“But my new system’s so slo-o-o-w.”
That's among the worst complaints for the consultant looking to get out the door within the next half hour. The complaint never has a single root cause; it's usually a combination of installed software and a posse of native services that run by default. A good way to minimize this particular whiny buzz in your ear is to take a page out of Tony Soprano’sbook and start eliminating enemies of the Good Network Family by removing unnecessary Windows XP services — and in case you’re wondering, the system installs 36 services by default. Massacring a few of these bad boys speeds up not only boot time, but often general performance, as well.
Disabling a service is simply a matter of opening the Control Panel, hitting the Services icon and disabling selected services in their Properties box. Pushing these changes out to users can be a desk-to-desk jaunt, or a properly configured Ghost-ing episode.
To begin, as Sasserso aptly demonstrated, Automatic Windows Update is a prime candidate. In any enterprise with more than five machines, it's best to push out your updates after testing them, so there’s simply no need for each workstation to track this stuff on its own. And as a side benefit, you’re closing off what’s rapidly becoming a new security hole in your network. Bang, bang!
Related to Windows Update is the Upload Manager. This stool pigeon sends Microsoft information about the workstation so that Redmond’s resources can go to work hunting up new drivers for everything you just spent weeks tweaking so it would finally work together. Users can then automatically download the new drivers using Update and mess up your entire asset list, if not the machine itself. Personally, my workstations are tested prior to releasing any new drivers into production, and I’ve been much happier that way in the long run. If you’re killing Update, murder this one, too.
Another service you should certainly kill regardless of performance reasons is Remote Registry. This service allows the user to access and modify the registry of other systems on the network. Fabulous for administrators, it's a flaming horror in the hands of malevolent users or even someone having a Curious Georgemoment. Make it die.
My next most-hated enemy is Messenger Service. OK, if you’re running Live Communications Serveror have some similar need for IM, then I'll be outvoted. But for the rest of the country that simply uses IM to keep in touch with relatives and online dating services, I say do those things from home. It’s a resource hog, it’s constantly annoying users with pop-up dialogs, it’s usually not for business, and, yeah, it’s another security hole. Two behind the ear.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
2 Recommendations
