As I'm about to purchase a new machine (laptop) and do a migrating from Win98 to XP (and likely also my first Linux distro)
I need some tips as to slim the OS, 'cause I don't need no bells and whistles.

So what can I uninstall (and how) once I get my clammy hands on the XP?

- I'm thinking about a shell replacement. Any suggestions?
- Doubt I'll need any kind of MSMessenger. Miranda ICQ does the trick.
- Firewall? Who needs the inbuilt firewalll if you keep the OS patched with the latest updates and is a clueful user? Is there a guide to removing that one?
Which reminds me:
- Default open services needs to be patched. Is there a guide for that too?
- Email will be handled by Spampal, Poptray and Sylpheed-Claws. Other inbuilt email applications are likely unneeded.
- Some recommendations regarding another file explorer? I currently use 2xExplorer, which is a treat, but there might be nother, better made for XP.

In short: How do I cut the unneeded fat from a virgin XP-system to make it more lean, mean and secure?

For services configuration, check Black Viper. I'm not sure, if you can leave your system without firewall -- experienced members may comment on that -- but if you do look for firewalls, Kerio 2.x should be handy.

You may be interested in http://www.litepc.com/xplite.html

If XP is already installed then you can just go to Add/Remove -> Windows Components and uninstall any features you don't need. You can also run XPSpy and disable a lot of ugly "features" of XP.

you can also run http://www.autopatcher.com/index.htm to update your XP and cut off some of the "extras" as well

Personally if you go through the installed windows components and remove the ones you need then I think you should be fine

- Shell replacement - depends - lots of choices - try maybe stardock for stuff
- Firewall - i think it is a stupid idea not to have one with all the viruses/malware/etc out there that can link to any other IP and literally ttransfer data or other intrusive measures - try the Kerio Firewall v2.1.5 - last free version - try google

- Services - if you are using a router these are usually by default closed(ports), if not I don't think XP has any real services that matter much if they are off or on

- don't know for file explorer

- You take off (or turn off)some of the "extra" features, like the CD burning/ firewall/ zip/ etc but other than that there is not much else to do - stuff like regular defragging - getting some good spyware (spybot/ad-aware) and antivirus programs - then just use the computer

The things that mattered most to me were turning of themes (not just using the old style skin but also disabling the service), making sure XP didn't sort filenames too "intellegently" (if you have file2 and file10 it shows file2 file10 instead of file10 file2, which is nice, but it often makes mistakes) and disabling zip folders. There are loads of guides on how to do this, just Google around a bit.

If you install SP1 you can 'turn off' outlook, messenger, media player, etc...
WindowBlinds is good for improving the appearance (and a bit of speed maybe)..

The Netgear FR114P is a stateful inspection firewall and 4 port switch in one. It is a steal at $73 at www.newegg.com. This makes sure there is no software conflict or cpu drain on your main machine. I have have great success with the Netgear products.

Edit: Added below.

I have used the black viper information. It is good as long as you use it with care. It can speed up any system. It is amazing how much of XP is not needed. A friend is using the Kerio PF ( originally 'tiny personal firewall' .) He is an IT guy. He speaks highly of it.

I have been using the free version of Kerio 4.x for the past few months now. The main (only?) thing that is disabled is the web ad filtering, which is enabled the first thirty days after installation to give you a taste for it. Liked it enough where I wanted to pay for a full license immediately but financial concerns have delayed me a bit.

The first thing I would do is download Ad-aware Personal, and Spybot - Search & Destroy and scan the whole system with both programs. I highly recommend doing this since some manufacturers are now shipping spyware infested systems, which is the main reason I returned a TigerTV Systemax AMD Athlon 64 "Monster PC" in December and instead went with a Dell.

If you get some bogus limited time usage, or trialware version of an antivirus program you can download the free edition of AVG Anti-Virus System.

As for firewall protection I realize why many people recommend Kerio Personal Firewall v2.1.5 due to it being endlessly configurable, however I found it had some issues under WinXP Pro, and have been using the free edition of Sygate Personal Firewall.

You can also remove bonus garbage software like ISP, and audio players that ship with new systems. Doing this alone will remove alot of junk. If you do start removing alot of garbage apps there's a freeware utility called RegSeeker that has a good built in registry cleaner, and other utilities.

How to remove Windows Messenger in WinXP:
1. Click Start > Run > and type in:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
2. Restart Windows.

If you want an easy to use Shell Replacement App, Aston Shell has to be the way to go. There are others like LiteStep (which is free, where as Aston is not) but it isn't quite as easy to use (although it's getting there and it has lots of community support).

On a new Windows XP system, I always set these options:

Display properties => Themes => Windows Classic
System properties => Advanced => Performance => Settings => Visual Effects => Adjust for best performance (but then I do reselect "Smooth edges of screen fonts" and "Show window contents while dragging").

This greatly improves the performance of the default shell (should you decide not to go for an alternate shell).

I second the recommendation of Spybot Search and Destroy, and Ad-Aware. Both products have rated very well in spyware removal.

That said, I have nearly retired both products. I barely need them. My top recommendation for spyware goes to SpywareBlaster. It prevents the vast majority of spyware from even being loaded. It blocks lots of cookies too. Just too sweet.
Get it at SpywareBlaster

Is this what you are looking for:

A Smaller Footprint Windows!
The latest developments in XPLite now see clean installations of Windows XP in under 350MB and Windows 2000 approaching less than 200 MB (excluding paging file) with much smaller memory requirements! These sizes are obtained simply by running XPLite/2000Lite on a fresh install of windows. Enterprising developers should easily be able to strip out additional log files, INF files and unused drivers to reduce the footprint by another 50MB or so. If your goal is to run a dedicated task in as little storage as possible - then look no further than XPlite


if so:



should tell you all you need to know....

Yep, it is indeed very useful. Don't for about SpywareGuard from the same makers of SpywareBlaster.

Ooh, this a great thread. Keep the suggestions coming

Yes, it's a smaller footprint I'm looking for. I really should switch to Linux (starting out with Mandrake or Debian), but now right now. Epecially because I'm a freeware/open source zealot.

My evaluation so far:

The blackviper and XPLite links was the kind of links I was thinking of.

Personal firewall.
I have tried Keiro back in the day and was satisfied, until a bunch of trusty security-geeks told me it was nothing but a false sense of security and wasted resources as long as you keep your system patched and up to date regarding exploits.

I have long ago eliminated HTML and other exploits in email.

1) First and foremost by switching client (recently gotten my hands on a Sylpheed-Claws port after doing Eudora for some years. Love it!) and switching HTML off.
2) Secondly by using Spampal and the relevant plugin known as HTML-Modify, which strips emails of bugs, off-site images, bugs, exploits and much more.
If you do not know of Spampal, you're missing out.
Go here: http://www.spampal.org

Virus. I'm a trusty user of Frisk's F-Prot for DOS. Does the job when I do my regular scan. Thanks for the other recommendations though. I will check them out.

Been using Ad-aware and Spybot for some time. Good programs, but Spywareblaster sounds interesting. Must check that out.

Shells: I know of Litestep and is currently running Geostep. I might check Litestep out again. [It crashed on my Win98-box]

Themes, system-sounds, skins and other graphical modifications ("Play Good Save The Queen" and show a waving Charles when closing window?") will be deleted and as much as possible eliminated from the system. Nothing but bloat in my eyes.

Media player, messenger and outlook goes the same way, if possible. There's better third party programs.
Classic Media Player is a current favourite. Other suggestions for a lightweight no-nonsense visual media player? A DVD-player program?

My main fear was to have open default services that compromised the system (I'm having Blaster in mind here), but I guess those are also covered by Blackviper. Else there's hopefully always Google Groups for further info.

Thanks to all who has contributed so far.

My router handles my main network security, but I still use software firewalls on the windows boxes (both Kaspersky and Kerio) just so I know what is attempting outgoing connections.

Well, I might install a software firewall when I get the new machine, but slimming my box has become a bit of a sport. [No dirty jokes, thanks]

Besides, can't netstat handle that?

looks like a cute client, maybe a bit crashy for general use at this point...

btw, i use some of the tweaks here:
http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.htm

If you want to use F-Prot DOS, you may have to use something like the free edition of NTFSDOS as in having it load at system startup so that FPDOS will be able to scan all files across all partitions and additional hard disks.

this one:
is essential for an audio workstation and one of the very first things I do after reinstalling. That is actually what I do for all of my systems as it really irks me when the stupid machine beeps at me endlessly for the myriad idiotic reasons it has by default.

I just saw the following at http://betas.intercom.net/:
http://www.driverheaven.net/dforce/
It doesn't have a lot of features, but they are almost all useful.

This is could go bit offtopic, and so, my apologies first : I had installed XP only 4 months ago. After fine tuning I had it run under 53M of RAM (as reported by Task Manager. How trust worthy that can be, I'm not sure...). With firewall (Outpost 2) and anitvirus (ez Antivirus), the system normally runs around 73M~75M of RAM. I applied SP1a couple of days back and am noticing heavy memory useage. The sytem loads around 101M of RAM and goes upto 180M during browsing... That's 20M more than what it is used to be! This is evidently due to the SP. Now, is this normal? Are SPs necessary at all? Will there be security issues even when running a good firewall + anti-virus? Or should I try applying SP right after a clean install for a more 'pleasureable' experience?

Well think about it, there are bugs in every version of Windows so patching it is necessary to resolve the issues, especially those that are critical or potentially fatal to the OS.

Good, or great security software such as a software firewall or anti-virus is helpful. However; there is always some security issue(s) since malevolent people who will try to damage systems, actually its human nature "one person gladly builds it whilst another one glady destroys it."

I would definately install an SP immediately after a fresh install. I would install it before anything else, that way when visiting WindowsUpdate you wouldn't possibly be downloading a bunch of extra stuff that an SP would already have available. Of course I've seen some people give SP's the thumbs down and they state to never install them, but with so many bugs in the Windows OS who knows if one would be better off with or without an SP.