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Windows XP Tweaking Guide
Revision November 02nd, 2007
By Lord Udedenkz Rozen Illumini the 3rd

PART 1 - Cleaning the PC
A - Useless Applications
- Go to Start -> Control Panel-> Add or Remove Programs
- NOTE: Make sure your control panel is in classic view!
- Look through the whole list of the programs
- Find ones that you shall not use or not use soon
- Click on the program name - click uninstall
- If you don't know what something is, use google.com to find out
- If you cant uninstall something go to PART 4 DII
B - Your Desktop and Documents
- 'Desktop' and 'My Documents' are two places where files get saved
- Minimize all windows and you will see your desktop
- Delete all useless files
- Go to Start -> My Documents
- Find all files that you downloaded and saved in the 'My Documents' folder
- Delete the useless ones
C - Compress old stuff
- Assuming that you are running on NTFS
- You can compress your old data and save space!
- Files will still be instant access, but just a bit slower,
- So this ain't for game folders or files!
- Right click on a file or folder
- Click on 'Advanced'
- Mark the 'Compress contents to save disk space' check-box
- Click Ok and click apply (click Ok again if compressing folder)
- The compression algorithm used will save you a lot of space
- This will take forever for large files though
D - Disk Cleanup
- This will clean up disk automatically
- Do not use the compress old files option! (You did that already)
- Click Start -> Go to All Programs -> Accessories
- System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
- This will help you a lot with space.

PART 2 - Awesome Applications
A - Browsers
- Firefox: see PART 9D (I recommend this one)
- Internet Explorer usersXP Users, get the new IE7!!
- Opera, another alternative, - get it here
B - Cleaning Software
- CCleaner can clean your computer of useless files
- Say hello extra hard drive space! :D
- CCleaner
C - CCCP
- Combine Community Codec Pack
- This is a comilation of multiple codecs for playing videos
- CCCP
D - Firewall/AntiVirus/Adware
- This application removes spyware from your computer.
- Ad-Aware SE
- This is a neat AntiVirus - it always runs in the background though.
- Avast! 4 Home Edition
- This is another Free AntiVirus,
- AVG Antivirus
- Here is another AntiVirus application,
- Clamwin
- Scared of Hackers? Get a good free Firewall!
- Comodo Firewall
- Another AntiVirus
- BitDefender
- Another Spyware / Trojan Cleaner
- Super Antispyware
- NOTE: All monitoring / firewall programs slow the system down, but increase security
E - NTREGOPT
- NT System (2000, NT, XP, Vista) Registry Optimizer
- This application decreases the size of the registry (reccomended)
- NOTE: Please use it after cleaning the registry
- NTREGOPT
F - Other Programs
- Google Earth - Awesome map application
- InfranView Easy to use image viewing application
- WinRAR Open ZIP, RAR, 7ZIP, etc.
- WinAMP I find this better to play MP3s then WMP
- VLC This will open many more formats like ones with multiple video/audio tracks and subtitles
G - Graphic Programs
- GIMP - Free Photoshop Substitute
- Blender - Free 3D modeling software
I - Not-Free Applications
- Great Tweaker - Except it has a IRQ Priority feature which is [censored]
- Trial allows you to do a good number of tweaks
- Tweak XP Pro
- jv Power Tools 2007 will clean your HD and Registry of useless entities
- Trial allows you to do a good number of things
- jv16
M - TuneXP
- Freeware that has some great tweaks
- TuneXP

PART 3 - BASIC OPTIMIZATION
A - Disk Defragmenter
- Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories
- System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter
- Defragment your Hard Drive(s)
- Just select the drive letter and then click Defrag
- This might take a while, so do it overnight or something
- NOTE: Don’t do anything on the PC while using this
- NOTE: Windows Defragmenter is one of the worst
B - Turn of the Fancy Visuals
- This will increase performance at the cost of XP effects
- Go to Start -> My Computer
- Click Properties and go to the Advanced Tab
- Click on the FIRST Setting Button from the TOP
- Check adjust for best performance
- Click on the ‘Advanced’ tab
- Select Programs for both options, if not already selected
- Apply Setting
C - Auto-Run Application Processes
- Restart your computer
- Notice all the programs that starts up with it
- Exclude security software, sound and graphic drivers, and such.
- Conclude which ones you do not need
- Find the settings for those applications and disable auto run
- This will decrease load after the desktop is shown
- If you can't remove something this way, go to PART 4 E
D - Increase Hard Drive Speed
- This makes searches a bit slower for an increase in performance
- Go to Start -> My Computer and find all the letters assigned to your Hard Drive(s) (IE: C)
- Right click on all of them and UNCHECK 'Allow Indexing Service'
- Apply Settings, and then go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools
- Click on Services, and find 'Indexing Service'
- Right Click on it and go to properties
- In 'Startup Type', select 'Disabled'
E - Basic CCleaner Process
- NOTE 1: I would NOT recommend installing the Yahoo Toolbar
- Install CCleaner and then open it
- NOTE 2: Doing the process below will delete your cookies and browsing history, if you don't want that uncheck those boxes.
- Press the 'Run Cleaner' button and, on prompt, press Ok

PART 4 - ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION
A - Internet Tweak
- De-limit TCP connection attempts
-Run this
B - Speeding up Startup / Shutdown
- Download TuneXP
- This is one of the best tools out there
- Run Memory and File System -> Ultra-Fast Booting
- Run Memory and File System -> Defrag Boot Files
- Run Memory and File System -> Faster Shutdown -> Enable
- Also, Go To Start -> Run -> msconfig
- Uncheck 'Process System.ini' and uncheck 'Process Win.ini'
- Go to Boot.ini tab and check the '/NOGUIBOOT' option
B - Paging File and two Hard Drives
- Only use if you have two good hard drives, not two partitions.
- NOTE: Don't use if your second hard drive is slower then the OS Hard Drive
- Make sure you know what drive letters are assigned to the first and the second hard drive.
- Moving the Paging file to the hard drive without the OS will increase performance
- Go to Start -> Right Click on My Computer -> Properties
- Go to advanced and Click on the settings button on the top
- Go to 'Advanced Tab' - Press the 'Change' Button
- Click on the Drive letter on which Windows is installed
- Select No Paging File
- Click on the Drive letter assigned to the second hard drive
- Make sure you got a few gigs of space on it
- Select system managed page file
- Apply the settings
BII - Paging File on two Hard Drives
- You can also split the Page File on to Two Hard Drives
- NOTE: Don't use if your second hard drive is different from the OS Hard Drive
- Go to Start -> Right Click on My Computer -> Properties
- Go to advanced and Click on the settings button on the top
- Go to 'Advanced Tab' - Press the 'Change' Button
- Click on the Drive letter assigned to the second hard drive
- Make sure you got a few gigs of space on it
- Select system managed page file
- Apply the settings
C - Graphical Tweaks
- First of all: Download the latest drivers!
- ATI: Click
- Nvidia: Click
- Intel: Screw Intel Graphic Cards! You can't run anything on them. Upgrade to NVIDIA or ATI
CII - NVIDIA Basic Tweaks
- Right Click on Desktop - Select NVIDIA Control Panel
- Go to Manage 3D Settings
- For the Image Settings: High Performance = More FPS
- For V-Sync: Disable = More FPS
- For Triple Buffering: Disable = More FPS
- Negative LOD bias: Clamp = More FPS
- Trilinear Optimization: On = More FPS
- Anisotrphic Optimization: On = More FPS
- Mip Map Optimization: On = More FPS
- NOTE: Opposite of the above settings will give you the best quality
-Tweaked Drivers will give you a performance boost at a cost of little graphical loss
CIII - ATI Tweaks
- Tweaked Drivers
- PM Me Any Guides Worthy of Mentioning Plz
CIII - Rivatuner
- With Rivatuner - you can unlock extra pixel pipelines and force highest performance out of your card thats possible
- Get Rivatuner here
- NOTE: Do not alter clock settings unless you know what you are doing!!
- If using AGP graphic card, make sure fastwires are enabled (More FPS)
- Setting LOD to a more positive setting will increase your FPS rate at a noticble cost of quality
DI - Better CCleaner Cleaning
- Start CCleaner, check 'Tray Notification Cache' and check 'IIS Log Files'
- If you want Windows to auto-organize your start menu: Check 'Menu Order Cache' as well
- Run the Cleaner
DII - Uninstall using CCleaner
- Go to Tools - Click on Startup - Select Entity you can't remove
- NOTE: Make sure that the uninstall option does NOT work
- Click 'Delete Entry' button and then press Ok
- NOTE: This will delete the registry keys - you might need to delete remnants of the programs manually
E - Remove Startup Entries using msconfig
- Startup entries slow down your startup,
- If you dont know: processlibrary.com to see what it is first!!!
- If the above site doesn't help - google.com
- To remove: Go to Start -> Run -> Msconfig
- Go to Startup
- Uncheck all that you don't need
- Don't Restart Yet, You aint done
F - jv16 Power Tools 2007 Software Manager
- Even after uninstalling applications, they might still be there and other nasty things
- Run jv Power Tools 2007 (dl trial version in PART 2)
- Click on Software Manager
- The middle coulumb has the name of the software..
- If you see a software title that you uninstalled or do not want - remove it
- If you see something there that you don't know - google it
- I don't reccomend uninstalling stuff from Microsoft

PART 5 - OPTIMIZING WINDOWS SERVICES
A - Disabling useless services
- Services are parts of the system that can be turned off
- This will free up RAM and CPU, as long as you know what you are doing.
- Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools
- Double click on 'Services'
- To disable the useless ones: right click and go to 'Properties'
- For 'Startup Type', select 'Disabled'
- Click 'Stop'
B - Quick Service Tweak
- NOTE: This will disable all 3rd party services on your system
- NOTE 2: Not reccomended with anything ATi or nVidia
- NOTE 3: Not sure? Use google.com
- Go to Start -> Run | msconfig
- Go to 'Services' Tab
- Check "Hide all Microsoft Services"
- Click "Disable All" and 'Apply'
C - Minimums for a Gaming / Internet / Homework PC
- NOTE: This is an opinion
- NOTE2: Set other to manual not disabled
- Windows Management Instrumentation
- Windows Audio
- Task Scheduler
- Shell Hardware Detection
- Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
- Plug and Play
- Event Log
- DHCP Client
- DCOM Server Process Launcher
D - Minimums for a TCP/IP Gaming
- NOTE: This is an opinion
- NOTE2: Set other to manual not disabled
- Windows Management Instrumentation
- Plug and Play
- Windows Audio
- Task Scheduler
- Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
- Event Log
- DHCP Client
- DCOM Server Process Launcher
E - Minimums for SP Gaming
- NOTE: THis is an opinion
- NOTE2: I reccomend disabling this much with a bat file
- NOTE3: Set other to manual not disabled
- Plug and Play
- Windows Management Instrumentation
- Windows Audio
- Task Scheduler
- Event Log
- Remote Procedure Call (RPC) [Only able to kill from CMD]


PART 6 - REGISTRY RELATED TWEAKS
A - Speeding up Windows Explorer
- NOTE: You will not have recent history, (you know the programs you last used - they appear in your start menu - that will be blank)
- Go to Start -> Run | regedit (A registry editor will pop-up)
- From the right side, there are folders...
- Expand and navigate there directories to:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- From the right side, right click, select new, and click on 'DWORD Value'
- Name this value 'NoInstrumentation' - I recommend you copy and paste so not to mess up
- Right click on this new registry entry and select 'Modify'
- Type in '1'
- This will increase browsing speed of Windows Explorer and Privacy.
B - Speed-up your Hard Drive
- By Disabling NTFS Last Access Time Stamp
- Go to Start -> Run | regedit
- From the right navigate to:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
- Right Click and create a new 'DWORD value'
- Name it "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"
- And set the value to '0'
C - CPU Task Priority Tweak
- Go to Start -> Run | Regedit
- From the right side, navigate yourself to:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl
- Go to the right part, right click and create a new 'DWORD value'
- Name this registry key: 'Win32PrioritySeparation'
- Right click and set value of 38
D - Improve Core System Performance
- NOTE: Reccommended for systems with a minimum of 1GB RAM
- NOTE: Will decrease the amount of RAM available for applications
- This will force Windows into RAM instead of Hard Drive, making it faster.
- Go to Start -> Run | Regedit
- From the right side, navigate yourself to:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
- Go to the right part, right click and create a new 'DWORD value'
- Name this registry key: 'DisablePagingExecutive'
- Right click and, in properties, set the value of '1'
E - Automatically end hanging applications
- Instead of trying to safely end non-responding applications, XP will simply kill them
- Go to Start -> Run | regedit
- From the left side navigate to,
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
- From the right side find 'AutoEndTasks'
- Double click on it and set it to '1'
- Also, to modify the time XP waits for before ending a non-responding application can be configured
- Find 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' and set it to any time in mili-seconds
F - Speedup Access to AVI files in Explorer
- NOTE: This will disable the info functions Windows Explorer has regarding AVI files!
- NOTE2: I am not sure if it works, PM me comments plz
- Go to Start -> Run | Regedit, and from the left navigate to
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}
- Also from the left, right click on {87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E} go to rename and put a minus at the begging.
- Enjoy
G - Disable Smooth Scrolling
- In regedit, go to,
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
- Find the Value - Smoothscroll
- Set it to zero

PART 7 - REGISTRY CLEANING AND OPTIMIZATION
A - CCleaner
- NOTE: If you have JV16 Power Tools 2007, do step B first.
- Open CCleaner
- Press 'Scan for Issues' button, and then, click the 'Fix Selected Issues...' button
- Press 'Yes' to backup! Make sure you do this! Save the file somewhere good.
- Press 'Fix All Selected Issues ', then click Ok, then press Close
- If something doesn't work right, just find the registry values that you created and double click on them and select to add them to registry.
B - JV16 Power Tools Cleaning
- Open Trial or Full Version of JV16 Power Tools
- Click on 'Registry Manager'
- Look the 'Add/Remove' Menu
- Uninstall all that you know
- NOTE: Leave alone all Windows / Microsoft Stuff for best effects
- Dont touch the 'file types' tab
- All the things that you don't know, click on them and press Ctrl-G (this will tell you if you need it)
- Exit out of 'Registry Manager'
- Press Start and then press Yes to confirm (Make sure that it is in agressive mod)
- This might take a while, when done: Press Ctrl-A and press Fix button
- MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP FIRST (Ie: Yes, Ok)
- Do 'A - CCleaner' now.
C - NTREGOPT
- Get NTREGOPT (Stands for NT Registry Optimization)
- Run it (Note Might Take Some Time)
- Restart and Enjoy
- NOTE: Should not have any negative effects - except missing default keys

PART 8 - CREATING A BAT FILE
NOTE: Read the whole [censored] thing
A - PS tools for CMD32
- PART8 will be using this addon for the CMD
- Download them from Microsoft
- Install Them
B - Creating a Blank BAT file
- Right Click -> New -> Text File
- Right Click on Text File -> Rename
- Change the ".txt" to ".bat"
- Right Click on file and select edit
- Text editor will pop up and you are ready to go
C - Starting and Stopping Services
- You can disble and then enable services on the fly to run games and such at max performance
- the command is "net stop" to stop a service
- aftet the command, in parenthesis, is the name of the service
- the command to start a servie is 'net start' followed by a name of the service
- NOTE: Each command should be seperated by line
D - Stopping Processes
- You can disable processes very quickly using the 'pskill' command
- The 'pskill' command is the followed by the process name
E - Starting Applications and Processes
- Start with the command 'cd \' - it will change to the root dir
- Then using the 'cd' command climb higher (cd = change directory)
- Then when in the directory of the application you need to launch,
- just type in its name.
F - Explorer Refresh
- the porcess explorer.exe gives you start, quicklaunch and apps on the bottom
- refreshing it makes it use less memory
- In a new bat file type in:
'pskill explorer.exe
explorer.exe'
- Running it will make the explorer refresh itself and its memory usage
G - Other Usefull Commands
- 'echo' this command is followed by random text that will display in cmd
- '@' Goes Before a command (IE: @echo) - this will disable the command imputed from being seen
- 'cls' - clears the cmd screen of everything it displayed before
- 'echo off' - this will just disable command echoing
H - Completed Result
- by combining all of these you can kill all the useless stuff temporarly :D

PART 9 - USABILITY TWEAKS
A - Classic Search
- This will force XP to use 2000 style search
- Basically, less clicking for basic searches and no puppy
- Go to Start -> Run | regedit
- From the right navigate to:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
CabinetState
- Right Click and create a new 'DWORD value'
- Name it "Use Search Asst"
- And set the value to '0'
B - Classic Logon
- This will give you professional/2k style logon in Home Edition
- Go to Start -> Run | regedit
- From the right navigate to:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- On the right, find a DWORD 'LogonType' or Right Click - New - DWORD Value | LogonType
- Double Click on it and set it to 0 (Zero)
- Enjoy
C - Have address bar in Explorer
- It is hidden in Home Edition
- Open Windows Explorer
- Go to View -> Tool Bars -> Addressbar
- Now there will be a little thing that says 'Address'
- Stretch it out and position it anywhere.
- Whola!
D - FireFox - Installation
- FireFox is a free browser, which, in opinions of millions of others surpasses IE7
- Highlights: High Security, Easy to Use tabs, basic spell-check. Auto updates, remembers passwords, etc...
- Get FireFox2.0 - Browser
- When installing feel free to import your bookmarks from IE
- Get Adblock Plus
- I would really recommend this, to summarize: with this you will not see any ads
- Get FasterFox
- Faster Internet with this add-on
- Consider minifox
- If you have a low resolution desktop, this is a really nice addon.
D2 - FireFox - Tweaks
- To Customize the placement of all buttons and menus,
- Go to: View -> Toolbars -> Customize...
- Now you can move icons around
- I would recommend using small icons to save space.
- Less Memory Used by FireFox,
- In the url, type in: about:config
- Right click anywhere on the page and select New -> Boolean
- Enter config.trim_on_minimize and press OK.
- Select True and press OK.
- Restart Firefox.

PART 10 - WINDOWS XP USAGE TIPS
A - Keep your computer in good shape
- Create backup points using system restore (Espiecially when doing this guide)
- Uninstall stuff that you don't use (safe space and performance)
- Make sure you ain't running a lot of useless application in the Background (especially NO useless ones)
- If you are scared of being hacked, have a firewall, and do regular scans with your anti-virus software. Have a password for your Windows XP copy. In BIOS set the Hard Drive as primary boot device. (So no one could just insert their Linux CD and screw you)
- Defragment once every two weeks or so, saves performance and extends Hard Disk Life Time
- Clear all temporary files
- Update Windows
B - Know your shortcut keys
- CTRL+C -> Copy
- CTRL+X -> Cut
- CTRL+V -> Paste
- CTRL+Z -> Undo
- CTRL-SHIFT-ESC -> Task Manager
- ALT-TAB -> Switch Between Applications (Neat)
- CTRL-ESC -> Bring up Start Menu
- ALT-F4 -> Close Current Application (Really fun to fool people!)
- Full List

PART 11 - SECURITY TIPS
A - Internet Explorer Security
- Make sure you have version 7 of Internet Explorer (see PART 2 A)
- It has better security then version 6
- Do not click on ads, spam, free PS3 messages, etc
- Do not surf porn sites or sites with content that is illegal (Warez)
B - Firefox Security
- Assuming that you already went through PART7 D and D2
- You already got rid of ads and most popups, here is some more extensions for you protective types!
- No Script
- Phistank
C - General Protection
- Have a Firewall, it will make hacking your PC harder
- Have an AntiVirus, it will keep your computer virusfree (hopefully)
- Scan your 3rd Party Software (Espiecially if it is WAREZ or Porn)
D - Have a login
- Go to Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts
- Click on Guest Account -> Turn off Guest Account
- Next select your Account and Administrators (can be one and the same)
- Click create password
E - Make BIOS boot order be Hard Drive First
- A hacker can basically surpass your Windows Security by not even going into windows but using a startup disk to load his own OS
- To do this you need to enter BIOS
- Restart computer, and see if there is like text saying "Press this key to enter BIOS"
- Press that key to enter bios - commons ones are ESC, DEL, or F2
- All BIOS menus are different, try to navigate to boot device order
- Put the Hard Drive with your Windows XP as the first choice and disable the rest
E - Encrypt your files
- A determined intruder could just open up your PC and steal the hard drive
- NOTE: For NTFS file systems only
- NOTE2: Will not work with certain file system tweaks
- Right click on a precious file or a folder of precious files
- Go to Properties -> Advanced -> Check encrypt contents to secure data
- Also you can use an encryption program to encrypt your files so that you would need a password to access them

~ Comments? Questions? Spelling Errors? Stupid Things? More Tweaks You Know? PM ME!!!

I find the files in Content and MetaData, the sub-folders of the CryptnetUrlCache folder, really interesting.

- Faster Browser

The Tech board gets about as much traffic as the Sahara Desert, so don't be surprised if you you get little or no response. :P

You certainly know your way around XP. I'm already doing most of these things, but a reminder is nice every now and then, and I even found some new things to mess around with.

Are you kidding? The Sahara desert has those nomadic people, and the trade convoys, and the tourists, and the drug lords, and the weapons specialists. They're thriving compared to us.

Call it excellent moderation- why, I almost never have a user acting outside of his limits in here. Logically, we can assume it's because I'm so very, very good at my job.

----

As for a lot of the content of your tweaks, try instead using "Start->Run->msconfig" to edit the boot que.

As for your actual services:

- Telephony -> I wouldn't disable, you'll need these to do advanced TelNetting and HyperTerminal.
- Server -> You can disable even if you are on a network, but it won't allow you to share any files/printers/services.
- Routing and Remote Access -> Only disable if you're sure you don't ever want to use the Remote Desktop software.
- Background Intelligent Transfer Service -> Do not disable the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS). BITS is used for fast downloads such as when downloading betas and ISOs from microsoft, as well as some system updates. BITS is highly useful and may be necessary to run some of your applications.
- Application Layer Gateway Service -> You actually only need this to run Microsoft Windows Firewall and security center.
- Indexing Service -> Disabling this will prevent you from quickly using the Search option in the start menu.
- IPSEC Services -> Yeah, I wouldn't disable IPSEC. You'll need it for a ]i]lot[/i] of things- it's the main security protocol for the IP (internet protocol, to give you an idea, pretty every communication that comes out of your computer is sent over this protocol, whether bound to TCP or UDP.)
- Messenger -> This allows you to recieve Network Alerts. Useful if you're on a domain whose controller likes to send you little tidbits about network updates, but it's annoying as hell, and can be abused to spread advertisements. I say disable.
- Net Logon -> If you're ever going to have to use VPN or dialup with authentication, leave this on.
- Protected Storage -> Nothing to do with Security. Leave on. Trust me.
- Windows Time -> Syncronizes time with the main Windows Time server. Really not worth disabling, takes up pretty much no CPU/mem.
- Workstation -> Disable if you plan never to use networking.
- Windows Audio -> Enables you to hear the sound that's coming out of your computer. Leave this on, even if you don't have speakers, or you'll get fun errors when programs try to access your speakers via DirectX or similar.
- Task Scheduler -> Leave on. This lets your computer run tasks as services. It's like those dainty cronjobs on Linux- but then again, if you're reading this guide, you'll have no idea what those are, anyway.
- System Restore -> Useless, but leave it on so no tech support junkie can yell at you in the event that he's not smart enough to fix the problem on his own.
- SSDP Discovery Service -> Permits the discovery of UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) devices. Leave it on.
- Shell Hardware Detection -> This is the basis behind Plug and Play. Leave it on.
- Print Spooler -> Leave it on; this allows your computer to coordinate documents with any printers, including some imaging squites.
- DHCP Client -> Allows you to dynamically get an IP address (your computer's address) from a DHCP server. Leave this on if you want to connect to most network.
- Automatic Updates -> Turning this off is a risk- but if you're decent with computers, you shouldn't have to worry.

I revised the Services list! :D



I loled... but disagree, this one is somewhat useful, it might rollback any minor ****-ups you might have done.



I just added a bunch more,

- NTFS Last Access Time Stamp
- Free Security Applications
- Windows Keys
- CPU Priority Tweak
- Improved System Core Performance



I know a bunch more places where I could post this! :D

Thanks for th google earth link.

That sections needs ALOT more software links - there is so much great stuff out there! :D

When it comes to a free antivirus I have no problems with ClamWin. Its a free open source program. The downside is that the scan takes a while. Avast seemed to slow my computer down and AVG will not get every virus on your computer. I was not very happy even with the full version of AVG. ClamWin is not a ram hog and will not slow your computer down by any means. Give it a try at www.clamwin.com

I fixed the link. -DK

provide working link

Kroenen prolly mean ClamWin http://www.clamwin.com/

Sorry about that. I was typing the post using my Nintendo Wii.

There is another Cleaner program I would like to suggest its called ATF Cleaner it cleans similar to CCLeaner but it does clean up for FireFox and Opera as well.

Then there is a Antivirus I would also like to recommend called BitDefender, works well although just to download it you give them your email and they send you a download link. Its free and it never expires and you can keep getting unlimited updates.

And there is another good Anti-Spyware program I would add to the list. Its called Super Antispyware, this program is good at removing spyware just like Ad-Aware but unlike Ad-Aware this has better detection of Trojans/Worms. It has detected a few of them for me although the one I accidently executed was hard to kill it can kill the ones that stand as a potential threat that havent been executed yet (ie compressed in a zip folder or the exe hasnt been double clicked)

Hope these will be as helpful to someone else as they have been to me.

CCleaner cleans firefox files.

Also, changes,
- NTREGOPT added to part 2 and 6
- jv 16 powertools added to part 2, 4, 6
- Some minor stuff

I am going to get to revise this guide this weekend.

Excellent guide, although I did know most of these since I was in computer classes + I browse the internet a lot for programs, this could be a good place for future reference to download new things or if I reformat my pc and need to re-install things that I've forgot.

There is a another program Id like to add for awesome applications. This program is called K-Lite. You can get here http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm
I know that CCCP was used for this but I find that occasionally it doesnt give me smooth videos for .h264 compressed vids. But when I installed this codec packages it seems the videos compressed in .h264 seems to run just fine. Also installs Classic Media Player which also plays smoother than VLC on some occasion. Only problem is some MKV files with subtitles timing is a tad off. Just some, others seems normal.