Free up resources (How?)

Before I upgraded to XP from W98 I had a small prog called startup cop that allowed you to choose different senarios that would enable or disable programs that automatically start when you rebooted. Is there anything in XP Pro SP2 where I can easily select a minimum configuration ? I am just getting into video editing and my PC needs all the resources it can free up.

I have tried just using Task Manager but it doesn't seem to free up as much as I expected and I don't know what Processes to stop. :confused:

Ideally I want just the basic sytem, no virus checker, ghost, firewall (I'll switch off the router). Is there some option I can select at startup?

Cheers

H

I don't think switching of the router will save you any resources. Type msconfig in the run bar and then uncheck items under the start-up tab.

I find Winpatrol a great tool - You can disable or remove start ups and many other features

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Do as Conan suggest.

You can also go to BlackViper and see what services you can disable.

Make sure your swap file is large enough for things you do that can't fit in your Ram, sure the swap is much slower than Ram but it works.

These things should help but in the end nothing replaces large amounts of Ram for best performance, especially in "video editing" ;)

Blackviper states on his website (i've used it many times though - but screwed up once when I disabled a critical service):

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Do NOT use "msconfig" to disable services, type "services.msc" in the Run box instead!

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The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With the management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."

Not "allowing" people to use msconfig reduces the flames and technical support questions in my inbox from people that fail to read the descriptions I offer with each service and the warnings I attach to them.

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Excellent advice :) I shall study the Black Viper site with interest later after just a quick look today. I have also dowloaded winpatrol which again looks very interesting.

Thanks

H

Back to reading Adobe Premier and Pinnacle DV500 manuals for now:(

Just a note to say after following the advice above and BlackViper's very detailed instructions on his web site, I can now easily swap between different configs for different jobs. e.g. for video editing a minimum config where the PC flies along and an "everything on" config for going on-line.

I would thoroughly recommend this approach for anyone looking to get the maximum resources available out of your PC.

Cheers

H

BlackViper is awesome...