Feature: Improve Windows XP and boost performance

Windows XP is designed to be compatible with the broadest possible amount of hardware and software. As a result, more operating system services than necessary are started or modules you don’t need are loaded.

This can lead to problems; in extreme cases, installation can take hours, lots of unwanted and sometimes useless programs and services are installed and the user interface is optimised simply to look pretty. All this can be to the detriment of system performance and reliability.

If you’ve installed Windows XP a couple of times, you’ll be familiar with the amount of time you need to spend customising it to your requirements – installing up-to-date drivers and getting rid of unnecessary ballast, with the aim of creating a fast, slim and secure operating system from the resource-gobbling monster that is the default Windows XP.

Nlite to the rescue
One easy way to get to the root of the problem is to use the freeware program Nlite to create a made-to-measure Windows XP installation CD. The biggest benefit of this is the almost endless configuration options this procedure offers.

Whether you are talking about integrating service packs, hotfixes and drivers, removing unwanted components or adding Registry tweaks, you can use this remarkable little program to create your own personalised XP installation CD.

The software, which is just 1.37MB in size, is available on the Nlite website. We used version 1 Beta 6 and, despite its beta status, it gave us no problems.

The program has since moved to Release Candidate 5 status. The program is only free for non-commercial personal use.

The big benefit of this free software is its modular construction: you don’t have to perform all the XP modifications shown in this feature in the sequence shown.

You can use the program’s main menu to decide exactly which XP components you want to include on your personalised installation CD and which to leave out.

This makes it possible, for example, to make updated Windows XP CDs that include hotfixes, altered system settings, or with unwanted XP components left out.

You do need about three hours and a bit of patience to use this utility effectively. Whatever you do, make sure after creating your Mini XP CD you take time to test it.
To test your customised CD, use an empty partition or separate hard disk to reduce the risk of losing your data. Alternatively, it’s an ideal use for software like Microsoft Virtual PC or Vmware Workstation.

You can use virtual PCs created with these utilities to carry out a risk-free installation of the Nlite-modified XP version. You don’t even have to burn a CD or DVD, as both Virtual PC and VMware can use ISO image files directly to install the OS.

Whichever route you take, you’ll need a valid Windows XP licence key, and the installation will still be subject to the Microsoft licensing and product activation requirements.

Get prepared
Before you copy the contents of your XP installation CD to your hard disk, you must make sure that Windows Explorer is configured to show all files: to do this, select Tools/Folder Options and click on the View tab.

In the Files and Folders section, remove the tick in front of ‘Hide protected operating system files’. In the ‘Hidden files and folders’ section, select the ‘Show hidden files and folders’ option.

After doing this, copy the complete XP CD contents to your hard disk, into a single folder called, for example, xp_cd.

You’ll need Microsoft’s .Net Framework 1.1 to use Nlite. If this isn’t already installed on your computer, the Nlite installer will prompt you and install it if you wish.

After starting Nlite for the first time, select the language you want to use and click on Next. In the following dialogue click on Search and select the path to the folder in which you have placed the contents of the original Windows CD (in our example xp_cd). Nlite analyses the files and reports their size and version.

Clicking on Next takes you to the Templates dialogue. The first time you use the program this list is empty, so click on Next again to get to the main menu which is the starting point for all the actions described below.

You must have an original Microsoft Windows XP CD. Nlite can’t normally use recovery CDs, which often ship with complete systems, as the contents and directory structure of such media are usually different from full XP installation CDs.