? Do you really need Windows Meeting Space or Tablet PC components?

Make Vista Run Faster

1. Open Control Panel and click Uninstall a Program to launch Vista's Uninstall or Change a Program Window. In the Tasks pane on the left, click Turn Windows Features On or Off.
2. Check the list of features. Each feature is preceded by a checkbox which, if filled, indicates the feature is installed. If you hover the mouse over a feature, a help tooltip appears to tell you what it is.
3. Uncheck any feature you don't need. Some of the features are headings with a sub-list below them; just click the little + sign to expand.

Next, it's time to flush any services that you don't want or need.

Click the Start button and type in services.msc and hit Enter. (The cursor jumps to the Search bar in the Start Menu when you click the Start button; you can usually just punch in whatever program or module you want to run right there).

The Services applet appears. Each service is basically a little nest of software support code for something the computer can monitor or do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well-written services include a description of what they do (note that lots of third-party services don't include a description, to which we say: shame). The Status column in the Services window shows whether or not the service has been started. Startup Type means how the service starts:

• Automatic means the service starts when Windows starts.
• Manual means the service starts when Windows detects that something needs it.
• Disabled means the service doesn't start at all.

Most services are either set to Automatic or Manual. There's no need to change any manual services; they only start when it's necessary for them to do something. There are probably some automatic services you really don't need, though. You can find a full list of services at TweakHound, an excellent source of all kinds of tweaks.

To change how a service starts, right-click it and click Properties. If you don't want a service to load, first stop the service by clicking Stop. Then, pull down the Startup Type list and set the service to Manual or Disabled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're not sure about a service, it's safer to set it to Manual; that way, if something calls it, it should start up. If you know you don't need a service, set it to Disabled.

The services you need depend on what you do with your PC. For instance, if you're not using ReadyBoost, you can disable that service; you can disable Windows Error Reporting if you don't want to report errors; you can disable Tablet PC Input Service if you don't want to use Tablet PC features; and so on.

You can almost certainly disable some services that start automatically by default:

• Computer Browser
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• IKE and AuthIP IP Keying Modules
• Offline Files
• Remote Registry
• Tablet PC Input Service (unless you're using a tablet PC)
• Windows Error Reporting

Some services that you absolutely should not disable include:

• Multimedia Class Scheduler
• Plug and Play
• Superfetch
• Task Scheduler
• Windows Audio
• Windows Driver Foundation

Feel free to experiment with services; just keep track of which services you tweak and, if something doesn't work, re-enable the last service you turned off. Streamline the system by shutting down as many services as you can, based on your own unique needs.

As an example, here are the services I've disabled on my networked gaming machine:

• DFS Replication
• Computer Browser
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
• IP Helper
• IPsec Policy Agent
• KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
• Offline Files
• Remote Registry
• Secondary Logon
• Security Center (Use caution if you disable security services!)
• SSDP Discovery
• Tablet PC Input Service
• Terminal Services
• Windows Defender (Ditto the above warning!)
• Windows Error Reporting Service Continued...

Hose Out the Background

For the most streamlined operation, it's essential that your computer has as few programs running in the background as possible. You can tell a bit about how much junk is running behind the scenes by looking at the system tray (the area next to the clock on the taskbar). The more icons you see there, the more stuff is running that you may not actually need.

I recommend a two-step process for getting rid of any background applets that you don't need. Check out the tray icons and use the interfaces from those programs to disable them natively. Then, run good old MSCONFIG to clean out anything else.

First, look at the tray. Some of the stuff there belongs there; you might see a little speaker icon, a battery power icon, an icon for the Sidebar, network status icons, and a few other odds and ends that Windows puts in the tray. Look for third-party icons; in the picture shown here, QuickTime and Steam occupy parts of the tray.

 

 

 

Right-click on any icons you find that aren't simple Windows status icons. Look for a settings, properties, or a similar option. Then, in the resulting window, look for a way to prevent the program from loading when Windows starts. For example, to prevent Steam from automatically loading, you would:

1. Right-click the Steam tray icon.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Interface (see the screenshot below).
4. Uncheck Run Steam When Windows Starts.
5. Click OK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quicktime, however, presents a challenge. You can tell it not to display the tray icon, but it will still run in the background. For that, and other programs that don't always display tray icons, use the second method.

Click the Start button, type msconfig, and hit Enter.

You'll see the System Configuration window, which operates essentially the same as it does in Windows XP. Click the Startup tab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the list of startup items. Each is preceded by a checkbox. You can prevent any of these programs from starting simply by unchecking it.

You'll note that QuickTime, which wouldn't let me disable it through its interface, is there. Simply uncheck it to prevent it from running in the background?and sucking up resources.

Steam, QuickTime, and many other such programs will start automatically when they're needed. For example, if you launch an MOV file, QuickTime will start whether or not its little applet is running in the background. Steam will launch if you start a Steam game, even if it's not running behind the scenes.

Now, some items are necessary. You might see things like a mouse or gamepad applet that's the hardware needs to offer its programmability. You might see Windows Defender, which, if your computer has constant Internet access and lacks another anti-spyware program, could help protect it.

Here's a good rule of thumb: If an application in MSCONFIG references hardware, you should keep it. If it references software, get rid of it (unless it's a vital security program). Hardware applets often supply needed front ends; software applets usually help a software program open faster. Software opens just fine without helper applets, so there's no need for them to suck up processor cycles all the time.

When you've cleaned out the list, unchecking anything you don't need, restart the computer.

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Sincerely, D'esprit Illusoire..