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Hardware

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Software

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BIOS

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XP Tweaking

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Fix It Guide

Services Guide

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Setting Profiles

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Virtual Memory

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XP Tweaking

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Please Read These Notes Relative To The Services Guide !

 - Changing services settings can be just as dangerous as editing the registry. Have current -tested- backups of your system/data and understand how to restore them if something goes terribly wrong.
 - I have not broken down the settings into different 'configurations' for purposes such as game playing, etc. This seems pointless to me since each system is unique and requires configuring differently.
 - To edit the value for a service, launch services.msc from the Run option on the Start Menu.
 - The recommendations I've made regarding each service are based solely on my personal experience. What I've found or what works for me may bear no relation to what works for you.

Black Viper's Windows XP Home and Professional Service Pack 2 Service Configurations
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"	Power User	Bare Bones
Alerter	svchost.exe *	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Application Layer Gateway Service	alg.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Application Management	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Automatic Updates	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
ClipBook	clipsrv.exe	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
COM+ Event System	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
COM+ System Application	dllhost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Computer Browser	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Cryptographic Services	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
DCOM Server Process Launcher *	svchost.exe *	Automatic *	Automatic *	Automatic *	Automatic *	Disabled *
DHCP Client	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
Distributed Link Tracking Client	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Distributed Transaction Coordinator	msdtc.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
DNS Client	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Error Reporting Service	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Event Log	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Fast User Switching Compatibility	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Fax Service	fxssvc.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
FTP Publishing Service	inetinfo.exe	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"	Power User	Bare Bones
HTTP SSL *	svchost.exe *	Manual *	Manual *	Manual *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Help and Support	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Manual *	Disabled	Disabled
Human Interface Device Access	svchost.exe	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
IIS Admin	inetinfo.exe	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service	imapi.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual *	Disabled	Disabled
Indexing Service	cisvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Internet Connection Firewall / Internet Connection Sharing *	svchost.exe	This service is renamed to Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing * after the installation of Service Pack 2.
IPSEC Services	lsass.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic *	Disabled	Disabled
IPv6 Helper Service *	svchost.exe *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *
Logical Disk Manager	svchost.exe	Manual	Automatic	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service	dmadmin.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Message Queuing	mqsvc.exe	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"	Power User	Bare Bones
Message Queuing Triggers	mqtgsvc.exe	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Messenger	services.exe	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider	dllhost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Net Logon	lsass.exe	Manual	Manual *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing	mnmsrvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Network Connections	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Network DDE	netdde.exe	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Network DDE DSDM	netdde.exe	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Network Location Awareness (NLA)	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Network Provisioning Service *	svchost.exe *	Manual *	Manual *	Disabled *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Peer Name Resolution *	svchost.exe *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *
Peer Networking *	svchost.exe *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *
Peer Networking Group Authentication *	svchost.exe *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *
Peer Networking Identity Manager *	svchost.exe *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *	Not Installed *
NT LM Security Support Provider	lsass.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Performance Logs and Alerts	smlogsvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Plug and Play	services.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Portable Media Serial Number	svchost.exe	This service is renamed to Portable Media Serial Number Service * after the installation of Service Pack 2.
Portable Media Serial Number Service *	svchost.exe *	Manual *	Manual *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Print Spooler	spoolsv.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled
Protected Storage	lsass.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
QoS RSVP	rsvp.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Remote Access Connection Manager	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager	sessmgr.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"	Power User	Bare Bones
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator	locator.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Remote Registry Service	svchost.exe	Not Available	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Removable Storage	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
RIP Listener	svchost.exe	Not Installed *	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Routing and Remote Access	svchost.exe	Disabled	Disabled *	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Secondary Logon	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Security Accounts Manager	lsass.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Security Center *	svchost.exe *	Automatic *	Automatic *	Automatic *	Disabled *	Disabled *
Server	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Shell Hardware Detection	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)	inetinfo.exe	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Simple TCP/IP Services	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Smart Card	SCardSvr.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Smart Card Helper *	SCardSvr.exe *	This service has been removed and combined with Smart Card after the installation of Service Pack 2.
SNMP Service	snmp.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
SNMP Trap Service	snmptrap.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
SSDP Discovery Service	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
System Event Notification	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
System Restore Service	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Task Scheduler	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Display Name	Process Name	DEFAULT Home	DEFAULT Pro	"SAFE"	Power User	Bare Bones
TCP/IP Printer Server	tcpsvcs.exe	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
Telephony	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Telnet	tlntsvr.exe	Not Available	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Terminal Services	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Themes	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Uninterruptible Power Supply	ups.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Universal Plug and Play Device Host	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Upload Manager *	svchost.exe *	This service is removed after the installation of Service Pack 2.
Volume Shadow Copy	vssvc.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
WebClient	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Windows Audio	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Windows Firewall / Internet Connection Sharing *	svchost.exe *	Automatic *	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)	svchost.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled
Windows Installer	msiexec.exe	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Windows Management Instrumentation	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extension	svchost.exe	Not Available	Manual	Manual	Manual	Disabled
Windows Time	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Wireless Zero Configuration	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
WMI Performance Adapter	wmiapsrv.exe	Manual	Manual	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Workstation	svchost.exe	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
World Wide Web Publishing *	inetinfo.exe *	Not Available	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed	Not Installed
World Wide Web Publishing Service *	inetinfo.exe *	This service is renamed to World Wide Web Publishing * after the installation of Service Pack 2.

An "*" (asterisk) indicates changes from Service Pack 1a to Service Pack 2.

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Services Guide

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Setting Profiles

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Virtual Memory

Gaming Machine: Create a Hardware Profile to free up System Resources

Alternatively, you can create a Hardware Profile in Windows, so that you could easily switch from Normal Mode to Gaming Mode without having to worry over switching a service back on for certain tasks. This way, you can have “Safe” “Power User” “Gaming” and “Bare Bones” profiles available to you at boot up. Depending on the use that you have for your machine at the time, you can personalize exactly what services you want running!

Here’s how to do all this:

Right click on My Computer - select Properties. Select Hardware Tab, then click Hardware Profiles.

Mark "Original Configuration", then Copy and then Rename to e.g "Game"

Now you have created a menu that shows up when you boot your computer. Set the properties for your boot option in the "Hardware profiles selections" You normally would boot with the Original Configuration. Never delete your "Original Configuration" if you boot in another profile. Reboot your computer to see that this takes effect.

Now, to tweak the different services for a Game Machine listed in this document

Select each service to configure, right-click, select Properties, Choose "Log on" tab. In the lower part of this box select "Disable" or "Enable" dependent on which hardware profile you configure. If you configure for "Game" you choose "Disable" to free up system resources.

Careful: You can also disable/enable different hardware in the Device Manager - "Device Usage" box according to what Hardware profile you boot on, this is only recommended if you have any hardware that causes problems for games, etc.

Services Guide

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Setting Profiles

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Virtual Memory

Additionally… Configure Virtual Paging File:

This tweak can increase the amount of RAM significantly used on your computer. What this tweak actually does is it uses your hard-drive disk-space to emulate RAM. This is called caching, or in Microsoft terms - The Virtual Paging File Size.

1.) Go into Control Panel and into Performance and Maintenance
2.) Get into System
3.) Click the Advanced Tab
4.) In the Performance Frame, click on Settings
5.) Once in Settings click on the Advanced Tab
6.) Now under Virutal Memory click on Change
7.) Here you can set your RAM value. The recommended increase you should make should be achieved by multiplying your RAM by 1.5. This is already done if you have a System Managed file size. This will drastically increase performance, because the system will now have a pool of cache to retrieve memory from.

After you configure Virtual Memory you should set "Initial Memory" and the "Maximum" to be the same to avoid this pagefile to be defragmented, i.e you get better performance.

Here are a few examples of Virtual Memory settings:

384 MB if you have 256MB of system RAM (also if you really have only 256 MB of RAM, get more, seriously!)

768 MB if you have 512MB of system RAM

1536 MB if you have 1024MB of system RAM

3072 MB if you have 2048 MB of system RAM, any thing higher than 2048MB is a waste for 2000/XP based systems.

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