Minimal Windows Vista

[jesseinsf]

Yeah, the Pentium M will clock in anywhere from the 3.x to 4.x range for CPU rating.

Pentium M Dual core or single core? My laptop uses a Pentium M single core running at 1.6Ghz. I can't run vista on it because the embedded Video is not Vista capable. Though I was able to run Vista Basic...

[dmd3x]

It's a single core. I was not able to re-install Vista last night because I was setting up a new file server. Tonight I'm probably going to get to it and then I can post the results.

You can set the indexer to low power mode in the Advanced power options.

I'll probably disable it all together, I don't search that often. Does the indexer increase the speed of anything else?

[tsupersonic]

Pentium M Dual core or single core? My laptop uses a Pentium M single core running at 1.6Ghz. I can't run vista on it because the embedded Video is not Vista capable. Though I was able to run Vista Basic...

Pentium M is a single core processor. It is not a dual core processor. Maybe you're confusing it with Pentium Dual Core, notice the difference. Also, single core vs dual core isn't going to make in running Aero. It's the graphics card. If your laptop has an Intel GMA 950 or ATI x200M or anything better than that, then you can run Aero fine.

[jesseinsf]

Pentium M is a single core processor. It is not a dual core processor. Maybe you're confusing it with Pentium Dual Core, notice the difference. Also, single core vs dual core isn't going to make in running Aero. It's the graphics card. If your laptop has an Intel GMA 950 or ATI x200M or anything better than that, then you can run Aero fine.

Ok, here is the low down. Pentium M gives a low score for Vista. Graphics cards today have a dual core GPU, One core is used for stuff like Windows Aero and gaming while the other is used for basic graphics computing. ....Anyway, you can argue with me all you want but to get rid of the bloat feeling in Vista you Need the following: P4 3Ghz with Hyper threading enabled or better (Recommended: Core 2 Dual 1.6Ghz or better) at least 2gigs of PC3200 or better. Two 10,000RPM Hard drives in a RAID "0" configuration, nVidia Geforce 7800 or better Graphics card with 512MB of memory or more (or a Comparable ATI Card). FYI....The nVidia 8000 series Cards allow vista to dedicate System Memory onto the Video card's own memory which gives performance back to the system.

[tsupersonic]

Ok, here is the low down. Pentium M gives a low score for Vista. Graphics cards today have a dual core GPU, One core is used for stuff like Windows Aero and gaming while the other is used for basic graphics computing. ....Anyway, you can argue with me all you want but to get rid of the bloat feeling in Vista you Need the following: P4 3Ghz with Hyper threading enabled or better (Recommended: Core 2 Dual 1.6Ghz or better) at least 2gigs of PC3200 or better. Two 10,000RPM Hard drives in a RAID "0" configuration, nVidia Geforce 7800 or better Graphics card with 512MB of memory or more (or a Comparable ATI Card). FYI....The nVidia 8000 series Cards allow vista to dedicate System Memory onto the Video card's own memory which gives performance back to the system.

Wow, your post is all types of fail. You don't NEED all that to run Vista. I've run it on so many machines (smoothly) on lower spec'ed machines...

[PermaSt0ne]

Ok, here is the low down. Pentium M gives a low score for Vista. Graphics cards today have a dual core GPU, One core is used for stuff like Windows Aero and gaming while the other is used for basic graphics computing. ....Anyway, you can argue with me all you want but to get rid of the bloat feeling in Vista you Need the following: P4 3Ghz with Hyper threading enabled or better (Recommended: Core 2 Dual 1.6Ghz or better) at least 2gigs of PC3200 or better. Two 10,000RPM Hard drives in a RAID "0" configuration, nVidia Geforce 7800 or better Graphics card with 512MB of memory or more (or a Comparable ATI Card). FYI....The nVidia 8000 series Cards allow vista to dedicate System Memory onto the Video card's own memory which gives performance back to the system.

leave the vista support forum and never come back. all you are doing is spreading FUD and it's ridiculous. seriously leave....

@OP - nothing you do will give you a "minimal" vista. vista is meant to be feature rich, for the average user. if you want a slim OS there are plenty of slim versions of windows XP that are crazy small but still retain full functionality

[bjoswald]

Vista loves RAM. Lots of it. It was designed to consume memory, because memory is faster than hard drives. Vista was also designed for new technology, hence the Upgrade Advisor tool and compatibility tools/disclaimers. Can't afford more RAM? You have a couple choices to make: A) Reinstall XP, B) Buy a USB flash drive for ReadyBoost, C) Suffer. Tweaking things can yield some performance benefits, but they're risky.

[dmd3x]

The thing is, I've tweaked every OS I've ever used to the max, and I always will. :D

[soldier1st]

feed vista all the memory you can and it will reward you.

[EduardValencia]

feed vista all the memory you can and it will reward you.

Yep,like giving cookies to a child :)

[dmd3x]

So, I used the vLite, and I am booted into Vista right now on my new installation. DAMN - it made a difference! I was able to slim down the ISO to just 950MB from the 3.6GB DVD that it was... (if I could shave off a little more even I could get it on a CD lol).

My system is finally running fast under Vista so I am happy for the moment. :D I haven't installed SP1 yet, so I am using Vista Ultimate Gold.

The Gaming/Aero Graphics scores tanked, as you can see. Since I am not gaming or using Aero, this is a non-issue.

[dmd3x]

And to all you skeptics who thought a Pentium M and 2GB of DDR333 wouldn't suffice, check out those scores! lol

[KevinN206]

So, I used the vLite, and I am booted into Vista right now on my new installation. DAMN - it made a difference! I was able to slim down the ISO to just 950MB from the 3.6GB DVD that it was... (if I could shave off a little more even I could get it on a CD lol).

My system is finally running fast under Vista so I am happy for the moment. :D I haven't installed SP1 yet, so I am using Vista Ultimate Gold.

The Gaming/Aero Graphics scores tanked, as you can see. Since I am not gaming or using Aero, this is a non-issue.

You might have problems installing SP1 after using vLite to remove components. A better approach is to integrate SP1 into the installation first. Go to Microsoft and download the ~350MB SP1 setup file. Once the integration completes, go back and remove things you don't want.

NOTE: Don't integrate SP1 and remove/add components at the same time. vLite will give you a similar warning when you choose the integration method.

[dmd3x]

You might have problems installing SP1 after using vLite to remove components. A better approach is to integrate SP1 into the installation first. Go to Microsoft and download the ~350MB SP1 setup file. Once the integration completes, go back and remove things you don't want.

NOTE: Don't integrate SP1 and remove/add components at the same time. vLite will give you a similar warning when you choose the integration method.

Good tip, I just tried to install Vista SP1 and it got to the end and resulted in an error! lol. I logged into Neowin and saw your post right after it happened. Excellent timing! ;)

So now I'm going to try the integration, and strip out a few more things that I don't need. I doubt I can get it down to CD ISO size but I'm gonna try.

[Linkinfamous]

I'll probably disable it all together, I don't search that often. Does the indexer increase the speed of anything else?

Windows Search will improve the speed of certain Explorer views, and some things like Outlook can benefit from it as well, especially if you have the 4.0 update installed (Which improves its overall speed considerably.)

[dmd3x]

Windows Search will improve the speed of certain Explorer views, and some things like Outlook can benefit from it as well, especially if you have the 4.0 update installed (Which improves its overall speed considerably.)

I'm not really diggin the new Explorer, I think I'm going to try to tweak it to be as classic as possible or otherwise find a lightweight alternative.

Personally I prefer organizing my files in such a manner that it is intuitive for me to find what I want, rather than having the operating system find stuff for me.

[jesseinsf]

If you have a low end system and complaining about the performance in Vista then you should turn off Superfetch service...that service is the memory hog on a low end system.

[jesseinsf]

So, I used the vLite, and I am booted into Vista right now on my new installation. DAMN - it made a difference! I was able to slim down the ISO to just 950MB from the 3.6GB DVD that it was... (if I could shave off a little more even I could get it on a CD lol).

My system is finally running fast under Vista so I am happy for the moment. :D I haven't installed SP1 yet, so I am using Vista Ultimate Gold.

The Gaming/Aero Graphics scores tanked, as you can see. Since I am not gaming or using Aero, this is a non-issue.

In order to use basic applications Microsoft recommends that you have at least a 2.0 base score. Yours is 1.0. I don't know how you will deal with that. Install the applications you normally use and you will see what I mean. It's better off that you buy a new computer. And btw, the DVD has all versions of Vista on it. That is why it is so big.

Edited July 28, 2008 by jesseinsf

[x-scratch]

after vista loads it says im only running 27 processes, i disabled alot of services that ill never use so mines pretty much minimal

[Digitalx]

Ok, here is the low down. Pentium M gives a low score for Vista. Graphics cards today have a dual core GPU, One core is used for stuff like Windows Aero and gaming while the other is used for basic graphics computing. ....Anyway, you can argue with me all you want but to get rid of the bloat feeling in Vista you Need the following: P4 3Ghz with Hyper threading enabled or better (Recommended: Core 2 Dual 1.6Ghz or better) at least 2gigs of PC3200 or better. Two 10,000RPM Hard drives in a RAID "0" configuration, nVidia Geforce 7800 or better Graphics card with 512MB of memory or more (or a Comparable ATI Card). FYI....The nVidia 8000 series Cards allow vista to dedicate System Memory onto the Video card's own memory which gives performance back to the system.

:rofl: :huh: we'll all buy your computer just to run vista without bloat huh ? lmao

[dmd3x]

In order to use basic applications Microsoft recommends that you have at least a 2.0 base score. Yours is 1.0. I don't know how you will deal with that. Install the applications you normally use and you will see what I mean. It's better off that you buy a new computer. And btw, the DVD has all versions of Vista on it. That is why it is so big.

-1 Not Helpful :sleep:

This is how I look at it... My base score is actually 3.4.

Why do I say this? Yes, I know Microsoft wants everyone to have a high graphics score so they can run Aero for marketing purposes so it looks all shiny and different than previous versions. Also, they want you to be able to run the latest Direct X so you can buy their high priced games and actually be able to play them.

Because it is scoring things that I am not using. I don't play games - I mostly spend my time on the net, monitoring servers, or I am programming. I don't use Aero, (which is the other "graphics" score). I don't need or want a new computer, that is why this thread is titled "Minimal Windows Vista". :D

Edited July 28, 2008 by dmd3x

[jesseinsf]

-1 Not Helpful :sleep:

This is how I look at it... My base score is actually 3.4.

Why do I say this? Yes, I know Microsoft wants everyone to have a high graphics score so they can run Aero for marketing purposes so it looks all shiny and different than previous versions. Also, they want you to be able to run the latest Direct X so you can buy their high priced games and actually be able to play them.

Because it is scoring things that I am not using. I don't play games - I mostly spend my time on the net, monitoring servers, or I am programming. I don't use Aero, (which is the other "graphics" score). I don't need or want a new computer, that is why this thread is titled "Minimal Windows Vista". :D

Windows Vista Basic was designed for people like you.

My computer's motherboard is almost 6 years old. All I did was upgrade the Video card. I had the 10k RPM hard drives since I bought the motherboard 5 years ago. You can see that my score is good. Who cares if it's about marketing. The Apple leopard look is all about marketing. The so called Apple look is all about marketing. People won't make things if they think the majority won't like it. Allot of times a product can be a flop and is not so successful. Microsoft actually went to families around the world to find out what they wanted in the next generation OS. The experience index score is there to let people know if everything will run efficient enough to use. The average person does not even know about the experience Index score so how can that score be a Marketing scheme. Why don't you get Windows Vista Basic and then turn off Superfetch and search and indexing....You claim that you don't need all that other stuff. You're not connecting to a domain, are you? The complainers have to do with people who have old equipment or people who refuse to upgrade. Or can't upgrade or buy a new PC because they are poor. If the world knew what the complainers had for a system, or why the complainer could not upgrade then they would ignore the complainer. If you asked me I would say...Buy Windows Vista Basic or buy a new computer.

BTW, they choose the score based on the lowest rating because the lowest rating will be the bottleneck in performance.

Edited July 28, 2008 by jesseinsf

[dmd3x]

Windows Vista Basic was designed for people like you.

My computer's motherboard is almost 6 years old. All I did was upgrade the Video card. I had the 10k RPM hard drives since I bought the motherboard 5 years ago. You can see that my score is good. Who cares if it's about marketing. The Apple leopard look is all about marketing. The so called Apple look is all about marketing. People won't make things if they think the majority won't like it. Allot of times a product can be a flop and is not so successful. Microsoft actually went to families around the world to find out what they wanted in the next generation OS. The experience index score is there to let people know if everything will run efficient enough to use. The average person does not even know about the experience Index score so how can that score be a Marketing scheme. Why don't you get Windows Vista Basic and then turn off Superfetch and search and indexing....You claim that you don't need all that other stuff. You're not connecting to a domain, are you? The complainers have to do with people who have old equipment or people who refuse to upgrade. Or can't upgrade or buy a new PC because they are poor. If the world knew what the complainers had for a system, or why the complainer could not upgrade then they would ignore the complainer. If you asked me I would say...Buy Windows Vista Basic or buy a new computer.

I think you are missing the point of this thread.

Yes, this computer is on a domain. I require this. However, it is working great. I am using a stripped down version of Vista Ultimate that is working great now, despite your insisting that a low base score means it will be dramatically undesirable. By Windows Vista Basic did you mean the visual style? Because Windows Vista Basic is not an actual edition, did you mean Windows Vista Home Basic? This edition is not for me as I need interoperability and network monitoring abilities with various servers and domains both Windows and UNIX, which thankfully I am able to do now at a reasonable speed under Vista after the many helpful suggestions in this thread.

I still am doing more tweaking... I'm going to slipstream SP1 into an install disc. I couldn't do this right off the bat because I was using Windows XP Professional with SP3 to make the slipstreamed disc, and XP can't open Vista SP correctly in order to slipstream it.

I almost have comparable Windows Vista memory usage to my Windows XP install... there currently is about a 75MB to a 100MB difference. All my programs are working fine, and it is almost running as fast they do on XP. So far, so good!

BTW, they choose the score based on the lowest rating because the lowest rating will be the bottleneck in performance.

Those bottlenecks are virtual and insignificant in my situation. I will not be doing any gaming. I am using the "Windows Classic" interface, I have completely stripped Aero and Aero Basic out of the system. They are not even an option. I am also not gaming, so those scores also doesn't matter. The rest of my programs are currently running almost as fast as XP.

My scores for components that matter in my situation are 3.4, 4.1, and 4.8 for Processor, Memory and Hard Disk - respectively.

[tsupersonic]

Windows Vista Basic was designed for people like you.

My computer's motherboard is almost 6 years old. All I did was upgrade the Video card. I had the 10k RPM hard drives since I bought the motherboard 5 years ago. You can see that my score is good. Who cares if it's about marketing. The Apple leopard look is all about marketing. The so called Apple look is all about marketing. People won't make things if they think the majority won't like it. Allot of times a product can be a flop and is not so successful. Microsoft actually went to families around the world to find out what they wanted in the next generation OS. The experience index score is there to let people know if everything will run efficient enough to use. The average person does not even know about the experience Index score so how can that score be a Marketing scheme. Why don't you get Windows Vista Basic and then turn off Superfetch and search and indexing....You claim that you don't need all that other stuff. You're not connecting to a domain, are you? The complainers have to do with people who have old equipment or people who refuse to upgrade. Or can't upgrade or buy a new PC because they are poor. If the world knew what the complainers had for a system, or why the complainer could not upgrade then they would ignore the complainer. If you asked me I would say...Buy Windows Vista Basic or buy a new computer.

BTW, they choose the score based on the lowest rating because the lowest rating will be the bottleneck in performance.

lmao, dude you are pathetic...

[soldier1st]

Windows Vista Basic was designed for people like you.

My computer's motherboard is almost 6 years old. All I did was upgrade the Video card. I had the 10k RPM hard drives since I bought the motherboard 5 years ago. You can see that my score is good. Who cares if it's about marketing. The Apple leopard look is all about marketing. The so called Apple look is all about marketing. People won't make things if they think the majority won't like it. Allot of times a product can be a flop and is not so successful. Microsoft actually went to families around the world to find out what they wanted in the next generation OS. The experience index score is there to let people know if everything will run efficient enough to use. The average person does not even know about the experience Index score so how can that score be a Marketing scheme. Why don't you get Windows Vista Basic and then turn off Superfetch and search and indexing....You claim that you don't need all that other stuff. You're not connecting to a domain, are you? The complainers have to do with people who have old equipment or people who refuse to upgrade. Or can't upgrade or buy a new PC because they are poor. If the world knew what the complainers had for a system, or why the complainer could not upgrade then they would ignore the complainer. If you asked me I would say...Buy Windows Vista Basic or buy a new computer.

BTW, they choose the score based on the lowest rating because the lowest rating will be the bottleneck in performance.

you might have a valid point there,vista basic is just that just basic but you can use vlite to strip stuff out if you want.