Betaguyzgzt: Winxp Using Only 93 Megs Of Ram*

adams · #1 14th Aug 03, 04:27 PM

Ok I asked BetaguyGZT (from ieXbeta) if it was ok to post it here and he said it was ok (here is the pm from him):
<blockquote>Quote:<hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
Sure. I'll pop over sometime this weekend and sign up, then post the tweak. In the meantime, feel free to post it. Just make sure my name is on the headers, and copy this message to show my permission was given.

Thanks for asking. You're a class act in my book.

Cheers<hr size="1" /></blockquote>

Okay, here we go. The Super-detailed tweak guide for getting XP (could work on Win2k as well, with some slight adjustments...win 9x systems follow the alternate procedure for their systems, and I'll try it myself to make sure it works) to use the least amount of resources possible. I've arranged the guide according to category, along with a few more to give you some additional options (like getting desktop icons and a clock, or using something other than progman for a shell).
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Procedure 1: The Ultra-Minimal Tweak for XP:http://board.iexbeta.com/ibf10/index...ic=27545&st=30

1.) Download ShellOn and set it as your shell.

2.) Add Explorer and Progman as Shell Entries. Add additional shell entries as needed/desired. A lot of people like LiteStep, Hoverdesk, Aston, whatever...set those entries now or later if you want.

3.) Perform the System Services tweaks, and run whatever tweaking program you normally use as well. Run MSCONFIG and disable whatever startup items you want (besides the critical ones). Perform any other tweaks you feel are necessary to gain speed and reduce memory consumption. You'll know if you screw it up because windows won't function properly.

4.) Reboot and set progman (or your shell of choice) as your current shell when ShellOn asks you which one you want to use. You can even add more shells now, if you like. I have tried setting cmd.exe (the command prompt) as shell, and it works fine. Just remember your command-line options for shutdown and getting around your machine! AH, the good old days....

5.) Continue minor tweaking to get the memory useage where you want it. I have personally achieved a peak consumption of 60 MB with Windows XP Pro. (Screenshot here.), but at the cost of my chosen interface (ObjectDock). Yours may be higher or lower depending on how many system services and processes you've got running. Remember that Task Manager uses 5.5 MB when running, so your memory consumption normally will be about 5 MB lower than what TM says when you close it. I'm not counting that though, on my system, because i have no other way to verify it and I don't deal in guesses. * :P

6.) Enjoy XP getting out of your way and running in near real-time mode!

Procedure 2: Win 9x Systems:

1.) Download and install ShellOn just like you would in XP and 2k. To the root of the drive, in a folder of it's own. Set ShellOn as your shell. Add explorer, progman, and whatever other ones you want as shell entries.

2.) Run MSCONFIG. Disable unnecessary/unwanted startup items. The more the better, as 9x systems are crap when it comes to multithreading. WinME handles things a LITTLE better, and this tweak does wonders for it's stability. (95 and 98 has the benefit of being able to run in real-mode...so it REALLY responds like lightning after the process is done...)

3.) Defrag and Scandisc. You'll get a 35% performance improvement.

4.) Disable ALL Ram optimizers. They will only slow you down. Once Explorer is put to sleep, you won't need them anyway....

5.) Reboot and set your shell of choice as current shell. Progman will use the least amount of memory, while Hoverdesk and other shells will give you a taskbar and systray and stuff. Personally, Progman is the way to go. Small, fast, and functionally sound. 95 and 98 will reaffirm that they both were, in fact, built upon Win 3.1, because the performance and stability will be top-notch even on old machines...this would be a good way to get that old 486DX2 machine of yours useable again...throw 95 on it in Ultra-Minimal mode and watch it fly like it did when we first got it...

6.) Enjoy the lightning fast and rock-solid stability. You'll wonder how you survived the 90's...

(results of testing: Works great !!! Need I say more?)

Now for the goodies.

Desktop X: hangs a bit at loading objects/themes, but will give you good eye-candy and decent speed on machines that would normally not run it well. No start menu or systray, but will deliver the goods.

ObjectBar: For those who absolutely NEED a start menu and a taskbar, this is the way to go. OB's stability is still hazy but better, but the systray still won't function. You still need progman though for this one, as OB can't operate on it's own accord due to it's needing SOME kind of shell around it. So consider this an add-on.
(Correction: After playing with some of the themes, I got the taskbar feature working.)

Hoverdesk: Old hat for HD. No problems, runs like a champ anyway -- in the UM environment, runs even better. Fully functional no matter what.

Aston: Same here. Aston runs no matter what. A good choice.

Talisman: Talisman behaves strangely as it is....does okay in the UM environment but isn't all that stable. Not recommended.

Litestep: The old standby. LS runs perfectly in the UM environment. You might even notice it's a little "perky" now...another good choice.

Command Prompt/DOS Prompt: Back to the good old days. Think of running DOS 6.22 with wallpaper. Good for the old-schoolers (like me). *

IconX (for Desktop X): This one is an oddball. Runs fine by itself, and will give you a desktop right-click menu. Use this is any setup if you want Desktop Icons with a good amount of eye candy. Personally tested and approved for standalone use.

Cygwin: Now we're talking...without the explorer overhead, Cygwin performs MUCH better. A whole LOT better. I'm planning to make this a permanant shell entry.

VMWare/Virtual PC: Oh, my. A Multi-box. Who'd a thunk it? VMWare and VPC work SO much better than before. Course, you're not using YOUR hardware...but a good choice for those who want the ULTIMATE in flexibility. And when using the UM tweak on the client installs, they perform better too. A GREAT choice. *

EDIT: Tested some more add-ons.

Sysmetrix: Not recommended....YET. Development is continuing at breakneck speeds, and plans are in place for adding shell integration into it, and some new features that will change SysMet's status in this matter. Keep your eyes open...Otherwise, it's a GREAT replacement for your clock and system monitoring for the tweak. I'm using it as such currently (because I HAVE to see the time lol...)

Samaurize: The king. There is SO much that this program does...Not recommended as your shell; but instead, use it like you normally would. Runs better than ever --- not that there was anything wrong with it...

SmartBar XP: No start menu, taskbar or systray; as it uses explorer hooks. Good program otherwise, but not appropriate for the UM Tweak.

WindowBlinds: Does fine. Dosen't skin Progman's outer window...

Style XP: Behaves rather erratically without explorer...like it's confused. Does it's job tho, but WB is more appropriate as it don't need explorer.

There you have it! Anything you might want to try and that you feel safe doing, knock yourselves out. Tell me how it goes. *

For more info and the discussion about it go here:http://board.iexbeta.com/ibf10/index...howtopic=27983

adams · #2 14th Aug 03, 04:27 PM

here are some other things he had to say about it:
<blockquote>Quote:<hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
To supplement the above information, I've taken another screenshot of my task manager process view to prove what I'm saying. After the extensive tweaking earlier, my normal resource use went down to 37 Megs, with 70 Meg peaks. It occureed to me that taskmanager uses about 5 megs of memory, and objectdock was using 13. I killed task on the dock, and there we have the magic number....60 Megs peak. Without task manager it goes down to about 56 Megs peak and probably right around 30-34 megs normal. On XP Pro.

Screenshot #1
http://rain.prohosting.com/bgzt/ultra_minimal_xp_processview_2.html

For those of ya who don't know where/how this topic started, look here:
http://board.iexbeta.com/ibf10/index.php?showtopic=27545&st=30. *I've continued the thread in a new topic. I recommend everyone follow that link, and bring yourself up to speed. Read the whole page, starting at the top. Once you've gotten yourself familiar with it, continue below.

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I've done some more minor tweaking and made a few more adjustments, and I haven't gotten the Memory useage much lower than 35 MB. It's peaking right around 66 MB, which is not what the target number is. I want the useage at 32 with a 64 peak. The idea is that we want this configuration to be able to be run smoothly on an old IBM Aptiva using the Pentium-Pro 133 Mhz the machine came with, and be able to run smoothly with the 64 Megs of RAM currently installed. This machine was built for Windows NT 3.51, and when I first bought it in 96, it was meant to be a LAN file server for a 25-Workstation office-type setup and had 64 MB more of RAM. Back in the day, the Pentium Pro was THE processor of choice, and the 128 MB of RAM it came with was considered by many of my techs to be "a LOT". I paid close to 3,000 dollars for it, brand new. (Those of us who got started back in the days of Windows 2.0 on the 186 and 286 processors (back when Amiga was king) remember all too well that 8MB of ram was something to behold. 20 Meg hard drives were the standard back then.). Since 98, this machine has sat on a shelf, subjected to all kinds of neglect, with a friggin bedsheet over it. It still has the 3 gig HD it came with, and all of it's hardware (including the NT 3.51 setup disk which is in one of my software lockers.) minus 2 strips of the 32-Meg SIMM memory it once had. My intention is to perfect the Ultra-Min tweak and install XP on it, if possible.

Now, you're going to say "Bullshit. XP won't run on that! It's too slow!". And you might be right, except for the fact that I have personally seen XP running, happy as a lark (minus the multimedia features, which the 486's don't support now) on a 486DX2 system. So I know that it'll accept the hardware. I'd like nothing more than to see that old Aptiva of mine that I REALLY loved back in the day fire up at least once more with a current operating system. It's like old hat --- and there's never a hat as good as your old one.

So, what I'm doing is more of a labor of love and an experiment than anything else. The labor of love part I just described. Now for the experiment.

In the following screenshots, you'll see that I have my current installation of XP Pro using Progman.exe and ObjectDock (with KkMenus) as an interface. Nice, clean, super-minimal desktop, and I have all the functionality that I need (remember, when Progman was used as the primary interface between user and machine, there WAS no start button, or quick launch, or systray or taskbar!). You did everything by browsing for it, clicking on a shortcut (yes, we had those), or using your command line. I liked my progman. My progman liked me....). So, by using progman as your shell (read the link if you didn't catch how to switch shells), you cut XP's use of RAM by more than 60%. Explorer is a HOG when it comes to memory.

Screenshot #1:
http://rain.prohosting.com/bgzt/ultra_minimal_xp.html
Screenshot #2:
http://rain.prohosting.com/bgzt/ultra_minimal_xp_processview.html

And also by using progman, you have the benefit of running XP at near-realtime mode. No command interpreters from Explorer holding things up for what (to me) seems like eternity while you wait for your command to be executed. Progman is THAT much faster. Everything happens almost instantly. I am currently getting a windows initialization time (between login and functional use of windows) of maybe, MAYBE two seconds. Some machines can take up to 45 seconds to initialize. Mine is useable almost as soon as I see my wallpaper. Big difference.

Now, for people like me, I like old with new. So, instead of just using progman's command-line and browsing, I decided ObjectDock was good eyecandy and would suit the whole thing well. Of course, you can use just about anything like Y'z Dock, Desktop X, or whatever for your primary interface. If it's something that has an interface that will allow you to get around your machine and get stuff done, then it's fine. If I wanted to just use progman I'd have stuck with reinstalling 3.1. Nope. I like XP too much to not use it --- but on MY terms!

So, detailed instructions and procedures follow.

EDIT: Tried to fire the machine up...it dosen't work anymore. *So nm.... <hr size="1" /></blockquote>

BetaguyGZT · #3 15th Aug 03, 08:53 AM

To add to that....

The test results on Win98/ME/2k were completely successful. Win98 especially, since Taskmon still works as it did in the Chicago Betas. Obviously, Win95 will (and does) have even more functionality in the minimal mode. Win2k benefits from allowing the user access to the system services console; I personally got 2k running at a steady 24Megs, peaking at 31 Megs. Win98 got good marks at 22 Megs, and ran quite stable (we all know the process crash tendencies); WinME did pretty well at 25 Megs and was infinetely more stable without Explorer to crash it. So it's quite possible to get all three on an older machine (486-series is about the best I'd expect though) using it's existing hardware in some cases.

The tests using VMWare and Virtual PC were also completely successful. Both applications had plenty of resources for the client machines, and got a 30% performance boost simply because there wasn't anything getting in their way (like Explorer) and tying up processes. I set VMWare and VPC both as shells and frankly, I was VERY pleased with the results (other than having to do a shut down from the task manager).

Cygwin (I'm involved with it to some degree) seems to do pretty well in minimal mode too; but again, you'll need to shut down with task manager.

Tested some explorer replacements, but they didn't fare well due to the fact they weren't meant to be run as a shell. In every case, had to shut down using task manager.

The real winner was Windows Server 2003. Progman is still there, still does it's job like in XP Pro, and Server benefitted from the experience. Identical to XP Pro, except the memory useage was slightly higher because of all the new stuff. Got a few security warnings (normal), and a few inconsistiencies and quirks (because of the hardening), but still it made for a good experience.

On to Longhorn 4015. Longhorn was VERY happy with the tweak. Talk about fast...my god, FAST. Without the memory leaks and all the unfinished services (like WinFS) disabled, it behaved like XP Pro on steroids. Quite responsive, and it's stability was rock-solid. More so than Server. Still a LOT of compatibility issues kept me from installing a lot of stuff, but if you follow the tweaking guide on ieXBeta for longhorn, you'll be surprised how well it runs and what you can actually get it to do. The unfinished XP-Compatibility mode stuff is still a joke, so I don't reccommend 4015 in this mode unless all you do is surf and do email. Good eye-candy tho, and plenty of speed; but too raw and unfinished to be useful.

Now to the add-ons.

If you want desktop icons, go with Icon-X (part of Desktop X but can be run on it's own accord much like CursorXP). It'll give you your right-click desktop menu also. Still in beta and a little buggy when configuring it, but a good way to get icons if you need them.

ObjectBar: If you absolutely NEED a start menu, this'll do you. Taksbar and systray don't function properly, so don't expect a total fix; but good when used with Icon-X.

Sysmetrix: Grab it, use it. Nuff said.

More to come. I've got that network install thing to do now.