Windows 7 Speed Trick
My boot time as recorded by BootRacer is down to 17 seconds.
A Win 7 fresh install, has about 200 features that are enabled by
default that are NOT needed for the typical home system.
Turning off everything that are not essential:
There are several ways to turn off some features
so they may be mentioned more than once.
You'll find it easier to go to User Accounts
and set your alert to "never noitfy" so you don't
have to give permission to every tweak.
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The top 4 "features" I first disable are:
Start > Computer > Right click (Local Disk C:) > Properties
On General Tab
Uncheck "Index this drive for faster searching"
On the subsequent dialog box,
select Include Subfolders and Files.
(This has to be done to all hard drives on the system individually.)
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Click "Start" and type "powercfg -h off" (without quotes) then enter
a screen with come up and disappear.
Most software that saves data, like text editors,
have features to save your work every few minutes.
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wants too run often.
Start > type "def" > click Windows Defender > click "tools" "options"
UNCHECK "Automatically Scan"
To run WinDef Manually
Create a desktop shortcut from
"\program files\windows defender\MSASCui.exe" to desktop.
It searches for malware and spyware, much like AdAware.
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Start > type "di" > Select Disk Defragmenter > Configure Scheduler
UNCHECK "run on schedule"
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The largest group of unnecessary processes that run are in the Task Scheduler
By DEFAULT there are almost 150 tasks enabled after a clean install of Win 7.
Most don't actually run all the time but many are diagnostic tasks and some tasks just send report logs to Microsoft. They are triggered by a multitude of events and they take baud width and system resources. I'm convinced that there are enough people who won't turn them off... and Microsoft can check with their customer support department... to get a pretty good idea of what they need to fix, WITHOUT using my computer. They should be paying me to leave these task turned on.
BAD: there are software programs that insert their updates checks, registration check, error reporting, etc. from the Task Scheduler... they will tax the system and can cause problems when they automatically activate. You can check for updates from within your favorite applications. Updating every time a new feature is available is using your system for beta testing.
UGLY: worse of all are viruses/trojans/malware/crapware that uses Task Scheduler to get loaded. When they are activated undesirable results are inevitable. If Task Scheduler is turned off, that avenue will no longer be available for them to do their dirty work.
You can run Task Scheduler and disable them on an individual basis (if you want to leave some running) or simply turn off the Task Scheduler. I have the entire Task Scheduler disabled. It can NOT be disabled by unchecking a box when you run Msconfig and go to Services. Here is the manual method to turn off the Task Scheduler.
Run these commands from a command prompt or put them into a batch file and run it then reboot.
takeown /f c:\windows\system32\taskschd.msc /a
icacls c:\windows\system32\taskschd.msc /grant administrators:f
cd c:\windows\system32
ren taskschd.msc taskschd.mscc
pause
Verify that it DID get renamed. Things like sharing violations can still get in the way.
If you have connection lags and problems go to Task Manager /services /services and Disabled the Function Discovery Resource Publication service
Note: Windows 7's new "HomeGroup" connectivity requires this service.
Here are about 30 Win 7 services that can be turned off:
Note: Services can be set to Automatic, Manual or Disabled so it's recommended you use "services.msc" because Msconfig just disables them.
HOWEVER, I ignored that advice and use Msconfig to disable them because I want them turned OFF and it's much easier to do that by unchecking their boxes under services - when you run Msconfig. They can all be easily turned back on by checking their box.
Click on the Name field to list them alphabetically and find them easier.
Application Experience - Older "non-Vista or Windows 7 compatible" programs may need this service running.
Bitlocker - Unless you need to protect trade secrets or national security documents it's best to avoid all encryption software.
The best security is to store sensitive data on a USB and lock it up.
Bluetooth - you know if you use bluetooth devices
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager - reverts back to basic style themes when running applications that are not compatible with Windows 7
Distributed Link Tracking Client - not needed for home network
Error Reporting Service - I don't run it, it's not connected with Administrative error logs under Event Viewer \custom
Google Updater - Not a Windows service but I'm including it because I'm suspicious when it comes to testing new software for Google or anyone. I'll manually update when/if I want to. I have included this it as an example of what you may find listed.
IP Helper - Very few ISP's offer a native IPv6 network to home users and no reason exists to have both IPv6 and the tried and true IPv4 on a home network.
Offline files - If you do not synchronize files between computers, disable this service.
Print Spooler - If this service is disabled, printing to a local or network printer will not work or any applications that use the printing sub-system (like PDF converters)...normal printing doesn't need this.
Remote (everything) To prevent remote use of this computer, clear the checkboxes, If you use a hardware gateway or router, this service is not required.
Secondary Logon - not needed
Server - My system runs ok without it.. there have been security vulnerabilities with this service and we still don't know if its secure.
Smart card (both) - you know if you use smart cards
Tablet PC Input Service - you know if you use table pc
Task Scheduler - doesn't matter.. if you uncheck it, it will just be checked next time. The only way to turn it off is to rename taskschd.msc as I mentioned above.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - If your network does not use NetBIOS and/or WINS, disable this function
Telephony - This service is only required for dial-up modem connectivity and to use the Fax service
Windows Backup - Provides Windows Backup and Restore capabilities. You can still backup and restore manually. Cloning your hard drive to a bootable backup hard drive is THE only real (smart/effective/reliable) method to backup. Use Acronis True Image.
Windows Media (both) - TV and FM broadcast reception
Windows Media Center Service Launcher - Starts and stops recording of TV programs within Windows Media Center
Windows search - Searching for a file does not take "that" long to justify always having this service taking up resources and beating the life out of my hard drive.
Wlan Autoconfig - This service is only required for Wireless Networks -- however it polls for a better connection every 60 seconds... sometimes causing brief freezes.
Most of the details came from this great site... with a lot more excellent info about windows 7 services: http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm
Also, when you run Msconfig, go to startup and uncheck anything you don't need to load automatically at bootup. There is an excellent free program called Autoruns you can Google for that will display everything your computer is set to load at startup. ...and another really excellent program you can Google called StartupMonitor that will alert you when malware is trying to load into your startup menu.
If you want to go really hardcore, there are over 100 MORE services you can tweak. These websites builds a .reg file to automatically optimize or disable about 150 windows services (with a single click of the mouse.) You look over/modify and accept their recommendations and it builds a reg file you just download and merge. Use some caution... you may lose a finger or two if you aren't careful.
http://serviceseditor.com/
http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/customREG.htm
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Tweaking Prefetch:
Prefetch is one of the commonly overlooked components that can have a significant impact on system boot time. This tweak allows selection of which components will make use of the prefetch parameters. To see which files are gathered using each of the settings, clear the prefetch cache located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and then enable one of the settings. Clear the cache and repeat for each setting.
Start type and enter Regedit then go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
Set Value Data: 3 = Prefetch All
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Exit Registry and Reboot
In addition to turning OFF unnecessary processes, there are a couple tweaks that will force Windows to use MORE of the ram memory than the system is set to use by default. Using MORE memory FOR YOUR applications means the system is faster and there are fewer hard drive accesses. You want more memory to be USED by YOUR applications... that's why you paid for it.
Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ FileSystem\NtfsMemoryUSage
Change it from 0 to 2.
Just below that location is this key, this registry tweak will increase your hard disk cache size The Large System Cache option is one that can improve your disk I/O performance up to 50%! Change from 0 to 1.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement\LargeSystemCache
