Creating the boot.ini file

This section will show you how to create a boot.ini file for your computer if you have just one operating system installed and you do not already have a boot.ini file in your drive root.To get started, let’s go over what the boot.ini file looks like.The boot.ini file that disables the boot screen looks like the following:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
"Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noguiboot

The above boot.ini file is pretty standard except for the addition of the /noguiboot to
the last line of the file. That is the parameter that tells Windows to start up without using the graphical user interface boot screen. To get started, open up a copy of Notepad, found in the Accessories menu of the All Programs entry, in the Start Menu and follow these
steps:

1. On the first line of the file, type in [boot loader].

2. On line 2 of the file, key in timeout=0 so Windows does not show the boot selection screen at all. You don’t want this anyways because you only have one operating system installed on your computer.

3. On line 3 of the file, type in default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
so that Windows knows where to look on your hard drive to start the operating system.

4. On line 4, type in [operating systems].

5. On line 5, type in multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS”Microsoft
Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect /noguiboot to start up Windows with the
/noguiboot parameter to disable the boot screen.

Your PC performance

Did you ever wonder how fast your computer actually is? Sure, it says that it is a Pentium 2.8 Ghz core 2 Duo on the box the system came in but the speed of the CPU is not the only factor in determining how fast your system actually is. The true speed of your computer is determined by the speed of all of your hardware, such as the speed of data written and read from the hard drive, the speed of the RAM, and the speed of the front side bus of the motherboard. This chapter will help you analyze your system to determine exactly how fast it is and how you can make it faster.

Disabling unneeded services

A service is a software application that runs continuously in the background while your computer is on. The Windows operating system has numerous services that run in the background that provide basic functions to the system. Network connectivity, visual support, and external device connectivity such as printer services are all examples of the types of services that the Windows services provide. Each of the services running in the background take up system resources, such as memory and CPU time. Also, during the booting of the operating system, the service has to be loaded. On most computers, there are nearly 20 services that are loaded upon startup. Of these 20 services, only a handful are system-critical services. All of the others can be disabled. In order to disable a service, first you will need to know more about what the most common services do.

Please do not disable fallowing services

Com+Event System
Cryptographic Services
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Event Log
IPSEC Services
Workstation
Shell Hardware Detection
System Event Notification
Protected Storage
Network Connections
Plug & Play
Print Spooler
Remote Procedure Call
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager

Feel free to disable other services

Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
Indexing Service
Messenger
Machine Debug Manager
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Portable Media Serial Number Service
Remote Registry (Only included with Windows XP Pro)
SSDP Discovery Service
Terminal Services
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Wireless Zero Configuration (If you have a wireless network card, do not disable
this one)
Windows Time
WebClient
Task Scheduler