features you disabled in Windows 7 and why?

[zhangm Supervisor]

Right-click the updates -> 'Hide update'.

You'll have to do it one by one.

Isn't there a checkbox for Select All?

[Hani]

Not that I know of. If you select all, there is no hide option or it just hides only the one you selected (i don't remember).

[Mouldy Punk]

I haven't disabled anything on my Windows 7 set-up. It's pretty much just using the out-of-the-box settings IIRC. Call me old fashioned, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My computer's running fast and stably. No need to rock the boat unnecessarily. My current hardware is more than adequate to run everything quickly - so I don't need to do all the micro-optimisations that I used to do on my old PC to squeeze every last Mhz of performance from it.

[rawr_boy81]

The only thing I turn off when using Windows is System Restore. Everything else I leave in tact though.

[zhangm Supervisor]

Not that I know of. If you select all, there is no hide option or it just hides only the one you selected (i don't remember).

Maybe you haven't been looking. I'm pretty sure Hide All Checked is in the right-click menu when you select multiple updates.

Edit: Nope, you have to select them, the checkbox doesn't help, but you are allowed to select multiple updates at one time.

[Guest xiphi]

It's not that hard to hide multiple updates. I always hold Ctrl+shift and use the arrow keys to highlight the Language packs then right click and select Hide Updates. Doesn't even take 5 seconds. Using the check box is even faster. Meph was still thinking of the Vista way of hiding updates where you HAD to do it one by one.

[soldier1st]

the only thing i do is limit startups but even then i don't believe it has much effect as long as you got enough to run 7 and hdood: system restore is very good to have incase of something going wrong and it usualy only takes a min or 2 to make one and having that safety net is needed as it only takes hard drive space but minimal cpu time/memory

[hdood]

hdood: system restore is very good to have incase of something going wrong and it usualy only takes a min or 2 to make one and having that safety net is needed as it only takes hard drive space but minimal cpu time/memory

I have no need for it, and so I disable it. Your mileage may vary.

[mrp04]

It's not that hard to hide multiple updates. I always hold Ctrl+shift and use the arrow keys to highlight the Language packs then right click and select Hide Updates. Doesn't even take 5 seconds. Using the check box is even faster. Meph was still thinking of the Vista way of hiding updates where you HAD to do it one by one.

Easiest way is to click the top one and then click the bottom one while holding shift. I never tried this on 7 before because I am pretty sure it didn't work in Vista and I got used to having a bunch of optional updates.

Why does everyone try to tell people they shouldn't disable features? They won't listen. Microsoft has it pre-configured the best way but if people really want to change it, so be it. Doesn't affect me.

[Xilo]

Why does everyone try to tell people they shouldn't disable features? They won't listen. Microsoft has it pre-configured the best way but if people really want to change it, so be it. Doesn't affect me.

It's because then these exact same people come to forums asking why Windows is crashing or going crazy.

[zhangm Supervisor]

It's because then these exact same people come to forums asking why Windows is crashing or going crazy.

There are two major things that bug me about tweaking guides.

First, they encourage people to apply tweaks and fixes, without caring whether the user understands what the tweak is for, or whether it is really required. Many of them are simply passed off as "this will boost your performance" while omitting the part "at the expense of...".

The second thing that drives me up the wall is when some newbie who has applied tweaks gets malware, and the tweaks hinder your efforts to clean up and secure the machine. One aspect of this is that it makes diagnosis of the infection much harder. When did malware first install itself? Whoops, can't tell since system logs have been disabled. Does the Microsoft anti-malware remover recognize the infection? Whoops, don't know, since Windows Updates have been disabled. Didn't realize Windows Updates had been disabled, since Security Center was disabled as well, along with the Firewall. When you fire up Windows Updates, you find out that the machine hasn't been updated for 18 months, and will require two service packs along with 218.3 MB of additional updates. Can we blow away some of the infection with System Restore? Nope, it has been disabled. I also really enjoy it when someone overwrites a file that they desperately need, with a blank version. Normally, Previous Versions will resolve this easily, but not if it has been turned off.

[hdood]

Microsoft has it pre-configured the best way but if people really want to change it, so be it. Doesn't affect me.

No, they have it configured to meet the lowest common denominator. There are many things that are rational to change or disable.

[neo158]

No, they have it configured to meet the lowest common denominator. There are many things that are rational to change or disable.

I disagree, Microsoft configure Windows to be secure and stable as possible, disabling services can cause major issues when diagnosing issues and patching files as Relativity_17 has already said. People who tweak their systems without knowing or thinking about the consequences have no place to tell others to disable features or services.

As I have said before, the only people qualified to "tweak" Windows are Microsoft Engineers, because they know what each service does and what is safe to disable without compromising system stability and/or security.

[hdood]

I disagree, Microsoft configure Windows to be secure and stable as possible

Yes, they do, but configuration and feature wise it aims for the lowest common denominator. Heck, the first TweakUI was created by a Windows developer unhappy with the defaults.

disabling services can cause major issues when diagnosing issues and patching files as Relativity_17 has already said. People who tweak their systems without knowing or thinking about the consequences have no place to tell others to disable features or services.

I think you accidentally replied to me instead of someone else, because I said nothing about disabling random services, nor have I ever told anyone else what to do. I said that there are many things in Windows that are rational to change or disable, something I do. I do know what I am doing and have had zero problems.

I have no idea when "tweaking" became synonymous with "disabling random stuff you don't understand just because." It isn't. If you want a word for that, I suggest you use "idiocy."

[Hani]

I disagree, Microsoft configure Windows to be secure and stable as possible, disabling services can cause major issues when diagnosing issues and patching files as Relativity_17 has already said. People who tweak their systems without knowing or thinking about the consequences have no place to tell others to disable features or services.

As I have said before, the only people qualified to "tweak" Windows are Microsoft Engineers, because they know what each service does and what is safe to disable without compromising system stability and/or security.

BS. There is much information on the Internet describing each service. Anyone can tweak the OS to his or her needs.

[toadeater]

As I have said before, the only people qualified to "tweak" Windows are Microsoft Engineers, because they know what each service does and what is safe to disable without compromising system stability and/or security.

Maybe I should be an MS engineer because my copy of Windows runs better after I tweaked it? Nah, I can't take the credit, I just used the various tweak guides to get an idea of what to attack first. I made the final decision based on what I know about Windows already. Such as what is a proprietary MS knockoff that nothing uses which MS is trying to promote, and what is an integral part of Windows that actually does something useful.

Sarcasm aside, I just want to inform you that Windows isn't shipped in an optimized state, it is configured for maximum compatibility, NOT for performance.

Want to bet on it? I've got the evidence in front of me, I don't need people on a forum telling me what I can see with my own eyes. I tweaked Windows and it's running better, and there haven't been any detrimental side effects whatsoever. If some noob decides to go tweaking Windows and blows their PC up that's their problem, but don't say no one except MS engineers know what they're doing! MS engineers... LOL. Have you ever seen an MS engineer? Most of them are plucked right out of college without knowing a damn thing about anything.

[Skulltrail]

Services - Not all services but all of the services I don't use or don't need. BlackViper helped me decide which ones were useless.

Windows Defender - My antivirus can handle everything Defender can.

Search Indexing - Not useful at all. I'm very organized with my files, no need for searching when I know where everything is. Also, I have the RUN command on my start menu.