I agree totally about getting rid of the junk (and sometimes legitimate apps and even devices). However, it is often hard to tell from the description what services etc are actually in use by some app — and time consuming to use trial-and-error for each one.

I long ago disabled pretty much all the unused services on my XP. I expect Vista will be an even bigger job, so I’m not looking forward to it. However, in working on my XP I discovered (using Task Manager) that 2 apps/services were the major bottle-necks. WMP net sync was consuming huge CPU cycles, at least whenever it ran. Also, (with all due respect to McAfee), McAfee AV was using over 50% of resources. No criticism of McAfee intended; but on my particular computer it was a hog; in someone else’s config it might just as well be NAV or some other real-time service. A third example: PC-Tools Malware program conflicts badly with NAV (known problem).

So for those who favor a more cautious approach, go into Task Manager (Ctl-Alt-Del), especially if you notice a sudden slowdown, and sort by CPU cycles or RAM used; look for the serious hogs and get rid of them or replace them if possible before doing a wholesale hack.

Another useful aid, especially if you are disabling many services at once, is to create an Excel (or other S/S) file listing all services you have changed & the date. It’s saved my bacon a couple of times.
TP

http://www.blackviper.com

When I wrote my batch file to “Kill Services” (for both XP and Vista) I used the information in the “Safe” column. There are many more services that can be disabled, in Vista, than there were in XP.

There is much argument as to how much disabling unneeded services really helps system performance.
But despite the nay-sayers, I shut down everything I don’t need, both in Services and TSR’s. That’s the junk that shows up in your “Startup” folder, that you really don’t need. Like all those update schedulers and reminders.

I about choke when I read someone’s ‘Hijack This’ log and the RUN list scrolls off the screen.
That’s so ridiculous, I can’t believe that some people actually run their PC’s like that.

Get rid of the JUNK running in your PC and it will run much faster, and more reliable.

Cheers Mates!
The Shadow

Also if you shorten the shutdown too much, isn’t there a risk of losing cached or buffered data?

What I’d like is a way to speed bootup and user login … my new quadcore 64 bit is almost as slow as my 7-year-old XP! Even with the improved information on services it’s pretty hard to know which services and background apps you don’t need. F’rinstance, a music editor I use extensively requires .NET, dunno why.

When you shut down your PC from within Windows, either with the normal path or with a Quick Shutdown Icon, the PSU never really shuts off. It’s still running and providing power to the motherboard and the START switch.
Again, here’s the shortcut for a Quick Shutdown in Vista.

%windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f

To really SHUT DOWN your PC you must remove Line Power.
On every one of my computer benches, there is a power strip which provides power to the PC and monitor. After Windows has done it’s little power down thing, I flip the power switch on the Power Strip to remove all power from both the PC and the Monitor.
That’s the only SAFE way to shut down a PC.

I actually saw a PSU explode, while in the Powered OFF mode. I don’t want any power at all, going into my system when I’m not there to monitor it.

SO, yes I want the Windows shutdown to go as smoothly and quickly as possible, because I’m sitting there with my finger on the Power Strip Switch, just waiting to flip it when the screen goes black and the power light goes OFF on the tower.

Both my XP machine and my Vista machine shut down in 5 to 8 seconds.

It’s 100% do’able.

Happy New Year Everyone!
The Shadow

1.) In the Processes tab in Task Manager, I shut down:
Windows Media Center
WMC systray icon
Taskeng Task Scheduler Engine.

2.) In the Services tab, I shut off:
Windows Media Center
eHome infrared controller
Readyboost

Then went directly to shut down the computer, a warning popped up telling me that Task Manager is used to shut down services and programs so that I won’t lose progress in any open programs, or that I could continue as is.

I continued as is, and wham…down in 15 seconds, and fully powered off.

Now…if only I could speed up startup. A minute 45 every time is nothing short of ridiculous. I even unplugged all of my USB devices and shut down unneeded functions in the BIOS setup. Nada, still 1:45.

*sighs*

You’ve been warned!

So if one second works, why waste the other four seconds?
On my own PC, from the time I click my Quick Shutdown Icon till the lights go off is less than 8 seconds.

For Vista, I use this script to tweak the registry in just one second. Using a script also eliminates the possibility of making a mistake while manually editing the registry.
************************************************************************
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
“WaitToKillServiceTimeout”=”1000″

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
“DisablePagingExecutive”=”1″
“LargeSystemCache”=”1″

******************************************************************
Copy the lines between the lines of stars, into a new Notepad document and save
with a name like:
VITweaks.reg

If the second tweak scares you, then just leave it out.
It does work to greatly enhance the performance of Windows.
It’s almost exactly the same tweak I used on XP.

Before you ever just blindly take someone else’s word for something…..try it for yourself !!!
I’ve been at this stuff way too many years to believe anything, till I try it myself.

Cheers Mates!
The Shadow