features you disabled in Windows 7 and why?

[Hani]

I've started a similar thread for Vista, so here goes...

What major features/service did you turn off in W7?

User Account Control -> Useless for me. I run 7 as a Administrator, and I'm virus free since the release of Vista.

System Protection (Restore) -> Until I get a bigger harddrive, I'll keep it off.

Windows Search (Indexing services) -> Search is already fast because all my files are organized in specific folders.

Windows Defender -> NOD32 can detect malware.

I've kept Superfetch this time, because it is much more optimized than its Vista counterpart.

[hdood]

Window shadows, because I hate them so much. I hate them so much. I hate them so much. I hate them so much. I hate them so much. I hate them so much. I hate them so much. Thank you whoever at Microsoft made them optional.

I also disable system restore. I never, ever use it and it just wastes time and space.

[capr]

with hard drives being so cheap these days i don't really care about space....

but the features i turned off were all the games, auto updates. help and support, defender, the 50 languages, error reporting.

turned UAC down since I still would like to know when a program is making changes on its' own. it doesn't bother me at all now.

[hdood]

Oh yeah, auto updates too. I'll update myself and decide when I want to reboot myself, thanks.

[Liana]

Automatic updates. I always have had automatic updates set to "notify but don't download or install" because I like to know and be in control of what's being installed on my computer.

[elconquistador]

* Windows Backup

* System restores

Main reason is that I fear my hard disk is getting old and it is making random noises. It seems to be less with these disabled.

[TokiToki]

I have apps that use .NET, and XPS is required by Office 2007 to operate properly. Remote Differential Compression sounds like it could be useful, but I haven't really looked into it.

System Restore is disabled as I never use the feature.

[Guest xiphi]

Only thing I've disabled were the Tablet PC components. If 7 can detect whether a machine can support Pen or Touch, then why doesn't it disable/enable the components based on that?

I really see no point in disabling anything else. I use features of System Restore like Previous Versions, but even if that wasn't there, I'd still have it enabled. Never know when you'll need that one restore point.

[Descartes]

XPS Services. No idea what are those for, never used them, and the additional "printers" just kept bugging me.

If someone wants to tell me that it's not the best idea, then please do it now :p

Kept system restore on, I think I've got enough space for that. I'm also fine with Windows Defender + MSE.

[Vice]

Turned off UAC, Turned off Driver Signing (x64), Turned Off the Super Bar and went back to a vista-style taskbar + quicklaunch.

Most of these things to me are pretty stupid for Microsoft to include. First of all UAC is just frustrating and doesn't appear to be curbing security issues under Windows at all. Forced driver signing under x64 is frustrating and in my opinion a pathetic attempt by Microsoft to lock the operating system down from open source and freeware developers who cannot raise the money to pay for a signed driver, and the superbar is not to my liking personally I prefer the old taskbar. The most annoying thing about it is when you launch an application all the icons move around so if you usually keep an icon in a specific place you have to search all around the bottom of your screen for it. The quicklaunch bar in older versions of windows solved this problem but Microsoft removed it unless you go through and specifically activate it in a hidden shortcut group.

Anyway just minor issues overall windows 7 is great.

[TokiToki]

XPS Services. No idea what are those for, never used them, and the additional "printers" just kept bugging me.

XPS is Microsoft's answer to PDF.

[notuptome2004]

WTF turn anything off when windows 7 is what it is and works the way it is just fine. sure everyone has there opinion on what works fine and all but why not run the OS as default setting why bother messing with it because all your doing is trying to turn it in to something you had in the past turning things off or well disabling services related to features.

If you want windows 7 superbar to act more like vistas then why did you bother moving to 7 cause if you was not interested in any of its feature why move. i myself run windows 7 with everything enabled and things work perfect for me on my system and i got fast enough system with plenty of space so turning off stuff is a no Need i love all of windows 7 features and run them as they are intended to run as windows 7 was made to run. the windows 7 Devs put alot of time in effort making a product we would love to use .

sorry for the little rant but hey.

[Richard Hammond]

UAC - Im not an idiot and with a bit of common sense you dont even need UAC, i managed fine from windows 3.11 onwards.

Superbar - I hate it with a passion, i re-enabled quick launch and "classic" vista style start bar.

System Restore - I dont find it particularly useful, i use Macrium Reflect for drive imaging and backup anyway.

Auto Arrange Windows when dragged to the edge of screen - dont need it, i am OCD about how my desktop is set out, Firefox smack bang in the middle equal distance away from the left and right side of screen, irc window at the bottom of the screen, games icons in the gap on the right side of firefox and recycle bin on the left gap and with this feature turned on every time i try to drag a window it automatically resizes it.

If you want windows 7 superbar to act more like vistas then why did you bother moving to 7 cause if you was not interested in any of its feature why move. i myself run windows 7 with everything enabled and things work perfect for me on my system and i got fast enough system with plenty of space so turning off stuff is a no Need i love all of windows 7 features and run them as they are intended to run as windows 7 was made to run. the windows 7 Devs put alot of time in effort making a product we would love to use .

Because there is more to 7 than just a pretty GUI update, i upgraded from Vista because of all the behind the scenes work and its faster than Vista. Besides, i paid for it i should be able to do wtf i want to it including make it look like windows 3.11 if i wanted to i dont need your permission.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

None. I don't see the point in turning features off or 'optimising' the operating system - with 4 GB of RAM in my machine 10 or 20 MB being used by a service don't bother me.

We're not in 2001 anymore, trying to make XP run well on machines with 256 MB of RAM.

[hdood]

XPS is Microsoft's answer to PDF.

It's also a new print format.

WTF turn anything off when windows 7 is what it is and works the way it is just fine. sure everyone has there opinion on what works fine and all but why not run the OS as default setting

If there are small things I can EASILY do to make it more comfortable for me, then why on earth shouldn't I? You argument makes absolutely no sense. I also turn labels back on for the taskbar, because I like it better that way. Why should I accept all the defaults?

None. I don't see the point in turning features off or 'optimising' the operating system - with 4 GB of RAM in my machine 10 or 20 MB being used by a service don't bother me.

We're not in 2001 anymore, trying to make XP run well on machines with 256 MB of RAM.

Maybe not, but what's the point in me keeping, say, system restore on when I've never had a need for it, and it takes time to create restore points every time something is done? It's a waste to me. Disabling it is just clicking a radio button. Why shouldn't I?

[notuptome2004]

UAC - Im not an idiot and with a bit of common sense you dont even need UAC, i managed fine from windows 3.11 onwards.

Superbar - I hate it with a passion, i re-enabled quick launch and "classic" vista style start bar.

System Restore - I dont find it particularly useful, i use Macrium Reflect for drive imaging and backup anyway.

Auto Arrange Windows when dragged to the edge of screen - dont need it, i am OCD about how my desktop is set out, Firefox smack bang in the middle equal distance away from the left and right side of screen, irc window at the bottom of the screen, games icons in the gap on the right side of firefox and recycle bin on the left gap and with this feature turned on every time i try to drag a window it automatically resizes it.

Because there is more to 7 than just a pretty GUI update, i upgraded from Vista because of all the behind the scenes work and its faster than Vista. Besides, i paid for it i should be able to do wtf i want to it including make it look like windows 3.11 if i wanted to i dont need your permission.

Firstly the superbar is a complete overhaul and not just a GUI update and adds many little features to it useful features so yes it is faster but making it more like vista makes it less productive because part of windows 7 being faster besides the performance improvement under the hood is the usability aspect and how things can get done .

( Example) Aero snap is a huge feature and ya already know what it does and how it works . now try doing that in windows vista or below then you have to mauualy take the time just to resize the window to way Aero snap does it automatically.

[hdood]

Firstly the superbar is a complete overhaul and not just a GUI update and adds many little features to it useful features so yes it is faster but making it more like vista makes it less productive because part of windows 7 being faster besides the performance improvement under the hood is the usability aspect and how things can get done .

That isn't automatically true. Being forced to switch to identifying small icons rather than the text buttons you've used for 15 years won't necessarily make anything faster. In fact, it can do the opposite.

I find it harder and more time-consuming to do everything with it on. First I have to find the icon (which on Windows are often of extremely poor quality, so it looks like poop as well), then I have to hover over it, wait for the thumbnails to appear, identify the window I want from the thumbnails, and then click that to get my window. I'd rather just click directly on the taskbar tab that corresponds to the window I want.

[notuptome2004]

That isn't automatically true. Being forced to switch to identifying small icons rather than the text buttons you've used for 15 years won't necessarily make anything faster. In fact, it can do the opposite.

I find it harder and more time-consuming to do everything with it on. First I have to find the icon (which on Windows are often of extremely poor quality, so it looks like poop as well), then I have to hover over it, wait for the thumbnails to appear, identify the window I want from the thumbnails, and then click that to get my window. I'd rather just click directly on the taskbar tab that corresponds to the window I want.

well ya can make the icons bigger , also hovering over an icon is fast and simple and the previews come up very damn split second fast for me so i dont know what your issue is on that also and it is simple to find the preview ya need as it is huge and big and plain text on the icon . also Less Clutter on the superbar also enabling the old quick launch just puts more clutter on the superbar specially if you have many icons in the quick launch .

[Billus]

UAC, system restore and backup. Haven't really touched the add/remove features; features such as touch input and many others were already deselected which was good. I enjoy using the superbar and haven't gone back to the old way. I think it takes a bit of time getting used to.

[+virtorio MVC]

Secure Desktop

While I like UAC, I really dislike the background dimming when a prompt appears.

[hdood]

well ya can make the icons bigger

No, you can't. You can only make them smaller. The point was that for many people they really are very small and hard to identify. It's nice that you don't have a problem with it, but don't generalize.

also hovering over an icon is fast and simple and the previews come up very damn split second fast for me so i dont know what your issue is on that

By default it takes almost a second for the previews to appear.

also and it is simple to find the preview ya need as it is huge and big and plain text on the icon .

No, the previews are tiny to the point where it's pretty much impossible for most people to figure out what the thumbnail is showing. This is why they added a window title to the previews, as well as the full-size previews that appear if you hover for a while over the thumbnail.

The fact that you're trying to tell me I can do all this faster than just finding the button (with a label!) that corresponds to the window I want to show and just clicking it is absurd.

also and it is simple to find the preview ya need as it is huge and big and plain text on the icon . also Less Clutter on the superbar also enabling the old quick launch just puts more clutter on the superbar specially if you have many icons in the quick launch .

I personally don't use the quick launch, but I can see why some people would prefer to have their launchers and window buttons (which is what the taskbar is actually showing.. it shows windows, that's why you need hacks to add arbitrary items to the superbar) separate. If you have labels on the launcher icons in the superbar can look out of place and move around as you launch applications. Personally I don't mind this, but I can it being an issue for some.

Also, can you please try to use punctuation?

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I only have the indexing service disabled. I rarely use the search feature and when I'm forced to, I can wait an extra 5 minutes for whatever I'm searching.

[hdood]

Secure Desktop

While I like UAC, I really dislike the background dimming when a prompt appears.

It's a pretty major part of AAM. Without it, programs can not only trick you and ride elevations (which they can even with the SD), but they can also completely change the appearance of the prompt to say whatever they want. They could even make it look like a random non-UAC message.

I only have the indexing service disabled. I rarely use the search feature and when I'm forced to, I can wait an extra 5 minutes for whatever I'm searching.

You should go down and disable Windows Search then, because the "Indexing Service" is not what powers the search in Vista and 7, it's a legacy component that is disabled by default.

[Blackhearted]

UAC - Still too much of an annoyance

Driver signing in 64bit - Pretty much required to use the xbcd drivers for my 360 pad isntead of ms's basic, crappy, and [last i checked] un-configurable ones.

Automatic updates - Don't like things downloading and installing randomly.

That isn't automatically true. Being forced to switch to identifying small icons rather than the text buttons you've used for 15 years won't necessarily make anything faster. In fact, it can do the opposite.

I find it harder and more time-consuming to do everything with it on. First I have to find the icon (which on Windows are often of extremely poor quality, so it looks like poop as well), then I have to hover over it, wait for the thumbnails to appear, identify the window I want from the thumbnails, and then click that to get my window. I'd rather just click directly on the taskbar tab that corresponds to the window I want.

You do know you can click with the windows 7 style taskbar too, right? You're not forced to hover and wait for it. "Finding the icon" also isn't rocket science if you've ever seen the icon of the app you're looking for even once before.

[hdood]

You do know you can click with the windows 7 style taskbar too, right? You're not forced to hover and wait for it. "Finding the icon" also isn't rocket science if you've ever seen the icon of the app you're looking for even once before.

I do, but it's still a far more consuming process than simply going straight for the button and blam, having my window appear. People who insist I use something that is more complicated and slower for me simply because it is the default are idiots.