nLite Is Amazing

Just nlited an old Windows 2000 disk, got it down to 69MBs, installed it in a VM.
Then I slowly began reducing the available RAM.
Stopped at 16MBs, where it ran just fine(but no lower).
That just pwns

 

Thomas, I took a tip from you before and experimented w/ nLite w/ my XP disk... I created 280MB, 230MB, and 180MB images that worked just fine, but none of them did what I had originally intended for them to do, which was boot up XP significantly faster.... Then I created a 120MB iso (stripped pretty much everything except essentials and DirectX) and it seemed to boot up pretty fast, but then when I actually used the system for like browsing my files or whatever, everything seemed to go like five times slower than normal, and that definitely wasn't what I had bargained for.

All of these I actually installed to my system btw, not in some VM. Do you (or anyone else) know how to nLite XP for a fast boot-up time? All I want to use it for is strictly web-browsing (preferably w/ FF3) so I can have some additional OS option to go to so that I can quickly check my email in the mornings when I'm rushing to go somewhere or something. How long does it take the nLited to Windows 2000 bootup?

 

meh, you have to know what to remove, a lot of it isnt removing things, but tweaking the settings as well.
Personally, I've had them boot in 5 seconds, after a lot of programs? 15 seconds.
The 2k boots in about 4, with 128MB RAM, much higher with 16 of course.
I'll make some settings that you can use later(in nlite's filetype thingy )

 

Yeah, I sure could use a 4 sec bootup right about now.... If you could give me a heads-up as the what settings I should tweak, that'd be greatly appreciated...

 

Mostly its just setting it to how you like it.
Win2k is old, so it may not be your style, even if you do have a CD w/ license.
What do you use XP for?

 

I have XP already on my system. Actually I have all of the following: Windows XP Home 32-bit ; Vista Ultimate 32-bit ; Ubunty Hardy 64-bit (what I'm currently using now )

The thing about all of the above though is that they all take a considerable amount of time to boot up (45 secs- 1 minute). What I'm looking for is some sort of fast-boot OS (XP or Linux) that I can add to my hard drive for a quad-boot config strictly for web browsing alone. Setting up the quad-boot config would be a breeze for me, so that's not a problem. However, all the nLited XP installed I've tried all had loadup times similar to my regular XP config, so it was pretty much pointless for me to keep them around. I've also tested and messed w/ a lot of Linux images, and I was close, but no cigar. I just need to be able to install the intel wifi drivers on my driver disk and would like for FF3 and Adobe Flash player to work. Could care less about the GUI, could care less for security issues, etc. Just FF3 and Adobe Flash player.

People like me simply go out and buy SSDs But I'm fresh out of cash, so I'm doing it the hard way

 

Win2k was a great OS. I used it on my old laptop for a while after I got rid of 98SE. It was my first experience with a Windows server OS.

 

What can be removed w/o causing any potential damage to the OS? In other words, what is essential to keep?

 

These startup times are in VM, not straight HDD, right?

 

In a VM, should be faster on my HDD.

 

If u use nlite u need to know what you're doing. I normally remove all the programs apart from, calculator and notepad. Then I remove all the drivers (as long as you have your own). All the keyboards, and languages except english. In the compatibility window, make sure you check dhcp, and internet explorer, to make sure you don't remove the ability to access the internet. You can also remove, the whole of the 'directories' section, and whatever you consider unecessary in the multimedia, network, or OS options. Also make sure that you've integrated SP3. Use a services guide to know what service settings are best, and also use the 'general' section, to tweak settings in ie. Internet explorer, as well as visual effects. I believe that there is an advanced section at this screen , that provides additional settings. Personally I use these settings, however only use this if you are confident that you know what you are doing!

hmmm.... perhaps I should make an nlite guide. anyone interested, just let me know.

Thomas, removing so many components to make you resource usage under 16mb is cool , but pointless if you've got enough ram, and want a fully functional pc IMO......

 

I've used nLite several times over the years. For me the main advantage is to get all the appropriate drivers, SP3 and other patches onto the installation disc so that, once installed, Windows is ready to run.

In the past it was the easiest way for me to get Win2K able to load on modern hardware, with SATA, etc.

John