Tweaking XP

As Promised,, here it is....but remember,, if you're a carpenter,,DON'T screw around with the electrical system. And if you're an Electrician,,, Leave the furniture building to the carpenter.

I suggest that you Copy/Paste parts 1 2 and 3 into notepad and print out a hard copy,, it'll be a lot easier when you start tweaking.



How to free up Windows XP system resources
This was lifted from BlkViper.com and as a fan of his wisdom I pass it on to all those who have crashing problems,, try it,, it will work,, but as it says in the disclaimer,, (IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING,,,,,,, LEAVE IT ALONE AND GET A GEEK)...

Situation:

You are having performance problems or conflicts on a Windows XP computer. You want to know what programs or services you can safely stop from loading when you start Windows.


Solution:

The information in this document is provided for your convenience. It has been gathered from several sources.

All changes that you make to your computer are done entirely at your own risk. If you are not sure about making these changes, I suggest that you obtain the services of a qualified computer consultant.


Background information
Many XP Services do not need to load and can be disabled to free up RAM for improved performance. The list of services that are normally running on an XP system are listed in the section "Services and recommendations" and include general recommendations about what can be turned off safely. Also, the dependencies are listed for most services.

In addition to Windows services, many programs and drivers set themselves to run when Windows starts. An easy way to prevent these from starting is to use the System Configuration Utility.


System Configuration Utility
The Windows System Configuration Utility provides an easy way to troubleshoot conflicts and stop programs, nonessential drivers, and services from loading.


Click Start, and then click Run.
Type msconfig, and then click OK.
You can load only basic services and drivers by clicking Diagnostic Startup on the General tab.
You can disable services from the Services tab.
You can stop programs from loading by unchecking items on the Startup tab.

Services and recommendations
What follows is a list of the XP services and their dependencies, along with recommendations as to whether they should be enabled or disabled. Please remember that these are general recommendations only, and all such actions are done entirely at your own risk.

How to access and change services settings:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type Services.msc and then click OK. The Services window appears.



Locate and select the service that you want to change.
Click Action, and then click Properties.
On the General tab, click the drop-down for the "Start up type" list box and change the start up as needed. For example, if you select "Alerter" and change its start up type from Automatic to Disabled, that service will no longer start when you start Windows.
Click OK when finished making your changes.


Recommendations
This is a list of Windows XP services, their purpose, comments, recommendations, and dependencies.




For Windows XP system-specific information, go to http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm


Service Purpose Comments Recommendations Dependencies

Alerter Notifies users of administrative alerts. Not required under normal circumstances. Disabled. Workstation
Application Layer Gateway Service Provides support for third-party plug-ins for Internet Connection Sharing/Internet Connection Firewall. Required if using Internet Connection Sharing/Internet Connection Firewall to connect to the Internet. Automatic if needed, Disabled if not.

Application Management Used to Assign, Publish, and Remove software services. If you can not modify your software installation of certain applications, set to Automatic or Manual. Manual

Automatic Updates Used to check if there are critical or other updates available for download. You can also manually update due to the long lag time from when an update is available and when XP reports it. NOTE: Manual update by the Windows Update Web site requires Cryptographic Services to be running. Disabled

Background Intelligent Transfer Service Used to transfer asynchronous data using HTTP 1.1 servers. It is not known if any programs actually use this feature. Use FTP instead. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Workstation
ClipBook Used to store information (cut/paste) and share it with other computers. You may not have enough need for this to allow this service to always be running. Disabled Network DDE

COM+ Event System Required for System Event Notification. Required if you want to run BootVis with the "optimize system" option. You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry from "DCOM" that this service is not running if it is Disabled. It is not known if any programs actually use COM+, but if it is set to Manual, many services report to it, so it will start anyway. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

COM+ System Application Required for System Event Notification. You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry from "DCOM" that this service is not running if it is Disabled. It is not known if any programs actually use COM+, but if it is set to Manual, many services report to it, so it will start anyway. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Computer Browser Maintains a listing of computers located on the network. This service is not needed on a standalone system. Disabled Server,Workstation

Cryptographic Services Confirms signatures of Windows files. You may see a message that about uncertified drivers if this is disabled.

Required for Windows Update to function in manual mode. You can start it when checking, then end it when done. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

DHCP Client Receives a Dynamic IP address from your DHCP server. Required for ICS/Internet client and also if you run IPSEC, disable on a standalone system or one that has a static IP address. Automatic if required on your network, Disabled if not. AFD Networking Support Environment. NetBios over TCP/IP. TCP/IP Protocol Driver.

Distributed Link Tracking Client Maintains links with NTFS files within your computer or across a domain. It is not known if any programs actually use this feature. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC).

Distributed Transaction Coordinator Takes care of transactions that span multiple resources. Required if using Message Queuing. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC). Security Accounts Manager.

DNS Client Resolves DNS names and Active Directory domain controller functions. This service is not needed on all systems, but is required if using IPSEC. Disabled TCP/IP Protocol Driver

Error Reporting Service Sends reports to Microsoft when application errors occurs. Uses memory and resources. Strictly optional. Disabled Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Event Log Allows Event Log messages from applications to be viewed in Event Viewer. The Event Log is useful when you need to see what problems have occurred that are hidden from the normal user. Windows Management Instrumentation also Requires Event Log Service to be running. Automatic

Fast User Switching Compatibility Unless you have many users on a system, you probably do not even need this service to be running. Disabled Terminal Services

Fax Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later from the installation CD. Leave not installed or Disabled Plug and Play, Print Spooler, Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Telephony

FTP Publishing Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later from the installation CD. Used to provide a FTP server on your network. Leave not installed or Disabled IIS Admin
Help and Support Required for Microsoft online help documents. Disabled unless you really want it. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Human Interface Device Access Not all peripherals require this service. (May be needed by cameras and similar devices.) Disabled unless you really need it; Automatic if you do. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

IIS Admin Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later from the installation CD. Usually used in conjunction with local Web site or FTP servers. Leave not installed or Disabled unless you really need it. Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Security Accounts Manager

IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service Used for "drag and drop" CD burn capability. Disabled unless needed, then Manual.
Indexing Service This is a major resource user. You can remove the function using "Add/Remove Programs" Disabled or even better, uninstalled. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Internet Connection Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing Used to allow multiple computers on your network to access the internet using only one account. This service is installed on the "modem" computer. Automatic if using this function, Disabled if not required. Application Layer Gateway Service, Network Connections, Network Location Awareness, Remote Access Connection Manager

IPSEC Services May be required on some domains, but the "average" user will not need this. If you are concerned about security, enable this feature. Disabled IPSEC driver, Remote Procedure Call (RPC), TCP/IP Protocol Driver
Logical Disk Manager Needed to run the Disk Management MMC console for dynamic volumes. Disabled Plug and Play, Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service Needed to run the Disk Management MMC console for dynamic volumes. Disabled Logical Disk Manager, Plug and Play, Remote Procedure Call (RPC)



end of part (1) see next post "Please DON'T reply to this post,,, Any replies on (TWEAKING XP (PART3)"