ok button to close the panel

Screen shots of the process are also available.

5): Services

Adjust for any additional unneeded services. This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. Windows XP Services.

For an easy method of creating multiple Service Configurations, please check out my Windows XP Services Profile Guide.

If you have not already, reboot now.

If you have rebooted, do it again.

6): Add/Remove Programs

This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. Go to the "Add Remove Programs" and click the "Windows components." Here, take out all the crap you do not need. Such as "MSN EXPLORER" and such.

After Removing the unused Windows components, ensure that you check back up on the services that you disabled. Some like to go back to Automatic after playing with the Windows components (namely COM+ and Help and Support).

You may also adjust a file to "allow" you to remove other Windows components, such as MSN Messenger. Here is how:

TAKE NOTE: You will need to enable "hidden file" viewing to see the inf files.

IF YOU ARE SCARED, DO NOT MODIFY THE FILE... Also, you may experience a delay of around 30 seconds or more when loading up Outlook before you can do anything. Putting Messenger back will allow Outlook to function properly again. If you use MSN Explorer, Messenger will also be running in the background. It is how Bill is getting to the ".NET" stuff. "Software as a service" is coming soon.

Go to your Windows\inf folder. The default is ~ c:\windows\inf

edit the file called "sysoc.inf"

Remove the reference of "hide" in this line:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

To make it look like this:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7

You may also remove all references to "hide" in all of the other lines as long as you KEEP the commas. Some components you cannot "uncheck" in the add/remove programs GUI. If you do get them to uninstall, I do NOT support it. You are on your own.

7): Drivers!

This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. Download and install ALL updated drivers from the hardware manufacture sites. I cannot tell you what site you need to go to, but do your computer a favor and get updated drivers for everything.

Reboot again.

8): System Tray

After updating all my drivers, I remove any excess icons (all of them, basically) from the system tray (lower right) and recheck the services to ensure nothing else was installed (like NVIDIA's "driver helper." Contrary to popular belief, those little "quick access" icons take up a lot of room.

For example, MS messenger takes up about 3.6 MB just sitting there... not even logged in... Bring it up, select tools, options, then uncheck "load at startup" and uncheck "allow to run in background."

Also, Creatives "AudioHQ" running is REALLY not required.

Turning off "AudioHQ"

Uncheck "Load on Startup" and "Show icon on Taskbar" in AudioHQ's Options menu.

ICQ's little "Net Detect" sucks up way too much memory. Make it go away. Various Quick Tweak icons and even EZCD creator's icon annoys the hell out of me. Make them all go away. If you just gotta have that quick access to those programs, place them in the "quick launch bar" (located in the lower left by default, where IE and "Show Desktop" buttons are). The icons will not clutter your desktop and you can easily hit them from any normal windows application. To top it all off, they do not take up memory or resources constantly running in the background. Another plus, this will reduce your boot up time.

9): msconfig

I run msconfig and get rid of any annoying startup programs that may be hiding from me. If you are not familiar with the operation and features of msconfig, I am not going to go into them here. Do not adjust your service configurations using msconfig, though.

To use msconfig:

1. Head to Start
2. Select Run
3. Type "msconfig" without the quotes
4. Select OK or hit Enter

10): Defrag

Defrag the hard drive. Even if XP tells you that it does not need to, do it anyway. It has much tolerance for what "needs" to be done and what should be done. After all, if it was really efficient, there would be no need for you to read this page.

Defrag again after installing your applications and games. After that, there should be little need to do it again for awhile unless you delete/uninstall/reinstall a lot of stuff.

This listing is by no means complete, but it does hit on the high points.

Windows XP File and Folder Compression Guide

Introduction

Back in the old days, hard drive space was extremely valuable. Even though storage space is now measured in pennies instead of dollars, compressing files and folders can and will come in handy.

The old "Drive Space" of yesteryear is no longer required. Windows XP provides two options, each with their own advantages and disadvantages for compression needs.

Compressing with "Compressed Folders (.zip)" option

1) Shall we begin? (Image 1.1) Open up your Windows Explorer and navigate to what ever file or folder you wish to compress. In this example, I am using my local "BlkViper.com" folder where I store the web site.
2) Compressed (zipped) Folder: (Image 1.2) Right-Click the file or folder, select Send to, then Compressed (zipped) Folder.
3) Progress bar: (Image 1.3) A progress bar will be displayed and a temporary file created in the same directory where the original file or folder is.
4) Side-by-side comparison: (Image 1.4) With a side-by-side comparison, we see a dramatic reduction in space used.
Compressing using "NTFS Compression" 1) NTFS Compression: (Image 1.5) Please note: to use this function, you must have already converted or formatted the hard drive as NTFS. Right-Click the file or folder and select Properties.
2) File or folder properties: (Image 1.6) When the file or folder properties dialog appears, chose the Advanced button.
3) Advanced options: (Image 1.7) In the Advanced options, check the box Compress contents to save disk space and click OK to continue.
4) Another dialog: (Image 1.8) Another dialog will ask whether you wish to have just the selected folder or all files and sub folders compressed. I chose to include everything in this example. After making your selection, click OK to continue.
5) Progress bar: (Image 1.9) A progress bar will be displayed as to the status of compression.
6) Highlighted folder: (Image 1.10) After the folder is compressed, please note that the name of the folder is now highlighted "blue" by default. This may not yield as good as of a result as compressed (zipped) folders, but you must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each, described below.

The different formats displayed Side by Side
No Compression: From ~ 1.18 GB To ~ 1.19 GB	NTFS Compression: From ~ 1.18 GB To ~ 316 MB	.zip Compression: From ~ 1.18 GB To ~ 199 MB

Advantages and Disadvantages of each:

• Zipped folders are good for backup purposes and network transfer due to the higher compression and "single" file architecture.
• NTFS compression is good if you need to save disk space and access the files often, but overhead occurs due to the file needing to be uncompressed before access and /or moving, then recompressed. As such, it is best to not alter or copy compressed files often.
• Zipped folders must be extracted to execute / access the files.
• Moving NTFS compressed files and folders to a "non-NTFS" drive removes the compression.
• Zipped folders works with FAT32, NTFS and most extraction utilities.

Conclusion

If you require fast backup and file transfer, use Zipped folders. If file security and easy of access while still keeping hard disk space low, NTFS compression is where it is at.