What services do i need running ??

It's amusing to watch those trying to apply old XPired solutions to a new OS which needs no tweaking at all because it is already perfectly optimized.

It's like a car mechanic trying to figure out which wrench to use on a Lexus' computer.

Many can't quite comprehend that MS has finally gotten it perfect, so it takes testimony from witnesses to the creation.

As those of us who watched during beta learned (often the hard way) the old tweaks are no longer necessary and counterproductive. All services not needed at startup are set on Manual fast-triggers. Win7 has become the Black Viper.

You want to use your RAM, as much of it as possible.

The idea that RAM has to be preserved is leftover from XP and early Vista's RAMhogging.

Any RAM not used is wasted. Win7 could hardly be more parsimonious in its use of RAM.

gregrocker said:

It's amusing to watch those trying to apply old XPired solutions to a new OS which needs no tweaking at all because it is already perfectly optimized.

It's like a car mechanic trying to figure out which wrench to use on a Lexus' computer.

Many can't quite comprehend that MS has finally gotten it perfect, so it takes testimony from witnesses to the creation.

As those of us who watched during beta learned (often the hard way) the old tweaks are no longer necessary and counterproductive. All services not needed at startup are set on Manual fast-triggers. Win7 has become the Black Viper.

It is equally amusing to find many on this forum spouting the same tired old mantra that MS has finally made a perfect OS when it is blatantly obvious that many do not find this to be true. Don't get me wrong, I like Windows 7 and it runs as fast and stable as I hoped it would be after using XP for a long time, but then XP might be equally as fast with the better hardware I now have - I never had any problems with XP I might add. There never will be a perfect OS, just slightly better but increasingly more bloated ones, often incorporating useful additions but often cutting even more useful ones.

It seems that MS has a particular view of how we users should use their new OS and if we prefer to use it otherwise then they tend to make it rather difficult for us to do so. Typical examples are the use of Libraries which many like myself never use and which require (forgive me) a tweak to alter (remove). Also the display of the Programs List, which has been mentioned many times on this forum, has been made worse than it was on XP for what reason? Similar tweaks are necessary for a range of other alterations, which accounts for the vast number of excellent tutorials on this site. So where exactly is the perfection?

I know I am not the only one to have frustrations with the UAC, which of course is switched off, and I run as administrator for similar reasons.

I will agree that generally it is unnecessary to alter services but a few do appear as startup processes which can be disabled if not needed.

whs said:

Interesting discussion where we all agree - but we lost the OP, somehow,

Yes I'm sorry for contributing to that but I think the OP can take it that most feel it is not worth bothering altering the services if some performance advantage is to be gained.

pparks1 said:

scrotiny said:

It is equally amusing to find many on this forum spouting the same tired old mantra that MS has finally made a perfect OS when it is blatantly obvious that many do not find this to be true.

Well, not everybody will agree about everything 100% of the time. But the high level overview is that Windows 7 runs pretty solid, on most hardware, with very few issues, since the day of release. Compared to other Windows releases, including XP, at launch Windows 7 has been the most fluid and uneventful...for most. I think that's why it's universally accepted as a good platform and a winner for Microsoft.

scrotiny said:

I never had any problems with XP I might add.

My problems with XP were few and far between, but there were certainly more Blue Screens that I saw back then, and I certainly had to reboot for weird anomalies far more in the XP days then I do with Windows 7.

Not always will it be more bloated. I don't feel that 7 is bloated as compared to Vista. Vista was far more lethargic, and sure felt bloated. As far as features and such, it's always debatable based on the person. I don't find anything missing from XP that I use.

I don't understand the hated for the Libraries. Personally, I like them and I use them. But for somebody who doesn't want to use them, you don't have to. You can create folders anywhere you like and save there. I'm just unsure of the hatred of simply seeing something that you don't use.


As far as the Programs list, i use the Jump Lists feature quite a bit. I'd really miss that convenience if I moved back to XP. I've gotten quite used to the Start Orb menu and such and feel that the old single column "classic view" is just far less functional and plain looking.

scrotiny said:

Similar tweaks are necessary for a range of other alterations, which accounts for the vast number of excellent tutorials on this site. So where exactly is the perfection?

Anything new, requires explanation and experience of using to fully understanding. This doesn't to me indicate that things aren't properly designed...just not familiar to me.

scrotiny said:

I know I am not the only one to have frustrations with the UAC, which of course is switched off, and I run as administrator for similar reasons.

I had problems with UAC in Vista because it prompted for everything. The change in 7 to have UAC only show you things that programs do was a godsend. I keep UAC on and don't have any issues whatsoever. I'm a Windows systems admin for a living. I use my computer all day long, day in and day out. I don't see where UAC is troublesome at all. I've never considered shutting it off in Windows 7....it's quite rare that I see it and a simple box to check if it's appropriate. But for those people who feel confident that they know what they are doing and they know that an application would never do anything undesired or be compromised, you can simply shut it off and not use it. But my recommendation to any user, is to leave it on and get used to it. There is a reason why XP machines were hacked and broken and compromised so easily. Things like UAC and such are the efforts to curb these problems. I think they are working for the most part.

To be fair I am quite happy with Windows 7, it performs well and I too will not be returning to any older OS but that is the nature of change. Whether I was lucky I don't know but I can't recall a blue screen ever on XP and the only problems I ever had was usually other software causing them.

It does seem that as MS tries to make an OS easier to use and more foolproof it does at the same time make it harder to tune and trim for those more experienced and perhaps more careful.

The old XP Program List could by a minor tweak be made non-scrolling so that all programs could be seen at a glance and chosen by a single click. That was much more useful than what is available in W7 but presumably they had good reasons for the change. I have never used Vista so don't know how much of W7 survives from Vista. I am quite happy with AppLauncher which does compensate even if it does consume quite some memory. Thank God for wide screens.

I have never stored anything in My Documents, My Music etc, preferring to store things as I please so the Libraries are just not used. The problem is that it takes some time to find that for example Libraries can be removed from Explorer views but not it seems from dialogue boxes. That is my complaint that it is not easier to just delete these items if you don't want to use them. They are annoying because it takes longer to do a task when you have to scroll through items you never use to get to the one you do want.

As for XP being more prone to malware I don't know but I never had any trouble of that sort even though I always ran as administrator.

I agree that it is probably not prudent to disable things like UAC or to run as administrator if you are not totally sure of what you are doing but I am sure I will not be the only one to find UAC annoying and to disable it.

Another gripe I have common to nearly all MS operating systems is the Recycle bin, I never use that either but it always appears in every Explorer view. Why can't I permanently disable that and remove it from view? At the moment I have all files and extensions shown and it is only because I have no desktop icons that I can do this without the annoying Desktop.ini files being shown too. The Recycle bin is in the AppLauncher just to check that it doesn't inadvertently get switched on otherwise that too would be on the desktop and perhaps cause a problem.

Gripe over!

Doesn't this entire debate boil down to personal preference? If someone wants to use a standard Windows 7 installation with zero tweaks, so be it. If someone else wants to tweak every possible thing about 7, go for it. But if someone has to ask, "Should I tweak this?", then I'd have to ask if that person has enough knowledge to make an informed decision after getting a dozen different thoughts on the matter. IMHO :)