A Compiled List of Hacks and Fixes For Windows... For Nubs (LOL)!

A Compiled List of Hacks and Fixes For Windows... For Nubs (LOL)! Ok so I'm going to take some time to review with you some hacks that you, the reader, can do to make Windows XP snappier and more efficient. Much of this stuff I found on the Microshaft website, and O'Reily Windows hacks book that I browsed through at Borders, Angry_Games @ DFI-Street.com, and i-hacked.com. This list is dedicated to Taz100420 because he needs help and to tkpenalty because he started the Project MAX OUT Project Log. On with the show. First things first: Let's start out by downloading SP2 and updating Windows if you haven't done so already. If you bought XP, then do an express update. If you are a naughty little pirate ;) then do a custom update and deselect the genuine advantage validation tool. It's easier that way! Next after the long and excruciating update, let's set up windows. Word of caution: This very stripped down so if you need pretty stuff in the GUI then keep some of it on. The Start Bar: 1. Go to start and right click 2. click properties 3. click customize 4. i like small icons so i select that 5. click on advance tab 6. deselect Highlight newly installed programs and List my most recently opened documents 7. scroll down and turn off help and support 8. scroll down and Set program Access and Defaults 9. next deselect any folders you don't want on the start bar As you can see i only have the search and rum... icons on the start bar because i rely on my object bar and windows explorer to navigate through windows. Messing with folder options, the L33T way: 1. pull up my documents and click on the icon to the far right next to folders 2. click details 3. next go to tools/folder options/view 4. deselect Display file size information in folder tips

5. deselect display simple folder view in Explorer's Folders list 6. Select display system folders 7. deselect display the full path in the title bar 8. select display the full path in the address bar 9. select do not cache thumbnails 10. select show hidden files and folders 11. deselect hide extensions for known file types 12. deselect hide protected operating system files 13.select show control panel in my computer <- this is handy! 14. deselect show pop-up description for folder and desktop items 15.click apply then click apply to all folders Change the index: This next hack is definitely something to look at! This hack has boosted scores in 3DMark. Much of the overclocking world uses this hack. Requirements: You will need to have either to physical hard drives or if you only have one hard drive, you will need to partition a small section of your drive. I will go over how to use a partitioner later. For the sake of this guide, ill just assume you have two hard drives. 1. open up you first hard drive 2. deselect allow indexing service yada yada yada 3. click apply and click ok to the pop up 4. wait for it... 5. click ignore all on the error applying attribute pop up 6. wait some more... 7. now click ok 8. now go to your second hard drive and follow the same steps 9. now right click on my computer/advance/performance/advanced 10.click on the change button in the virtual memory section 11.click on your windows hard drive, your first one, usually C: 12.scroll down and select no paging file then hit set 13.click you second hard drive 14. click the custom size button 15.now initial and maximum sizes will be the same. Basically, these numbers should equal double your current physical memory. For instance say you have a 1 Gig of RAM (1024mb), then you should input 1024 in both. 16. Click set 17.click ok then ok on the pop up 18. keep Performance options up Back to basics; the GUI: 1. click on visual effects 2. click on Adjust for best performance 3. click apply then ok 4. keep system properties open Turning off failure...i mean remote assistance: 1. click remote tab

2. deselect Allow remote assistance invitations to be sent from this computer 3. click apply 4. keep system properties open Why turn off system restore?: This is for your own discretion, i myself turn off system restore on my media and game drives but leave it on for my windows and programs drive. If you wish to turn it off completely, then just push turn off on all drives. If you want to be selective than click on a drive then click on the settings button and turn it off from there. Then press apply. Now click apply in system properties and reboot. Moving On: Windows should be up and running crisp and clean. You might have noticed that it is snappier already. Well hang on a second, let's get some more hacks in first. Now that you are in Windows, go download the latest video, sound and chipset drivers and uninstall the old versions. Install chipset drivers first, reboot. Then sound drivers, reboot. Finally, video drivers and reboot. After that, now might be a good time to defragment so why don't you do that now... I'm assuming you know how to do that at least. After thats done, let's start on some more hacks. Run run as fast as you can: 1. open up a prompt in run 2. type in services.msc 3. you should see a list of options to enable and disable 4. If any of these do not appear in the list or already disabled, then you are in good shape and don't need to worry about them The List of disable: 6to4 IPv6 is designed to solve many of the problems of the current version of IP (known as IPv4) with regard to address depletion, security, auto configuration, extensibility, and more. Alerter Notifies users of administrative alerts. Not required under normal circumstances.. Application Layer Gateway Service Provides support for 3rd party plug-ins for Internet Connection Sharing/Internet Connection Firewall. Required if using Internet Connection Sharing / Internet Connection Firewall (zone alarm, etc) to connect to the Internet. Application Management Used for Assign, Publish and Remove software services. If you can not modify your software installation of certain applications, put this service in to Automatic. ASP.NET State Service

Provides support for out of process session state. If this service is stopped then the requests will be not be processes. If this services is disabled, any service that explicitly depends on it will fail to start. if you use asp.net programming ATI Hotkey POLLER This service is installed if you update to the latest ATI video card drivers. It provides the ability to hot key your display settings for what ever reason you would need this feature. I do not change them often, so there is no point in having this service "always running." ATI Smart This service is installed if you update to the latest ATI video card drivers. It provides the ability to test your particular configuration for compatibility issues and stability issues. The location is also in the ATI display properties control panel. After testing once, I have found no reason to continue to have this service in memory. ATI X10 Device Network Service This service is required for the remote control to work with your system. If you do not use the remote control then you can disable this service. If you do use the remote control then keep this on Automatic. (if you want to use the remote) Automatic Updates Used to check up to see if there is any critical or otherwise updates available for download. Take note: Manual update via Windows Update web site Requires Cryptographic Services to be running. Background Intelligent Transfer Service Used to transfer asynchronous data via http1.1 servers. BrSplService Brother Spooling Service Recommend: Leave Alone if you have a brother printer. C-DILLACDAC11BA "C-Dilla" is the name of a company that was purchased by Macrovision. The previous company, and now Macrovision, use the C-Dilla technology to provide software activation services and CD Key verification services for anti-piracy reasons. This technology is now sold by Macrovision as SafeCast and is bundled with many products. It also increases the ammount of popups you receive on your computer. (spyware/adware) ClipBook Used to store information (cut/paste) and share it with other computers. COM+ Event System You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry from "DCOM" complaining about not having this service running if Disabled. Required for System Event Notification. Required if you want to

run BootVis with the "optimize system" option. COM+ System Application You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry from "DCOM" complaining about not having this service running if Disabled. Required for System Event Notification. Compaq Advisor Compaq Advisor is an application that makes Compaq Presario PCs smarter. Compaq Advisor provides relevant and timely information about: Your PC's functionality, Recommended enhancements for your PC, Offers related to your computing interests, Proactive notification of potential product or service issues. This service is quite annoying. Computer Browser Maintains a listing of computers located on the network. This service is not needed on a standalone system. Content Monitoring Tool Hot deals content updated notifier. This is what it says when you check the service. Says it has no dependencies. I'm still trying to figure out what installs it I think its Kazaa though. Recommended: Disable Creative Service for CDROM Access This service only exists for those of us with Creative soundcards and software. I found it nothing but annoying and later I uninstalled all non-driver related Creative software entirely. If you use their Disk Detector (for some bizarre reason) leave it. Otherwise, disable it. A word of warning, Creative installs Disk Detector by default and sets it to Automatic. Make sure to disable it in the Creative menu first before killing it here. Crypkey License This service is installed if you use "Swish" (swishzone.com). It is required to start up the program, otherwise an error about writing to a memory location pops up. Set this to Disabled until you need it. Note: If set to "Manual," this service will NOT start on it's own (thus the error message). Cryptographic Services Mainly, it confirms signatures of Windows files. You may always get a dialog box complaining about uncertified drivers if this is Disabled. Required for Windows Update to function in manual mode. DefWatch This service is installed with Norton. Virus Definitions Daemon. Unless you do not want your Virus Scanner to work properly, keep this going. 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.

Directway Webcast Part of a satellite network. Need to be enabled to use this service. no dependancies. Dependant on QoS RSVP, IPSEC, and Upload Manager. Diskeeper Controls the Diskeeper service. This service exists only for those of us who use the Diskeeper defragmentation software as opposed to the Windows pre-installed defragmenter. Set this to Manual. Distributed Link Tracking Client Maintains links with NTFS files within your computer or across a domain. Distributed Transaction Coordinator Takes care of transactions that span multiple resources. Required if using Message Queuing. DNS Client Resolves DNS names and Active Directory domain controller functions. This service is not needed, but if it makes you happy to have it running, go ahead. Required if using IPSEC. Error Reporting Service Calls home to Microsoft when application errors occurs. A waste of memory and resources. Event Log Allows Event Log messages from applications to be viewed in Event Viewer. Always helpful to check out the Event Log to see what problems with applications are popping up that is "hidden" from the normal user. Windows Management Instrumentation also Requires Event Log Service to be running. Fast User Switching Compatibility Unless you have many users on a system (more than 3), you probably do not even need this service to be running. Fax Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. FTP Publishing Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Used to provide a FTP server on your network. Help and Support Required for Microsoft online help documents.

(HID) Human Interface Device Access Used for specific peripherals. IIS Admin Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Usually used in conjunction with local web site or FTP servers. unless you really want it. IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service Used for that cool "drag and drop" CD burn capability. You will need this service to burn CD's. Indexing Service This has always and forever been a major resource hog. Remove the function via the "Add/Remove Programs" icon in the control panel (Windows Setup Programs.) or even better, uninstalled Intel NMS Intel NIC management service. Component that controls the Intel NIC cards. InteractiveLogon This service is installed with Windows XP PowerToys. Uses 1.4 MB to 2 MB EACH! This service will fire off at least 2 (system and user) instances of this process. Internet Connection - Firewall (ICF) Provides network address translation, addressing, name resolution and/or intrusion prevention services for a home or small office network. Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Used to allow multiple computers on your network to access the Internet via only one account. IPSEC Services May be required on some domains, but the "average" user will not need this. LEXBCE SERVER Installed by Lexmark USB printer you may get the error"microsoft activesync causing instant pc reboot upon USB connection." This is caused by this service. Logical Disk Manager Vital to run the Disk Management MMC console for dynamic volumes. Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service Vital to run the Disk Management MMC console for dynamic volumes.

Machine Debug Manager Service Manages local and remote debugging for Visual Studio debuggers unless you use a visual studio like VB 6 enterprise or.net. McAfee Firewall This service is only for those that use McAfee Firewall software. It's best to set this to Manual and then open it when you plan on using the internet, otherwise it just eats memory. Be sure to disable automatic startup within Firewall itself before resetting the service configuration. McShield Installed by, McAfee on Access Scanner. This service is also only for those that use McAfee Virus Scan software. McAfee usually runs a large number of unecessary processes in the background, even when not connected to the internet or when McAfee is closed. It's best to set this to Manual and then open McAfee Virus Scan when you plan on using the internet or are handling potentially hazardous files. Media Manager Indexer Part of MS Visual InterDev, Media Manager is an easy media file management system that works in conjunction with Windows Explorer. The Media Manager Indexer is a program that indexes all the information about your media files and puts it into a database. Depends on Remote procedure call. If you don't use this feature then disable it. Message Queuing Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. May be used on some domains, but the "average" home user will never need this service. Message Queuing Triggers Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Required if you use Message Queuing service. Messenger Sends messages between clients and servers. Not needed under normal "home" conditions. This has nothing to do with MSN Messenger. MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Used in conjunction with the Volume Shadow Copy Service. MS Backup uses these services. You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry complaining about not having this service running if Disabled. Net Login Used for logging onto a Domain Controller. NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Enables a user to access your computer using NetMeeting. Network Connections

Required for managing network connectivity. Set to Disabled if you have no network or you do not toy with the configurations a lot. Network DDE Unless you use remote ClipBook, Disable it. Network DDE DSDM Same as above. Network Location Awareness (NLA) Required for use with the Internet Connection Sharing Service (server only.) Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect Service The Auto-Protect options enable you to customize the automatic protection feature of NAV. This feature works continuously in the background to find and repair viruses Norton Unerase protection UnErase Wizard helps you recover files that are deleted from the standard Windows Recycle Bin. Although UnErase Wizard can recover files that were not first protected with Norton Protection, enable Norton Protection to ensure the successful recovery of all deleted files. You can search for a deleted file by its file name and by words that you think the file may contain. This is especially useful if you cannot remember the file name, but you do remember its contents. This service is almost useless, its a waste of resources and space. NT LM Security Support Provider Not needed unless you are running Message Queuing or Telnet server. unless needed. Nvidia Driver Helper Service If a system is using an Nvidia 3-D graphics processor video card with the latest XP drivers from Nvidia, your users may notice that their systems take a long time to shut down. They may be encountering a problem caused by a service called Nvidia Driver Helper Service. This service has problems closing properly, yet doesn't provoke Windows XP to display the Wait, End Task, Or Cancel dialog box. The service isn't really necessary, so you can change its Startup Type setting from Automatic to Manual or Disable in the Services console. Performance Logs and Alerts Collects performance data on a schedule and sends the information to a log or triggers an alert. Plug and Play The heart and soul of the Plug and Play environment. I do not recommend to disable this service, but if you want to, you are on your own. Take note: UPnP is NOT related to PnP. UPnP is used for connectivity on networks via TCP/IP to devices, such as scanners or

printers. Your sound card is PnP. Do NOT Disable Plug and Play service. PML Driver HPZ12 All in One office jet 6110xi installed with the All In One printers. So far as I can tell this is needed for these printers. Portable Media Serial Number Retrieves serial numbers from portable music players connected to your computer. Print Hardware Detection This is installed by HP printers. I wouldn't recommend disabling this service unless you don't use your printer. At all. Print Spooler Queues up print jobs for later printing. This service is Required if you have printers, even if they are network printers Protected Storage Allows for the saving of local passwords or even web sites information (AutoComplete.) If you enjoy having your passwords saved in applications like Outlook or Dial up networking, set this service to Automatic. Recommend: disable if you don't have MSN QoS RSVP Provides traffic control on a network using IPSEC and applications that support QoS, plus have an adapter that supports it. The QoS Packet Driver is installed by default on any TCP/IP connections. I have also read that this adds about 20% overhead to your network bandwidth. Remote Access Auto Connection Manager Creates a connection to a network when a program requests a remote address. Remote Access Connection Manager Creates a network connection. This service is Required if you use Internet Connection Sharing. This service may also be Required for your Internet connection. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Manages and controls Remote Assistance. Remote Procedure Call (RPC) This service is rather Vital. Just about everything depends on this service to be running. This is also the only service that you can not disable via the Services MMC. Recommend:Automatic. Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator Manages the RPC name service database.

. Remote Registry Service This is one of those not needed services. Removable Storage Used for managing removable media. Disable this service if you do not have items like tape backup devices, etc. RIP Listener Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Routing and Remote Access Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off the WinXP CD Script blocking Service Script Blocking stops script-based viruses A script is a list of instructions that can be executed without user interaction. Scripts can be opened with text editors or word processing programs, so they are very easy to change. Script Blocking detects Visual Basic and Java script-based viruses without the need for specific virus definitions. It monitors the scripts for virus-like behavior and alerts you if it is found. Installed by Norton Anti Virus Secondary Logon Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. Security Accounts Manager Like Protected Storage, it saves security information for local users. This service is Required for IIS Admin. unless needed. Server Used for file and print sharing from your computer or if you use Message Queuing. Workstation is needed to connect to another computer that has the files you are looking for. Shell Hardware Detection Used for the auto play of devices like memory cards, etc. Also, set to Automatic if you are experiencing problems with laptop docking stations. Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Supports the use of a local (outbound) e-mail server. Smart Card Supports the use of a Smart Card for local or network computer authentication. If you do not have a "Smart Card," you do not need this service running.

Smart Card Helper Supports the use of a Smart Card for local or network computer authentication. If you do not have a "Smart Card," you do not need this service running. SNMP Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Supports the use of networking equipment that use SNMP as a mode of management. SNMP Trap Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Supports the use of networking equipment that use SNMP as a mode of management. Speed Disk This is installed by Norton System Works. Speed Disk is supposed to deccrease the ammount of time it takes to boot and run windows applications. Windows builtin degrag does a better job than this program. This service is required to run Speed Disk. SSDP Discovery Service Used to locate UPnP devices on your home network. Used in conjunction with Universal Plug and Play Device Host, it detects and configures UPnP devices on your home network. Take note: UPnP is NOT related to PnP. UPnP is used for connectivity on networks via TCP/IP to devices, such as scanners or printers. Your sound card is PnP. Do NOT Disable Plug and Play service. Symantec Event Manager The NAV Event Manager receives information from all registered events. It is the middleman that ensures that the information is then sent to the Log Viewer to be processed and displayed as part of the Activity Log Report (You can disable this and have Norton fucntion fine.) Symantec Password Service Added to NAV 2003 is the option to enable password protection for accessing Options. This provides another layer that a virus or hacker would need to go through to disable modules in NAV, such as Auto-Protect or Email Scanning. It also allows administrators to control who can change options in the program. (This isn't an essental service and you can disable it if you wish.) Symantec Proxy Services Proxy Services, for example, Symantec Email Proxy is required to manage Norton AntiVirus (NAV) email scanning feature. System Event Notification Used in conjunction with COM+ Event System, this service notifies particular services when system events, such as logon and power events occurs. You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry complaining about not having this service running if Disabled.

System Restore Service Creates system snap shots or restore points for returning to at a later time. This is the OTHER service that is a massive resource hog. if resources are not an issue Task Scheduler This service is used to schedule maintenance, MS Backup sessions or maybe even Auto Update. Some third party software may require this service to be active for automated functions, such as Virus Scanners, system maintenance tools, and Automatic patch/driver lookups. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service Legacy support for NetBios over TCP/IP. If your network does not use NetBios, disable this function. TCP/IP Printer Server Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Used for setting up a local UNIX print server. If you do not need this function, leave it uninstalled. Telephony Controls telephony devices on the local computer. This service is Required for dial-up modem connectivity., Automatic if you require dial-up connectivity Telnet Allows remote login to the local computer via the telnet function. Terminal Services Allows remote login to the local computer. This service is Required for Fast User Switching, Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance. Themes Used to display all those pretty new XP themes and colors on your desktop. If you are memory conscious and do not care about the "new" XP look, disable this service to save RAM., unless you like the new xp look. Uninterruptible Power Supply Windows Update also has a "patch" for this service. Universal Plug and Play Device Host Used in conjunction with SSDP Discovery Service, it detects and configures UPnP devices on your home network. Take note: UPnP is NOT related to PnP. UPnP is used for connectivity on networks via TCP/IP to devices, such as scanners or printers. Your sound card is PnP. Do NOT Disable Plug and Play service.

Upload Manager As with BITS, this service manages file transfers between clients and servers on the network. This service is NOT required for basic File and Print sharing. Volume Shadow Copy Used in conjunction with the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service. MS Backup uses these services. You will receive, in the Event Log, a entry complaining about not having this service running if Disabled. WAN Miniport ATW Required if you use AOL for internet. If you don't use AOL then uncheck this. WebClient For security reasons, I recommend for this service to be Disabled. Windows Audio This service is Required if you wish to hear any audio at all. If your computer does not have a sound card, Disable this service. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) Used for some scanners and cameras. Windows Installer This service is required for software applications that install using MSI files. Windows Management Instrumentation This service is Required if you want to see the "Dependencies" tab in service configuration and you want everything to go smoothly. Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extension Not as vital as Windows Management Instrumentation, but I recommend leaving this service. Windows Time Automatically sets your clock by contacting a server on the Internet. Great idea if your network is always connected to the Internet, but otherwise, the Event Log fills up with "can not find server" messages. Wireless Zero Configuration Automatic configuration for wireless network devices. If you do not have any wireless network devices in use, Disable this service. WMDM PMSP Service

Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer WMI Performance Adapter Another service not needed. Workstation Used to connect local computer to remote computers. Examples: Internet connectivity and local File and Print sharing. Many services depend on Workstation to be functioning. Leave it on Automatic. World Wide Web Publishing Service Not installed by default, but if needed, you may install it later off of the WinXP CD. Used for setting up a local web server. Recommend: Leave it Uninstalled or Disabled. Long list eh?........................ Now it's time for registry hacks, YAY!: 1. open up run and type in regedit 2. go to file/export and save a backup of your registry just in case you fuck up! 3. Now let's start hacking Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS 1. go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisabl e8dot3namecreation 2. select hexidecimal option 3. type in 1 4. close Auto close apps at shutdown 1. go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop 2. edit AutoEndTasks key value of 1 3. if it dosen't exist, create it as a DWORD value and give it a 1 value\ 4. close

Unload DLLs 1. go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ 2. make a new DWORD called AlwaysUnloadDLL 3. set the value to 1 Reboot. Msconfig Time: ok now that we have some registry hacks done, let's kill some programs that start at startup so that we can save A LOT of RAM! 1. open run 2. type msconfig 3. click startup tab 4. ok now heres the fun part, deselect EVERYTHING except Anti-Virus, ATI-Tool, amd_dc_opt, and you firewall if you aren't sitting behind a firewall. Whew done at last. THIS GUIDE IS INCOMPLETE!!!!!!!! I think that there could be plenty more hacks but these are the ones that i know of. Please share this with anyone who wants to learn about windows hacks or who has updates and suggestions. Feel free to e-mail me at deathmetalscottie@gmail.com for suggestions or look for me on techpowerup.com as AsphyxiA. Have fun! Cheers!!!!!!!!!!